[starfly]

  If that doesn't work, there's always hearing loss 

Indeed, the more hearing loss you have the less bright a headphone will sound

 

[Lan647]

  Could also be recording dependent. I'm listening to some Police right now (and I know this recording is bright) and my HD800s are not letting me forget about it. But most of their early stuff was recorded this way. 

 
Probably.

 

[dlhen68]

It occurred to me that the harshness might be due to older or low bit-rate recordings (I listen to a fair amount of "older" material). So I started focusing on newer stuff. I listened to samples of Lady Gaga and, even though the music is very dynamic, I wasn't hearing the harsh bits. Then I loaded the Toy Story 3 blu-ray. There's a moment early in the film where Mr. Potato Head is playing an outlaw and spills his loot on the train. Then Woody walks towards him. The tinkling sparkle of the dropped coins, and Woody's jangling spurs are fairly high on the frequency range. The P7s vividly revealed those sounds. But then Mrs. Potato Head shows up and attacks the protagonist. Her voice peaks with some harsh moments. So that blew my theory of only older or low quality recordings being the culprit. :/ Interestingly, I've also found that if I put the Pioneer receiver into "stereo" mode (rather than direct pass through), the harshness is tamed a bit.

 

[starfly]

  It occurred to me that the harshness might be due to older or low bit-rate recordings (I listen to a fair amount of "older" material). So I started focusing on newer stuff. I listened to samples of Lady Gaga and, even though the music is very dynamic, I wasn't hearing the harsh bits. Then I loaded the Toy Story 3 blu-ray. There's a moment early in the film where Mr. Potato Head is playing an outlaw and spills his loot on the train. Then Woody walks towards him. The tinkling sparkle of the dropped coins, and Woody's jangling spurs are fairly high on the frequency range. The P7s vividly revealed those sounds. But then Mrs. Potato Head shows up and attacks the protagonist. Her voice peaks with some harsh moments. So that blew my theory of only older or low quality recordings being the culprit. :/ Interestingly, I've also found that if I put the Pioneer receiver into "stereo" mode (rather than direct pass through), the harshness is tamed a bit.

Pioneer receivers tend to have the reputation for having a somewhat bright sound signature. Have you tried pairing with a different source?

 

[sean76]

PolkManiac:  I was very curious about the need of a good dac/amp for the P7.  I just got my Theorem and in search for a new portable headphone.  I read that the momentum doesn't benefit much from a quality dac/amp.  Was very curious how the P7 will scale up w/ something like the Theorem.  I am also considering the NAD HP50 but from what I read it is more similar to the momentum and doesn't benefit much with the Theorem.  So do you recommend the P7 with Theorem?  Or is there a better one in its portable class?

 

[dlhen68]

Only a Macbook Pro and an iPod. A little EQ helps.

 

[Oklahoma]

It seems to scale well. I use mine a lot with my galaxy Note 8.0 and sounds very good. They smooth out some when I plug them into my desktop speakers through the schiit modi. So they do seem to scale well with better equipment. Even though they don't need an amp they do benefit from one but it is marginal so far for me.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[sean76]

Interesting. I was hoping that the p7 benefit more. Also considering the alpha dog. They are quite bigger. But I assume the alpha dog will scale much better. The hifiman 400 is on sale. Too bad thwt aren't closed back.

 

[randy98mtu]

I very much love these still.  I am shopping less and less and just enjoying.  I would like if they had a touch more bass, but they are not bad.  They are the most rounded set I have, though I don't have a lot.  The only thing I'm currently thinking about is an external DAC/AMP for my MacBook Pro because there is a fair bit of static so I know the noise floor is not good.  What is recommended as a decent entry level DAC/AMP in the $100-200 range?  I have the NuForce ICON IDO at work, but the IDO only works with iDevices.  I also suspect that it's a pretty basic unit overall.  I have considered the regular ICON but again, I feel like there is likely something better for the money.

 

[sean76]

I went from a FIIO to the Theorem.  The difference is night / day.  Check out the ALO Audio dac/amps.  They have the Island that costs $250.

 

[dlhen68]

I'd like to hear some more defense for the P7s over the NAD HP50s. The NADs seem to be destroying the B&Ws in the threads where both are mentioned. I haven't had a chance to audition the HP50s. I've got to decide before next Friday whether to keep the P7s. I'll probably end up keeping them by default...

 

[Sappy]

  I'd like to hear some more defense for the P7s over the NAD HP50s. The NADs seem to be destroying the B&Ws in the threads where both are mentioned. I haven't had a chance to audition the HP50s. I've got to decide before next Friday whether to keep the P7s. I'll probably end up keeping them by default...

If you are not sure, try the hp50. I never heard them but read about the same as you. plus is that they should isolate way better, according to measurements I have seen. Minus is that you look like a complete idiot when wearing the hp50 in public. I was about to order them for testing but than I saw a video of a guy wearing them and those are about the mostly ugly headphones ever. If you are using them just inside that shouldnt matter.
 
have a look here, at around 35 seconds to see them on head: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRcoD6EW2BE
 
edit: I found a commercial for the hp50. they don't look as ugly here but obviously it is a commercial: http://vimeo.com/77512093
 
now I am unsure if the just don't look good or if they are plain ugly...

 

[Craigster75]

  I'd like to hear some more defense for the P7s over the NAD HP50s. The NADs seem to be destroying the B&Ws in the threads where both are mentioned. I haven't had a chance to audition the HP50s. I've got to decide before next Friday whether to keep the P7s. I'll probably end up keeping them by default...

IMO, if you like the highs of the P7, then keep them.  If you feel they are too bright, I would go for the HP50.

 

[PolkManiac]

  PolkManiac:  I was very curious about the need of a good dac/amp for the P7.  I just got my Theorem and in search for a new portable headphone.  I read that the momentum doesn't benefit much from a quality dac/amp.  Was very curious how the P7 will scale up w/ something like the Theorem.  I am also considering the NAD HP50 but from what I read it is more similar to the momentum and doesn't benefit much with the Theorem.  So do you recommend the P7 with Theorem?  Or is there a better one in its portable class?

With the Theorem compared to the iPod Classic directly the difference with the P7 is quite significant.  With a lesser amp like a Fiio or the Schiit Modi that difference is marginal, with a solution like the Theorem you're clearly in a different league and the difference is obvious.

 

[PolkManiac]

  IMO, if you like the highs of the P7, then keep them.  If you feel they are too bright, I would go for the HP50.

I've been comparing them both for a few days now, and honestly I can't do much better than that for an answer.  The one thing I'll add is they compliment the P7 nicely since they have a more laid back sound.  I'll be keeping both because they're different enough, but if you can only keep one the best advice I can give is buy one and see how you like the treble - if it's perfect for you then the other headphone likely won't be and if you don't like the treble then the other will probably be perfect.  That's oversimplifying it a bit, but is a valid general answer.