[HOWIE13]

Kameleon with HD800 is excellent for an upgrade later ......

Future-proof.

 

[iancraig10]

Unless we get a Kameleon S .........

Magic Roundabout isn't it?

 

[jamor]

I still don't really understand what the Kameleon is. In-line filter? So is it just an equalizer that you would hook up to your project polaris?

 

[iancraig10]

An equaliser that you change the chip for, depending on what headphone you are using. The eq is based on real measurements and targets specific frequencies in a much more accurate way than many eq units.

You end up with a much flatter measured response.

Yes, you can use an equaliser, but it won't be as accurate and a good equaliser also costs a bit.

It can be used with any amplifier but will hook up with and power th Garage amps at the same time, so you just need one plug and a patch lead.

 

[notfitforpublic]

Pretty skeptical myself... but I'd be interested to read some impressions, especially if Garage1217 is involved or promoting it.
 
Seems like tubes for SS amps.

 

[iancraig10]

It's an eq unit but just more accurate than guessing.

The same guy who designed the Garage 1217 amps designed the Kameleon.

It's very effective too. I have had one for some time. Mine are made especially by Solderdude with the amp incorporated into the same box.

 

[disastermouse]

I really want to try this thing. I like my Bifrost MB->Polaris->HE-500, but I also love the idea of more clarity around the treble to compliment that amazing speed.
 
The HE-500 are the fastest headphones I've ever heart and Bimby really lets that shine. So curious about a custom filter!

 

[Tunkejazz]

  Pretty skeptical myself... but I'd be interested to read some impressions, especially if Garage1217 is involved or promoting it.
 
Seems like tubes for SS amps.

 
Please do not take my comment the wrong way, but to be honest I am not sure what makes you skeptic.
 
I mean...the head-fi market has been quite saturated with the same kind of products for quite some time. Every company seems to offer the exact same kind of products. Now these guys come with innovative ideas (based on real measurements of the frequency response of headphones) and people become skeptic... The advantage of this approach over modding headphones is that it gives much more control to perform the changes to the sound signature and you don't need to cannibalize your headphones. If you are tired of the filter, just flip the switch and you are back to the stock sound. 
 
I got one of the prototypes from the designer and it has improved aspects of my phones that were not quite right. The result is that it makes me enjoy both headphones significantly more.
 
D2000: The change here is subtle but clearly noticeable. The mids have been brought a bit forward and the minor treeble glare that this phones could show has been damped. The changes are great because they make the V-shaped signature of the D2000 a bit flatter, but still keeping the awesome sub-bass this cans are famous for.
 
HE400i: The changes are much more noticeable: the filter adds sub-bass, flattens a bit the deep in the mids and removes the peak at 10 kHz. The curve has been corrected in such a way that the overall treeble is not as damped as it was before.  People always compare the He400i with the old HE400, and end up complaining about lack of sub-bass and recessed upper treeble. Well here they are back for you, but without all the distortion in the mids that the original HE400 had.
 
Is it night and day? Not with the D2000. With the HE400i, the added sub-bass, extra clarity in the mids and the removal of the 10 kHz peak makes them much more enjoyable, especially at low volumes.
 
By the way...I am not sure whether anyone is doing "tubes for SS", but I have seen the opposite and not precisely from G1217!
I just wished you could listen to my unit!

 

[iancraig10]

Same for my hd650. Proper sub bass. Lowered mid bass hump. As a result, the treble remains smooth and better defined.

I don't enjoy the hd650 the same way as I used to now since I am way more aware of its deficiencies, particularly with regards to the bass.

 

[disastermouse]

Can anyone tell me what the difference is with the HE-500? It sounds like a small change, but even small changes can be dramatic if they are the correct changes.

I love my HE-500, but I like what the Kameleon page describes on the website, too. I've gotten clarification that the Focus Pads likely won't make much of a difference.

 

[notfitforpublic]

Spoiler: Warning: Long Quote

   
Please do not take my comment the wrong way, but to be honest I am not sure what makes you skeptic.
 
I mean...the head-fi market has been quite saturated with the same kind of products for quite some time. Every company seems to offer the exact same kind of products. Now these guys come with innovative ideas (based on real measurements of the frequency response of headphones) and people become skeptic... The advantage of this approach over modding headphones is that it gives much more control to perform the changes to the sound signature and you don't need to cannibalize your headphones. If you are tired of the filter, just flip the switch and you are back to the stock sound. 
 
I got one of the prototypes from the designer and it has improved aspects of my phones that were not quite right. The result is that it makes me enjoy both headphones significantly more.
 
D2000: The change here is subtle but clearly noticeable. The mids have been brought a bit forward and the minor treeble glare that this phones could show has been damped. The changes are great because they make the V-shaped signature of the D2000 a bit flatter, but still keeping the awesome sub-bass this cans are famous for.
 
HE400i: The changes are much more noticeable: the filter adds sub-bass, flattens a bit the deep in the mids and removes the peak at 10 kHz. The curve has been corrected in such a way that the overall treeble is not as damped as it was before.  People always compare the He400i with the old HE400, and end up complaining about lack of sub-bass and recessed upper treeble. Well here they are back for you, but without all the distortion in the mids that the original HE400 had.
 
Is it night and day? Not with the D2000. With the HE400i, the added sub-bass, extra clarity in the mids and the removal of the 10 kHz peak makes them much more enjoyable, especially at low volumes.
 
By the way...I am not sure whether anyone is doing "tubes for SS", but I have seen the opposite and not precisely from G1217!
I just wished you could listen to my unit!

 

Because its $250US for something that makes ONE set of headphones "sound better"
Because thats enough money to add to the original purchase of a headphone to get a better headphone
Because thats as much as a Polaris alone, and my Polaris makes A BUNCH of my headphones sound good
Because you better like the adjustments someone else thinks makes a headphone sound better or your schiit out of luck
Because I don't know if this is going to sound $250 better than a fiddling with an EQ that can programmed for more than just one headphone
Because there's only graphs showing a few of the modules available and the changes they make. 
I could go on.
 
I said I was skeptical. Not that I thought the project was a dumb idea and/or a waste of time and money. 
 
My reference to "tubes for SS" was made concerning the rolling of tubes in tube amps in order to manipulate the sound more to a users liking. Which is, albeit a very loose and off handed comparison, the same being done here.

 

[Tunkejazz]

It is NOT $250 for one set of headphones, that is like saying that you can only use your amp with ONE set of headphones, which is not true. There is an initial investment and the individual filter modules do not cost 250 bucks.

But hey, clearly you are happy with your headphones and you don't need to tune their sound...I am happy with my investment

My point is that those 250 bucks will likely influence the sound of your headphones much more than changing your Polaris for an amp that costs twice the price. I am also ver happy with my Polaris. It is just a different type of improvement. I can use my HE400i with any amp, and if the sub-bass is recessed in the headphones, the amp will hardly give you that.

 

[notfitforpublic]

It is NOT $250 for one set of headphones, that is like saying that you can only use your amp with ONE set of headphones, which is not true. There is an initial investment and the individual filter modules do not cost 250 bucks.

But hey, clearly you are happy with your headphones and you don't need to tune their sound...I am happy with my investment

My point is that those 250 bucks will likely influence the sound of your headphones much more than changing your Polaris for an amp that costs twice the price. I am also ver happy with my Polaris. It is just a different type of improvement. I can use my HE400i with any amp, and if the sub-bass is recessed in the headphones, the amp will hardly give you that.

Ugh... ok I get it, you're really pumped about this, so much to the fact that you feel the need to defend it tooth and nail against a comment that was clearly not an insult or slight against the product. 

I'm happy you're happy. 

 

[Tunkejazz]

Ugh... ok I get it, you're really pumped about this, so much to the fact that you feel the need to defend it tooth and nail against a comment that was clearly not an insult or slight against the product. 
I'm happy you're happy. 

Nope. No pump here. You are attacking a product without even knowing what it does. And instead of taking a friendly comment for what it is, you have reacted very agressively twice.

Good luck dude, I am not answering to you any longer.

 

[i20bot]

What, no module for HD700's?  Wonder if the HE400i's will work with the HD700.