Great review - I just got myself a pair and agree they're really nice sounding portable headphones for the price. The isolation isn't the best though. I saw in another thread you said you modded the ear pads to improve this. Could you let me know where you got the ear pads you used for this, and how you attached them? Also, did the new pads decrease the sound leakage out of the headphones, and did they worsen the sound signature or quality in any way? Cheers
Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
bobbooo
SkyBleu
Hi @bobbooo,
Thank you
I would first up like to say that the ways in which I acquired the pads were rather "random".
The oval-shaped pads that you see on the top, is actually taken from a fake pair of Beats Studio, in which I gutted the pad just to use the soft pleather material (the oval-shape). The inside pad that sits on top of the stock pads (overlaps it), is a Sony MDR-V150 ear pad (or any small, circular small Sony ear pad in that respect.
I attached both of them by just overlapping them, as you would with a regular ear pad, over the original pads. The new pads surely did decrease the sound leakage, and as of the sound signature, the bass became more prominent and the sound was more distant (soundstage increased, with the loss of some richness in the vocals). I personally didn't mind the losses in sound quality, as to me, they were just an average headphone for on the go purposes, where sound quality isn't he number one priority, but the isolation is.
Hope I could help
Thank you
I would first up like to say that the ways in which I acquired the pads were rather "random".
The oval-shaped pads that you see on the top, is actually taken from a fake pair of Beats Studio, in which I gutted the pad just to use the soft pleather material (the oval-shape). The inside pad that sits on top of the stock pads (overlaps it), is a Sony MDR-V150 ear pad (or any small, circular small Sony ear pad in that respect.
I attached both of them by just overlapping them, as you would with a regular ear pad, over the original pads. The new pads surely did decrease the sound leakage, and as of the sound signature, the bass became more prominent and the sound was more distant (soundstage increased, with the loss of some richness in the vocals). I personally didn't mind the losses in sound quality, as to me, they were just an average headphone for on the go purposes, where sound quality isn't he number one priority, but the isolation is.
Hope I could help
bobbooo
Thanks for the detailed answer! I think I'll try to find a cheap pair of replacement Sony pads then.
SkyBleu
@bobbooo No worries!
@Bansaku Thanks.
I guess pad mods do benefit us in ways, such as comfort, isolation and expanding the soundstage, but it also hinders us from the original sound of the headphones - which isn't always necessarily a good thing.
Now as of your critiquing I do appreciate that you picked up on things that I may have not put in as much thought as I should have.
After spending more time with the unit, I do agree that they're not as dark and warm as I had originally thought. I believe, and I guess you could say that this is an excuse, as when I first got the Atlas, I also had a lot of bright-sounding gear around, which had probably lead to me saying they're warm/dark, and treble-lacking.
Before I wrote the mini-review, I had spent approximately a week with them.
So, as of now, after owning the unit for some time (50 hours + usage), and trying it as I type this, I will include the differences down below, and modify my review.
- Although I don't find them to be as dark as I did, I am still finding them to sound warm by the slightest. This may be due to the sub-bass being more prominent than usual, and that the soundstage (with stock ear pads) is rather narrow, so there may be the tiniest sense of congestion (This is probably me being subjective/opinionated as I'm used to wide staged headphones). Nonetheless, the bass still punches nicely, and cleanly as well.
- Now for the treble, yes, I do agree they're pretty crisp, and clean sounding for a $100 headphone. Maybe not lacking as I had originally stated, but it is definitely present after more time spent listening (I know, I should have altered my review when I noticed, but just got too lazy, haha). I personally think, to consider them bright-bright, the highs would have to extend a bit further up with more detail to them. In comparison to something like my HP200's or HD600's, these just don't hit that high mark that the other two do, and in saying so, the other two has more spark and crispiness to it which makes it refreshing for me, although I understand others will find it a bit too bright. If you've tried out some of the AKG headphones, you'd find that the treble is that crisp, that it almost sounds fatiguing; because that's how I found it.
- I, if I remember correctly from when I owned the M80's, I believe the M80's leaned a touch warm, but had silky smooth, liquid sounding mids. Sadly, as you said, mids aren't your thing, so I can see why you'd rate the Atlas around the M80 level.
But really, all in all, I'd say that how we perceive the audio is dependent on what we've heard in the past. Like for me, when I first started "audiophile-ing", my first IEMs were the T-Peos H-100. They were probably what made me form an interest for bright sounding equipment, as they were, and still are, the brightest, clearest IEMs I have ever heard - and I have experienced some top-tier IEMs/Headphones before.
Anyways, I do apologize for not reviewing the unit...
@Bansaku Thanks.
I guess pad mods do benefit us in ways, such as comfort, isolation and expanding the soundstage, but it also hinders us from the original sound of the headphones - which isn't always necessarily a good thing.
Now as of your critiquing
I do appreciate that you picked up on things that I may have not put in as much thought as I should have. After spending more time with the unit, I do agree that they're not as dark and warm as I had originally thought. I believe, and I guess you could say that this is an excuse, as when I first got the Atlas, I also had a lot of bright-sounding gear around, which had probably lead to me saying they're warm/dark, and treble-lacking.
Before I wrote the mini-review, I had spent approximately a week with them.
So, as of now, after owning the unit for some time (50 hours + usage), and trying it as I type this, I will include the differences down below, and modify my review.
- Although I don't find them to be as dark as I did, I am still finding them to sound warm by the slightest. This may be due to the sub-bass being more prominent than usual, and that the soundstage (with stock ear pads) is rather narrow, so there may be the tiniest sense of congestion (This is probably me being subjective/opinionated as I'm used to wide staged headphones). Nonetheless, the bass still punches nicely, and cleanly as well.
- Now for the treble, yes, I do agree they're pretty crisp, and clean sounding for a $100 headphone. Maybe not lacking as I had originally stated, but it is definitely present after more time spent listening (I know, I should have altered my review when I noticed, but just got too lazy, haha). I personally think, to consider them bright-bright, the highs would have to extend a bit further up with more detail to them. In comparison to something like my HP200's or HD600's, these just don't hit that high mark that the other two do, and in saying so, the other two has more spark and crispiness to it which makes it refreshing for me, although I understand others will find it a bit too bright. If you've tried out some of the AKG headphones, you'd find that the treble is that crisp, that it almost sounds fatiguing; because that's how I found it.
- I, if I remember correctly from when I owned the M80's, I believe the M80's leaned a touch warm, but had silky smooth, liquid sounding mids. Sadly, as you said, mids aren't your thing, so I can see why you'd rate the Atlas around the M80 level.
But really, all in all, I'd say that how we perceive the audio is dependent on what we've heard in the past. Like for me, when I first started "audiophile-ing", my first IEMs were the T-Peos H-100. They were probably what made me form an interest for bright sounding equipment, as they were, and still are, the brightest, clearest IEMs I have ever heard - and I have experienced some top-tier IEMs/Headphones before.
Anyways, I do apologize for not reviewing the unit...
Bansaku
Good review (as always), and thank you for your info on how you modded the pads; I too mod'd mine using a pair of over-ear pads from a pair of Sony headphones, sewed a sinch around the seam and placed them on top on the pads. Besides the soundstage drastically expanding, the bass became more warm, less thundering, and the vocals really smoothed out but some strange harmonics (due to the extra air space) made listening somewhat annoying.
I do have some critiquing about your review that seems to be at odds with what myself and others have said in their reviews about the Atlas. I know you know great sound judging by your impressive (awesome) line-up of headphones you own. So forgive me for questioning some of your review.
" Tonality and signature is slightly warm, and leans a touch dark ", " Clarity is not the clearest out there, as this may be due to the lack of treble ".
The first thing I noticed when I first listened to the Atlas was how bright they were, with impressive bass and sub-bass. After burn-in I brought the Atlas to a family event to hear their opinions on what I think is an impressive set of mini-cans for under $100. My Father (musician, editor TV/radio) and my brother (DJ, mixing/recording) were blown away by how crisp and sparkly the treble was while at the same time powerful bass. One brother and my niece actually said they were too trebly! I do agree the mids are a teeny-tiny bit veiled (sometimes), but I find they are very forward and very non-fatiguing; I hate mids as they (usually) annoy my ears but the Atlas surprised me quite a bit. I actually enjoy them. Treble is very crispy and has great sparkle. I mostly listen to metal and classical/instrumental so great treble is more of a seller for me vs mid and bass. I will say this, compared to Sen HD 449, Monster Inspiron/DNA/N-Tune, and Sony MDRV55R, Beats HD, this has LOADS of treble. I will go so far as to say that the Atlas sounds a lot better than the mentioned in regards to treble, including the HD 449.
How long have you used them for before you wrote your mini-review and has your opinion of the changed? I too found the Atlas to be lacking treble and average mids at first, but after 20 hours of burn-in the Atlas really opened up. I never gave myself a chance to have mental burn-in as I only listened to them once per week for about 2h minutes each time (the length of the albums Greatest Video Game Music Vol 1+2 by the London Philharmonic orchestra). Each week I noticed the sound getting better and better. By my ears I dare say they are a contender for the V-Moda M80.
I do have some critiquing about your review that seems to be at odds with what myself and others have said in their reviews about the Atlas. I know you know great sound judging by your impressive (awesome) line-up of headphones you own. So forgive me for questioning some of your review.
" Tonality and signature is slightly warm, and leans a touch dark ", " Clarity is not the clearest out there, as this may be due to the lack of treble ".
The first thing I noticed when I first listened to the Atlas was how bright they were, with impressive bass and sub-bass. After burn-in I brought the Atlas to a family event to hear their opinions on what I think is an impressive set of mini-cans for under $100. My Father (musician, editor TV/radio) and my brother (DJ, mixing/recording) were blown away by how crisp and sparkly the treble was while at the same time powerful bass. One brother and my niece actually said they were too trebly! I do agree the mids are a teeny-tiny bit veiled (sometimes), but I find they are very forward and very non-fatiguing; I hate mids as they (usually) annoy my ears but the Atlas surprised me quite a bit. I actually enjoy them. Treble is very crispy and has great sparkle. I mostly listen to metal and classical/instrumental so great treble is more of a seller for me vs mid and bass. I will say this, compared to Sen HD 449, Monster Inspiron/DNA/N-Tune, and Sony MDRV55R, Beats HD, this has LOADS of treble. I will go so far as to say that the Atlas sounds a lot better than the mentioned in regards to treble, including the HD 449.
How long have you used them for before you wrote your mini-review and has your opinion of the changed? I too found the Atlas to be lacking treble and average mids at first, but after 20 hours of burn-in the Atlas really opened up. I never gave myself a chance to have mental burn-in as I only listened to them once per week for about 2h minutes each time (the length of the albums Greatest Video Game Music Vol 1+2 by the London Philharmonic orchestra). Each week I noticed the sound getting better and better. By my ears I dare say they are a contender for the V-Moda M80.
