[dissembled]

Does the bass significantly drown out the details?

 

[grndslm]

Holie crap!! No friggin' lie...

 

[EsthetiX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dissembled /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does the bass significantly drown out the details?

Surprisingly, not really. The detail is pretty good. Just dont expect a large soundstage with these. They're VERY upfront and in your face. Which can actually be a good thing for a lot of music.

 

[Psiga]

I'm gonna be a jerk and give some further 15-vs-21 impressions even with only a couple hours of burn-in. Once again, Caveat: I've pulled out the foam on both, and am running them through mastering filters.
15 gives more emphasis on instruments than the 21. Noticing the brass in horns, hearing the jangle of strings. Upright bass sounds nicer. They're groovier to listen to, and easier on low quality source and content.

Not as spacious as the 21. You still get the proper headphone effects, like things sounding as though they come from outside the head, but the presentation is not much of a 'scene' compared to the 21. The 15 is so far darker than the 21, but also so far never hurts me with high notes. The 15 has more impact, the 21 is smoother. Bass of the 15 is what I wanted from the 21, honestly.

If I had to choose between the 21 and the 15, I would keep the 21. Let's make that clear.

The 15 sounds smaller, bunching the instruments closer together than the 21. To me, those instruments often sound more 'authentic' than they do with the 21, but the presentation is a bit too present for me. Maybe it'll open up with some break-in. It's not nearly as good with vocals as my modded 21, but it's also more forgiving of them.

More talk in the future, as I break the 15 in some more.

Edit: EsthetiX said it right-on: The bass doesn't drown out details. They sound 'darker' right now, but not in any way muddy. It's a surprisingly articulated bass; again, it's the bass that I wanted to hear from the 21 in the first place.

 

[dissembled]

Seems the 15s are more suited to the Grado crowds with their impact/forward presentation. And here I was thinking that the 15s were just baby 21s.

 

[Psiga]

They have what I imagine will go on to be known as "The Equation Sound," but yeah their presentation is more in line with what people say the Grados do. Curse my inexperience, I haven't heard any Grado cans at all yet, so I can't compare directly -- I came by a few weeks ago in search of a used SR225, and walked away with the RP-21. Who am I to blow against the wind? No regrets, for sure.

Oh yeah, I tried slipping the smaller, thinner foam discs from the RP-15 into my RP-21. Intentionally left a crescent moon shape toward the front, so some but not all of the high frequencies could pass through un-muffled. It's very nice. I'll probably leave them in. Maybe reposition them a little more, but yeah.

 

[epithetless]

For what it's worth, here are my RP-15MC impressions as posted in another thread:

Quote:

Originally Posted by epithetless By the way, I'm inclined to agree with EsthetiX on the bassiness of these cans. I unfortunately don't have RP-21s to compare them to, but I find the RP-15MC pretty thundering. It's a controlled thunder, mind you -- not the sloppier boom of the K81DJ -- and, like Esthetix said, it somehow doesn't seem to interfere with the higher frequencies...but these things do some serious bass aerobics. Another thing I'll say is that, even after burn-in, the highs still seem a bit too dark for my tastes. I get no sense of air up there, something I would have written off as a closed-can limitation until I heard my ATH-ES7. I tried removing the foam rings from my RP-15MC awhile back, and it made the highs edgier, but not better, to my ears, and it also produced a plasticy resonance I didn't like. I'm considering a thinner foam, like the one that comes with Sennheiser HD25 velours, but I need to find a way to thicken the RP-15 pads first; their shallowness causes one of my ears to press against the plastic around the driver, and that ain't comfortable.

 

[warrior05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Troyhoot /img/forum/go_quote.gif Got a pair of RP-21's this weekend. Really enjoying them so far. My only complaint is the stock pads get a bit sweaty/clammy after awhile. So I want to try to Beyer velours, but I cant seem to find a source online in the US. Can anyone direct me to a source? These are my first quality set of cans. Mainly been into full size speakers and Home theater until now. Baby on the way so I have to be quieter

I strongly urge you not to get the velour pads for the RP-21s. I had a pair and threw on the velours and they changed the sound drastically in a negative way. Bass was nearly gone and mids became nearly non-existent. Stay with pleather or leather. I have a pair of leathers on mine and makes a world of difference with comfort without barely touching the sound sig.

 

[Psiga]

Just popping in to note: The (modded) RP-15 gives me a newfound appreciation of classic jazz.

I am not in any way a jazz guy. Avidly avoid it, frankly. Anything that can make me sit down and listen to jazz and bob my head is Worth Money.

Still breaking the RP-15 in. Ten hours of pink noise while I slept. The soundstage is opening, though still very forward in presentation. Bass is...getting better? Continuing to have a hard time believing my ears.

I think the RP-21 still does things like classic blues better. Anyway, more later.

 

[jamato8]

I like the way the 15's fold up and for my travels that would be nice. I guess I have to/need to/want to get some soon. Geez, why do I come here? :^)

 

[Psiga]

The RP-15 is very uncomfortable right now, by the way. Worse even than the RP-21 was before I stretched the headband.

 

[Psiga]

It's a slow process, getting these things to hurt less.

20 hours of burn-in, not counting however much time I've put into listening tests. They sound really, really good. At the end of my listening test, I'm giving either the RP-21 or the RP-15 to my father as a gift. He said to just give him whichever one I didn't want. ...The choice is not clear-cut easy any more.

Not ready to dive into a full review, but this is definite: I don't think the RP-15 is a mini RP-21. They have many similarities, but are very distinctly different in a few important ways. It becomes a personal taste thing, and can depend on one's taste in music. In my experience, the RP-15 is very strong with club music, but not so strong with guitar-heavy rock; intimate with classic jazz, but kinda stuffy for classic blues.

Pretty interesting.

 

[stevenkelby]

I find my RP-21 very comfy for hours, but I find most phones comfy. The DT 880 did hurt the very top of my head before modding though. I like the pressure of the 21s it gives better isolation.

 

[Psiga]

The RP-21 is now comfy for hours to me as well. Just leave it with the cups folded flat for a few days between uses, and the headband basically breaks itself in. The edge of my ear presses against the shallow inside cups, and that does get bothersome after a while, but overall it is much, much more comfortable than when I first started using them.

The RP-15 is being more snooty. Different kind of build. Supra-aural with squeezy headband, shallow cups, and only moderately forgiving cushions. They will (and already slightly do) get better with time, but overall they have been ear-smashing.

 

[tbonner1]

If the headband clamps too much, you can place it on a larger object than your head, such as a pot, for a day or two to loosen it up a bit.

Mine fit fine stock.