[439598]

"Better" in this case is a matter of preference, not quality.

which could be said about literally any opinion on head-fi. better is subjective but most people would prefer a fuller, tighter sound to a thin, dry one. this is why I ask if this simply 'transparency'' at work, I could respect the O2 a lot more if every other transparent amp sounds the same way, its just exposing the true sound of music.

 

[NA Blur]

Not sure if anyone touched on this but there are two things that contribute to brightness on the 400i. The first thing to try is take the angled pads, which I hope you are using, and remove them and install them with the thickest part of the pad forward. This changes the angle that they couple with your ears. To me it made all the difference. No more brightness.

The second thing to mention is realizing that it is a revealing headphone so if your source material or DAC is bright the 400i is going to show it.

 

[castleofargh]

not sure if the 400i need much power either, they did sound much better on an iphone and ipod than the o2... maybe the o2 is just a bad sounding amp? does transparency really sound that bad? seems like everything compared to it sounds better regardless of the power.

there is nothing suggesting that this headphone will be tricky or demanding to drive. it has very reasonable sensi, fine impedance(flat and not too low). it could be worth it to try some sort of blind testing, to try and find out if the O2 really has a weirdo sound compared to the rest or if you made that up in your mind. and no it's not a critic! it's what all of us humans do, make stuff up in our heads. it's just that not all humans accept it which makes them wrong. ^_^

what gain setting are you using? what DAC is plugged in it? that's the first thing I would check as it is the known way to distort an O2(high gain setting and high voltage DAC). but maybe you're hearing something special that your other sources don't show? did you compare with other DAC/amps fed by your computer? could it simply be a matter of the digital signal clipping? like what happen if you lower the volume in your media player by like 5dB and compensate with the amp? still the same?

or maybe your O2 isn't working fine. it's also one of many possibilities. to answer all that, some measurements would certainly help, but dealing with subjective biases should still come first. if only to remove all doubts that there is something going on with the amp. or with your other sources.

 

[439598]

there is nothing suggesting that this headphone will be tricky or demanding to drive. it has very reasonable sensi, fine impedance(flat and not too low). it could be worth it to try some sort of blind testing, to try and find out if the O2 really has a weirdo sound compared to the rest or if you made that up in your mind. and no it's not a critic! it's what all of us humans do, make stuff up in our heads. it's just that not all humans accept it which makes them wrong. ^_^

what gain setting are you using? what DAC is plugged in it? that's the first thing I would check as it is the known way to distort an O2(high gain setting and high voltage DAC). but maybe you're hearing something special that your other sources don't show? did you compare with other DAC/amps fed by your computer? could it simply be a matter of the digital signal clipping? like what happen if you lower the volume in your media player by like 5dB and compensate with the amp? still the same?

or maybe your O2 isn't working fine. it's also one of many possibilities. to answer all that, some measurements would certainly help, but dealing with subjective biases should still come first. if only to remove all doubts that there is something going on with the amp. or with your other sources.

the o2 is without a doubt the worse sounding but as I say this may be the absence of any 'sound' on this amp

For the record I was using 1x gain and had tested 3x, didnt matter it always had the same sound. I use the ODAC and I usually keep at round 90%.

 

[SadowskyPlayer]

Just got 400is. They’re fabulous. That said anyone trying to run these on a mobile device without eq is really missing out. The clarity/air is unreal. They might seem a bit forward in the high but it just needs to balanced with low end. Lows on these are very tight/accurate but definitely thin compared to most other sound signatures. Also not super efficient. Do yourself a favor and power them properly and eq them to your liking. All the stuff is there. You just have to tweak them to your preference. The mids are amazing. I’m a professional bass player. 30years studio and live. I’m picky about bass but even more critical of balance. I love these things.