"Mad Dog" by MrSpeakers, modified Fostex T50RP review - Page 409

Head-fi sure is quiet, must be great weather all over!

Have heard two portable high power amps that are balanced and single ended that probably should be added to the amp considerations, the Ray Samuels Intruder DAC amp and the iBasso PB2.

Weather stinks here in GA. I'm stuck going to chaperone with my wife at the middle school dance. 

 

The Ray Samuels looks interesting. 

It's really powerful and super compact... I have a PB2 and have been enjoying it a lot. I heard the Intruder at RMAF ad liked it a lot. I think Ray said it had 1.5wpc but that is recall from last October....

Wow. That sucks a lot, Matt.

Laid down last night in bed and listened to a few songs from a couple of albums.  I recall starting a Cirrus album but don't remember much of it.  I must have fell asleep on the 1st song.  I woke up 6 or 7 hours later shocked to find headphones on.  I certainly wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest tho.  Man are those alpha pads cushie and compfy on the head!
 

Well I just ordered some Mad Dogs, cant wait to get my hands on them and my ears in them!
 

I have the DB2/PB2 set up, and like it a lot both SE and balanced.  Dan, in very rough comparison, how does the PB2 stack up to the Mjolnir, maybe assuming the PB2 is plugged into a wall outlet, therefore performing at its best?  A tough question to answer I'm sure.  I got to listen to some nice amps at the SF Bay meet back in February, but not really back to back with my PB2.  I felt the PB2 gave up a bit to the high end amps, but not that much to the midrange (say sub $750 or so) desktops.  I have been enjoying mine.  If you have the DB2/PB2 stack, it is a little ungainly in how the connections from dac to amp, and Dac input to Amp output are physically laid out.  Otherwise, it sounds really nice, at least for a small(ish) portable.  I am very much looking forward to my CEntrance HIFI-M8 when it arrives (June/July hopefully).

As a MOT I really don't want to publicly comment on other vendor's products beyond to note that some may be a good fit...  I think it's safe to say that one is portable and the other is a desktop and they're both excellent at what they do, beyond that I better leave it to others.

 

I can say that both the Intruder and the PB2 have the feel of desktop power and impact, they are really powerful and clean.

Over the last three months, there've been lots of posts asking if the Alpha Pads work for HE400 and HE500.  Thanks to Fred at Audio Prana, I have a HE500 on my head with Alpha Pads.   I was able to do it all in about 10 minutes having never taken a pad off an HE before.  They went on without any modification, though it was mildly tricky to attach to the phone.  I'm enjoying the sound and comfort but my wife is not enjoying sharing the music unless Mozart is on.  Use case #1 for closed phones.  

 

 

 

I did crack one of the pad mounting rings, ironically while removing it from the original stock pad.  Fortunately only one edge cracked a bit so it was still usable, and it was easy to get into the Alpha Pad.

 

I like the result, and will share graphs (along with the much requested 3.0 to 3.1 to 3.2 changes) this weekend.  

 

I'll also make a video of how the pads went on the ring and how the ring is replaced on the phone sometime this coming week. 

I'll live with that - you got to the root of my question.  I feel the little PB2/DB2 rig stands in for my departed desktop rigs quite well, but since I haven't had both to compare back to back, I thought I'd pose the question.  Thank you.

Edited by aamefford - Today at 6:39 pm

For me so far, the Alpha Pads on my HE-400 have been great for both sound and comfort.  Others may disagree of course, but it's good to see that they pair well with the HE-500 from your experience.  As far as technicalities go in how the pads alter the sound (if it's even discernible), I can't wait to see your graphs (and of course for the Mad Dogs) - still looking forward to the day I can pull the trigger 

Edited by modulor - Today at 8:08 pm