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post #6331 of 10726
1/27/13 at 11:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wje View Post

 

I'm not chipping into to defend MLE, but he has a very valid point.  A lot of emphasis gets placed on how good or how bad something is, but the scale is a large scale. If someone makes a purchase, and it's a good one for them, the abilities of the product can get a bit embellished due to the initial excitement of the purchaser.  I think all MLE is striving for is to level-set expectations.  The more honest we are, the better off all of us will be.  By honesty, I'm implying our own honest view of something base upon what we've read.  If we read good things, our mind tends to multiply the information by a large factor.  Up until receiving the item, our expectations are set pretty high.  If, what we receive is actually lesser than we had built it up to be, we end up getting disappointed.

I don't disagree with what he says, just how he says it and the frequency of him saying it. :)

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post #6332 of 10726
1/27/13 at 12:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjames View Post

I don't disagree with what he says, just how he says it and the frequency of him saying it. :)

 

 

well i guess everyone has their own opinions, thats what makes for a great discussion. I have mentioned before that you should take everything with a grain of salt on these forums and that the truly best way is to just to try it for yourself with an open mind. You might not hear any changes in sound although ppl have been saying they hear something and thats ok.

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post #6333 of 10726
1/27/13 at 12:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by merkil View Post

 

 

well i guess everyone has their own opinions, thats what makes for a great discussion. I have mentioned before that you should take everything with a grain of salt on these forums and that the truly best way is to just to try it for yourself with an open mind. You might not hear any changes in sound although ppl have been saying they hear something and thats ok.

Right, and I agree with that. I think this place is a great resource for level-headed people, and I too think the FOTM mindset here is somewhat maddening at times.

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post #6334 of 10726
1/27/13 at 12:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjames View Post

Right, and I agree with that. I think this place is a great resource for level-headed people, and I too think the FOTM mindset here is somewhat maddening at times.

+1

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post #6335 of 10726
1/27/13 at 1:07pm

Man hate to say it, but after using the Jergpadded HE500s exclusively for the past week or so, the HE400 sound just doesn't seem to cut it when I compared the two today out of curiosity. The difference in transparency and true resolution becomes more and more apparent, as is the difference in natural timbre.

 

Before, the HE500 with velour or pleathers was still meh, but the Jergpads unlocked it pretty much. Sure HE400 also sounds fantastic with the modded pads, not even close to the level the HE500s got to though.

 

I'll still keep the HE400 around and tinker more with it I suppose.

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post #6336 of 10726
1/27/13 at 1:33pm

As mentioned, sell the HE-400 and get a proper amp tongue_smile.gif

And then we NEED some impressions too! Maybe something with tubes? I really like my HE-500 with tubes.

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post #6337 of 10726
1/27/13 at 1:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by davidsh View Post

As mentioned, sell the HE-400 and get a proper amp tongue_smile.gif

And then we NEED some impressions too! Maybe something with tubes? I really like my HE-500 with tubes.

 

 

He loves the E17!

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post #6338 of 10726
1/27/13 at 1:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by merkil View Post

 

 

He loves the E17!

Until he gets something better tongue_smile.gif

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post #6339 of 10726
1/27/13 at 1:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fearless1 View Post

If that were the case then I would assume that there is no difference between the Anniversary addition of the K702 and the standard K702 because you do not have the orginal version there to A/B compare? I know that is probably not the case, but your mind has retained a semblance of the sound signature of the K-702 and you like the refined changes that the Anniversary edition presents. It is the same concept of tube rolling, my brain has a bit of memory retention left in it and in the 15 seconds it takes to swap out an awful 6N1P to a better tube I can make a comparison to a better sounding tube to my ears.

 We all have different perceptions of what sounds good  and the Lyr with stock or 6N1Ps of any variant is not what I consider a favorable sound, that is the only point i was trying to make.

I highly doubt the changes between tubes are anywhere close to the obvious retuning the Annie has over the Q701, and especially the old K701.

It's not a subtle change. It was obvious from first listen. I never truly enjoyed the Q701 for anything other than competitive gaming. The Annie has been enjoyable for every single purpose including music. It's noticeably warmer than the Q701 ever was. Doesn't take a direct swap to hear. They may as well be different headphones to me. The biggest difference was the bass, which is no longer lacking in terms of neutrality.

With these tube swaps, the Lyr is still a Lyr.

The Annie is more a bridge between the HD650 and Q701, than just a retuned Q701.
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post #6340 of 10726
1/27/13 at 1:48pm
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Q701s were already warmer and more pleasant than my old K701s. And now these? Looks like we got ourselves a really warmth monster. Would love to compare with the HD580s, since they seem to be close on the warmness scale.

 

Also, yeah, the stock cable on the 400s are getting insufferable. Really hard to muck around with. Might bite the bullet and actually try for something cheap and ergonomic this time around

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post #6341 of 10726
1/27/13 at 1:58pm
I wouldn't call it a warm monster, but yes, they are like a more open HD650, with Q701 air and treble. They are actually the most balanced, neutral headphone I have ever heard, despite the layer of warmth added.

Having the HE400 and Annie side by side, it's clear how colored the HE400 is.
Edited by Mad Lust Envy - 1/27/13 at 1:59pm
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post #6342 of 10726
1/27/13 at 2:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dshlapak View Post

So, I'm curious about the plots that have been posted showing compression levels on various pieces of music. Apologies if I've missed this, but what program(s) are people using to generate those? I'd like to examine some of the tracks I find particularly annoying to listen to ("harsh sounding," to use a distinctly non-technical descriptor).

Running OS X, so Windows-only software need not apply.

Thanks.


Like someone said already, try audacity. You can drag and drop an audio file in, and under "edit" have it show clipping. If you see lots of red, there is lots of clipping!

 

In foobar, I use something called "waveform seekbar". It shows L/R channel waveforms or a Mono form. Look for something like that so you can "see" compression better - but it won't show clipping.

 

Anything that can display waveform can help give you an idea of where compression / clipping might be a problem. And yes, the more clipped, the more static / harshness / garbled the music can sound.

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post #6343 of 10726
1/27/13 at 2:12pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy View Post

I wouldn't call it a warm monster, but yes, they are like a more open HD650, with Q701 air and treble. They are actually the most balanced, neutral headphone I have ever heard, despite the layer of warmth added.

Having the HE400 and Annie side by side, it's clear how colored the HE400 is.

Did they do anything with the upper mids? That was a major qualm with me for a while. It's hard to discern within the main thread, what with all that shifting through random flame wars, and contrasting opinions (well apart from the warmth part, that was pretty consistently mentioned). Honestly I thought the Qs added enough warmth already...

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post #6344 of 10726
1/27/13 at 2:18pm
Yes. I had the same exact problem with the K701, and to a lesser extent, the Q701. It's obvious to me they retuned and smoothened the frequency, because there is nothing that sticks out and causes fatigue. It's the most non-fatiguing headphone I have used outside of the HD650.

If you like the HD650, you can basically say that the Annie is similar, just with more air/soundstage and more energy and speed.
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post #6345 of 10726
1/27/13 at 2:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerg View Post

Man hate to say it, but after using the Jergpadded HE500s exclusively for the past week or so, the HE400 sound just doesn't seem to cut it when I compared the two today out of curiosity. The difference in transparency and true resolution becomes more and more apparent, as is the difference in natural timbre.

 

Before, the HE500 with velour or pleathers was still meh, but the Jergpads unlocked it pretty much. Sure HE400 also sounds fantastic with the modded pads, not even close to the level the HE500s got to though.

 

I'll still keep the HE400 around and tinker more with it I suppose.

 

Man I need to stay away from Head-fi for a while, Im happy with what i have but reading stuff like this makes me want to upgrade.

 

Who am i kidding, I can't leave this place!

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