After having finally found exactly what I was looking for in
the way of a portable CD player - the iRiver Slim-X iMP-350,
a half inch thick, runs on NiMH rechargeables, plays any
format you've ever heard of (and is software-upgradeable
for those that haven't been invented yet), weighs damn near
nothing, has a user-definable EQ curve (and five factory
curves) as well as a balance control, mark and repeat
track section capability, line out, FM tuner with 20 presets,
a wired remote that lets you edit and specify all kinds of stuff,
hell, if the damn thing could cook and wash dishes I'd chuck me
old lady - I find myself on the horns of a dilemma. It comes with
earbuds. Now, they sound way better than I ever expected they
would, surprisingly good, in fact, but I just can't wear the damn
things. Fifteen minutes with those nasty little buggers stuffed
into my ears and I've got redness and soreness. No problem,
I figured; hell, I own a music store, I'll just scarf a pair of good
phones out of my stock (I have plenty of AKG and Audio
Technica, as well as a couple of Samson models and some
miscellaneous other stuff) and plug 'em in. Problem: the better
headphones get, the higher the impedance they have. A pair
of AKG K-240s would have been just fine with me, but they're
600 ohms, and the audio output section in the CD player is
rated at twelve milliwatts/channel (!) across a 16-ohm load.
Across 600 ohms, it develops nil point zippity-****. Damn near
inaudible, in fact. I'm using a pair of AKG K-55s right now;
they sound fair, but I still can't get the volume I'm looking
for. (They're 32 ohms...~6 milliwatts ain't cuttin' it.) I checked
out all my dealer catalogs, and some websites - Sennheiser,
Sony, and AKG, and it looks like no-one that I can find out
about is making 16-ohm cans any more. So how about it,
folks - any help here? I want some 16-ohm cans that are
in the AKG K-240 region quality-wise. Circumaural, closed
back. (I can live with open back if I have to.) Who makes 'em?

Lord Valve
American