Yea I didn't really hear much of a difference either, the vmoda cable is awesome cause its so light weight

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jazzerdave said:

I believe that Dan test/measures each pair, and while there have been a couple instances of inconsistencies, Dan has recalled the affected headphones and rectified the situation each time. On your disappointment, I have some questions:
1) What exactly were you expectations?
2) What are you using to drive them (amp and source)?
3) What sound profile to you tend to favor (neutral, bright, bassy, etc.)?
4) How loud do you usually listen?
5) What other gear do you or did you own?
Answers to these types of questions may help to figure out if there's an issue with your pair, a deficiency in your audio chain, or if they just wouldn't be your cup of tea.

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Lol...  I just sent a PM with almost the same questions.  
 
I test every unit, adjust them by hand to a rather tight tolerance to the reference curve, and listen to each unit for about 20 minutes of tones and tunes before I ship.  Of course, there's always minor variance, it's an electomechanical device, but these should be very slight.  I bin a phones that can't be brought into spec or use them for parts.

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mrspeakers said:

 
Lol...  I just sent a PM with almost the same questions.  
 
I test every unit, adjust them by hand to a rather tight tolerance to the reference curve, and listen to each unit for about 20 minutes of tones and tunes before I ship.  Of course, there's always minor variance, it's an electomechanical device, but these should be very slight.  I bin a phones that can't be brought into spec or use them for parts.

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Thanks for all your replies. I'll try to get a better amp and give another impression.

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syryanyang said:

Thanks for all your replies. I'll try to get a better amp and give another impression.

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Maybe you just like more "colored" sounding headphones?
Or maybe you need to "get used" to the sound produced by the MDs... These past 2 weeks, the MDs have been the only headphones I have used... (already sold my Sony MDR-1Rs, V-MODA M100s, and on the chopping block, my Denon D5000...)

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kskwerl said:

Yea I didn't really hear much of a difference either, the vmoda cable is awesome cause its so light weight

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The orignal cables sound like they have a larger soundstage...

mrspeakers said:

 
Lol...  I just sent a PM with almost the same questions.  
 
I test every unit, adjust them by hand to a rather tight tolerance to the reference curve, and listen to each unit for about 20 minutes of tones and tunes before I ship.  Of course, there's always minor variance, it's an electomechanical device, but these should be very slight.  I bin a phones that can't be brought into spec or use them for parts.

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That's impressive.  Is it your own tailored reference curve?, just curious.

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mvtm said:

Upon reading various pages of this incredibly long thread i do have a doubt. I am currently deciding between the K550s and now the Mad Dogs. Upon reading this thread it is known that the MD is a very comfortable headphone. But what i would like to know is how the Dog Pads compare to the K550 comfort wise. Also Isolation. Which isolates the most? Can anyone that owns both please comment?
 
For Dan, i was wondering if it would be possible to buy them in store in Miami, FL. 

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Just buy MDs they're better every way.
 
Maybe harder to drive, that's all.

I've been surprised at what it takes to drive the MD to it's best. It's a wonderful hp on the lyr, but the lyr is just a beast of an amp!! They take more volume pot than any other hp I've had to get to what I call a comfortable level. 
 
Material like classical and jazz that has a softer presentation typically needs a bit more volume to fill out. I've gotten to about 11:30 with the MD's and lyr which is as loud as I've gotten on this amp before. 

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kiteki said:

 
That's impressive.  Is it your own tailored reference curve?, just curious.

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Yes.

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matttcg said:

I've been surprised at what it takes to drive the MD to it's best. It's a wonderful hp on the lyr, but the lyr is just a beast of an amp!! They take more volume pot than any other hp I've had to get to what I call a comfortable level. 
 
Material like classical and jazz that has a softer presentation typically needs a bit more volume to fill out. I've gotten to about 11:30 with the MD's and lyr which is as loud as I've gotten on this amp before. 

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This might be blasphemy but I feel as though this is kind of preference in some cases as well. While the MDs do love power, I find that even what would be a "low end this will never make it work to the best of its ability" amp is absolutely more than fine. 
 
I drive mine at work with an e09k/e17 combo and I can't make it past 12 o'clock on normal gain without starting to hurt my ears. I use the 11-12 position for those few songs I'm really getting into, which gets awkward when someone walks into the office and i'm sitting there lightly headbanging and grooving to the music ha. I usually run at 9-10 o'clock.
 
I have turned it up as far a 3 o'clock to see if there was distortion and i couldn't hear any in the brief moments I put the headphones on.
 
 

syryanyang said:

Just got mine today I have to say I'm a tad disappointed. They don't sound as good as most people claim here. Do they require a lot of burn-in?
Also I'm using the grey cable with mini jack, will they sound better with the original cable?
The comfort's amazing nevertheless.
 

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I was disappointed initially as well. I came from Grado and Ultrasone. Ultrasones were my first foray into "HiFi" Audio. Before that, I was all about computer speakers (although i did have Z-2300's so they weren't all bad) and I got some Bose headphones as a gift right before college and *thought* they were the greatest thing ever at the time.
 
They don't need burn in but i found the highs in mine smoothed out after some time and weren't as jarring. I'm not a fan of lots of treble at all.
 
So very bassy headphones (Ultrasone HFI-580) and very colored headphones (Grado SR225i), to these very neutral headphones. The Grado i bought because they sounded spectacular with my preferred genres of music, rock/metal. With the hype, I bought the MDs. They were flat and lifeless compared to the aforementioned colored headphones. But I stuck with them for about a week, listening to them constantly (8+ hours a day).
 
Then, I went back to the Ultrasone (Which left my head quickly due to disparity in comfort compared to the Mad Dogs ) and tried the Grado. The Ultrasones still had very punchy detailed bass and the Grado were still awesome at rock music.
 
What got me, however, was what the MD revealed in my music. It truly was like discovering music over again. I heard nuances in my music that i had never heard before. A cymbal crash brought forward, an extra chord thrown in here and there revealed, multiple bass tracks in electronic music. I'd listen to a song on my MD, find something new, and go listen to that song with my other headphones. Sure enough, listening for that specific part I could hear it with the other headphones. However it was the MD that brought my attention to it initially. With the other headphones i wouldn't notice it because it was much more subtle and rolled into the rest of the music. The MD brought every aspect of my music to my attention, even when I was only passively listening.
 
So just stick with it. I don't drive them with anything special, just the e09k/e17 as I mentioned. Give it a good week of listening THEN go back to your other headphones. I've found this helps me understand the differences and pros/cons the best. If you're just going back and forth you won't have enough time to let the MD's sound sink in.
 
For me, the neutrality and natural presentation of my music won me over. Even though I have the Grados and even though i have the Senn PC360 (same as HD595), I hardly ever listen to music at home because it just doesn't sound as good as the MD to me (and taking the MD back and forth along with amping equipment isn't high on my priority list. I have a Titanium X-Fi HD at home which would be able to drive them I guess, but I want to get the XONAR Essence STX for music since it has a dedicated amp).
 
My next purchase is the HE-400 early next year which should complement the MD nicely for my at home listening.

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nam3less said:

This might be blasphemy but I feel as though this is kind of preference in some cases as well. While the MDs do love power, I find that even what would be a "low end this will never make it work to the best of its ability" amp is absolutely more than fine. 
 
 
 
My next purchase is the HE-400 early next year which should complement the MD nicely for my at home listening.

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Blasphemy?? Nah, not even close, but I do understand what you mean. I'm coming from the e09 and e17/odac. So I'm very familiar with the combo and what the MD sounds like with it. There is an appreciable leap when moving to the lyr with these...and not a small one. Just ask Dan what amp he uses. 
 
The he400 is a great complementary hp to the MD. You'll love the open holographic sound and some of the best open ortho bass goodness anywhere out there. Be sure to get the velour pads though...

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matttcg said:

 
Blasphemy?? Nah, not even close, but I do understand what you mean. I'm coming from the e09 and e17/odac. So I'm very familiar with the combo and what the MD sounds like with it. There is an appreciable leap when moving to the lyr with these...and not a small one. Just ask Dan what amp he uses. 

 
The he400 is a great complementary hp to the MD. You'll love the open holographic sound and some of the best open ortho bass goodness anywhere out there. Be sure to get the velour pads though...

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He recommended the Lyr when I asked him, but then I looked at the total cost of my headphones and compared it to the cost of the Lyr.... Sadly, I need to be realistic for now and the e09/e17 sounds great.
 
Yep, the velour pads are going to be purchased. Moon Audio is local to me, so i'll probably get it through them. I'll see about that 10% no return discount. 

matttcg said:

I've been surprised at what it takes to drive the MD to it's best.

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I've always found that a well modded T50RP takes quite a bit of power to reach its full potential. Much more than I would have initially expected.

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hans030390 said:

I've always found that a well modded T50RP takes quite a bit of power to reach its full potential. Much more than I would have initially expected.

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I agree with this completely, they are hard to drive for sure.

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nam3less said:

He recommended the Lyr when I asked him, but then I looked at the total cost of my headphones and compared it to the cost of the Lyr.... Sadly, I need to be realistic for now and the e09/e17 sounds great.
 
Yep, the velour pads are going to be purchased. Moon Audio is local to me, so i'll probably get it through them. I'll see about that 10% no return discount. 

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I had the Lyr too, def went very very well with them.