Tiemen
Headphoneus Supremus
Wow, a lot of compliments for the GMP 8.300
There is a GM impression thread, perhaps you will share your thoughts there as well: http://www.head-fi.org/t/644378/german-maestro-impressions-thread
The German Maestro GMP 8.35 D Monitor in the studio... serious about audio, INDEED!!
- Thread starter Acix
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Wow, a lot of compliments for the GMP 8.300
There is a GM impression thread, perhaps you will share your thoughts there as well: http://www.head-fi.org/t/644378/german-maestro-impressions-thread
Max Choiral
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Hm, I don't remember well how exactly sounded 8.300, only that it had more tight punch than 8.35 using weak source. But I doubt 8.300 can beat orthodynamic or planar headphones
For the price this is truly good though
LNuneek
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One would expect the 8.35 D to have more punch with a weaker source due to it having a lower impedance.
Antistase
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It is not a straight dependency. Efficiency is more important and amplifiers generally work better with higher loads.
LNuneek
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My order for these is just not going right so far. I made a thread about it.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/769215/anyone-dealt-with-audiobasics-com-i-ordered-german-maestro-gmp-8-35-d-think-i-may-have-been-scammed
If anyone has any input it would be greatly appreciated if you could reply in that thread. Thanks!
http://www.head-fi.org/t/769215/anyone-dealt-with-audiobasics-com-i-ordered-german-maestro-gmp-8-35-d-think-i-may-have-been-scammed
If anyone has any input it would be greatly appreciated if you could reply in that thread. Thanks!
Acix
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I hope you got the 8.35, if you're still having problems with audiobasics-com you should inform GM and check their take on this issue.
LNuneek
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I'm still waiting to get the headphones. I got a phone call from Audio Basics yesterday morning. They said they should have them in this week and shipped out to me.
I did contact German Maestro once about the issue. All they told me was that Audio Basics is not in their records as being an official reseller, but that they may be working with one of German Maestro's distributors. They said at that point all service work or warranty needs are handled by the distributor and not directly by German Maestro. GM only deals with their products directly if you purchase directly from them.
When I get the headphones I will send German Maestro my receipt along with the serial number and just ask if there is a problem getting service through Audio Basics in the future if they would help me out. Doesn't hurt to ask.
I dunno, I think I should have just purchased direct from German Maestro, but as this is my first time dealing with Audio Basics, I will see how things go. I may have just ordered at a bad time when things beyond their control was happening.
Just out of curiosity, how long did it take to get orders to arrive when bought directly from German Maestro?
Acix
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Great news! German Maestro are super fast I've got them in about a week from Germany to San Francisco, no worries you'll have your hps soon.
LNuneek
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So, shipping is pretty fast then. I might just deal with them directly from now on. Thanks for the reassurance!
I got a tracking number. The headphones are on their way to me. I should get them Monday or early next week.
I'm excited, this is my first major headphone purchase since getting the ATHM 50 about 5 or so years ago.
I'm contemplating writing my first Head-Fi review on them. I have the M 50 as well as the MDR CD900ST to compare directly with. There might be some people interested in a direct comparison between those 3.
LNuneek
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I just got them this morning! A little bit early than what tracking suggested.
So far, I think I made a great choice. They are much lighter than I was expecting. The ear pads are the perfect size for my ears. Complete around the ear fit. Only issue with the ear pads is so much padding and pleather rests on your head that it gets quite warm pretty quick. It's not a big deal to me though.
As far as any other size or comfortability issues...none! I have the headphones set on the smallest head size setting and it fits like a glove. Very snug and secure fit. Perfect seal around my ears and no play if I move around or bob my head. These aren't falling off my head without a good pull or something. Clamping force is good. Not too tight not too loose. It's a little less than most DJ oriented headphones, so it's not a head crusher by any means.
Now onto something I was worried about and not sure if I would like. The Cord! This is definitely a thicker cord than any other headphone I owned. I was concerned about mobile use both for weight and length. It's a tad more to deal with compared with typical mobile headphones, but I have no problems. The cord length is nice. I actually like the few extra inches. Also the coiled aspect is very nice for my home studio. Basically this cord is a perfect balance for being good for mobile use and studio use. Usually you have to switch out cables if you have detachable ones or deal with a cord that is either too short or too long if you use your headphones for dual purpose like I do. This is nice, I didn't think I would like the cord, but it's a really smart design here, and works for both of my primary needs very well. The coiled part of the cord is extremely springy. These are nice tight coils. I don't see this part of the cord having tangling and other issues that say something like the coiled MDR 7506 cord does. It seems very robust in every aspect. The cord retains a bit of memory from being in the box. Hope that straightens out and becomes more flexible.
Lastly, the sound, I've only been listening to them for about an hour. I like the sound a lot. It definitely sounds pretty neutral. After using the ATHM 50 for years it's going to take a little bit of getting used to. These are definitely more restrained in the highs and bass in comparison. They sound controlled. The M50 sound very uncontrolled in comparison. The mids are comparable to the M 50 to my ears. They are not very forward. I feel like some frequencies in the mids are a bit recessed. I feel like the bass and the highs in the 8.35 D could be a little bit more extended. Not by much though. I also found that the 8.35 D doesn't respond as much to EQ changes as the M50 does. It also did weird things like if I turn up the bass the sound gets distorted and congested very easily but the bass level doesn't really increase too much. Not sure if I would trust these with monitoring bass, or doing much EQ work. I have to look into it more. The distortion might be a good thing for my purposes letting me know when there is just too much bass. It could be that the M 50 is just too sensitive to bass too. Sometimes I make an EQ change while listening to the M 50 while doing a mix and it makes a huge difference on that particular headphone, but on nothing else. EQing mids and highs gets better results.
The soundstage really depended on what I was listening to. Most songs sounded fairly congested in the centre, BUT some songs that had a lot of panning and had a wider stereo field, you could definitely hear where things were in the mix. Some songs surprised me with how far out of centre some sounds were in the mix.
I read a lot of mention of sibilance. I need more time, but I do notice slight sibilance with the stock pads. In most cases I knew the sibilance was there. For instance I listened to Dr Dre's The Chronic remastered on vinyl and yes it was sibilant, but I always found that album to have sibilance, and many vinyl remasters seem to have sibilance these days.
Overall, I really like the sound. some minor gripes. A lot less gripes than I have with most headphones and I have gripes with all of them. lol I need a good long time before I can comment with certainty on how great they are for mixing purposes. I need some time to digest a ton of music with them, and mix a couple of tracks and check out the results.
I may do a more detailed and focused review after some time with direct comparisons with the headphones I already have. These are just my initial thoughts. I literally just took these out of the box a little over an hour ago.
There is one thing out of the ordinary that didn't come in the box, and that's the "Introduction" paper that tells you about the headphones and shows their whole line of headphones. There was just the adapter and the headphones that's it. Everything else looked legit though!
So far, I think I made a great choice. They are much lighter than I was expecting. The ear pads are the perfect size for my ears. Complete around the ear fit. Only issue with the ear pads is so much padding and pleather rests on your head that it gets quite warm pretty quick. It's not a big deal to me though.
As far as any other size or comfortability issues...none! I have the headphones set on the smallest head size setting and it fits like a glove. Very snug and secure fit. Perfect seal around my ears and no play if I move around or bob my head. These aren't falling off my head without a good pull or something. Clamping force is good. Not too tight not too loose. It's a little less than most DJ oriented headphones, so it's not a head crusher by any means.
Now onto something I was worried about and not sure if I would like. The Cord! This is definitely a thicker cord than any other headphone I owned. I was concerned about mobile use both for weight and length. It's a tad more to deal with compared with typical mobile headphones, but I have no problems. The cord length is nice. I actually like the few extra inches. Also the coiled aspect is very nice for my home studio. Basically this cord is a perfect balance for being good for mobile use and studio use. Usually you have to switch out cables if you have detachable ones or deal with a cord that is either too short or too long if you use your headphones for dual purpose like I do. This is nice, I didn't think I would like the cord, but it's a really smart design here, and works for both of my primary needs very well. The coiled part of the cord is extremely springy. These are nice tight coils. I don't see this part of the cord having tangling and other issues that say something like the coiled MDR 7506 cord does. It seems very robust in every aspect. The cord retains a bit of memory from being in the box. Hope that straightens out and becomes more flexible.
Lastly, the sound, I've only been listening to them for about an hour. I like the sound a lot. It definitely sounds pretty neutral. After using the ATHM 50 for years it's going to take a little bit of getting used to. These are definitely more restrained in the highs and bass in comparison. They sound controlled. The M50 sound very uncontrolled in comparison. The mids are comparable to the M 50 to my ears. They are not very forward. I feel like some frequencies in the mids are a bit recessed. I feel like the bass and the highs in the 8.35 D could be a little bit more extended. Not by much though. I also found that the 8.35 D doesn't respond as much to EQ changes as the M50 does. It also did weird things like if I turn up the bass the sound gets distorted and congested very easily but the bass level doesn't really increase too much. Not sure if I would trust these with monitoring bass, or doing much EQ work. I have to look into it more. The distortion might be a good thing for my purposes letting me know when there is just too much bass. It could be that the M 50 is just too sensitive to bass too. Sometimes I make an EQ change while listening to the M 50 while doing a mix and it makes a huge difference on that particular headphone, but on nothing else. EQing mids and highs gets better results.
The soundstage really depended on what I was listening to. Most songs sounded fairly congested in the centre, BUT some songs that had a lot of panning and had a wider stereo field, you could definitely hear where things were in the mix. Some songs surprised me with how far out of centre some sounds were in the mix.
I read a lot of mention of sibilance. I need more time, but I do notice slight sibilance with the stock pads. In most cases I knew the sibilance was there. For instance I listened to Dr Dre's The Chronic remastered on vinyl and yes it was sibilant, but I always found that album to have sibilance, and many vinyl remasters seem to have sibilance these days.
Overall, I really like the sound. some minor gripes. A lot less gripes than I have with most headphones and I have gripes with all of them. lol I need a good long time before I can comment with certainty on how great they are for mixing purposes. I need some time to digest a ton of music with them, and mix a couple of tracks and check out the results.
I may do a more detailed and focused review after some time with direct comparisons with the headphones I already have. These are just my initial thoughts. I literally just took these out of the box a little over an hour ago.
There is one thing out of the ordinary that didn't come in the box, and that's the "Introduction" paper that tells you about the headphones and shows their whole line of headphones. There was just the adapter and the headphones that's it. Everything else looked legit though!
Acix
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Congratulation! I'm glad you got them that fast and I do agree with you about the clamping force and the coiled cable. Your early impression remind me of my own experience. There is some burn in time for the drivers to set in, I don't remember the exact time now but I think I've mentioned the hours a few times in the early posts of this thread.
In the past I had a great opportunity to check out the M-50 on the George Massenburg mastering equipment. I've found out the m-50 have some warm coloration/boost in the bass area as well some spikes in the treble. In my experience the 8.35 is more balanced, the M-50 can sound sometimes a bit of smiley face curve eq. I also remember the M-50 clamping force was a too much for me after 15-20 minutes, but I have a big head so for others can be no issue with the clamping force of the M-50.
Out of curiosity, what pads did you got with your 8.35?
I'm also curios about you comparing the 8.35 with those Sony, I always want to try the CD900ST and to compare it with my 8.35.
LNuneek
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The M50 has a more hi fi sub like sound that makes everything sound good. It's tough to pick out flaws, which is great for general listening but a little difficult when creating or mixing music. I've been A & Bing back & forth between the M 50 and the 8.35 D while listening to Nautilus by Bob James. Instantly the M50 is a more enjoyable expansive, warm, hyped, and detailed experience in a way. The 8.35 D sound a little more clinical. Even though in some respects I feel like I get more detail out of the M50 in a musical way, the way the 8.35 D takes out the hype out of all the frequencies makes it a lot easier to pick up on certain things that's going on mix wise that I don't pick up as easily on the M50 because how sweet everything sounds on that can.
I've also been playing around with a track I made quickly a few days ago, and I had a tough time nailing down some things mix wise with the M50. With the 8.35 D I was able to zero in on the problems mix wise, and even some timing issues. It took me a matter of minutes to hear what was going on and fix it up more easily. Just needed to tighten a few parameters hear and there. Not perfection but I was able to get quick good results my first time with the 8.35 D working on a track.
As far as MDR-CD900ST goes, I'm surprised how similar they sound. I was kind of put off by it cause I don't like the CD900ST and find them pretty useless for most studio work mostly cause the sound is really compressed. You have no sense of what your levels for sounds are cause everything is brought up to the front with those cans. They share a similar timbre and resolution. CD900ST has slightly more impact in sound. The 8.35 D does not have that compressed effect. Initially it does sound like it does, cause the 8.35 D can sound a little congested at times, but when actually mixing a track and when something is off, you know it. So basically it's got nearly all the same SQ of the CD900 ST but the aspects where it really counts and sucks on Sony's for studio work are absolutely fine in the 8.35 D.
As far as the pads I got the regular pleather stock pads with the oval cut out and the material sewn on. After listening to these pads I kind of see why others would want to switch to something else to open up the sound more, cause the 8.35 D could definitely use that. Plus those pads really make me sweat like no other headphone. I take them off and there's visible wetness on the pads. It's not a deal breaker or anything just something to be aware of. Stock pads would really suck in a warm and humid environment. I could see people getting fatigued by all the extra warmth on the head.
As far as Breaking them in I believe you (Acix) said it was something like 10 hours IIRC. I've already noticed a little less distortion when EQing bass, but I'm also wondering if these headphones were revealing a flaw in the EQ on my DJ mixer. I found that the bass knob boosts up a lot of the mid bass reaching a little too far in the mids and causing congestion. Didn't really notice it too much till I got these headphones. Now I'm pretty aware of it.
Another thing I noticed about the 8.35 D is that vocals can sound a little distant. The M50 has a similar effect on sound. It's almost like you are fighting to hear the full depth of the vocals and other instruments in that range. I also noticed a general harshness or sibilance on hi hats and cymbals. Kind of reminds me of a similar sound when you lower the bitrate of a sound file to like 12 bits or what an old school 12 bit sampler does to high pitch sounds. Kind of makes them sound metallic and grainy.
I've also been playing around with a track I made quickly a few days ago, and I had a tough time nailing down some things mix wise with the M50. With the 8.35 D I was able to zero in on the problems mix wise, and even some timing issues. It took me a matter of minutes to hear what was going on and fix it up more easily. Just needed to tighten a few parameters hear and there. Not perfection but I was able to get quick good results my first time with the 8.35 D working on a track.
As far as MDR-CD900ST goes, I'm surprised how similar they sound. I was kind of put off by it cause I don't like the CD900ST and find them pretty useless for most studio work mostly cause the sound is really compressed. You have no sense of what your levels for sounds are cause everything is brought up to the front with those cans. They share a similar timbre and resolution. CD900ST has slightly more impact in sound. The 8.35 D does not have that compressed effect. Initially it does sound like it does, cause the 8.35 D can sound a little congested at times, but when actually mixing a track and when something is off, you know it. So basically it's got nearly all the same SQ of the CD900 ST but the aspects where it really counts and sucks on Sony's for studio work are absolutely fine in the 8.35 D.
As far as the pads I got the regular pleather stock pads with the oval cut out and the material sewn on. After listening to these pads I kind of see why others would want to switch to something else to open up the sound more, cause the 8.35 D could definitely use that. Plus those pads really make me sweat like no other headphone. I take them off and there's visible wetness on the pads. It's not a deal breaker or anything just something to be aware of. Stock pads would really suck in a warm and humid environment. I could see people getting fatigued by all the extra warmth on the head.
As far as Breaking them in I believe you (Acix) said it was something like 10 hours IIRC. I've already noticed a little less distortion when EQing bass, but I'm also wondering if these headphones were revealing a flaw in the EQ on my DJ mixer. I found that the bass knob boosts up a lot of the mid bass reaching a little too far in the mids and causing congestion. Didn't really notice it too much till I got these headphones. Now I'm pretty aware of it.
Another thing I noticed about the 8.35 D is that vocals can sound a little distant. The M50 has a similar effect on sound. It's almost like you are fighting to hear the full depth of the vocals and other instruments in that range. I also noticed a general harshness or sibilance on hi hats and cymbals. Kind of reminds me of a similar sound when you lower the bitrate of a sound file to like 12 bits or what an old school 12 bit sampler does to high pitch sounds. Kind of makes them sound metallic and grainy.
LNuneek
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If anyone is curious this is a quick vid clip of the first track I did some quick mixing with the 8.35 D. The audio quality is what it is because it's just a quick Instagram (which I hardly use) vid, but it gives an idea. If you venture to find my other tracks. Yes. I do make stuff that may make audiophiles cringe cause I don't mix for perfection. I mix to create a certain edge or feel that is Raw and dusty on purpose. Real rugged and soulful Hip Hop. Probably hardly anyone's cup of tea around here, but it is what it is.
https://instagram.com/p/3hYN3sBUxw/
https://instagram.com/p/3hYN3sBUxw/
Acix
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LNuneek
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Well done, remind me a bit of Fila Brazillia, Kruder & Dorfmeister.
Thanks for having a listen, I appreciate it. I have no idea who those artists are. Are they on Spotify? I'll have to give them a listen.
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