The T50RP Paradox | reviews, discussion, & mini-tour impressions (index in second post) - Page 20

+1 for the Buffalo III and the PWD2 

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMRaven 

Are you guys boosting the pots on your amps up to unreasonable levels to get these crazy numbers?  16hz? 20hz? 15hz? 5hz?  It just doesn't seem right.

 

At usual levels on the amp, My Denons only went down to around 25hz before rolloff, the HE-400 around 35hz, an M50 around 30hz.  All this sub-sonic talk is making me think you guys are really boosting up the volume levels just to be able to hear or feel something that low.

nope, I don't touch the volume when testing, just leave it at my normal listening level. I am in a quiet environment though... Just tested the D5000's again, and they do start to somewhat roll off at 25hz but 20hz is still pretty clear, and there is definite rumble down to at least 5hz that I can detect (probably mostly distortion at that point though). The D600's measure similarly but much clearer with less harmonics, and I think the roll off on those begins at around 30hz but it's a lot more gradual.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oblique63 

That's interesting. I originally got the 5LE's because of this thread over at changstar, where LFF suggested they were the most neutral of the Hifimans, no comments made with regards to his own Paradox however, so now I'm curious...  would the Paradox be a worthwhile 'upgrade' from the 5LE if I'm looking to use it for studio purposes?  I really like the mids and imaging on the Hifiman, super clear and detailed, but the bass isn't terribly strong, and I can certainly believe the bit about the treble peak as they do seem a bit bright... So what would be the difference with the Paradoxes then?

From what I can remember about the 5LE, the Paradox are more even.  You can tell what would get my vote for monitoring purposes.  The bass on the Paradox isn't categorically "terribly strong" either, it's a variable depending on the track.  It has smooth and even treble bands that don't take away from the bass like some other phones do.  Take the HD800 for example, objectively, they don't lack anything in the bass and go really low and really clean.  If you listen to percussion in isolation, or near isolation, the HD800's can hit notes accurately with the best of them, but when all cylinders are firing and you having information across all bands simultaneously, overall perceived balance will invariably tilt toward the treble.  That's the peak raising it's head.  Ditto for the HE-6 on the right rig, where it comes across as a slight etch at 10khz.  Typically there's less information around 10khz though compared to the HD800's peak, if the Paradox has a peak around the same area I certainly am not able to perceive it (perhaps it has to do with the surrounding bands and their effect.).  Modding alters things significantly so I can't really speak to that, just stock phones with adequate amplification.  Like a now-banned member's signature used to say, I wish I could "punch treble peaks in the face", and though my HD800s and HE-6s are now gone, I don't miss the detail faster transducers afford.  I enjoy an even response before that.  

Given that you use headphones for monitoring, beyond strict leisure, you really should give one a try.  At present, a number of them come up on the used market fairly often.

Remilio, I just looked at both the HE-6's and Paradox's FRs, and I'm seeing what I would call a trough between 2khz and 5khz on the HE-6's FR.  This probably accentuates the 10khz range, so maybe it's not a peak after all, relatively speaking.  The T50RP in contrast is missing that trough and is pretty much even to 10khz, that may just explain why I don't hear it.

I wonder, is there any half-decent way to digitally attenuate volume and use the ODAC as an "DAC + amplifier"?  

One thing about monitoring, one area where the Paradox does concede to a top flight phone is detail retrieval.  For example, there's a song by Cat Power (can't remember which one right now [..damn..]) that has some sort of distortion artifact at one point in the song.  I'm pretty well trained to hear it, because it's one of my favorite songs, and it bothered the hell out of me when I had top flight phones.  It's less apparent on the Paradox.  How do you account for that if you're monitoring?  Typically, are studio monitors or more resolving phones used as an auxilary weapon?   

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphinxvc 

One thing about monitoring, one area where the Paradox does concede to a top flight phone is detail retrieval.  For example, there's a song by Cat Power (can't remember which one right now [..damn..]) that has some sort of distortion artifact at one point in the song.  I'm pretty well trained to hear it, because it's one of my favorite songs, and it bothered the hell out of me when I had top flight phones.  It's less apparent on the Paradox.  How do you account for that if you're monitoring?  Typically, are studio monitors or more resolving phones used as an auxilary weapon?   

It might be less apparent but it' still apparent - you're not hearing less of it...just the correct amount. Certain headphones emphasize certain areas of the audio spectrum, making certain things MORE prominent. This is a reason Yamaha NS-10's are so popular. The engineers trained ear and knowledge of the audio spectrum is what comes in handy the most here.

When pinpointing certain distortions, I use my headphones (Paradox), my Fostex 630 (for mid-range), or use a parametric to boost certain bands to double check on headphones. My primary reference is my headphones with the aid of certain audio visualization programs. Once you know what you are doing and what to look for, even faint distortion will stick out like a big fat turd on fresh fallen snow.

In my experience the Paradox is very detailed. As I said earlier, it makes everything very apparent, but not in a pronounced in your face kind of way. 

Still tend to listen to them too loud due to being so smooth. 

Smooth and 93db SPL loud is probably better than a nasty 20db peak in the treble at 83db SPL. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by sphinxvc 

I wonder, is there any half-decent way to digitally attenuate volume and use the ODAC as an "DAC + amplifier"?  

No, the impedance is much, much too high.

You can't use a dac as a dac+amplifier, because it's not a dac+amplifier.

Great thread, subscribed and read it later.

Quote:

Originally Posted by purrin 

Smooth and 93db SPL loud is probably better than a nasty 20db peak in the treble at 83db SPL. 

True.

How about 3 hours of the first versus 3 minutes of the latter? Not that I personally listen to music at either of those volumes.

With smoothness I was also referring to the lack of ringing, so to speak. Accurate, but effortless and non offensive is how I perceive it. 

First off, I'd like to tip my hat off to FlySweep for giving me the opportunity to audition these headphones! He seems a real stand-up guy.

I had a general question for folks who own/have used the Paradox. Is there a trick to keeping the pads nice and fluffy? I notice that they tend to rest in a position which scrunches up the bottom of the pads when they hang on my stand. This does make a rather significant impact on the sound. When I first put them on, the bass was quite anemic until the pads fluffed up and contoured to my head.

My first impressions weren't so positive, most likely because of the pad issue. But, I am warming up to these more and more as time goes on. Now, I've only listened to them for one night so far, but I am enjoying these right now. Not sure if I like them enough to buy one yet, I'll have to spend some more time with them to decide. Also, I might get some flak for this comment but here goes: It's been a long time since I owned the LCD-2, but from what I remember, I believe I prefer these Paradox headphones over the LCD-2. I wasn't particularly fond of the LCD-2, but I am enjoying these. Keep in mind I haven't heard the LCD-2 for over a year now, so take that with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, I really am amazed at how good someone can make a simple T50RP sound. 'nuff said for now.