[dablues]

There was a young teacher, whose heart shed a tear,
Because Bose were not the best 'phones to his ears.
He toiled and tried to love them, him did,
But being a musician, himself he couldn't kid.
 
So when extra money came one sunny day
Good headphones he bought with his pay.
Using suggestions from his new friends
He thought he found the headphone for all ends.
 
A shiny AKG K550! 'Twas true!
And a nice Fiio E17, not in blue.
He thought they were great, almost the bee's knees.
But the treble made him cry like he had a disease.
 
He liked the treble, he liked it a lot.
But his ears, when done listening to the 'phones, did not.
Some Grados he bought to get treble and smooth,
and happy he was, but his wife said to move.
 
"Those headphones sound really great," she did emote,
"But I hate to say, I can heard every note."
The Grados stayed; the K550s went,
and now the young teacher knew how his money should be spent.
 
Momentums! Everyone says they're the trick!
Closed but still pretty, and SQ doesn't stink!
He ordered them up, and ordered them fast,
But right away he knew these headphones wouldn't last.
 
The earcup-to-headband wire just rested
On the sharp metal headband; it wasn't the best
design he ever laid eyes on, it's true,
and soon he knew just what he would have to do:
 
Send them back. It was sad, for he loved the sound
But he noticed a cut forming all the way 'round
the wire. So, sadly, he sent them back and
purchased DT1350s, and loved music again.
 
The DT1350 is a beast that gives pain
To your ears on the outside, but then again
When you listen to them, it's like angels are singing!
You can hear every instrument! All the joy they were bringing!
 
But the young teacher was a picky young jerk.
He wanted a headphone that would JUST WORK.
He heard great things about Mad Dogs from Mr. Speakers
and quickly he ordered them. He hoped they weren't leakers
 
Of sound. When he got them in the mail this afternoon
and plugged them in, the tears fell quite soon.
They were just the headphones for which he was looking.
Whatever Dan Clark is doing, I want what he's cooking.
 
The Mad Dogs took the great comfort of the AKGs,
and mixed them quite beautifully with the detail of the DTs.
From the Grados he put in that wonderful drive,
and from the Momentums, something hard to describe.
 
A musicality? A tonality that lends itself to
Happy relaxing music times, doo-doo-de-doo?
I'm not sure, but I do know what I have found
The very best headphones every around.
 
So my friends, when you're sad and down in the dumps,
Get some good headphones, and make your heart jump(s).
 
EDIT (and epilogue):
But then I found the searching so fruitless
I couldn't see the point of it all.
I loved the Mad Dogs so much, you see,
But they turned my head into a headache ball.
 
I then tried the Philips X1 - a nice looking can.
It was alright, but didn't make it right for me.
​Got a Sennie 598, loved it right away.
But it didn't have any bass, you see.
 
What did I do? What do you think?
I went right back to the first thing I tried.
The AKG K550 that started it all.
I hope that I'll keep it till the day I die. 


EDIT AND SECOND EPILOGUE:
So now after all of my whining and trouble
I ran back to the Mad Dogs on the double.
I've realized my ceaseless searching should stop,
And that I should keep headphones from which I can hear a pin drop.

I thought I could deal with the bass-less K550
But I grew tired of it in a quick little jiffy.
I tried its cousin, the Q701,
But found that the basslessness wasn't much fun.

Plus it was made like crap, and I couldn't stand that.
I return crappy things at the drop of a hat.
The only headphone that seems to be made with love and care
Seems to be the Mad Dogs from San Diego down there.

And now that my wife and I have a baby on the way
I must hang up my buying hat and save it up for a later day.
I mean it this time, it has to be true.
The Mad Dogs with stick with me, through and through.

 

[bubsdaddy]

Seriously excellent.

 

[Beagle]

BRAVO! Wonderful!

 

[dablues]

Thank you. It's good I teach science, not English.

 

[Arkyle]

Hahahaha, that was a really fun read!

 

[Mheat122134]

Nice

 

[Bolardito]

Wow really good..

 

[pro1137]

That was incredible.

Makes me want a pair of Mad Dogs now

 

[dablues]

That was what I was aiming for. I like supporting smaller companies like Mr. Speakers; Dan is a super nice guy.

 

[Luv My BASS 1]

Care to compare the Momentum to the Mad Dog in prose? Excellent poem though .

 

[dablues]

Thanks for the compliment. Now I will decode my poem:
 
Mad Dog v. K550
I think the K550 is the least bassy of the lot, but has the best soundstage of all of them. The Mad Dog, however, has the second best soundstage. Music sounds very dry and analytical in the K550, in a good way. I liked this headphone, but it was the complete antithesis of the Mad Dog: where the MD is lush, the K550 is dry. Where the MD is deep, the K550 is airy. Where the MD is buttery, the K550 is sharper, more sparkly. I got rid of the K550 because the fit was too picky, but I do regret it. It just wasn't relaxing enough to listen to, though.
 
Mad Dog v. DT1350
I kept the DT1350, as it's one of the best portable headphones I've ever heard. The sound is still a lot drier than the Mad Dog, but the bass is more punchy and rumble-y than the K550. A great flat-sounding headphone, at least to me. I use it for jazz, classical, and acoustic stuff - stuff in which I want to hear every single detail. The DT1350 is much less relaxing to listen to than the Mad Dog, but I think it just has an extra 5% of resolution to pick out little stuff. However, if I really want to, I can pick out that stuff in the Mad Dogs, and the bass in the MD's is better resolved.
 
Mad Dog v. SR-80i
I've been in the Grado camp, ever since I heard some RS2's a few years ago. I like what they do for rock and blues and old Soul/Stax stuff, all of which are my favorite genres. The Mad Dog keeps the punchiness of the Grados but doesn't smack you in the face with an angry cat like the SR-80i's do. I like that the Mad Dogs are somehow just as full of impact, but add a little more butter - they're much easier to listen to.
 
Mad Dog v. Momentum.
Sorry it took me so long to get to the main event! I really liked the Momentums, truly. They had such a musical sound, and made everything sound full and lush, much like the Mad Dogs. I'd say that the bass on the MD's is much better resolved, though - much less boomy and one-note, not that the bass on the Momentums was bad. I just can hear every little texture, every little string rub on good bass in the Mad Dogs, where the bass in the Momentums was more of a big "boom". A good boom, mind you, and it made modern electronic music sound good, but a boom nonetheless.
 
The mids on the Mad Dog are a little less prominent - more in line with the rest of the sound, I'd say. Very full, very lush (I use that word a lot for these headphones...), and very accurate. I can really hear the voice of the singers - every nuance. The Momentums were good, but just too... artificial? Not sure how to characterize it.
 
The highs are where the differences are. The Momentums did well on the highs, but sometimes could seem like they were bouncing around the cups, resonating and sparkling a little strangely at times. Sometimes, dare I say, sibilant with some music. I get NO sibilance with the Mad Dogs, but I can hear all of the textures. A cymbal sounds like a cymbal, not splashy at all like on the Momentums from time to time. The Momentums are probably a bit "faster" than the Mad Dogs, but I would prefer to listen to the high end of the Mad Dogs for any type of music - I get zero fatigue on these suckers, and the Momentums could be tiring after a long period of time.
 
As for comfort, no comparison - the Mad Dogs are like a giant leather pillow (that doesn't sound very nice, but it is), and the Momentums are very picky about ear size. They aren't bad, but not in the same ballpark at all. Very little is.
 
Build quality is better on the Mad Dogs, in my opinion - that's one of the reasons I sent the Momentums back, actually. The wires from the earcups to the headband in the Momentums would rub on the very sharp metal headband if they weren't coiled right. I thought it would be fine, but after just two weeks of light listening, I noticed that there was a line forming on one of these (very thin) cords. Not cool. The Mad Dogs are heavy, bulky, and built like a tank. Absolute faith in them.
 
Again, I liked the Momentums, but I just feel like I'm getting a more balanced, more comfortable, and more accurate experience with the Mad Dogs. No concessions have been made to looks with the Mad Dogs (although I love the looks), and everything has been put into sound and comfort and build. Soundstage is better. Lows, mids, highs are better. Not as portable, not as good looking. I'd say they're in the same ballpark sonically overall, but the Momentums have made a few concessions to style and portability. Depends on what you need!
 
Oh yeah, and I like supporting small businesses like Mr. Speakers. 

 

[Luv My BASS 1]

Do the Mad Dogs still provide a good, full boom for modern electronic music?

 

[dablues]

I'm not that experienced with electronic music, but I do know that the Daft Punk albums sound GREAT - very punchy but never shrill. Dan from Mr. Speakers is an electronic fan, so I suppose he made these with that in mind.

 

[Amesthehooligan]

Great poem!  Have you persuaded any of your students to spend the big bucks on audio gear? 

 

[dablues]

Absolutely! I have a "no Skullcandy" policy in my classroom (in jest, of course), and often talk shop with them. Science classroom = getting to tie in my hobbies (music, guitar, cooking) to everything we do. I've convinced three kids last year to look into Momentums, DT1350s, and others.