I chose Pathos & Leben purely on my listening. I auditioned other integrateds, both solid state & tube, including Musical Fidelity A5, VTI IT-85, Creeks, etc etc... but the Pathos & the Leben were my favorites in the end. Pathos definitely has a great build quality, although the Leben's is no slouch, either. To my ears, the Pathos seemed more musical, warmer, and strangely, the all-tube Leben amp more analytical and clear. Another big plus for the Leben is the awesome headphone out. The Pathos doesn't have one, which means I'll have to buy a separate component, which I am loathe to do, as I want to keep my system & interconnects to the barest minimum. I've heard both machines through Devore Gibbon Super 8 speakers...
My intuition tells me that if I go the route of Transporter, the Pathos might be a better match, as the Transporter might sound a bit too bright on the Leben. Basically, if I can get the headphone issue resolved elegantly, I'd go for the Pathos, no hesitation. -- selfdivider ------------------------------------------------------------------------ selfdivider's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=14941 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=42042 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
