[Formae]

Hey quick question. I'm thinking of buying some Mad Dogs but someone's trying to convince me that some 30$ headphones apparently measure better than the Mad Dogs (Which is very hard to believe considering all the positive response I've seen for the Mad Dogs). Anyway, I come to you guys because I'm new to headphones and I might as well be trying to translate hieroglyphics when I look at these graphs, can anyone help me understand what means what? 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/MrSpeakersMadDogA.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/RMAF2013_Tascam_TH02Graph.jpg
Also, is a Fiio E12 a good AMP for these, and how's the isolation? 

 

[gelocks]

  Hey quick question. I'm thinking of buying some Mad Dogs but someone's trying to convince me that some 30$ headphones apparently measure better than the Mad Dogs (Which is very hard to believe considering all the positive response I've seen for the Mad Dogs). Anyway, I come to you guys because I'm new to headphones and I might as well be trying to translate hieroglyphics when I look at these graphs, can anyone help me understand what means what? 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/MrSpeakersMadDogA.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/RMAF2013_Tascam_TH02Graph.jpg
Also, is a Fiio E12 a good AMP for these, and how's the isolation? 

 
If you are going to start this hobby just by reading into measurements then I have to say that you are going at this the wrong way... You should get something that sounds good to you and your tastes, something that you can wear comfortably, something that you believe will stick with you for the long haul (durability), etc. I don't doubt the Tascam might actually sound good and who knows if it might be comparable but going at it just from a measurement POV is not the way to go. Since you are indeed going to start your headphone journey, do get the Tascam and see if you like them enough to stick far away from pricier options (LOL... almost impossible for most of us!!). If you think they are lacking somewhere, then you can look into upgrading and might look to the Mad Dogs way again. Who knows, maybe YOU get to be the one that notices the audible differences (instead of us telling you) and shape your own taste.
 
Tyll at Innerfidelity has a page explaining some bits: http://www.innerfidelity.com/resources
 
 
Have fun.
And welcome to head-fi!

 

[Eric_C]

  So for Grado its better to run with tube amp + DAC?

 
That's the impression I get from reading the forums. But you will want to do your own research on existing Grado threads, to come to your own conclusion. 
I will say that it seems strange to spend many times more on an amp / amp+DAC than the price of your headphones.

 

[hans030390]

First, that's an old and, IIRC, not good measurement of the MD. I'm not even sure if that was for the 2.0 revision. Realistically, the MD3.2 will measure much better than that. Overall it will have a more even response than the TH-02. The TH-02 has a big dip in the midrange. It might be correctable with mods, but I'm not sure if anyone has figured that out definitively.
 
The only thing the T50RP driver has real difficulties with is super low THD. I'm sure driver variance plays a role, as does the enclosure. Realistically, though, it's not enough to be too worried about relative to other headphones.
 
I really do love the TH-02. It's a very capable headphone for very little money, especially with some simple mods. But the Mad Dog, I'd say, is technically a better headphone across the board. One could still prefer the sound of the TH-02, though.
 
Measurements are a wonderful tool, but reading and correlating them to what we'll actually hear takes a lot of understanding of the many aspects behind it all. It's rarely ever a simple 1:1 thing. Whoever gave you that advice might be able to make some arguments given the context of those two measurements alone (or just on a price/performance value perspective, which I'd actually say is a valid proposition in reality), but that advice really won't correlate to reality. Like I said, it's not always 1:1 and simple.

 

[kcdecker]

After a thorough read through this thread, I just put my least favorite headphones (my HD555 and XB700) on eBay to justify buying the Mad Dogs...I hate you guys.

 

[MattTCG]

It's hard to wrong with these hp's. They just do so many things right. Post back with impressions once you've got them.

 

[kstuart]

  4 Posts. Joined 1/2007

Wow - where have you been for six years ??

 

[kcdecker]

  Wow - where have you been for six years ??

I'm the ultimate lurker...

 

[ssrock64]

  Wow - where have you been for six years ??

I once left an account alone for three years because of a forgotten password, and it just came to me in my sleep one day so I felt a need to use it. The forum in question was no longer relevant to my interests (it pertained to a classic car that I had since sold), but I felt proud of myself for remembering it so I still tried to post something.

 

[nehcrow]

I'm the ultimate lurker...

7 years now lol

 

[kcdecker]

7 years now lol

 
It's probably long overdue now that I start being sociable.

 

[MattTCG]

We accept your socialism. 

 Now get in here and start making some contributions!! Do you have the MD yet?

 

[kcdecker]

  We accept your socialism. 

 Now get in here and start making some contributions!! Do you have the MD yet?

 
Negative on that.  Anxiously waiting, though!  It's funny, after enjoying the Alessandro MS-1 since 2006, I thought for certain my next purchase would be the MS-2.  Until I found this thread...  Now I have to justify buying two new 'phones.

 

[MattTCG]

What will you be amping the MD with?

 

[owendace]

I haven't bought the MD yet... but I'm thinking of amping it with a $400-600 range tube amp. Suggestions? I was thinking of using the Schiit Lyr to amp it.. and tube rolling seems pretty fun.