Quote:
Hi,
No you are correct. The mids are colored in a way that makes female vocals sound a bit hollow. I've noticed that female and male vocals sound a bit pushed back, but guitars and other string instruments are more forward. It has nothing to do with amping them at all.
(EDIT: this post sounds like i'm trying to argue, but I'm not I swear! You just got me talking about my favorite headphone. I get a little too excited sometimes with my opinions. Who doesn't?)
Hahah, you're joking right? Maybe you need to do more A/B comparisons with amping. Not trying to be rude but It has everything to do with amping and other people have said the same. You can check lJokerl's review too.
Vocals sounding hollow? If anything male AND female vocals are pushed forward. Not so far enough to screw up a recording.
This is why I love them. They're slightly forward (like on a Grado SR-225) without being too annoying.
Here's the thing...with proper amping the mids become fuller sounding and more forward. It's not a case of the amp coloring the sound at all. You can check this with any dead neutral amp. The Clip+ sounds perfect with them because it's one of the few players that can drive them properly and at 100%. Even when adding an amp they improve further.
With some portable players the DJ100 can be thinner sounding, a little more harsh in the treble and the mids won't be as forward. Due to insufficient power. Kind of like a lack of control over it's sound signature. At least in some areas. Using these with my Iaudio 7 and portable cd player sucks the life out of them.
You should go back and do more A/B comparisons with amps. I've had these since 2010 and that entire time I've finally started using them without an external amp. The Clip+ is the only one that works well enough for me. Whenever I would listen to them without an external amp, they're just not the same. ANY amp is better than using them straight out of most portable players.
BTW if female vocals ever sound distant or hollow, please check them on another headphone. The DJ100 is true to the recording and won't ever shove them so far in your face to alter the recording that much. If I listen to specific Pearl Jam recordings it sounds as if Eddie Vedder's vocals are being drowned out. It's the recording and I verified this on my Q701 and HD-600. With M40 pads you can probably pinpoint each instrument and voice in inches. It's crazy how accurate these are with the ODAC and Micro Amp. The sound of these vary with the recording. Maybe you are criticizing the recording and not the headphone. No, that's not a joke
Even recordings I have can vary between sounding thin and harsh to very warm and full sounding. I haven't experienced this nonsense since I had the DT-880. On my HD-600 nearly everything sounds good.
Also..here's another thing for you.. when using them with a weak portable player you can play entire albums and they sound OK. You switch to another and then this is when it causes issues. The DJ100 will only sound under-powered with specific songs and frequencies. I know this sounds crazy, but I experience this all the time with my Airhead and my Q701. When I use my Q701 without an amp I limit myself to less complex music like vocal oriented music or ambient electronica. Classical on my Airhead and K601 pushes that amp to the limits. Can't turn it up past 75% I think. BTW I use FLAC files on my Clip+ and portable devices. I think these require much more power to play. I know that sounds impossible! I should load up 192kbps MP3 files on my weaker sources and see if I get different results.
I'll admit i'm trying to force myself to say they don't need an amp, but they do IMO to be at their best. Maybe i'll start saying they require a Clip+
You know there is a lot of crappy portable players out there...I had the original Zune once (not HD) and it never had enough volume for almost any of my headphones. So annoying and it ruined the experience.
EDIT:
Unrelated note, but I think the closest match to the DJ100 is the modded HD-600. It's close to what maybe an open DJ100 would sound like. The DJ100 sounds clearer though yet with more bass and more treble. The modded HD-600 is slightly more easy on the ears and more forgiving and warmer. The modded HD-600 is very different than the HD-600, so please don't think I just said the HD-600 is a clone of the DJ100
The DJ100 to me still is clearer and more detailed. Yeah...I just said that(!)