[iFi audio]

I had TH900 a few times.

TH900mk2 are one of my favourite cans ever; they look gorgeous and their paper cones do exceptional job on heavy music.

 

[TWerk]

One thing I want to add about this pair - incredible without external amp. Plugged into Macbook direct is incredible sound - smooth, refined, articulate, detailed. Absolutely a one and done headphone in that respect and excellent without a rig.

Some headphones scale better with amplification but this one is fully capable without it.

In other words, very easy to drive with a remarkable result!

 

[JML]

I have the large hole pads on my SR3 and the small hole original pads on the SR2. Gives me the best of both worlds, I think. The SR3 stays at home with my amp, while the SR2 is more amenable to lower-powered sources.

Pretty great pair from iBasso.

 

[jamato8]

I have the large hole pads on my SR3 and the small hole original pads on the SR2. Gives me the best of both worlds, I think. The SR3 stays at home with my amp, while the SR2 is more amenable to lower-powered sources.

Pretty great pair from iBasso.

Interesting. For some reason I find the SR3 even easier to drive than the SR2.

 

[TWerk]

I have the large hole pads on my SR3 and the small hole original pads on the SR2. Gives me the best of both worlds, I think. The SR3 stays at home with my amp, while the SR2 is more amenable to lower-powered sources.

Pretty great pair from iBasso.

I'm surprised you run the small hole pads on the SR-2.

I really like how these headphones sound with the large hole pads - they are very great - dynamic and alive with a lot of details. Very engaging listen.

However, I've swapped a few times to small hole pads - IMO it kills them completely. I would have sold them off if this was their only pad.

Night and day difference, to me the small hole pads make them muddy and dull and the treble just isn't there.

The large hole pads are so much better to my ears that's it's genuinely surprising to me that others are running them with those small ones.

To be fair though, I've never found many headphones I like at all that are dark.

I need to have adequate treble and air else it just sounds off and dull to me.

 

[malith]

Can the sr3 be driven by ibasso DC04 pro via my phone ( vivo x90pro plus) ?

 

[jamato8]

Can the sr3 be driven by ibasso DC04 pro via my phone ( vivo x90pro plus) ?

I use the balanced out. No problem and it sounds good.

 

[Mhog55]

I'm surprised you run the small hole pads on the SR-2.

I really like how these headphones sound with the large hole pads - they are very great - dynamic and alive with a lot of details. Very engaging listen.

However, I've swapped a few times to small hole pads - IMO it kills them completely. I would have sold them off if this was their only pad.

Night and day difference, to me the small hole pads make them muddy and dull and the treble just isn't there.

The large hole pads are so much better to my ears that's it's genuinely surprising to me that others are running them with those small ones.

To be fair though, I've never found many headphones I like at all that are dark.

I need to have adequate treble and air else it just sounds off and dull to me.

You convinced me to pull out the large hole pads and swap them out. Mine came with the small hole pads installed. What a major difference! They sound so much better. Less stuffy and more vibrant. Now I can understand why some people compare these to TOTL cans. The pad swap completely opened these up. After a little sampling, I just had to listen to my 24/192 copy of Bostons debut album. Foreplay/Longtime sounded incredible.

 

[TWerk]

You convinced me to pull out the large hole pads and swap them out. Mine came with the small hole pads installed. What a major difference! They sound so much better. Less stuffy and more vibrant. Now I can understand why some people compare these to TOTL cans. The pad swap completely opened these up. After a little sampling, I just had to listen to my 24/192 copy of Bostons debut album. Foreplay/Longtime sounded incredible.

I'm so glad then that I posted! It's literally night and day for me - everything across the board improves and in a huge way.

I've tried going back to the small hole pads a few times and it's a quick "yeah I was deff right" sort of deal.

Literally they should not include the small hole pads IMO, they ruin the otherwise fantastic sound. Muddy bass, dull highs, no.

 

[Mhog55]

I'm so glad then that I posted! It's literally night and day for me - everything across the board improves and in a huge way.

I've tried going back to the small hole pads a few times and it's a quick "yeah I was deff right" sort of deal.

Literally they should not include the small hole pads IMO, they ruin the otherwise fantastic sound. Muddy bass, dull highs, no.

I also have four spare, different style Kennerton pads that look to be the same size as Ibasso. I need to get around to trying all of them out on my SR2, Gjallarhorn and Vali Neo.

 

[TWerk]

These really do deserve more recognition. They're beautifully balanced top to bottom, excellent, full bodied, highly detailed and resolving headphones.

Super glad to have stumbled upon them. Truly just missed by people in the main, I think.

 

[jamato8]

These really do deserve more recognition. They're beautifully balanced top to bottom, excellent, relaxing headphones.

Glad to have stumbled upon them.

I have some of the best headphones there are, IMO, and these are right there for a fraction of the price.

 

[TWerk]

No joke, your signature leaves me very envious!

 

[Shane D]

Pulled these out again for listening. Had to tighten the yokes already which was weird. Seemed way too soon, but OK.

I read about how the big hole pads are better and I decide to try them out. I hate changing pads on these as it tends to be a 3-5 minutes procedure to put them back on, but I go for it. It does not go well and as I am trying to figure out what's wrong I see a loose piece of material. There is a support piece around the lip and it has separated from the ear pad. The only kind of luck I have with this set is bad.

Back to the other pads and keep going.

 

[voja]

Pulled these out again for listening. Had to tighten the yokes already which was weird. Seemed way too soon, but OK.

I read about how the big hole pads are better and I decide to try them out. I hate changing pads on these as it tends to be a 3-5 minutes procedure to put them back on, but I go for it. It does not go well and as I am trying to figure out what's wrong I see a loose piece of material. There is a support piece around the lip and it has separated from the ear pad. The only kind of luck I have with this set is bad.

Back to the other pads and keep going.

Shane, such a bummer to hear that you've had even more misfortune with your set! No, like genuine, I don't think anyone has as much bad luck as you... And it pains me, because this truly is a special set of cans.

Don't know how happy you will be to hear it, but I've changed the ear-pads on my SR2 more than a dozen times, and I actually find it to be relatively easy compared to some other sets I own. It certainly isn't the easiest, but it's not too difficult to take them off and put them back on, I can change them out in roughly a minute.

Reach out to Paul by mail, maybe they have a replacement set for you. iBasso is actually one of the few companies that value and listen to their customer's feedback.