Headphone no cost limit.

STAX SR-009 with the right driver amp (usually tube or FET/Tube hybrid).

I use an old Stax SRM T1S driver amp, with NOS RCA clear top tubes.

STAX R&D uses a similar driver amp Today.

The driver amp makes a big difference, and only a few are real good.

Acceptable new driver amps are $2150 (STAX SRM 007TII) and up, to over $5000. Look at the Head-Fi website for more info.

SR-009’s are $4500 in the USA, and about $3500 direct from Japan.

Head-FI is the largest and best headphone site.
Biggest forum. Thousands of posts. Many reviews. World views from many experts.

Forget innerfidelity. It is one person’s opinion. He tries to measure and fails.

Like any ’BEST" post, YMMV, and IMO.

Read and think.

There are many choices at different price levels. I gave mine.

I hate these "what’s best" posts. Nobody has heard everything. It comes down to personal taste, and there really is no "best"!

Ok to be fair here are more opinions. FYI, you and I will never hear them! They are an unobtainable, very limited run IMO! They are for show only.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/786512/sennheiser-orpheus-successor-the-sennheiser-he1060-hev1060-first-loo...

What does Sennheiser know about D/A design that others don’t?

There are much better external D/A converters to be had, IMO. It should have been left out.

tis49

The author is a marketer for Sennheiser.  Speaker Boxx and radiohead music ?????

Read the followup comments on the Wired article.

The new Sennheiser-Orpheus is nonsense, and a ripoff IMO! I do not see the $55,000 cost in them!

It is not even true analog! What’s a D/A converter doing in the system?

There is a lot of negative comments on Head-FI forums about these.