[Villy]

Yes, you can swap pads between them, any pads that fit one will fit the other, suede or not.

 

[Nick-s-f]

In my experience, the A.Prime does not sound as good without the alpha pads. I once tried Ori and ZMF Cowhide pads on my Prime.

The sound was fairly intact and comfort slightly improved with both, but the thicker pad screen spoils the resolution a bit too much..like it took the satisfying 'bite' out of the sound.

 

[twocentsear]

Yes, you can swap pads between them, any pads that fit one will fit the other, suede or not.

Thanks. I was planning to go get the Eikon Suede.

In my experience, the A.Prime does not sound as good without the alpha pads. I once tried Ori and ZMF Cowhide pads on my Prime.

The sound was fairly intact and comfort slightly improved with both, but the thicker pad screen spoils the resolution a bit too much..like it took the satisfying 'bite' out of the sound.

I've heard them with the alpha pads on, but I've overtime (over the course of more than a decade) developed an allergy in an ingredient (probably more) used in curing leather (cow, lamb, fake, you name it) in which it causes rashes on my skin. I'm even at a point I wear two layers of socks (almost knee high) when I need to go for a formal occasion such as weddings, formal office meetings, etc...

 

[Xyst]

I'm even at a point I wear two layers of socks (almost knee high) when I need to go for a formal occasion such as weddings, formal office meetings, etc...

Show them all up - wear velvet opera slippers to formal occasions. Your feet will thank you

 

[Grumpy Old Git]

Count me in as a member of the Alpha Prime club!
Only owned them a few days but......WOW! I have to remind myself these are closed back cans, over the years i have owned Audeze LCD-2 (pre and post Fazor), LCD-3, Senn' HD 800, HD 700. AKG K812, K712, Various Bayer's, Hifiman HE-400, HE-400i, HE-500, HE-560, plus many others.

The Alpha Primes could (and probably will) be my 'end game' cans.
It's an old cliche, but I really am hearing things in my music collection that I have never heard with ANY other cans. If that isn't testament enough for the Primes I don't know what is.
Absolutely stunning cans in every area, and they handle equalisation with consummate ease, a subtle boost in the 55Hz,77Hz, and 110Hz regions in Foobar really help the bass with ZERO bleed into the mid's.

Am I happy? You bet!

 

[Paladin79]

It is a type of headphone I want to hang onto, I need high impedance for specific amps but I use the Primes on dual class A solid state headphone amps and they do a marvelous job.

 

[Grumpy Old Git]

I use my Primes with a Marantz HD-DAC1, it's a shame the DAC1 doesn't have a balanced headphone socket as i'd like to try them with the balanced cable they came with.
Having said that, the synergy of this amp/headphone combination is very impressive.

I can confidently say these are (IMHO) the best cans I have ever owned. Second best is the terrific Sennheiser HD 540, probably the best 'bang for buck' set of cans you can buy.

***FOOTNOTE***
My AP's came with three 'doggy treat's' in both ear cups. They were set in a horizontal line, i've removed them so both ear speakers are uncovered.
I'm very happy with the results, so I think i'll leave well alone and continue listening to them minus the 'treats'.

 

[Nick-s-f]

I think the Alpha Primes would be a great candidate for a massdrop collaboration.
Though, to my understanding, it is a highly laborious mod.

 

[Paladin79]

I figure the Fostex are still around but back when I had some Mad Dogs (I believe that was the model) upgraded to Alpha Primes they were using up parts for said upgrades. It is not always easy to jump back into production on something like the Primes when you are now making new models but it might be feasible.

 

[Byronb]

I figure the Fostex are still around but back when I had some Mad Dogs (I believe that was the model) upgraded to Alpha Primes they were using up parts for said upgrades. It is not always easy to jump back into production on something like the Primes when you are now making new models but it might be feasible.

From my understanding the drivers that were used are no longer available.

 

[Paladin79]

From my understanding the drivers that were used are no longer available.

That may well be true, it always gets tricky when you rely on another company for a product you produce.

 

[Maelob]

I made the big mistake of selling them for the Aeon Closed- big mistake. But now happy with z1r. Lesson learned , never sell headphones until you are sure you like the alternative. For me this was a great headphone. Mr Speaker should have continued with that type of sound but he seemed to have gravitated to leaner and neutral sound signature in my opinion.

 

[dnalekaw]

From my understanding the drivers that were used are no longer available.

Since the Alpha Primes used completely different driver damping it would be absolutely feasible to use the mk3 driver with almost identical results, however all of mrspeakers other t50 mods utilised the stock mk2 damping which is not present on the mk3.

 

[reddog]

I made the big mistake of selling them for the Aeon Closed- big mistake. But now happy with z1r. Lesson learned , never sell headphones until you are sure you like the alternative. For me this was a great headphone. Mr Speaker should have continued with that type of sound but he seemed to have gravitated to leaner and neutral sound signature in my opinion.

I still have my Alpha Prime and use it, when I want to a take a stroll and not let the sound bother others. I also use the AP's in my front room, when the street noise is bothersome. Yes I feel the Alpha Prime sounds better than the Aeon closed back but not as good as the Ether Closed back. I feel my AP's sound best through my hybrid tube amp, the Cavalli Liquid glass. But I am pleasantly surprised how good the AP's sound out of my QP1R/ Hugo 2 rig.

 

[jhog]

Don’t suppose anyone in the EU has an Alpha or a Prime they might be interested in selling or trading? I’ve got an Alo Continental V5 looking for a loving home