Official Goldring DR150 Impressions Thread - Page 3

C'mon guys, Post More Pics!

IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone.... YAHOOOOO!!!! I got mine yesterday.. the packaging looks suspiciously like jenghanHsieh's.. must be the same guy wrapping them...

My wife didn't even know that the package had arrived.. it was my in-law that signed for it, so there was no message from home to tell me that it had arrived....

Anyway, I reached home resigned to be waiting for another day, and there it was on a side table the moment I walked into the door.. My long awaited *drum roll* DR150...

Took a few photos of the package and opened it and then of the phones themselves... initial reaction was, "wow, the package seems to be really trim.. are you sure that there are full sized phones in there??" It's just so slim.. dunno if the other guys that received it had the same thought...??

Anyway, I took it out and had a look... build quality although an all plastic construction looks to be really good.. and.....

unfortunately, I have to leave for work now...

more later.....

talk about a tease!!!!

yeah, i was a bit surprised at the size - or lack thereof - of the package. they certainly are the slimmest full size cans i've ever seen.

my headband is starting to loosen up a bit. i love the comfort of these 'phones. had them on for 3 hours straight today without feeling any discomfort whatsoever.

i simply love the bass response on the DR150s!

Is that head-fi's motto? I will take pics if I don't just tear the packaging apart with my teeth when they come in.

Hey wowie11 update your sig to include the DR150s! Do these have serial numbers?

Just ordered a pair of 150s. I will A/B with my Senn. 555 and keep the one that I like best.

Happy Days!!!

I can't find one on the headphones or the box. Anyone else see one?

You'll be missed 555!

It's my motto and probably Head-Fi's too

My First Impressions Part 2

well.. well... not really a tease.. just need to fulfil the responsibilities of a necessary evil to support this and many other expensive hobbies that I happen to have... not to mention feeding a family as well... (we definitely need a DR150 smiley.. the family is growing rapidly.. by leaps and bounds actually.. at the rate we are going.. head-fi will probably sit up and take notice of us soon..)

Anyway, I realise that I have yet to comment on the DR150 yet...

I will have to ask all of you to bear with my verbosity.. verbal diarrhoea, I call it. Happens when I'm especially excited or passionate about some things.. I usually take a long time to get to the point, as you can probably tell by now..

OK.. before I get virtually murdered by all of you for my incessant rambling, let me get on to the DR150... but before that, a little disclaimer first...

The only head-products I have owned are a MX400 and a HD201, so I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination.. I have heard a couple of hours on the 325i, AD900 and the HD595, as well as some time on the A900, A500 and W1000.. that's all there is to my limited experience in head-products...

OK.. OK.. on to DR150... *drum rolls*, *strikes cymbals*

Build quality and appearance

Build quality like I mentioned earlier is really good for an all plastic construction, it can definitely take some abuse. Not as solidly put together as the 595 tho'.

The velour pads on the headband and the cups are a definte plus and they feel rather plush and comfortable, to me at least. My wife felt the same way when I asked her to try it on for size.

Clamping force is a bit tight, but magically disappears after you have put them on for a few minutes. It would be good tho' if it eased up a little more with use. (My head is not particularly big but I usually wear a size XL hat)

The cups fit very nicely around the ears and I find that I'm able to move them round a bit to different positions around the ear. (Bear in mind that I have very tiny ears tho', just slightly bigger than my 8 month old baby girl.. )

The finishing of the phones could be better tho'. I can see the ugly mold release line on the headband. (hobby hazard from my other hobby of putting together plastic and resin kits.. ) There is some sort of paint on the grille which could wear off or be scratched off with time and use. The slimness of the cups is helped by the fact that the grilles are pretty flat and does not bulge or curve out like the 595.

I personally like the silver "G" found on each side of the cups, as well as the "G" on the both ends of the mini-plugs. In addition, the chrome finish on the mini-plugs also adds a touch of class. The cable is pretty good, rather thick, but does not coil as easily as the AD900 one. It's one of those that will probably retain its shape if you leave it in a certain way for too long a period of time.

I first tested out the cable using it as an IC between my PA2V2 and my portable MD player. The sound heard from my HD201 was clearer and the bass went down much deeper. I felt that it was also a cleaner sound. The music sounded a lot more open with the Goldring cable as an IC. Please remember that this is in comparison with the stock IC that came with the PA2V2. I have not bought any more expensive IC yet, to replace the stock one.

OK.. please read next post for sound quality...

Stay tuned..

Well it is a relatively budget headphone and does the paint on the grill really matter. When I felt them at the meet they were pretty darn sturdy. Moreso then my SR-60s or anything else plasticy.

Yep.. I agree.. pretty sturdy.. nope.. paint doesn't matter.. just though I would say it like it is..

My First Impressions Part 3

Hello everyone, for disclaimer, read post #41.

Sound Quality

I ran the DR150 out of a PA2V2 from a portable panasonic MD player. IC from MDP to amp was the stock IC that came with the amp.

Music: Theme from "Beverly Hill Cop", Axel F
This peice of music has a very low bass line and a powerful synthesizer opening. The DR150 handled the bass excellently. Very tight and focused. Reminds me a bit of the AD900, except cleaner. Turned up the volume and I can heard the "thump" of the bass. The opening was clear and it felt as tho' it was being played just next to your ear. Very Grado like in its presentation.
There's a part in the music where there's another instrument (not sure what it is) playing concurrently with the main melody line and I can make it out although it is in the background (I must say that I heard it clearer on the HD595 and the AD900 tho', but just slighty so).

Music: Square Rooms by Al Corey
Wooohhh!!! makes me want to get up and dance along with the music. Got my wife to listen to this and she was immediately moving with the music. Loads of punch to the sound. The bass and treble hits home really well. I would stick my neck out here and say that the 325i that I heard is probably just a shade better, gets you slightly more involved with the music overall. But the DR150 does a DARN good job of it!! It's definitely better than the 595 that I heard, the music is more open and airy sounding than the 595, which when compared to the DR150 appears just slightly muted and too well behaved with a piece of music like this...

Well.. that's all for now.. hope you guys can understand the non-audiophile vocabulary...

Stay tuned for the next instalment...