[Cecala]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bizkid /img/forum/go_quote.gif They aren't as comfortable as they look. The pads aren't really soft and the headband is a bit hard. L3000 beats it in comfort by a wide margin, and that's not even the most comfortable headphone i had. I'd say it's average, not painful but still good enough that you wont notice it on your head after a while.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow - I have to say I respectfully disagree. I find them to be among the most comfortable headphones there are. They are VERY light (especially give the size), and I find the pads very soft.

I would say that the differences experienced here are more related to head size than anything else. The clamp has some real bite if stretched apart far enough.

 

[Cecala]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bizkid /img/forum/go_quote.gif I made another interesting but personal experience, so i'd like to add it as a useless comment, don't read anything into it: When i had my L3000 i was always looking forward listening to it in the evening. However after 10-20 minutes of music my interest faded and i became busy with other useless things (head-fi for example). With the DX1000 it's the complete opposite, since i bought it i have never really looked forward to it. However once i start listening it becomes hard to stop, i'm missing 1-2 hours sleep every day recently. I cant remember experiencing this with any headphone (and speaker) i owned before.

I had a similar experience when upon first listening to these phones. While quite happy with my new acquisition, I had this little doubt creep in over time. The less then neutral signature at least compared with the predecessor and rolled off highs made me constantly opt and favor my old phone(Sony CDR570). Luckily I persisted though, for now I prefer and relish the less than neutral trademark(would not have it any way else). It certainly is an idiosyncratic phone, that's for sure. To use an automotive analogy, The DX1000 is like a Ferrari, you can't go off road, you also can't go furniture shopping, but once on the autobahn, watch out.

 

[bizkid]

Some more impressions: When i first listened to the DX1000 i insteadly thought of a marriage between the L3000 and the W5000.
Ofcourse it's neither the L3000 nor the W5000, as it doesn't share many direct similarities with either of the two.
However with analyzing the DX1000 further this makes sense.

Take the W5000s vocals, they are a bit thin with boosted presence to make them stand out, especially female vocals. Now take that and mix it with the full sound of the L3000: The designers had to make a choice. Make the vocals full sounding as on the L3000 or go for a more presence oriented airy vocal presentation as on the W5000, and that's what they did. However they embedded it in a full and warm sounding can like the L3000.
Clever engineering if you ask me, it sounds extremly nice.
With just a little bit (2-3dB) high quality EQ at 250-300 hz you can fill the lower mids and vocals perfectly for a more evenly presentation.

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiFlight /img/forum/go_quote.gif The new Head-Direct EF1 sounds really good to me.

I would say that for the under $500 class, the EF-1 would be a very good choice. It's an excellent amp, and sounds good with the DX1000. I will have a full review of the EF-1 soon, but I can tell you know the review is going to be very positive. Yes, it is a hybrid amp, but with enough tube glow to sound great with the DX1000.

That said, until you have heard a Singlepower MPX3 with the DX1000, it's hard to imagine just how good that combination is. I have now changed my setups around so that I am using the DX1000 with the MPX3 primarilly, and it is a really, really great combo.

 

[Aura]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif That said, until you have heard a Singlepower MPX3 with the DX1000, it's hard to imagine just how good that combination is. I have now changed my setups around so that I am using the DX1000 with the MPX3 primarilly, and it is a really, really great combo.

x2

I enjoy the MPX3/DX1000 combo so much that I wondered what a slightly higher-end SP offering, such as the Supra, could offer. After asking around a little bit, I am quite confident that the MPX3 will remain as my cornerstone. I hear that while it has less slam than a Supra (which for me is hard to imagine, because my MPX3 is using the SLAM config.), it is more refined, which for me is one of the most important aspects of the sound.

But yeah, MPX3 + DX1000 is pretty terrific.

 

[mrarroyo]

Skylab and Aura FYI today I decided to try a tube combination that I read about on my MPX3 Slam SE, a Westinghouse 6CG7 as a driver and a pair of Sylvania 5687 as output tubes. All three on adapters and with tube dampers (Herbie's Halos).

Anyways, I chose the music of Panorama: The Best Of Craig Chaquico. This being an Apple Lossless fed via an optical cable out of a Chaintech AV710 using 24 bits at 96 KHz re-sampling.

It is hard to put into words what I am hearing. Partly because I am very surprised at what I am hearing! I do not recall this level of clarity/detail out of my Singlepower. I also seem to hear both a very wide and deep soundstage. But to me the biggest change is the "liquidity" of the sound and how much air there is between the notes and the instruments. I will spend some more time w/ this combo.

BTW, yesterday I also installed the Monarchy Audio AC Re-generator, which is being used to provide clean power to the Monarchy NM24 DAC. Yesterday I was using the Sylvania 5687 driven by a GE 6SN7-GTB black base and I did not hear anything this good, so to me the change in the sound has been brought about by the Westinghouse 6CG7 replacing the GE 6SN7-GTB. Any comments?

 

[Aura]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Skylab and Aura FYI today I decided to try a tube combination that I read about on my MPX3 Slam SE, a Westinghouse 6CG7 as a driver and a pair of Sylvania 5687 as output tubes. All three on adapters and with tube dampers (Herbie's Halos). Anyways, I chose the music of Panorama: The Best Of Craig Chaquico. This being an Apple Lossless fed via an optical cable out of a Chaintech AV710 using 24 bits at 96 KHz re-sampling. It is hard to put into words what I am hearing. Partly because I am very surprised at what I am hearing! I do not recall this level of clarity/detail out of my Singlepower. I also seem to hear both a very wide and deep soundstage. But to me the biggest change is the "liquidity" of the sound and how much air there is between the notes and the instruments. I will spend some more time w/ this combo. BTW, yesterday I also installed the Monarchy Audio AC Re-generator, which is being used to provide clean power to the Monarchy NM24 DAC. Yesterday I was using the Sylvania 5687 driven by a GE 6SN7-GTB black base and I did not hear anything this good, so to me the change in the sound has been brought about by the Westinghouse 6CG7 replacing the GE 6SN7-GTB. Any comments?

From what Earl (SACD_Lover) has told me, you were in the true SLAM configuration with 5687's for output and 6CG7 for driver. You can also use the less expensive 6GU7 for the driver as well.

I'm sort-of in SLAM - I'm using TS 5687's for output but the adapter that I had for 6GU7/6CG7 is currently needing repair, so I stuck a very nice 6SN7 tube in the driver position for now (Brimar CV1988 - Skylab can tell you plenty about it if you want

).

The 5687's make an incredible difference by (in my experience) adding a boatload of power, a faster presentation, more clarity, and more balance. The amp feels a little bloated and slow with the 6SN7 tubes I have used in output. Also, I have to turn the volume knob twice as far with 6SN7's as opposed to 5687's.

It probably helps when you are using Mullard ECC32's or Brimar CV1988's in output if you wish to stick with 6SN7.

 

[ryan1212]

thanks skylab and others for the input.

 

[bubblegum]

I'm happy to announce that after reading this thread I ordered one of those babies

I was looking for my first high-end headphones (my previous old sony cans don't count and shall remain nameless), and after much reading evaluating the other obvious options, it looks I won't be disappointed with this one.

Can't wait to receive them!

I'll connect them to my EMU 0404 USB playing mostly FLACs, and I'll hope it'll be sufficient as I know zilch about headphone amps.

 

[mrarroyo]

Can someone point me to who has this can the cheapest?

 

[Ech0]

Never mind.....

 

[orkney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can someone point me to who has this can the cheapest?

I smell a new club member!

AV Japan (ebay) is a good vendor with decent prices on this phone, and Price Japan is another. Happy hunting,

o

 

[Cecala]

Quote:

Originally Posted by orkney /img/forum/go_quote.gif I smell a new club member! AV Japan (ebay) is a good vendor with decent prices on this phone, and Price Japan is another. Happy hunting, o

Orkney, how's the re-cabling going?

 

[suikodenii]

I have lately rediscovered my esw9 and do enjoy them a lot these days next to my other full size hps (which are mostly less "bassy").
From reading the little coverage that is available on the DX1k it looks like they may in fact sound like a more refined version of what the esw9 present.
Is there anyone owning/knowing both who can comment on that? Am I mislead by what I read?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Skylab]

I will have a pair of Ed 9's to review in the coming weeks, but they will be a recabled version.