[rb2013]

Don't know if you caught the Mad Dog review over at 6 Moons:
 
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/maddog/1.html
 
I liked the HD800 comments
 
"If we think of the Sennheiser as the perhaps most deeply engineered headphone currently to market, in sonic terms this manifests as light. If the T50rp looks on the same scenery on an overcast day, the HD800 views it under bright blue skies. Small details like tone modulations and the differences in transient flavor between instruments—how bowed violin, pizzicato upright, the hammers of a cymbalom versus piano, variously tipped drum sticks etc. create different attack spice—aren't teased out or maximally articulated. The Fostex captures the context and all of its shapes well enough but stops short of working their surface textures into high relief.


If you're familiar with just how sound changes the farther away from stage you move—more and more reflective venue data overlay the direct sound; edges soften, separation blurs, hard lines get watercolor transitional—and how even our eye sight no longer distinguishes the fine print or weave patterns on the musicians' clothing... then the Sennheiser HD800 and its top competitors from beyerdynamic present us with front-row seats. The Fostex places us into the cheap rows far back. Except that this holds only for sonic qualities, not perspective. Obviously the T50rp hugs your ears just as the others do. Its sound originates from up close so there's no added physical distance inserted. You get the effects of greater physical distance at the same proximity. It's a more twilight sound to which one acclimates quickly indeed."

 

[rb2013]

Quote:

 
LOL!  It makes my poor excuses for sketches look far worse.  I wish mine would at least approximate cartoons!  
 
 
I know, right?  What's that I hear?  Ah, yes... That is air being let out of the balloon... Better than a POP!  

+1 Thank you my Friend

 

[rb2013]

Quote:

Wow! You're kidding.  Your art is beautiful man.  I did the Mahler portrait using the Brushes app on the iPad, but not real paint.  It takes more skill to do real oils I think. I used to do real paint, but in my living space its too inconvenient (for now)

Too kind!
 
An iPad really!  Got to get me one - using an ASUS tablet now - Apple got that app right!

 

[rb2013]

I love this line too!
"Unless you want to look like an exiled Martian or geek, it's admittedly too large to wear outdoors. "
 
Now I get it  -  my wife is into 'exiled geeky Martians'.

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 
I was delighted when the SR-009 showed itself to be so good (better than the SR-Omega in my opinion in both sound and construction).  I feel that companies like Hifiman and Audez'e are potentially paving the way.  There is a crudeness to the ergonomic designs of both companies that I don't like, but I do feel that the vision for both is solely for the audiophile market, and that's a very exciting thing in itself.  Who knows, maybe the Abyss is amazing.  I surely wish I could include it.  It won't be possible for now.

 
The SR-009 are cans I really want to hear before I invest in the HE-6, TH-900 or a few other candidates. It's looking like my lack of patience schedule reaching the beginning of autumn may not afford the opportunity before I (want to) pull the trigger. Whatever I shoot has to last the next 24 months, so this selection had better be good!
 
I've one reservation about the Stax and supporting cast required: Bass! It needn't sound like it's under-the-influence @ 0500 hrs 

. But I don't want to see the '009' after my purchase on the side of a Milk carton either: "Have you seen my Bass?"
 
Jazz; Latin Jazz; Blues; Soul; R&B; Zydeco; Afro-pop; C-Pop; Janos Starker 

 and so on... could the SR-009/WES leave me satisfied with Bass and Percussive strikes (at least some slam?

)? I know we're both found of Jazz and I believe you understand the importance the role of Bass plays in the overall presentation. I've observed so many people put off by the sound of low-freqs during playback of gears as if these notes are mere afterthoughts... "You're dismissed!" In my view, I think if people really understood what Bass lent to the other aspects of the presentation, some might have a better appreciation for it. Not to say they'd want to hear it or more of it. 
 
Further, and not limited to Bass only, what makes the headphone experience so odd to me even when I'm enjoying the music, is the inability to sense the presentation like speakers. Movement through the air. You're whole body like an antenna? 

Lovely! One's skin surface alone could heighten the musical experience. But I'll stop here... for now.
 
Post Script:
 
Could we have Jack Wu send you a WEE to get your evaluation on the SR-009/WA5 pairing via the WEE? 

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
Latin Jazz;? 

 
SO, could you provide me some tips on a few Latin Jazz groups?  Feel free to PM me if need be...
 

 

[Silent One]

 Absolutely!

 

[rb2013]

Quote:

Further, and not limited to Bass only, what makes the headphone experience so odd to me even when I'm enjoying the music, is the inability to sense the presentation like speakers. Movement through the air. You're whole body like an antenna? 

Lovely! One's skin surface alone could heighten the musical experience. But I'll stop here... for now.

I think your asking too much from headphones...any headphones.  WES amp or not, Stax HPs or not - it is just not going to happen.
 
If you want the visceral vibrational experience - full range speakers are the only game in town.  Doesn't hurt to have a couple of large well integrated sub-woofers as well...may I suggest the Firebird Diamonds and a couple of DD-15s.

 

[GoldfishX]

Part of me wonders why they wouldn't re-issue headphones like the K1000, the R10 or the Orpheus (or at least offer a similar-yet-upgraded model of them). In theory, they would be cheaper to make nowadays and there would be more awareness of them overall.
 
Random question...any chance of reviewing the Koss ESP 950? Only reason I ask is because it's an electrostat and I'm curious how it would fare (considering all the electrostats you reviewed ended up in the top 20). I believe technically, it would also be considered Koss' flagship model (unless I'm mistaken).

 

[davidsh]

Sennheiser never made any money on the Orpheus ( I doubt it)

 

[GoldfishX]

True, but my point is all of those were made prior to the maturation of the internet and a lot of new headphone fans have entered the market. Imagine being able to listen to an R10 or an Orpheus at a Magnolia in a Best Buy nowadays (instead of the usual stock of portable headphones they usually keep on hand).

 

[Armaegis]

Quote:

Part of me wonders why they wouldn't re-issue headphones like the K1000, the R10 or the Orpheus (or at least offer a similar-yet-upgraded model of them). In theory, they would be cheaper to make nowadays and there would be more awareness of them overall.

 
The bolded part is not necessarily true. Probably the inverse actually. Initial tooling and manufacturing costs can be very very high. Even if they still had the old machinery/molds/etc, they're all old, worn, and probably nonfunctional. So any way you look at it, it's a significant investment to reproduce an old product, which is lousy business sense. There's a tiny niche market interest, but this same niche market also hungers for the new and improved. Research and manufacturing dollars are better spent putting out new stuff that lets them use existing infrastructure.

 

[GoldfishX]

Quote:

 
The bolded part is not necessarily true. Probably the inverse actually. Initial tooling and manufacturing costs can be very very high. Even if they still had the old machinery/molds/etc, they're all old, worn, and probably nonfunctional. So any way you look at it, it's a significant investment to reproduce an old product, which is lousy business sense. There's a tiny niche market interest, but this same niche market also hungers for the new and improved. Research and manufacturing dollars are better spent putting out new stuff that lets them use existing infrastructure.

 I realize that is probably true, hence why I added this part:
 
"Part of me wonders why they wouldn't re-issue headphones like the K1000, the R10 or the Orpheus (or at least offer a similar-yet-upgraded model of them). In theory, they would be cheaper to make nowadays and there would be more awareness of them overall."

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

I think your asking too much from headphones...any headphones.  WES amp or not, Stax HPs or not - it is just not going to happen.

 
 
Oh, but I'm not asking this of headphones. What you read was a reflection - what I find odd about listening to cans in general. Not what I want in my next headphone purchase. Now, asking whether particular phones can articulate Bass to a certain degree and support percussive strikes as well, is another matter. And yes, there are cans that can with the aforementioned genres I listed. In short, can it swing? DavidMahler know what I'm talkin' 'bout! 

 
 
 

If you want the visceral vibrational experience - full range speakers are the only game in town.  Doesn't hurt to have a couple of large well integrated sub-woofers as well...may I suggest the Firebird Diamonds and a couple of DD-15s.

 
Perhaps, but this misses the point and what I'm seeking from DM.

 

[Overwerk]

David, I think the fidelio X1 is worth a spot here.
 
I personally prefer it to he500 and dt880 600ohm. It's way more comfortable than he500 both soundwise and wearing-wise, it is much smoother and effortless than the demanding dt880 on mid fi system. I think it does not shy itself in front of ad900, k702/601, hd650/hd600 either.