This thread got my noggin spinning and I after some research and experimenting, I'm at this moment hearinq very accurate sound reproduction via my iMac, $40 iMic, CIAudio VHP 1 headphone amp($350), and Grado SR 60 headphones ($70). My wife's better ears affirmed my findings.
What really blows me away is this $40 iMic which I have been using very succesfully for digitizing my LPs and cassettes is proving to be an extraordinary USB DAC bargain. Does anyone know what kind of DAC chip this little thing uses? Or perhaps my wife and I are deaf. A salesman at a reputable hi-fi store told me that anyone who couldn't hear the difference between tubes and ss has to be deaf.
What really blows me away is this $40 iMic which I have been using very succesfully for digitizing my LPs and cassettes is proving to be an extraordinary USB DAC bargain. Does anyone know what kind of DAC chip this little thing uses? Or perhaps my wife and I are deaf. A salesman at a reputable hi-fi store told me that anyone who couldn't hear the difference between tubes and ss has to be deaf.