[dudlew]

Hey all,
Seasons greetings to every one at Head-Fi!!!


Just writing my first impressions of my new 955!!

Just remember, these are my impressions. I used the pro 35 (ktx pro) as my 'phones, and listened to eighties music, Steel Pulse(reggae) and some alternative.

Compared to my panasonic 361, first thing that is most noticable is the lack of volume. It is loud enough for my uses with that type of music however (have yet to try it with rap) and is not too far behind. With other phones I had a brief hand on, the lack of power was a bit more obvious. Headphones that I thought were bass heavy had very little bass in comparison to the pro35

Secondly, it is smoother sounding, in every department but with a bit more detail as well. It has the bass but lacks the punch of the 361, and with a brief listen to some other cheapo phones that seemed harder to drive than the pro 35s, this stood out.

I had a brief listen to a panasonic 460, and the first impression was hyped highs compared to the 361 and 955, and this did not really appeal to me

The 955 has a slight upper mid bass hump but nothing to snoot at.

I like the smoothness how ever and think that out of the built in head phone amp I prefer the 955 ( just slightly) to the 361. I do wish that it was a little more powerful however. I wonder if it would be able to adequately power whatever phones I decde to upgrade to in the future for portable use.

Everyone talks about the line out. I have to get an amp to truly appreciate this aspect of the 955. I know the line out of my 361 was nothing special.

As far as looks..... well I thought it would have been bigger than it was. I have a black one that to me looks really sweet. One problem...... finger prints

It seems well constructed, It feels solid, but this is just my initial impression. It is heavy for its size though (guess that has to do with the metal body).

Overall, I love the looks and am satisfied with the sound. I will listen some more and compare it to my 361 even more and write a little more about it at a later date.

By the way, Thanks to Kajohndet

D

 

[dudlew]

After listening closely, I changd my mind.

The sony heaphone out cannot compare to my panasonic headphone out!!

The lack of power became very obvious. There was a lack of dynamics and sparkle that made the music sound to recessed and closed in after a while. The mid bass hump was made even more obvious due to the fact that the panasonic doesn't have it. and is a bit more neutral. The highs are more open on the panasonic and the sound is better balanced. The only sony strength was a little better resolution of the music,

I now wish I could get my panasonic refurbed to lease some new life into it as it started to make some funny noises. ( thats why i got the sony in the first place). I think I will keep both however, and use the sony more when I get an amp.

I did a strange test of sorts and plugged the headphone into the line out and even from there I realised that the lineout would be much better than the headphone out. It was immediately more neutral and open and mor natural. This is definitely going to encourage me to get an amp in the near future.

I think I will get a supermini to compliment my new sony.

It pays to listen closely

(something I should have done in the first place!!)

D

 

[Eagle_Driver]

I noticed about as much difference between my Panasonic SL-CT790 and my Sony D-EJ1000 as you did between your Panasonic SL-S361C and your Sony D-EJ955 - quality-wise. Though my CT790 doesn't sound quite as loud as my D-EJ1000, the CT790 simply sounds tighter and more articulate than my EJ1000.

I agree with you; it pays to listen closely.

 

[kajohndet]

Duane,

It's time to get an amp (fixup is a very good choice) and probably new phones and you'll be very happy with 955 lineout which is very much better than Pana IMHO. As far as memory goes, 955 lineout is very very close, if not better, to D777. Is your wallet shaking

?

John

 

[dudlew]

My wallet is shaking profusely!!!

Thank goodness for those hydraulic dampers I put on it a few days ago, or I would be broke!!

I would definitely need an amp and will look for one once I get back on my feet. (gifts and travelling has really hurt my wallet)

As for a better headphone..... That will have to waity a while. To be honest, I would not have the chance to listen to headphones here except Sony and cheap brands like Coby and Jwin. There is not much else here. And without an amp, I wont want to make a decision an a headphone.

Also I love my ktx-pro. Compared to what I used to have....... well you know.

It has been the toughest most faithful headphone I have ever had. I have had just about cheapo everything I could find here; Nippon, Coby, Sony, Sharp, even no name brands.

If I replace it, it would have to be on reviews, which I hate buying things like headphones on. I would quicker buy a piece of electronics like an amp or a source by reviews tahn I would speakers or headphones.

Anyway, an amp and a new minidisc player is in the future for me when I remove my wallet from its dampers and vault

Thanks for the words of advice guys.

D

 

[dudlew]

Can you turn off the anti skip on the 955?

What about that beep? I would really love to get rid of that!!!

Duane

 

[kajohndet]

I beleive the Anti-skip can't be totally turned off. But if you open the lid and look inside you'll see the switch that allow you to set anti skip at two level, low-high.

As of the beeping sound, I'm not sure since I've never tried to turn if off. It doesn't appear in lineout.

Just to give some thought about amp and phones, I'm listening to Grado SR325 with Xin's super mini now. I think they're quite a very good match. I beleive Xin's ($99) + SR60 ($69) should be a good match too IMHO.

John

 

[Duncan]

The beep is easy to turn off...

With the player in off mode, take the 'hold' off on the main unit, take off the external AA battery pack, remove one of the gumstick batteries, hold the Stop button on the main unit, and whilst holding it... put the gumstick in... Viola, no more beeps!

Oh, I don't know how long you've been looking at head-fi... but i've got a couple of quite rare (i.e. good sounding) Discmen from the mid 1990s... but, you know what... I'm really digging the D-EJ1000 with Sennheiser PX200s...

Might be worth trying these Senns if you get chance?

They sound like complete opposites, both unit and headphones being dark by nature... but somehow (must be something to do with Impedance or something?!?) the two seem to shine together... and, whats this... loud sound, and no distortion?

Great

 

[Duncan]

If you want a nice, moderatly cheap combo that doesn't overly offen you ears try...

Sony D-EJ1000 / EJ955 -> Sennheiser PX200

Believe it or not, and I still can't believe it myself... but these two actually go together pretty well (as long as you can work out how to position the somewhat fussy PX200s)

They can go to 27 out of 30 on the volume without distorting with pretty bassy music (although at that volume... with the effeciency of the PX' you probably wouldn't hear if there WAS distortion

) and the treble... whilst not being this 'setups' strongest point... certainly isn't as bad as i'd have thought... putting a dark source, and a dark pair of headphones together...

Synergy maybe?

But, yeah... if you get the chance, when the PX200s filter through to Circuit City and the like... give them a go...

If you're a treble junkie, the PX100s might well be better than the PX200s... but I haven't heard them myself so I can't comment

 

[kajohndet]

Duncan,

He's at St.Vencent, somewhere in Caribbean sea, which I suspect, no Circuit City

.

I've never heard the PX100/200. DO they really come well with 955 HP put? I still beleive that utilizing 955's lineout should be the best idea, since it's its strongest point, being good at the first time, so no compensation from phones needed.

John

 

[Duncan]

kajohndet

Don't get me wrong, the line out is far superior to the headphone out... that goes without saying, but... it just surprised me to find that the PX200s do actually go a long way towards bridging the gap between the two ouputs

 

[kajohndet]

Duncan,

No, I got your point. It's very good to discover sth new. I really beleive in component matching myself. I just thought that dudlew might not be able to upgrade his setup so many times, since where he lives is the biggest obstruction (as he explained to me).

Thanks
John

 

[Duncan]

kajohndet...

Not great, but not bad is how i'd describe the sound... certainly the best i've heard the EJ1000 though, through its headphone out

dudlew...

I don't know if you saw my post about turning the beeps off?

Just remove all the batteries, and (with the hold switch in the off position) on the main unit hold down 'stop' whilst putting the batteries back in... let go of stop ~ and the beeps are gone

 

[dudlew]

Thanks for the info about that beep.

The PX200s'?? I will think about that. The chain on my wallet is quite thick, may be hard to break!!

I am in Trinidad on a short vacation but here doesn't have much either, so i am not even looking for headphone stuff.

I wlaked with the 955 instead of the Panasonic just to see if I could get used to it,having nothing else to listen to. So far its not bad, One thing I notice about headphones though is that music recorded with distortion sounds bad. Case in point. Uncle Kracker's song 'Follow me' has a light distortion. You generally wouod not here it on a full system but it becomes very obvious on a headphone. I hear it on the Panasonic to so its not the discman.

Anyway, I am rushing off now.

Once again thanks for the info.

D