I searched his profile as well. Using google, these all seem to be tubes/hybrids. I hope i'm wrong in saying that you haven't used a bogstandard desktop solid state amp. Otherwise, seriosly man. I don't know what to say really. From now on i don't give a monkeys about the post count of a headfier or how respected they are on here; i'm looking first at their source. Move on from there.
I think it's okay for me to say that headfier 'derbigpr' was using tubes and only after moving away from them did he start to hear the k550 for what it is. Well done to him for taking them steps.
Even though my setup may seem embarresing considering the difference in price between it and the headphones i'm currently using it for, i'm going to state it in full. Otherwise i'd feel just dishonest really. When were talking about headphones at this level, we all know how important the umbrella group if you like of 'THE SOURCE' is....don't we.
Tacima 6 way mains conditioner (a slightly fancy but awesome 6 way extension plug. All audio related ac powered electronic equipment mentioned hereafter is plugged into this) >>> partially modded (to be audio friendly) abused sammy netbook >>> EAC ripped flac >>> J river 16 with asio4all v2 >>> 50cm £5 usb a-b cable >>> AC powered usb hub >>> 30cm belkin £8 usb a-b cable >>> hrt music streamer II dac (latest version, 2011) >>> 50cm £5 rca-mini cable >>> fiio e9 1/4 inch jack>>>>>> Headphones: akg k550, ultrasone ed8, denon d7000.
There it is. Price wise this 'source' (excluding the netbook and software) adds up to....£300. Funny ain't it. I've wasted a lot lot more than this on dodgy amps and other source components i've tried. I'm really going to have to cut down on foreign imports from china from example as royal mail hiked prices up a month ago to insane levels. 'I expected you to punch me' was what the guy at the post office said to me after revealing how much it'll cost to ship over my faulty matrix m stage. With headphones, i haven't wasted much money at all. Luckily. The fiio has never never let me down. That's why I still have it. Love this little thing
The power conditioner does wonders for the fiio (at least a 100% improvement. No joke), which makes for a surprisingly good rig with the completely awesome hrt music streamer. A mad little thing this is.
Anyway, from this rig and from all of the other rigs i've tried my top three headphones from (ed8, k550, d7k), all that i can say that this innocent rig is very representative of what i've been hearing from these headphones from other sources and that sound wise, all three headphones are very close. Hmmm, don't care what I think do you...
Experiment (i) A small informal trial of the triad- not using my ears
I've asked quite a few friends to try these three, out of interest. Complete newbies to headphones, but as they are mathematicians/statisticians (one or two remarkably sharp people- really make me feel completely thick), they know more than a thing or two about bias, testing and often just attach a disgusting level of precision to everything. Disgusting is the best word I could come up with, but it's useful to no end here.
So we have three 1500hr+ burned in headphones (i'll briefly explain why this is terrifyingly important later) and plenty of time for testing. I invited people over one at a time and definitely did my best to not influence their perceptions. I like all three headphones remember. All three look equally expensive and hi tech and No one of these people knew anything about ultrasone/denon/akg. I just explained to them how everything works in theory- you know- producer records music, puts it on different types of format, i burn from cd in best quality....etc. Importantly, i made sure they each put on the headphone correctly. Very important this, as was them adjusting the volume of the amplifier when swapping headphones. Of course, another requirement was using many different genres of music for testing
Okay, let the trials begin.......................after a long time................and finish.
It was a toss up between the k550 and the d7k. Rock bottom was the ed8!!
The main reason for the k550 edging out the d7k was the better level of air in it's soundstage and more clear midrange when this was an advantage in say classical/ instrumental pieces. Also, they liked the intimacy this gave vocals within it's huge soundstage. Something like the ed8 was just too closed in for comfort. When the d7k edged out the k550, it was when it's superior energy, bass thump, surround sound type of soundstage and natural timbre came to good use. The ed8, sounded to them more left and right than the others, although they did like how fast it was.
Detail levels they couldn't really tell between the three. I'd say across every amp/dac i've tried this triad with the ed8 wins in the end with resolution. k550 is pretty much equal if not more resolving than the d7k. The akg's are definitely more resolving than the d2/5k. Not a single doubt here.
The ed8 is the only phone i've come across that has a big bass range without the slightest hint of recession in its midrange/high range. I love it for this main reason. They overall...errr..didn't!
Comfort was between the k550 and the d7k.
Oh, and then i told them the prices. To say that they were shocked was an understatement. You know what, when i just was typing the word 'shocked' just there, i accidentally typed chocked. Should have left that in really as it's a better way of describing it!
Overall they just couldn't figure out why the other two costed so much more than the k550. I'd say the ed8 needs a better amp most likely, which is the only region where i felt the fiio to be inadequate.Still, out of this rig, I'd say that technically SQ wise the ed8 leads the pack, with the d7k second next to the k550.
mini conclusion. It doesn't mean or say too much to tell the truth. Not a extremely formal test and at the end of the day it's with 'noobs' really. Unbiased ones though, which was nice to see. Interpret it as you wish.
Experiment B: Denon Burn in
There was this guy on a d7k thread who reported having noticed the d5k's changing bigtime after 1500hrs of burn in. Actually, no- he gave a precise to the nearest hour time (something like 1564 hours. Can't be bothered to find the post) and his complaint was that now that he's got the d7k's he's going to have do something similar with these.
Nutcase innit. Like a real full on headfi nutcase. That's what I thought of him.
I then asked myself why. Okay, i've tried burn in up till 400/500 hours say and nothing happened. But what is that saying about at 1500hrs. Actually, nothing.
So i decided to find out once and for all with the d7k. It wasn't impressing me much at all after it's initial 'magic' faded after the first 3 days of listening. I had the k550 firmly at the front of the que when it came to selecting a headphone for long term music listening, so the denon's weren't really going to get a listen to. Instead of packing them up and letting them enjoy the fancy silk lined interior of their box, untill lawton's angle pads arrive, I had to try it out.......you know burn them in for 2000 hours.
Yep.
2000 hours.
I'm not taking the biscuit. Honest.
I hooked up a sansa fuze to a permanent ac outlet and plugged the denons in. Sitting on a stand cosily they had a constant stream of pink noise coming through them. 15min pink noise with a 45 second silent period at the end all in a perpetual loop. Normal volume. I heard the result after 500 hours and was bitterly dissapointed. HEY. 2000hrs remember. So I left them in and didn't feel the urge even once to touch them once. Exams over, I took a listen. I nearly peed my pants. No joke.
It was there. Burn in exists.
conditions
I can hear you saying- well how did you test it. What were the conditions, how did i measure burn in and what were the variables in this mini experiment? Well, I could go on for the next 3 hours and let my ocd express it self in assembling a crazy but honest list. For your sake, moreso my sake actually i'll list a few:
- Tested only for sibilance/ harsh highs.
I wanted to narrow down what i'm looking for so i only focused on what was destroying everything good about the d7k- it's nasty, sharp, agressive highs.
- Source did not change one bit.
Same equipment, same cables, same power supply same everything. I had both the fiio setup i described in blue at the start of this post and my samsung galaxy s voodoo enabled mp3 player. In them two months of burn in i literally exclusively used the samsung- that's how good it pairs with the k550.
- Measured against specifically the d2k.
I never listend to these in this perios except for comparing them to the d7k. My d2k's have had a lot of pink noise through them before. k550 i was using here and the ed8 at my other home, so these two were largely exempt from acting as a reference point.
- performed a thorough test with a select few sibilant prone tracks.
20 hours of pain. It's a lot easier to remember what pain/thumps/scratches feels like than say soundstage width!
- NO PAD BURN IN.
Never used the d7k pads for more than the induction period at the beginning.
-there's a lot more, but it's boring you i hope by now. It's took me too long to write this post so i wanna hurry up..
Testing
Very briefly:
0 hour testing
I estimated the d7k's to be at least 3 times more sharper in the highs than the d2k's. Very sibilant, tinny thin, unbalanced and scratch were the d7k's up top. But the d2k's were surprisingly relaxed compared to these. In no instance did i find this not to be the case. Oh and remember the d2k's are more sharper than the k550 now so that was saying something.
500 hour testing:
With the same tracks i listened to the d2k. Yep, nice. I remember what the d7k should sound like in comparison. A lot lot sharper. Basically, like an improved version of the awful dt770 pro 80's highs. My listening corrected my assumption. No burn in here.
1800 hour testing
Again, I listened to the d2k's. Of course no surprise. My ear's haven't changed at all.
Pick up the d7k.
Plug them in and listened to them.
Took them off my head. Yea, they look like the d7k. Smell like them as well.
Put them back on.
And literally peed my pants. This experience shook me. Their high range was not 300% more sharper and attacking than the d2k's. Not even 200%. Around 150%. It was simply beautiful. The extension up here is amazing. All i was hearing before at low and high volumes was the uneven bump and spike at the top which is now DEAD. Definitely gone and gone for good.
mini conclusion
Of course, another way to measure if burn in exists is to at the 2000hr point pay up for another d7k and test it. Something like this wouldn't convince me any more though. I mean, how much effort do companies make in ensuring these headphones are tuned with precise congrunece between one another.
I'll probably clean this burn in review up and post it in the denon thread. See what they make of it. But why i'm talking about it here is very simple. Oh boy, burn in exists. I burnt in the k550's for 100hours before i started to listen to them. The've easily clocked 3000 hours in the 6 months i've had them for, but i never looked out for the possibility of burn in. All that i can say is comparing them now to a d2k, even after listening to the d2k exclusively for 2 days, the akg k550 murders it in sq in my opinion, much more so than i thought 6 months ago. I haven't touched the k550 in a week as of the d7k, so it's not like i'm too used to its sound per say. If anything is at play it's burn in of the headphone or burn in of the pads. Either or both, i'm not sure.
Anyway, that's that from me.
I wanna go back to living under a rock now.