[Eagle_Driver]

Today I listened to my MDR-A34L VITE headphones... HEY! Where's the low bass?

At least from my Panasonic SL-CT470 PCDP that I used today with the A34L's, the A34L's have NO low bass response whatsoever! GRRRRRRR!!

BTW, my 5-year-old A34L's are "Made in Japan"; newer ones are "Made in Phillippines". Vertigo-1, how old is your A44L's? I know that the ones made in the Phillippines have plenty of low-bass extension, but at the expense of a boomy mid-bass (the ones made in Japan simply roll off the low bass).

 

[Vertigo-1]

Mines are probably about 3 years old now I'd say.

And yes I'm still using mine, and digging them.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

And how did *I* miss this thread? I was here every day this year!

Excuse me? How *do* vertical phones couple to your ear? Transduce sound through bone and cartilage and fat and water, you say?

I thought you just fit them up against the ear canal like any other headphone.

At least that's what Vertigo does, if I'm not mistaken... else what's this comment about 'if people have smaller ear canals...'

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Bloggs Excuse me? How *do* vertical phones couple to your ear? Transduce sound through bone and cartilage and fat and water, you say? I thought you just fit them up against the ear canal like any other headphone.

Have you ever used verticals? The transducer is emitting sound into the flesh at the front of your ear, right where your jaw bone attaches to your skull. Of course some sound leaks out the sides and back, but the transducer is aimed directly into the flesh of the front of your ear canal.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

>>Have you ever used verticals?

Err, no

 

[Rice]

Can't believe that A44 is so good.

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Bloggs >>Have you ever used verticals? Err, no

That would explain it, then.

The transducer is actually aimed forward -- straight ahead, in other words -- pressed right up against the skin at the front of the outer ear canal. Hard to describe, I guess. Imagine taking a dime, and pressing Roosevelt's face into the front of your ear, with the edge pointing in towards your inner ear, where the driver of most headphones would be pointed.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Err, haven't seen a dime with Roosevelt's face on it either

closest would be Queen Elizabeth or the Bauhinia in the post-1997 coins

Anyway, I've got it

So, has Jude got his A44s yet?

 

[pawwh98]

Today I received my A-44Ls and let them burn in for a few hours.

After listening to them from my MD-player, integrated amp and CD-Player headphone output, I was rather underwhelmed since they sounded by far worse than all of my other headphones.

So I put together my DIY amp, which was partly disassembled because it needed a new pot and plugged in the A-44Ls.

The improvement in sound qualits over the prior sources was vast, they sounded much better, but only at an output impedance of 0 ohms. Even at 47 ohms they lost much of their presence and resolution.

Since they have a very low impedance (12 ohms, grados have 30), they need plenty of current, and luckily my amp is fitted with dedicated output buffers that are capable of delivering more than sufficient. I would recommend at least a CHA47 design, without the 47 ohms output resistors.

It didn't test them against my other headphones yet, but from the first impression I'd say that they sound very impressive for their price when provided with suitable amplification and that Vertigo has a good point. I'm planning to give them a thorough review when I find the time...

 

[Eagle_Driver]

I also got myself those A44L's, too! (But I bought them today from a Sony store on North Michigan Avenue.) When I first plugged them into my D-EJ721 PCDP, I got weak bass at first - and then the bass has gotten progressively thicker. (Maybe I should have bought a D-EJ925 at the same time as the A44L's... The EJ721 and 725 are notorious for having an overly warm-sounding phones out.)

Right now the A44L's bass seemed boomier than that of my five-year-old A34L's. So I am letting the A44L's burn-in in a bedroom drawer with an FM radio-only Sony Walkman playing "music" through the A44L's at moderately loud volume.

Overall, I am more impressed with the out-of-the-box performance of my Koss KSC-35's than I am so far with the A44L's.

 

[RickG]

My A-44Ls arrived this past Thursday and I let 'em cook over the weekend as Vert suggested. I'll post some impressions later (not a full blown review).

Chych, yours are on the way!

 

[chych]

excellent

I'll be forwarding them to morphsci I take it.

 

[jude]

Hmmm.....I better check on my order.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Tonight I listened to my newly bought Sony MDR-A44L's, and compared them with my year-old MDR-A30G Sports headphones and my 5-year-old MDR-A34L's.

My old A34L's are rather thin sounding (weaker bass overall) compared to my newer A30G's and A44L's. But both of the cheaper A3#'s have screechier highs than the A44's. In addition, the A30G's have boomier mid- and upper-bass than either of the non-Sports VITEs; in fact, the "bass" on the A30G's vibrate my ears annoyingly (blame that on the slightly larger driver housing of the A30G's compared to those of the A34L's and A44L's). (Nope, I didn't turn on any bass boost whatsoever.) NOTE: I have a relatively "wide" head, so the VITEs fit somewhat tightly on me.

Here is my overall verdict:

A44L > A34L > A30G (but my Koss KSC-35 earclips still sound better than the A44L's at this point).

 

[Vertigo-1]

Well, now that I'm finally back home with my full rig...

I haven't heard some of my other headphones or my main system for a long time now, so I decided to strictly listen to my V6s and A44s for tonight out of the RKV + 9000ES to get my ears back into my system. What's interesting is a direct comparison of the two ended up highlighting some things I wish didn't get highlighted, but did.

Listening to the A44s yielded the overall same results as before, except the bass has increased along with smoothness and airiness...which are all contributions of the 9000 and RKV I'm assuming. And as before, it's effortless hearing way into a recording with these A44s. Tiny details are brought to my attention and wow me instead of me having to go hunt for them.

Now, after hearing the A44s, jumping over to the V6s was startling...because all of a sudden I immediately began hearing the very weaknesses that people have been highlighting about the V6s in various other threads. I found this scary since I have grown attached to the V6s and it remains one of my pet headphones, but along comes the A44s and reveals to me what the V6s really are like. In the past I defended the 7506's treble as being harsh, and than my recently aquired V6's treble to be smooth and unharsh. And I stuck to that conclusion...until now. The first thing I noticed when swapping to the V6s from the A44s was how laid back and compressed and tiny their treble sounded...unnaturally uneven, and far from what I would call smooth. The midrange also sounded way laid back and very, very dry. The only good thing going was the intensely deep bass. It's a good thing the V6s are cheap and that I just *like* the darn things, because soundwise, I'm starting to agree with the people that say the only thing that saves the V6s is the bass.

Now jumping back to the A44s, I'm starting to realize the A44s are indeed warmer in the midrange, something I didn't hear before, although Duncan indicated several times. Guess it took a drier sounding headphone to compare to before I could hear it. The treble is way, way smoother than the V6s. The best way to put it is the entire upper treble and midrange area seems to sound fuller and easier on the ears. The V6s on the other hand are just unyielding and unmusical. Analytical sounding they are. But truly revealing they are not either. The A44s dig way deeper into a recording than the V6s can. It's easier to hear tiny details.

I believe now it's the A44's midrange and smoothness that kept me going back to them for the past month, and still keeps me going back to them. They're definitely not bad headphones...they've got some potential. I like them way more than I should be liking them. I guess they just fit my ears like a leather glove.

And while we're at it, I'm giving myself a new rule to follow...don't be dissin' until you be comparin'.

As usual, what I say above is only what *I* hear. Please repeat my sig to yourself 10 times before and after any similar comparisons you may attempt as a result of the above.