[newguru]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I found some additional pics here... http://www.headphonesguru.com/qp435/

Good read there kramer.

 

[Icarium]

Interesting... I'd almost rather have the 300 Ohm version available at least though.

 

[newguru]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icarium /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting... I'd almost rather have the 300 Ohm version available at least though.

I'm with you there. I don't see the plus of the 35 ohm model either. Maybe they are trying to appeal to the Ipod crowd or something? I think around 250 ohms would be perfect to be honest.

Seems with the bigger transducers in these things they would want them to run through an amp to sound their best though. I can't imagine Ipod power making them sound all that great.

 

[Blackmore]

They did pretty well through my portable rig

And they still an prototype, so who knows.

QUOTE=newguru;2871885]I'm with you there. I don't see the plus of the 35 ohm model either. Maybe they are trying to appeal to the Ipod crowd or something? I think around 250 ohms would be perfect to be honest.

Seems with the bigger transducers in these things they would want them to run through an amp to sound their best though. I can't imagine Ipod power making them sound all that great.[/QUOTE]

 

[SonicDawg]

Cool. Can you compare them to K340s?

 

[Blackmore]

Unfortunately I do not have them at the moment, so people have to do so at the Nat.Meet, I guess...

But one thing is for sure, SOUNDSTAGE of K340 is bigger and placement of musicians is different. Also K340 less up front sounding, but with much better highs, to my taste anyway. Bass is very good on both, but K340 must be modded first to give the best.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SonicDawg /img/forum/go_quote.gif Cool. Can you compare them to K340s?

 

[Patu]

Thank you for the review. Very interesting read. My first "real" headphones were MBQuart QP240. I drove them with my motherboard's integrated soundcard so I really can't compare them to my current headphones. What I can say though, is that they are probably the most comfortable headphones I've ever used.

I'm waiting for other people's comments of these after the national meet.

 

[Blackmore]

This is also interesting that a lot of people know that brand very well from the past.
Yes, their comfort is very good and do not need any changes at all, IMO.

I hope Romanee can write some before THE MEET, cos they are already in US and he will get them like in the beginning of the next week I think. I can not wait myself to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thank you for the review. Very interesting read. My first "real" headphones were MBQuart QP240. I drove them with my motherboard's integrated soundcard so I really can't compare them to my current headphones. What I can say though, is that they are probably the most comfortable headphones I've ever used. I'm waiting for other people's comments of these after the national meet.

 

[ante1000]

Hi. While the headphones' impedance isn't a parameter directly linked with their sound quality, a low impedence can actually help designers to build a coil of lower weight. It is because the coil needs less wire to be 32 ohm than 600 ohms one. Of course a wire to wind a 32ohms coil have to be thicker, but still the coil will be lighter (especially if the max power is rated low). And lighter means more dynamics, larger frequency range (highs) and better impulse response. For enlighten this issue, in regard to the QP435, I will also ask at MBQuart and post more info.
Bests, Alex from 'headphonesguru.com'.

 

[Romanee]

Hi, All!

I just received the MB Quart QP435s package today as I left for work.

I don't have the DT880-250/05, K701 or Senn HD600/650 with me, but I do have my iPod, ALO Jumbo Silk Dock, RSA Hornet, RSA Tomahawk & Portaphile PV2^2-LT1210 Maxxed and have just started a bit of listening. I'll just write brief really initial notes.
[size=small]
These few notes are my reflections on how the QP435 presents these few recorded tracks and the character of the 3 amps (sourced by iPod).[/size]

I work in an open environment which has a lot of background noise and these phones are about as open as the 880s, so it's not ideal, except as a reference for typical portable audio venues.

The QP435s (prototype) is very light and has a fit and feel similar to the DT880 2005. It does not have a deluxe look and finish, but it seems well-constructed and feels very comfy (much like the 880s).

It has a 1/4 inch plug rather than the 880s 1/8 inch plug and came with an (inexpensive) adapter. If I have time tonight I'll compare it with my custom Zu Pivot adapter cable and Grado adapter cable. Unfortunately, I'm leaving in 2 days for HeadFest and may not have any home listening time tonight or tomorrow.

I will, of course, be carrying these phones to HeadFest for others to audition.

My portable source & amps can drive the QP435s easily, and the phones do react differently to each amp, and to different recordings.

These phones seem to Like the RSA Tomahawk, at high gain, very much (low gain works but sounds a tiny bit lifeless by comparison). The sound is rich, energetic with good attack & decay (as much as I can hear in this venue) and it seems easy to listen to without fatigue for long sessions.

At this point I personally do not hear HF deficiencies.

My Portaphile is also excellent for these (I have it set to low gain for my ES2 IEMS): tho' it lacks the lush warmth in the mids that makes the RSA amps so rich with voices, it has excellent highs, great dimension, a transparent window-into-the-music, complex layered imaging, great definition & inner detail, and sometimes a very live ("you are there") illusion that these phones reproduce well. [I've read some users' notes indicating that their Portaphiles "lack width, depth, highs …sterile, etc." — but to my ears, compared to many other amps I've heard, my Portaphile excels at the qualities I've noted, and more.]

Whereas the Tomahawk is wonderful with voices (clearly so with these phones), the Portaphile is still the king of strings, especially guitars, and was the more engaging with the Alison Krauss & Union Station CD "Lonely Runs Both Ways" — which is packed with richly-textured guitars and bass, as well as Alison's sweet voice.

I had a brief listen with Diana Krall's CD The Girl In The Other Room (The Girl In The Other Room and Almost Blue). Surprisingly, the Hornet had her voice kind of nasal compared to the other 2 amps, and the highs weren't quite right … a bit irritating! I'll try the Hornet later with different music. I had expected the Hornet to be the warmest & richest sounding of the three but that didn't happen with this recording.

The Tomahawk was richly satisfying in the mids with Diana Krall "Almost Blue". Her voice was full-bodied. The Portaphile missed some throat & chest resonance, but displayed the shape, volume, timbre of drums & cymbals more realistically. (Some headfiers have commented that most amps portray drums like toys (superficial strokes only), and the Portaphile lets you hear the inside of the drums…

The QP435 is good enough to present these subtleties.

Both Alison Krauss and Diana Krall have some breathiness which is perceived more on some of their tracks as sybillance. These phones do pass that through, but it may just be the phones' (and amps') HF extension and transmissiveness — and the information on the recordings — so I can't say that the phones are sybillant. More varied listening is needed to determine that, one way or the other.

I think the DT880-250/05 has more bass energy than the QP435, but I'll have to hear them side-by-side to know for sure. The 880 also maintains a more uniform sound signature with various recordings, while the K701 has the more recording-dependent character as the QP435 seems to have.

More Later (if I can find the time).

 

[Jahn]

very interesting first impressions - i figured the natural competitors to this can would be the beyers and akg so it looks like a good reviewing fit for ya, Romanee!

 

[oicdn]

Thanks for the review Romanee. Although, maybe it's because I'm a basshead, I don't understand how they can have great bass, but have less energy than a DT880...

Eitherway, I'm a skeptic of MB quart...they're hit or miss with me. The highs are either on point or sound tinny...I dunno, I'm anxious none the less to hear these.

 

[Romanee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oicdn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the review Romanee. Although, maybe it's because I'm a basshead, I don't understand how they can have great bass, but have less energy than a DT880... Eitherway, I'm a skeptic of MB quart...they're hit or miss with me. The highs are either on point or sound tinny...I dunno, I'm anxious none the less to hear these.

Right. I personally didn't say the QP435 has great bass, but rather that the 880-05 has slightly more bass. The QP's bass seem tight and pretty well-defined, and perhaps it's more like the 880-2003 than the current 880 in terms of bass response.

I don't think these are the right phones for bassheads.

Actually, I'll qualify that. I think these phones may need the beefier, home amps to bring out the bass.

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Three Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, "The Message" has great punch, snap and speed. When I crank up my Portaphile (which is known for deep, powerful bass) bigger, punchier bass comes through the phones — but I can't listen this loud for long. I expect the small portables don't really have the juice to make these phones perform at their best at moderate listening levels — a parallel to the K701s that sound okay with these amps, but that really blossom with stunning sound via a good transport & DAC into the OPA627-modded RKV-MkII + EC/DC impedance matcher.

 

[oicdn]

^ sweet. That's how my DT770/250's were. The bass was great, but when I listened to vinyl with a home amp, it was amazing and I felt completely engulfed, and I could only imagine what Darths would do to me. The Hornet could drive them, but for the bass to SHINE, it'd have to be turned up intensely high.

But I think it would be wrong to compare a can like that to them, especially on vinyl....which already has rediculously punchy bass.

Basshead cans or not, my intrest is peaked simple because it says MB Quart on the side. Thanks for the update!!!

 

[MASTERTECH]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ante1000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi. While the headphones' impedance isn't a parameter directly linked with their sound quality, a low impedence can actually help designers to build a coil of lower weight. It is because the coil needs less wire to be 32 ohm than 600 ohms one. Of course a wire to wind a 32ohms coil have to be thicker, but still the coil will be lighter (especially if the max power is rated low). And lighter means more dynamics, larger frequency range (highs) and better impulse response. For enlighten this issue, in regard to the QP435, I will also ask at MBQuart and post more info. Bests, Alex from 'headphonesguru.com'.

very nice said, I like low impendance phones too, but good ones are harder
to find I guess the magnets they use are rare too

cheers