[dandi]

Keep on burning episiarch

I am a huge Cassandra Wilson fan and I worship Patricia Barber.

I have also been listening a lot to Paul Motian lately with the RP-21's. I mean no offense here but if you are hearing cymbals as artificial, made as if by a "human beatbox" and a muting of and unrealistic presentation of sharp percussive sounds, from my listening experience, I would have to say, with all respect, your experience may be due to something other than the headphone. I don't think I could have a more opposite experience finding in general the RP-21 to excel at percussion cymbals, kick drum and piano included. Your over all impressions fit somewhat with mine and that is why I wonder how we differ in the percussion department. Of course we all have different ears and equipment and opinions. My experience has been the 21's create a very accurate reproduction of the percussive range of instrumentation with a realism that has given me on occasion the feeling of sound vibrating in my chest much like listening to a loudspeaker or live performance. As a headphone enthusiast you probably listen to a lot of different headphones, perhaps the ear needs to 'be with' one headphone for sometime for the ear and memory to adjust to a different sound signature. For the past several weeks I have been listening to the RP-21's pretty much exclusively. It's just surprising to me you are having this experience. As you know the Equations are designed for studio use and while I am not a sound engineer or a musician I would think cymbals that sound like a human beatbox would be unacceptable to professionals

Please don't get me wrong I am not at all being defensive we know there is no Holy Grail in this hobby. I just want you to enjoy Patricia Barber! Please let me know if your experience changes with time spent listening , I am curious.

 

[Skylab]

I hate to say it, but I agree with episiarch to a certain extent. The treble is flawed. It's not horribly flawed, but it's flawed. The RP21's sound very good for $99 cans, but they have issues in the treble compared to any of my other (all more expensive) cans. The bass and midrange performance of the RP21 are better than it's treble performance.

 

[jamato8]

I am getting some great sound right now in combination with the Reference. I am listening to Eric Clapton's acoustical album and the sound is in front, to the sides and out of my head, which I love. I find male and female voices portrayed very well.

 

[bindibadgi]

Since it seems beyer pads of various types do improve these cans, is there anyone who can compare on what difference each type of pad makes (i.e. velour, vynil, leather)? I'm particularly interested in the RP-21 here, but I guess experience with the 22X would also be useful.

It would be nice to know how much the sound, comfort and isolation change with each different set of pads, compared to stock.

I assume the velour would be really comfy but would kill the isolation and might weaken the bass. Also it seems that people are happy with the sound and comfort of the vynil and leather pads, but it would be good to know if it's worth hunting down leather pads or whether the vynil would do the same trick.

Is anyone qualified to make comparisons here? I doubt it, but all I can do is ask right?

 

[Inkmo]

I don't know if the 21 needs all that much burn in time, really. The 15s certainly don't. I had a 'burned-in' one and a new one in my possession for a while, and as far as I could tell they sound basically the same.

Anyways. These are my go-to portables now. I think they isolate and sound better than the SJ5, though I still use it because it's far less hassle to carry around.

 

[12thgear]

I agree too. I didn't notice it as much until I spent some time critically listening and comparing with my MS-1. I've never spent proper time with a real Grado, but they generally get a bad rap as having harsh highs. I figured this probably applied to Alessandro headphones, just not as much. So I was surprised that with a few of my recordings the RP-21 treble sounds a little harsh and fake compared to the MS-1, especially with cymbals and hi-hats.

It's not a fatal flaw and it doesn't lower my overall opinion of this headphone. Critiquing promising gear is sort of like scouting promising athletes. If you don't have something negative to report people think you're not doing your job.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hate to say it, but I agree with episiarch to a certain extent. The treble is flawed. It's not horribly flawed, but it's flawed. The RP21's sound very good for $99 cans, but they have issues in the treble compared to any of my other (all more expensive) cans. The bass and midrange performance of the RP21 are better than it's treble performance.

 

[lmilhan]

Just to keep the FOTM hype-train rolling for RP-21 love:

I just scored a used pair of RP-21s at a very reasonable price.

In the short time I have spent with the RP-21s, I can safely say that (for my tastes) they absolutely burry the DT-770s in every conceivable way. I also slightly prefer them to the BeyerDynamic DT250-80s. And of coarse they blow away the AKG K81 DJs. Some will scream 'blaphemy!', but I prefer them to even the Sony CD-3000s (but to be fair, me and the CD-3000s just didn't get along).

Admittedly, I am not a big fan of closed phones in general, and when I have the option, I will always reach for an open phone. But sometimes they are a necessary evil (mainly for when I don't want to disturb the wife, and I don't want to compete with her TV volume when she is watching her shows.

As it stands right now, I suspect we may have a new contender for the "best phone under $100 category", especially for the closed phone category.

Now keep in mind these are very early impressions, so my opinion of them are subject to change - we shall see.


Other comments, and nitpicks:

I was not a big fan of the color scheme looking at the pictures of them on the internet, but in person the orange color is more subdued, and looks like a classy copper color with metal flake. I'm not a fan of 'bling' headphones, so I would prefer a more subtle color, but the copper color doesn't bother me the way I thought it would - not that I buy phones for their looks, mind you. I just figured it was worth mentioning for the 'fashion aware' headphone people.

Being a Grado fan, I like how the earcups can rotate, which will allow me to lay the phones flat on my desktop or other flat surface.

As with all closed headphones that use (p)leather pads, it tends to get warm in the earcups after a while, and I tend to sweat a bit during long listening sessions.

If I move my head slightly, or my jaw (chewing food, taking a drink, etc) I can hear the earcups make a creaking sound, which is slightly annoying.

I am not a big fan of the stock cord. It is way too long for my use, and I don't like the locking mechanism. Also, the cord has memory, and cords with memory tend to drive me bonkers. I am hoping the cord relaxes with time/use.

I am now curious to try out the RP-15MCs, since they may end up being the ideal portable, circum-aural phone for me, especially if they sahre even some of the sound characteristics of the RP-21s.

I have a feeling the RP-22s would have way too much bass for me. The RP-21s have more than enough Bass for my tastes, and that is coming from a guy who owns a Grado PS-1.

For whatever it is worth, I am switching back and forth between the Tomahawk and MAD Ear+ Purist HD for driving the RP-21s.


I will report more later on.

 

[Inkmo]

dude certainly try out the RP-15mc. I think it's just about my ideal portable save for the cord. I gotta try and hunt down one of those coiled cords...

 

[epithetless]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inkmo /img/forum/go_quote.gif dude certainly try out the RP-15mc. I think it's just about my ideal portable save for the cord. I gotta try and hunt down one of those coiled cords...

Inkmo, no comfort issues for you? I have no problem with the clamping force myself, but I find the earpads too shallow for that damned inner foam ring...oh, me tender lobes...

I'm considering:

1) sliding a loop of dense surgical/nautical tubing underneath the earpads to lift them off the driver

2) removing the foam ring altogether and replacing it with an alternate foam sheet

The first option is more appealing to me, as I fear tinkering with the foam level may alter the sound too much, especially if it sacrifices the smoothness of the highs. The only problem with option 1 is finding a local source for tubing so I can make immediate size assesments and not have to guess online...

 

[warrior05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by epithetless /img/forum/go_quote.gif Inkmo, no comfort issues for you? I have no problem with the clamping force myself, but I find the earpads too shallow for that damned inner foam ring...oh, me tender lobes... I'm considering: 1) sliding a loop of dense surgical/nautical tubing underneath the earpads to lift them off the driver 2) removing the foam ring altogether and replacing it with an alternate foam sheet The first option is more appealing to me, as I fear tinkering with the foam level may alter the sound too much, especially if it sacrifices the smoothness of the highs. The only problem with option 1 is finding a local source for tubing so I can make immediate size assesments and not have to guess online...

Don't forget about Beyer pads which are thicker. You can score a pair of pleather pads for not much coin.

 

[warrior05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmilhan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just to keep the FOTM hype-train rolling for RP-21 love: I just scored a used pair of RP-21s at a very reasonable price.

So Lou came through for you, ay?

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by epithetless /img/forum/go_quote.gif The first option is more appealing to me, as I fear tinkering with the foam level may alter the sound too much, especially if it sacrifices the smoothness of the highs. The only problem with option 1 is finding a local source for tubing so I can make immediate size assesments and not have to guess online...

Yeah, the foam ring changes the sound signature. This tunnel effect can be used for good or for evil. On Fostex T40's and Coby CV130's it's evil. On the RP-15mc it doesn't *appear to be evil.

Maybe someone brave can peel it off and see what happens.

 

[epithetless]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warrior05 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't forget about Beyer pads which are thicker. You can score a pair of pleather pads for not much coin.

Ah, should have clarified -- I was referring to the RP-15MC. As far as I've seen, no third-party pads make nice with those. The MDR-V6/DT250 varieties, for example, are too large.

 

[procreate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by episiarch /img/forum/go_quote.gif Burn-in continues. I'll suspend further critique until 150 hours at least.

Funny, I feel exactly the same about the RP-21. Was about to post a review, but let me just say: +1.

 

[Inkmo]

yeah, there are some comfort issues. Clampiness can be altered by letting the band out a little. I have tiny flat ears, though, and still can find the cups too shallow after an hour or two. I usually don't wear them long enough at a stretch though to really let them get uncomfortable. I wouldn't yank the foam ring out if I were you. Well, unless you're willing to experiment on them.