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I’ve been evaluating headphones


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Hi George

 Don't forget to also check them to see if they are microphonic.

My ATH M70x , although quite a bit better than average with frequency response etc. cause a large roar when even rubbing my finger gently across the top band or elsewhere.

 

Kind Regards

Alex 

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

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15 minutes ago, sandyk said:

Hi George

 Don't forget to also check them to see if they are microphonic.

My ATH M70x , although quite a bit better than average with frequency response etc. cause a large roar when even rubbing my finger gently across the top band or elsewhere.

 

Kind Regards

Alex 

Good advice. I will.

George

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7 hours ago, rando said:

Looks fun other than that walking aid in the photo.  Enjoy yourself.

What sharp eyes you have! I don’t use it to walk, it’s a “remote control” that allows me to cycle through the inputs on my Yggdrasil from my listening chair and operate my remote-less Otari studio DAT recorder.

George

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34 minutes ago, gmgraves said:

What sharp eyes you have! I don’t use it to walk, it’s a “remote control” that allows me to cycle through the inputs on my Yggdrasil from my listening chair and operate my remote-less Otari studio DAT recorder.

Could be potentially also a good self defense tool... 

And back scratcher..  

Just some ideas..  9_9

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3 hours ago, gmgraves said:

What sharp eyes you have! I don’t use it to walk, it’s a “remote control” that allows me to cycle through the inputs on my Yggdrasil from my listening chair and operate my remote-less Otari studio DAT recorder.

 

Bonus points if you have a much more precise equipment footer mounted on the end in place of the hard rubber cap.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi George

 A very interesting review.

Years a go I had a pair of Stax using both the SS driver as well as their transformer version. I found them lacking a little too much at the low end and swapped them for a new pair of ATH W1000 with the Bubinga wood cups.

 The Stax (SR7 ?) did make female voices sound a little more individual from each other though, perhaps even a little sexier sounding ? :D

 

Regards

Alex

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

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53 minutes ago, gmgraves said:

 

4) Audeze  LCD-4 isodynamic headphones. Roll-Royce fit and finish, but heavy and awkward to wear, especially in long-term listening sessions. These phones are a very, very distant last place sound wise. At US$4,000, the sound was actually so wretched that the phones were returned to the manufacturer to have them checked out for being defective. Have not gotten them back as of this date, and therein lies the reason for the belated report on this evaluation. Audeze says that the phones were, indeed, “defective” out-of-the-box, but I can’t imagine what kind of defect could make both ear-phone drivers sound so similarly wretched!

 

Two thoughts:

 

1)  Audeze has a well known and long running quality control problem, so a weird fill_in_the_blank is always possible.  That said, supposedly in the last year or two their QC has improved, but even then...

 

2) Despite the above, your experience (particularly the lack of bass) is such an outlier I would also be looking at your chain upstream to see if you can identify some strange equipment interaction...

Hey MQA, if it is not all $voodoo$, show us the math!

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3 hours ago, crenca said:

 

Two thoughts:

 

1)  Audeze has a well known and long running quality control problem, so a weird fill_in_the_blank is always possible.  That said, supposedly in the last year or two their QC has improved, but even then...

 

2) Despite the above, your experience (particularly the lack of bass) is such an outlier I would also be looking at your chain upstream to see if you can identify some strange equipment interaction...

Since the same equipment was used for the two HiFiMan isodynamic phone sets (the Edition X, v.2.0 and the Ananda). And they didn’t exhibit anything like the problems I encountered with the Audeze’ sound, I doubt seriously that my system was the problem. Add to that, the fact that the Audeze owner (they aren’t my purchase - thank the gods and muses) found that on his megabuck system, they sounded so bad that he sent them back and that Audeze has communicated to him that they agree that his LCD-4 pair is defective and that they were replacing both drivers with a new, matched pair.

George

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Assuming the Massdrop Hifiman Edition "XX" I have use the same driver (I think it is) and basic tuning, I can recommend them if you are after an airy, open, and detailed sound.  They are bright, and I consider their upward tilt "bass light", even though they do dig deep into the subass - it's just not balanced with the rest of the FR, at least for my tastes.   Also, I think the midrange timbre (voices in particular) is a bit off.  Not overly so, just a little thin.  YMMV...

Hey MQA, if it is not all $voodoo$, show us the math!

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8 hours ago, crenca said:

Assuming the Massdrop Hifiman Edition "XX" I have use the same driver (I think it is) and basic tuning, I can recommend them if you are after an airy, open, and detailed sound.  They are bright, and I consider their upward tilt "bass light", even though they do dig deep into the subass - it's just not balanced with the rest of the FR, at least for my tastes.   Also, I think the midrange timbre (voices in particular) is a bit off.  Not overly so, just a little thin.  YMMV...

I have no Idea what comprises a pair of MassDrop Edition XX. HiFiMan has so many models, and they seem to introduce new ones with such alarming regularity, that the XX’s could be anything. IE, your guess is at least as good as mine. To my “golden ears”  neither the Edition X v.2 nor the Anandas seem bright, and the bass on most of the HiFiMan that I have auditioned have excellent, subterranean bass, and otherwise seem very well balanced. I have used the Edition X v.2 phones to make recordings and slipping the headphones off during the performance being recorded, I hear very little difference in balance between live and what I’m hearing through the ‘phones.*

 

However, the HiFiMan Jade 2 electrostatics are my main listening headphones. Since acquiring them, I find that I listen to these ‘phones more than I listen to my speakers these days.

 

*Open back phones like the Edition X are less than ideal as monitor headphones for live recordings, especially if the recordist is in the same room as the performers because they are open backed (I still use my ancient, but trusty Koss Pro-4A’s for that, even though I’ve replaced the ear-pads TWICE!). I use the Edition X just to see how accurate my mike placement is, then switch to the Koss ‘phones for the actual recording.

George

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3 hours ago, gmgraves said:

I have no Idea what comprises a pair of MassDrop Edition XX. HiFiMan has so many models, and they seem to introduce new ones with such alarming regularity, that the XX’s could be anything. IE, your guess is at least as good as mine. To my “golden ears”  neither the Edition X v.2 nor the Anandas seem bright, and the bass on most of the HiFiMan that I have auditioned have excellent, subterranean bass, and otherwise seem very well balanced. I have used the Edition X v.2 phones to make recordings and slipping the headphones off during the performance being recorded, I hear very little difference in balance between live and what I’m hearing through the ‘phones.*

 

However, the HiFiMan Jade 2 electrostatics are my main listening headphones. Since acquiring them, I find that I listen to these ‘phones more than I listen to my speakers these days.

 

*Open back phones like the Edition X are less than ideal as monitor headphones for live recordings, especially if the recordist is in the same room as the performers because they are open backed (I still use my ancient, but trusty Koss Pro-4A’s for that, even though I’ve replaced the ear-pads TWICE!). I use the Edition X just to see how accurate my mike placement is, then switch to the Koss ‘phones for the actual recording.

 

 

Did a bit of Google sleuthing, it is apparent the Massdrop Edition XX are the Anadas with a cheaper (and frankly not very good) headband mechanism at a Massdrop price point.  They are brighter overall (quite obviously so) than either of my Focal Clear's or Eligia's - two headphones often rejected by those who prefer an overall warm, downsloping frequency response.  Using the two widely accepted Sennheiser benchmarks:  they are much closer to the HD800 FR than the HD650 (I don't own an HD800 currently but I do have the HD650's to compare).  I don't consider myself a basshead and consider the bass to mid integration of the Clear's to be nearly perfect (I don't EQ them).  When listening to the Edition XX I end up with a downsloping EQ curve, and I even bump up the bass/sub-bass (relative to mid bass) looking for a bit more quantity.  All this of course is relative to your own ears, preferences, and expectations, and sample to sample variability (though HiFiMan is allegedly the polar opposite of Audeze in this dept.).  I can see why you like this particular FR in your recording efforts - their FR and big planar 'stage' would be good for mike placement, instrument separation and the like it seems to me (I have no recording experience myself).

 

I have never had ears on the Jade 2's but hope someday to be able to - thanks for the report!  

Hey MQA, if it is not all $voodoo$, show us the math!

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