Reviews by kwirky88

kwirky88

New Head-Fier
Pros: Lots of amplification for size, (kind of) works with Android
Cons: Intermittently has horrible digital noise after an hour of use
Plenty of amplification.  Also works great as a line out from my lap top to my integrated amplifier.  Sometimes, after an hour of use, I hear horrible digital noise/jittering.  The music is completely unrecognizable.  I'm going to contact the manufacturer because I think I need to send it in for warranty.  Issue is more prominent on android.  Doesn't feel warm to the touch when it's happening so I don't think it's overheating.
 
When it works I'm very pleased.  When it doesn't (which is almost all of the time on Android after an hour of use) it's useless.
 
Canadian resellers don't sell it at a very fair price (much more than after USD exchange).  Amazon.com won't ship it to Canada.
Pastapipo
Pastapipo
Apparently you've got yourself a faulty pair, that's very unfortunate. However I don't think the review section of head-fi is a good place to write about broken equipment. Maybe it is a good idea to get a replacement first and then write your impressions of Dragonfly's sound quality. Good luck!
Matthew Rudy
Matthew Rudy
mine does the same thing =(

kwirky88

New Head-Fier
Pros: Linear audio, can reach down to 10hz, amazing spatialization
Cons: Headband can be uncomfortable, requires good amplification
Bought from Memory Express in Canada for about $220 CAD.  Don't overpay, these can be found for around $250 if you search around.
 
Sound impressions:
Measured with a UMIK1 and the response is very linear with a smooth increase up to 1khz then a smooth decrease back down to 20khz.  Can reach as low as 10hz with a tone generator (can't hear it but can definitely feel it on the skull!).  The sound is incredibly spatial!  Live music (concerts, orchestra) sounds amazing!  Songs with reverb sound awesome.  Can hear a lot of detail.  Very linear audio and if you're into equalization (or tube rolling) these things have a lot of diversity available due to the linear response.  Can make them sound like anything.
 
I've grown to love the sound.  I listened to an assortment of grado & beyerdynamics headphones at a local shop on various amps and preferred these to headphones over $2000.
 
Amplifier Requirements:
These are not efficient headphones.  Needs 150mw at 64 ohms and headphone/phone jacks can't do that.  Don't buy these headphones unless you plan on getting a half decent headphone amp.  Not even my fiio X1 can drive these things.  I get good amplification from the following items I own:
  1. NAD 326BEE integrated receiver headphone jack
  2. Audioquest Dragonfly 1.4 Black (connecting this to android makes it my most portable amplification solution)
  3. Little Dot I+ Hybrid Tube/SS headphone amp (amazing combination!)
 
I highly recommend the Little Dot I+ Hybrid tube amp if you're looking for a headphone amp and don't want to spend a lot.  Get it with the 6CQ6 tubes which pair well with the headphone's audio signature.
 
Comfort:
Large ear cups are comfortable even with glasses.  Headband feels "hard" and tight and can become painful after an hour of use.  Spring is a little too tight.
 
Upgradeability:
I haven't done it yet but supposedly these can be easily modified to have a balanced audio jack for balanced outputs.  The 3 conductor mini-xlr jack is replaced with a 4 conductor, soldering separate negative/ground terminals on two separate conductors.  Then order a 4 conductor balanced cord with mini-xlr for the headphones and whichever balanced connector on your headphone amp.  That's a nice feature in case I move to a very high end headphone amplifier.
 
Supposedly can open up the side covers & slip in some cloth for a little more bass and a little less spatialization.  Haven't tried that yet.
Sonic Defender
Sonic Defender
AKG is one of the few brands I haven't tried yet. Thanks for the review, it sounds like the Q701 is interesting and the price seems right. Cheers.
GearMe
GearMe
Nice review. Great headphones for the $$$.

Side note...if you're thinking about getting a new smartphone, these work very well with the LG V10. The have a high enough impedance to trigger the high-gain setting on the phone's amp. The sound is very good straight out of the headphone jack.

kwirky88

New Head-Fier
Pros: drives 64 ohms with ease, can tube roll, adds warmth, amazing value
Cons: not portable, need to open up to change settings
I ordered the Little Dot I+ through Massdrop and got about 30% off the regular price.  I skipped the stock tubes because I heard poor reviews about them and instead opted for the 6CQ6 which are supposed to add a fair bit of warmth.  The warmth is definitely noticeable which is great for my AKG Q701 headphones which are pretty sterile (yet accurate).  They help a lot with the tapering of the bass for these headphones.
 
Paid $102.99 from Massdrop including the upgraded tubes.  I should have bought two!
 
I have them set to the high gain setting and have listening impressions for the following outputs with the 6CQ6 tubes:
 
HeadphonesHeadphones Plugged Into:Device Plugged Into:Sound Impression
Q701Macbook Headphone Jack (directly)N/Atinny sounding.  Can't drive the low end, I'm guessing about half the decibels for sound below 200hz compared to the sound in the 500hz range.  Sound in the 1000hz and up range comes through clear (almost too much of it)
Q701Little Dot I+Macbook Pro Headphone JackMore linear sound.  The bass is nice and warm and there's still detail in the mids & highs.  Very large upgrade!  Well worth it!
Q701Dragonfly Black 1.4Macbook Pro USBMore linear compared to directly in the headphone jack.  Bass is a little reduced compared to the little dot I+ in the headphone jack.  Sounds "cool" but linear.  Resonance is very clear compared to the little dot I+.  Extremely spatial sound.  Makes "concert hall" recordings sound awesome (ie:  live music, classical)
Q701Little Dot I+Dragonfly Black 1.4 (Into macbook pro USB)Not much of a difference from the Little Dot I+ plugged directly into the headphone jack. Makes it clear that the MAC DAC is not that bad the computer is more limited as a headphone amp.  Lose a bit of resonance detail but save $100-150 by cutting out the additional device.
 
The instructions detail how to change the jumpers & dip switches but don't give instructions on how to open it up.  Only need to remove lower screws on front & back plates, no other screws.  Tubes are cool enough to touch but unit itself is almost too hot to touch after an hour of use.  Hissing & crackling goes away after an hour of use.
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