[doctorjazz]

 
I haven't been listening to my AD900X in a while but I will try them out with the player. Let you know when I get a chance tomorrow. I am thinking the sound signature of the X3 will do better for the AD900X over the DX50. 

The bass end of the X3 is more emphasized over the DX50 so this should help the AD900X even more so..

I know the X3 will be better for the AD900X for sure. And I also know that the DX50 would sound better with the Gratitudes. I think the AD900X's need for an amp is a lot more crucial than with the Monsters though.

On another note you've got me very excited for those over-ears by Philips that are coming out. $300 is a decent price tag, but after reading that review I'm definitely tempted.

My.guess/theory as to why you don't like the AD 900x from your description is that it is an open phone. People here mostly come down on the side of open, but I often prefer closed phones. As in most things, there are trade offs. Open phones in general do the space thing much beter...soundstage,imaging, etc. they can also be more accurate/clean in bass, having less internal reflection. The trade off is often in instrument solidity IMO...the bass can have less impact, instruments lose a little body. Haven't listened to that many, certainly not compared to many here, and not to megabuck phones, which I'd guess are partly about compensating for this tendency, but I have Sennheiser 650s, that I think are great, but do this a bit (and I have the AT A900x, which doesn't)
My $0.02, just sayin....

 

[Dsnuts]

Absolutely it is the one can I am so much looking forward to getting my hands on.The reason why the new Philips L2 is exciting is because they represent a step forward for Philips since the X1..This driver they are using for the L2 is space age stuff..The sound from the cans seem to literally come from outside the cups the stage is so wide. The cans look very similar to the current L1 but the sound is akin to a full blown open can. It is quite amazing..Reading a few other impressions from CanJam. I wasn't the only person to take notice of the attention grabbing sound from the cans. Start saving your monies. It will be a must own from day of release in January.

 

[theto3]

   
No offense taken..I like more styles of sound more than most so I can understand..I didn't care too much for the DJ100s myself.. Ended up selling mines a long time ago.
 
Really good little and powerful dac amp..A bit under the radar with the Geek stuff that will be out soon but the Geeks will cost much more now for people that didn't know anything about them..There is a used uDac-2 on the sales forums for something like $50. I have no doubt it should sound excellent for the price. I would go for that as a starting point and save some money..http://www.head-fi.org/t/687954/nuforce-udac-2#post_9931748

thanks for the reply. Whats the difference between the udac 2 and the udac 3?

 

[Gee Simpson]

So, any more people (thanks danny & doctorjazz) have Gratitude vs MA750 impressions to help me out? 

 It's now between those two for me.
 
The genres I listen to most are (in no particular order): Hip-Hop, Pop, Rock and R&B. I like my CKN70's but I'm looking for a true upgrade in sound.

 

[doctorjazz]

Have both, away for the weekend and only have the Gratitudes here... Tend not to love shallow fit iems, but can do the comparison when I get home

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[Dsnuts]

 
thanks for the reply. Whats the difference between the udac 2 and the udac 3?

If I was to guess just the DSD playback but considering I have zero DSD files to play the dac on it is kind of a useless function for me. Plus the driver on my uDAC-3 only supports 16 bit music files instead of the 24 it is advertized in..They could have improved the sound as well but I have no way of knowing as the uDAC-3 is the first Nuforce dac I have ever heard. Seems guys enjoy the uDAC-2.. For $50, if it sounds anything like the uDAC-3. That is a steal of a deal. Worst case scenario you can try it out see how it does. If you end up not liking it you could always sell it off for the same price you got it for..

 

[jwong]

  I kinda thought you might come back with a response like that!
 
One set of quasi-portable, good looking, comfortable and yet not too horribly expensive headphones (ie $250) that are on my radar are the AKG 545's. If the notoriously picky dweaver is enjoying them as much as he is, then they gotta be good, right? 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/670709/akg-new-headphone-k545

 
I had seen this thread before, but I guess it hit me right this time. Closed cans, big enough to be over ears but smaller than the really big phones that make me look odd in the office. I ordered a pair from razordog.

 

[7S Cameron]

My.guess/theory as to why you don't like the AD 900x from your description is that it is an open phone. People here mostly come down on the side of open, but I often prefer closed phones. As in most things, there are trade offs. Open phones in general do the space thing much beter...soundstage,imaging, etc. they can also be more accurate/clean in bass, having less internal reflection. The trade off is often in instrument solidity IMO...the bass can have less impact, instruments lose a little body. Haven't listened to that many, certainly not compared to many here, and not to megabuck phones, which I'd guess are partly about compensating for this tendency, but I have Sennheiser 650s, that I think are great, but do this a bit (and I have the AT A900x, which doesn't)
My $0.02, just sayin....

I had a feeling I might not be an open headphone guy. I've realized I prefer the sound of being in the studio or bar sized venue rather than a concert hall when it comes to headphones. My biggest issue with the AD900X is the imaging though. Everything is clear, but it doesn't do a very good job of painting a picture in my head while the Gratitudes excel at that.
 
What exactly does semi-open mean with the L2s?

 

[nick n]

edit not worthy of postage

 

[doctorjazz]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=0TH-0036-00012&nm_mc=EMC-EXPRESS110913&cm_mmc=EMC-EXPRESS110913-_-EMC-110913-Index-_-allheadphonesaccessories-_-0TH-0036-00012-L05B

Don't know the price range we're talking about, but the Sennheiser Amperiors are on sale NewEgg, link above, promo code EMCYTZT4788, as per The Deals Thread post earlier today. This is about half price...Tyll loved them,read review. More mixed on Head-Fi, with some preferring the Beyer DT1350 (but Sennheisers seem to generally bring strong reactions; people love em or hate em. Recently got the 1350 (which I think is marked down some on Amazon, has one of those "price too low to show" in the ad, didn't check out what that price was), which are great sounding, but clamp tightly, and I find hard to wear for a long time (have them in stretching out position to see if it helps). Have the Amperiors in the cart now, going through the "do I really need yet another set of headphones at this time" dialog at this time so I haven't pulled the trigger yet (reason won out recently, when I passed on a nicely priced but still quite expensive Beyer T1, but more often it loses out to, "wow, what a great deal on terrific phones"). Anyway, seems like it might be what you're looking for, don't know them 1st hand. Supposed to be available for 48 hours, which probably means through Sunday.

 

[bhazard]

Got my VSONIC VSD1LE in. I'm liking it quite a bit.

 

[sfwalcer]

  Got my VSONIC VSD1LE in. I'm liking it quite a bit.

Congrats, with some burn-in they will shine like crazy.

 

[Vain III]

I got to listen to some VSD1 LE's that a friend of mine had gotten a week or so back and... well... I'm not a fan. I actually prefer the sound of the VSD1 classics. It's warmer and more spacious. The VSD1 LE's had some great clarity but, to me, they also sounded laid back and forgiving of the source material. They were definitely darker than the VSD1 classics. The bass was tighter but not as pronounced. It was thick but seemed thin in the sound stage. On another note that darker background does give the VSD1 LE's a sense of 3Dness.

If I had to liken the SQ to anything I would say that the VSD1 classic's were the equivalent to a lake. They have a large area of sound and can reach quite deep, but they aren't really thick sounding and instead of being grandiose in the imagery part of the sound. They can, imo, be easily congested. While the VSD1 LE's are like a river. They're very thin in the sound stage and won't be able to stretch nearly as deeply as they're brothers, but they have very impressive layering--making them non-congestable--and sound is like a rushing stream that gives it a lot of force, and you can hear a large amount of details.

Actually the VSD1 LE's sound signature reminds me a lot of the Sennheiser Momentum in the sense that they're both very good at layering, both forgiving of their source material while maintaining a decent level of details, and both are laid back.

P.S. Gratitude > Both Vsonics

 

[sfwalcer]

I got to listen to some VSD1 LE's that a friend of mine had gotten a week or so back and... well... I'm not a fan. I actually prefer the sound of the VSD1 classics. It's warmer and more spacious. The VSD1 LE's had some great clarity but, to me, they also sounded laid back and forgiving of the source material. They were definitely darker than the VSD1 classics. The bass was tighter but not as pronounced. It was thick but seemed thin in the sound stage. On another note that darker background does give the VSD1 LE's a sense of 3Dness.

If I had to liken the SQ to anything I would say that the VSD1 classic's were the equivalent to a lake. They have a large area of sound and can reach quite deep, but they aren't really thick sounding and instead of being grandiose in the imagery part of the sound. They can, imo, be easily congested. While the VSD1 LE's are like a river. They're very thin in the sound stage and won't be able to stretch nearly as deeply as they're brothers, but they have very impressive layering--making them non-congestable--and sound is like a rushing stream that gives it a lot of force, and you can hear a large amount of details.

Actually the VSD1 LE's sound signature reminds me a lot of the Sennheiser Momentum in the sense that they're both very good at layering, both forgiving of their source material while maintaining a decent level of details, and both are laid back.

P.S. Gratitude > Both Vsonics

^ Sweet great to hear those Grads are THAT good. Great impressions!!!

 

[Vain III]

I got to listen to some VSD1 LE's that a friend of mine had gotten a week or so back and... well... I'm not a fan. I actually prefer the sound of the VSD1 classics. It's warmer and more spacious. The VSD1 LE's had some great clarity but, to me, they also sounded laid back and forgiving of the source material. They were definitely darker than the VSD1 classics. The bass was tighter but not as pronounced. It was thick but seemed thin in the sound stage. On another note that darker background does give the VSD1 LE's a sense of 3Dness.


If I had to liken the SQ to anything I would say that the VSD1 classic's were the equivalent to a lake. They have a large area of sound and can reach quite deep, but they aren't really thick sounding and instead of being grandiose in the imagery part of the sound. They can, imo, be easily congested. While the VSD1 LE's are like a river. They're very thin in the sound stage and won't be able to stretch nearly as deeply as they're brothers, but they have very impressive layering--making them non-congestable--and sound is like a rushing stream that gives it a lot of force, and you can hear a large amount of details.


Actually the VSD1 LE's sound signature reminds me a lot of the Sennheiser Momentum in the sense that they're both very good at layering, both forgiving of their source material while maintaining a decent level of details, and both are laid back.


P.S. Gratitude > Both Vsonics

^ Sweet great to hear those Grads are THAT good. Great impressions!!!

Thanks, the VSD1 LE's sound really great, they're just not my sound signature. Actually, I was worried that my impressions wouldn't come out with that sentiment, but if you approve of them than I guess I got my point across.

Actually, the last little thing--with the gratitudes--was to troll you a little bit. To be fair it's not really a fair competition because the Monster's are only priced as low as they are because of them being discontinued. They have a MSRP $200< while the Vsonics have a sub-$100 MSRP; correct me if I'm wrong. A better comparison would be to the GR07 Bass Edition. Which I would say that you can take everything that they do and amplify it by about x2.5 and you'll have the Monster's. The GR07 BE are so much better looking though and they fit more naturally in the ear. For all the love I give the gratitude's, I would say that the shape is the biggest let down. They're not that heavy but with the way they're shaped they actually feel heavier than they are.