[cdma2k]

 

 
exactly

 

I've had many pairs of speakers over the years and still keep a couple pairs to switch out for a change now and then but if a speaker had these characteristics I'm not sure how long it would last at the house. It (K612) certainly has issue's but when it shines it really shines bright. I am going to keep it around at least long enough to set up my eq and see if the correction makes it a headphone I feel I can keep with my limited time to listen coupled with my other headphone options. I will say that I have a large head and the headphone is extremely comfortable. 

Ha! same here, I keep 2 sets of full-range and one book-shelf, switch them once in a while. The sound of k612 is "raw", comparing to the rest of the world and I like to keep one, especially mine is MIA.
One question though, not sure which one is better? sw or hw EQ? I try to keep the audio signal path simple.

 

[CADCAM]

 
Ha! same here, I keep 2 sets of full-range and one book-shelf, switch them once in a while. The sound of k612 is "raw", comparing to the rest of the world and I like to keep one, especially mine is MIA.
One question though, not sure which one is better? sw or hw EQ? I try to keep the audio signal path simple.

I have an Audio Control C-22 10 band eq, it's an older eq but is supposedly well made. I don't listen to music on my computer so I can't use Foobar or any software based eq. I run an optical cable from my Oppo drive using it as a transport and feed the signal into my Maverick D-2 then RCA's to the Little Dot MK III then onto the AKG's. Now I need to place the eq in there in between the DAC and LD amp. More RCA's! My headphone system it starting to look like a full blown audio rack! 
BTW I have one pair full range speakers and 2 sets of bookshelf's. I like options too. Truth is though I've been listening almost exclusively to headphones lately. 

 

[393699]

I am seriously considering saving now over the next couple months to get myself the xDuoo TA-03 tube AMP/DAC combo. I am heading over to my customer's house next weekend and I will be able to check out my K612 Pro, and his K712 Pro with my Racoon SG300 tube AMP/DAC combo, and his xDuoo TA-03. He has sent me a couple emails and let me know how impressed he is with the K712 Pro paired with the xDuoo TA-03. I have a bad feeling though that when I get to hear his K712 that I am going to end up disappointed that I went with the cheaper K612. I am almost dreading going over to have a listen now. Oh well, I am still quite happy with the K612. It is a good bang for the buck for 200 bucks, that is for sure.

 

[CADCAM]

Quick question here guys, I listen to a band called Ozric Tentacles (no I don't smoke weed anymore). On their disc Swirly Termination the opening track Steep has some distortion in the mid range. It is like an over saturation from too much gain or something. It also appears with my DT880's but to a much lesser extent. The question is why with my ATH-AD900's it seems eerily absent. It sounds excellent from the AD-900 with no apparent distortion\saturation issue's. Now I am driving the AKG's and Beyer's from a Little Dot MKIII and the AT's from a Purity Audio KICAS\Caliente amp. Could it be the tubes?? Most everything else music wise sound great at least with the DT880 & LD. I've set up an eq to try to correct issue's with the AKG (still working on that).
Anyway the AD-900 throws so much detail I can't figure why the distortion on the K612 and to some extent DT880 is completely gone with the AD-900's...

 
Here's a link to the tune from YouTube I'm listening to the actual disc.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HJBBlohdII

 

[appsmarsterx]

----

 

[cdma2k]

  Quick question here guys, I listen to a band called Ozric Tentacles (no I don't smoke weed anymore). On their disc Swirly Termination the opening track Steep has some distortion in the mid range. It is like an over saturation from too much gain or something. It also appears with my DT880's but to a much lesser extent. The question is why with my ATH-AD900's it seems eerily absent. I sounds excellent from the AD-900 with no apparent issue's. Now I am driving the AKG's and Beyer's from a Little Dot MKIII and the AT's from a Purity Audio KICAS\Caliente amp. Could it be the tubes?? Most everything else music wise sound great at least with the DT880 & LD. I've set up an eq to try to correct issue's with the AKG (still working on that).
Anyway the AD-900 throws so much detail I can't figure why the distortion on the K612 and to some extent DT880 is completely gone with the AD-900's...

 
Here's a link to the tune from YouTube I'm listening to the actual disc.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HJBBlohdII

evident on speakers too, nice music

 

 

[Majestyk]

  Quick question here guys, I listen to a band called Ozric Tentacles (no I don't smoke weed anymore). On their disc Swirly Termination the opening track Steep has some distortion in the mid range. It is like an over saturation from too much gain or something. It also appears with my DT880's but to a much lesser extent. The question is why with my ATH-AD900's it seems eerily absent. It sounds excellent from the AD-900 with no apparent distortion\saturation issue's. Now I am driving the AKG's and Beyer's from a Little Dot MKIII and the AT's from a Purity Audio KICAS\Caliente amp. Could it be the tubes?? Most everything else music wise sound great at least with the DT880 & LD. I've set up an eq to try to correct issue's with the AKG (still working on that).
Anyway the AD-900 throws so much detail I can't figure why the distortion on the K612 and to some extent DT880 is completely gone with the AD-900's...

 
Here's a link to the tune from YouTube I'm listening to the actual disc.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HJBBlohdII

 
Are you listening to compressed YT audio or the actual CD?
 
Anyway. I've had some cheap headphones in my time that wouldn't pick up certain subtleties (whether they be good or bad) of various recordings.  I'm not saying your 990's are bad headphones, maybe they are the best pair you have.  I know the band Rush has a song, Distant Early Warning that has intentional distortion at the beginning. On some headphones/speakers it's more subtle than others. But for this song, it should be loud and clear.
 
Just checking it out now... It sounds very brickwalled to me, so it's bound to have distortion on certain setups. Maybe it's just the YT clip, which is lossy audio.

 

[CADCAM]

   
Are you listening to compressed YT audio or the actual CD?
 
Anyway. I've had some cheap headphones in my time that wouldn't pick up certain subtleties (whether they be good or bad) of various recordings.  I'm not saying your 990's are bad headphones, maybe they are the best pair you have.  I know the band Rush has a song, Distant Early Warning that has intentional distortion at the beginning. On some headphones/speakers it's more subtle than others. But for this song, it should be loud and clear.
 
Just checking it out now... It sounds very brickwalled to me, so it's bound to have distortion on certain setups. Maybe it's just the YT clip, which is lossy audio.

Not sure if you just read my post too quickly but I did say I listen to actual cd's and I have the AD-900 not DT990 ( I guess that it what you meant) , I do have the DT880 though. Thanks for you input.

 

[393699]

These headphones are definitely not very forgiving on compressed music. I have tested the same album side by side at 192kbps, 320kbps, and then a FLAC rip of it.The difference in sound was blatantly obvious, and totally easy to detect. On Saturday I will be testing out the K612 with the xDuoo TA-03 a customer owns and uses with his K712. I am wondering about the differences I will hear compared to my Racoon SG300. It should be an interesting test. I must have about 60 hours on these headphones now. I have noticed yesterday and today that the treble has actually softened again. I am now actually finding it just a bit too soft in the upper treble. After I hit that 8-12 hour break in period, the sound had settled into what I thought would be its permanent signature. However, it has now changed again. This new change happened probably at around 50 hours, maybe a bit more. I have now ended up giving a small bump to the 12 kHz to 16 kHz region by +1 on my EQ to give it a little more sparkle. There is no doubt that headphone break in does exist with these headphones. This is now the EQ I am using with Equalizer APO, and Peter's GUI EQ add on. I hope everyone is happy with their pair.
 
42 Hz @ +1
55 Hz @ +1
77 Hz @ +1
2 Khz @ -3
12 KHz @ +1
16 KHz @ +1
 

 

[appsmarsterx]

 
 
Quote:

  These headphones are definitely not very forgiving on compressed music. I have tested the same album side by side at 192kbps, 320kbps, and then a FLAC rip of it.The difference in sound was blatantly obvious, and totally easy to detect.

 
so you could also easily distinguish the difference beween 320kbps mp3s and flacs? 

 

[cdma2k]

  so you could also easily distinguish the difference beween 320kbps mp3s and flacs? 

I wish I can

 

[393699]

Yes, I have very good hearing. My ears are starting to get muffled as a result of that damn wax build up problem happening again though. I need to clean them out about every 4 months or so. At around 3 months, I can feel the issue starting to develop again. Over the last few days, my left ear is showing the signs again. This may be why I have been noticing a "new softening of the treble in the headphones" as well though. I am going to spray them out in the next few days to regain totally clear hearing again.

 

[CADCAM]

  Yes, I have very good hearing. My ears are starting to get muffled as a result of that damn wax build up problem happening again though. I need to clean them out about every 4 months or so. At around 3 months, I can feel the issue starting to develop again. Over the last few days, my left ear is showing the signs again. This may be why I have been noticing a "new softening of the treble in the headphones" as well though. I am going to spray them out in the next few days to regain totally clear hearing again.

That has to suck. I had wicked bad allergies and went to specialist and am pretty much cured now. Any chance an ENT specialist could do something for you beside what's going on now? A pill...a drop...something?

 

[393699]

I have 3 problems with the ears. The first one is that when I get wax in my ears, it won't go to the front of the ears. What happens is it ends up hard packed and around my ear drums. I have  to clean them about every 4 months. The second problem is for some reason my ears produce a ton more wax than the average person does, which is why I have to get them cleaned 3 times a year. The other problem is I am allergic to eggs. If I eat anything with eggs in it I end up with terrible scalp eczema, and that same eczema also ends up in my ears. That causes an itchy rash inside my ears, and then clear fluid ends up coming out when I try to itch at it or clean the ears out. I don't know if anyone else here suffers from a food allergy that causes scalp or ear eczema, but it is a pain in the ass. The intense itching that you get inside the ears is impossible to avoid. The scalp itches non stop also. Regarding the ears, you will try anything to stop the itching, and try and clean out the rash. Of course it burns when you do that though. It is guaranteed that when you do put something in there to clean the rash out that clear fluid from deep inside the ear will drain out also. I don't go to the doctor to get my ears sprayed anymore. I just do it myself. I put some olive oil in there yesterday and today. That softens it all up a bit. When I twisted up a damp piece of paper towel and put it in my ears today to try and remove at least a bit of the wax the end of it was covered in dark orange. Yes, nasty to the max. Sorry for too much info here. I am sure I am not the only one on headfi with that problem though. To this day though, when my ears are clean, I have perfect hearing. I think that I have been able to avoid hearing loss from attending several heavy metal concerts as a result of the wax build up being a protective barrier in the ears.

 

[Mystere]

Looking for a good Dac/Amp combo for my K601's that has a pre-amp. Looking for something that will connect via USB and have Out to powered speakers and cuts the sound to speakers when you plug headphones in. Possibly something similar to a Nuforce UDAC3 but beefier. Not sure if the UDAC 3 would drive headphones well or not. Any recommendations would be appreciated.