[Change is Good]

I, too, appreciate the impressions for what they're worth.

Let us not bash him, guys, for his opinion on his review. Many will not agree and will be eager to criticize, though, so who am I kidding lol.

 

[swspiers]

  Finished writing my MrSpeakers Alpha Dogs review! I did comparisons with the HD600 and K701. Sorry for being overly critical about the ADs soundstage earlier on. I gave it a glowing review for its other superior sonic qualities.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/686489/mrspeakers-alpha-dog-review-and-comparison-with-hd600-and-k701#post_9900762

That was not the review I expected either!
 
My experience with the AD's is very much on-par with what you've heard and written, I just lack the skill and experience to communicate it as effectively.
 
Thanks for the effort!

 

[john57]

I am not surprised by the review since I know what my ears where telling me. The neutrality and detail that can be revealed in the music. That the reason  I stated  that I would be happy and content with the Alpha Dog vs. the HE-6 in addition to being cheaper, better comparability with more amps, better sound isolation, less weight and a bit more polished appearance as well.  I did find that the soundstage was very depended on the amp being used was my biggest surprise. I did not expect that I can hear the differences in amps so easier with the Alpha Dog. I preferred to hear the soundstage as intended in the recording and I do not think that the Alpha Dog will disappoint me.
This reminds me years ago when I had the maggies (magnepan) the larger than life soundstage was wonderful at first but I got tired of it.  Solo voices were just too big in soundstage, like big mouths and unrealistic for my tastes.
 
Thanks for the review also since it is hard for me to type. By the way I do own and play the Erhu and various instruments.

 

[Byronb]

  I am not surprised by the review since I know what my ears where telling me. The neutrality and detail that can be revealed in the music. That the reason  I stated  that I would be happy and content with the Alpha Dog vs. the HE-6 in addition to being cheaper, better comparability with more amps, better sound isolation, less weight and a bit more polished appearance as well.  I did find that the soundstage was very depended on the amp being used was my biggest surprise. I did not expect that I can hear the differences in amps so easier with the Alpha Dog. I preferred to hear the soundstage as intended in the recording and I do not think that the Alpha Dog will disappoint me.
This reminds me years ago when I had the maggies (magnepan) the larger than life soundstage was wonderful at first but I got tired of it.  Solo voices were just too big in soundstage, like big mouths and unrealistic for my tastes.
 
Thanks for the review also since it is hard for me to type. By the way I do own and play the Erhu and various instruments.

The reason I was surprised by the review was because he had several very negative post about the sound stage of the AD, I was not expecting him to like them as much, as it appears from the review, he does. I have like 5 weeks to wait for mine so I am really trying to keep the anticipation to a minimum.

 

 

[zowki]

  The reason I was surprised by the review was because he had several very negative post about the sound stage of the AD, I was not expecting him to like them as much, as it appears from the review, he does. I have like 5 weeks to wait for mine so I am really trying to keep the anticipation to a minimum.

 

I still stand by my earlier posts about soundstage. The Alpha Dogs do not have the soundstage of an open headphone like the HD600 and K701 and I was pretty upset over it because of all the hype surrounding the supposedly "open experience" that the Alpha Dogs provide. However, I can appreciate the other positive sonic aspects of the Alpha Dogs such as it's neutrality which is one of the aspects I desire most in a headphone, hence my positive review.

 

[swspiers]

 
I still stand by my earlier posts about soundstage. The Alpha Dogs do not have the soundstage of an open headphone like the HD600 and K701 and I was pretty upset over it because of all the hype surrounding the supposedly "open experience" that the Alpha Dogs provide. However, I can appreciate the other positive sonic aspects of the Alpha Dogs such as it's neutrality which is one of the aspects I desire most in a headphone, hence my positive review.

Yeah, but they do have a better soundstage than my Grado's...

 

[Byronb]

 
I still stand by my earlier posts about soundstage. The Alpha Dogs do not have the soundstage of an open headphone like the HD600 and K701 and I was pretty upset over it because of all the hype surrounding the supposedly "open experience" that the Alpha Dogs provide. However, I can appreciate the other positive sonic aspects of the Alpha Dogs such as it's neutrality which is one of the aspects I desire most in a headphone, hence my positive review.

 
And I appreciate the honesty and your ability to look past that and still see the abilities of the AD's.

 

[maricius]

There is a problem with saying that some headphones aren't good with fast-tempo music in general, because even a single guitar or classical music can be extremely quickly paced, but well-represented on ultra-warm headphones like the HD650.

I tend to distinguish my genre distinctions when it comes to equipment by choosing to point out the extent of the layering in the music. When most people claim that a certain headphone (like the TMA-1 or HD600) don't go well with elecronic music or heavy rock, it's usually because the sound turns to mush due to the over-warm sound signature of those headphones. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the literal speed of the music, but by all the layers of production present.

A super-warm headphone won't do very well with Infected Mushroom, but goes great with Moby. They're both electronic musicians, but the former's music has much more going on in it than the latter. Such a headphone won't do well with Suicide Machines, but will love La Dispute. Again, the latter has a more stripped-down sound than the former. We tend to mention genres instead of layering because it's easy to generalize. We tend to think that electronica and metal are always super-loud and full of layers.

+1

 

[maricius]

Great review!! I'm surely getting these once I'm able to convince my parents to lend me some money… well that and I'm using the savings I have now to get the Fidelio X1 which I think would make a great contrast to the Alpha Dog.

 

[nicholars]

  There is a problem with saying that some headphones aren't good with fast-tempo music in general, because even a single guitar or classical music can be extremely quickly paced, but well-represented on ultra-warm headphones like the HD650.
 
I tend to distinguish my genre distinctions when it comes to equipment by choosing to point out the extent of the layering in the music. When most people claim that a certain headphone (like the TMA-1 or HD600) don't go well with elecronic music or heavy rock, it's usually because the sound turns to mush due to the over-warm sound signature of those headphones. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the literal speed of the music, but by all the layers of production present.
 
A super-warm headphone won't do very well with Infected Mushroom, but goes great with Moby. They're both electronic musicians, but the former's music has much more going on in it than the latter. Such a headphone won't do well with Suicide Machines, but will love La Dispute. Again, the latter has a more stripped-down sound than the former. We tend to mention genres instead of layering because it's easy to generalize. We tend to think that electronica and metal are always super-loud and full of layers.

 
Ok then you are right and I am wrong.....
 
HD650 = KING OF THE SPEED DEMON HEADPHONES, FASTEST OF THE FAST, FORMULA 1, WARP SPEED, KING OF SPEED. SO FAST THAT IF YOU BLINK YOU WILL MISS THOSE ABSOLUTE SPEED MONSTERS.
 
Cannot even listen to them for more than 5 minutes because the sheer SPEED of them just blows my mind.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I'd say that imaging is less about where an instrument is defined to be, and more about the fact that it is defined. A headphone with stellar imaging places the instruments in distinct areas, regardless of where those areas actually are or how far they are from you. For that reason, recording and production factors heavily into imaging considerations.

Soundstage has to do with width and the distance of the instruments from you, whereas imaging is about the level of definition to those positions.

Exactly how I perceive it. Well said.

 

[FlySweep]

^^ Interesting perspective on imaging, ssrock64 .. I tend to feel what you're describing is clarity rather than imaging.  Being able to hear a 'defined' tambourine, snare, saxophone, guitar, etc. are instances of clarity.. where those instruments are spatially positioned within a soundstage is what I consider imaging.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

edited to redo this at a later date

 

[FlySweep]

Another way for me to describe how I perceive clarity vs imaging.. visually..
 
When looking at my living room from its entryway, I can clearly identify (image) where the coffee table is.. how far it is from the sofa.. where the palm tree in the corner of the room is.. where the throw pillows are on the couches.. the location of the paintings on the wall, etc.  What I can also see are the minute details (clarity) in all these objects: the texturing of the sofa fabric, the grain of the paint on the artwork.. the shadows from the lamp that hit the palm..
 
Now.. if I wear my wife's glasses (which would blur my vision), I can still make out where objects are spatially positioned (where they 'image').. i.e. the couch is near the wall, the coffee table in the center of the room, etc... but I can't perceive detail (clarity) quite as well, i.e. the sofa fabric's texturing.. the palm tree's shadows.. the artwork's grain, etc.

 

[zowki]

I am constantly revising my Alpha Dog review as I answer more questions and do more tests. Please keep the questions coming because I want to help people get a better idea of what the Alpha Dogs sound like.
 
I just added my EQ settings to make the Alpha Dogs sound most neutral to my ears. I used sine wave tests to help me to perfect the EQ.

  Neutrality
From doing sine wave tests, this is my EQ to make the Alpha Dogs sound most neutral to my ears. It is very impressive that the Alpha Dogs need so little EQ to sound completely neutral. With other headphones I usually need to EQ a lot more to reach neutrality. The Alpha Dogs sound very neutral even without EQ. EQ brings it from 95% to 100% neutral, it is a subtle difference.

EQ settings details:

1. Section 1: Low shelf, 84hz, -4.9dB, Q factor 0.70
2. Section 2: Analog bell, 3Khz, -3dB, Q factor 1.0
3. Section 3: Analog bell, 10Khz, +3dB, Q factor 1.0