[BobJS]

First Impressions:
 
I just got my MDs in!  Wow!  Much better than I was expecting.  The highs that were missing from the HD650 are back!  The mid-bass hump is gone.  I wouldn't call these particularly dark.  The bass seems very (slightly &) pleasantly emphasized.  Sounds perfect out of my Asgard.  I didn't bother changing my Amperex tubes from my Lyr (these give me low lows and high highs), and the bass is a little too much out of the Lyr.  I'm sure I could find a set of tubes from my collection to make the MDs sound perfect from the Lyr.  Versus the DT880, I'd say the mids are superior, the bass is, of course, superior, and the highs are crisp but not as overbearing as the DT880. Do these benefit from burn-in?
 
The soundstage is not that of an open phone, but not bad for a closed can. And isolation!! These aren't quite in the same league as the HE-500, but considering they cost less than half as much, the performance is fantastic.  These blow away the Senn HD25-1 ii.  The highs sound crisper than the HD600.
 
Alright, time to give these a workout and see how things fallout after the honeymoon.

 

[kskwerl]

Quote:

First Impressions:
 
I just got my MDs in!  Wow!  Much better than I was expecting.  The highs that were missing from the HD650 are back!  The mid-bass hump is gone.  I wouldn't call these particularly dark.  The bass seems very (slightly &) pleasantly emphasized.  Sounds perfect out of my Asgard.  I didn't bother changing my Amperex tubes from my Lyr (these give me low lows and high highs), and the bass is a little too much out of the Lyr.  I'm sure I could find a set of tubes from my collection to make the MDs sound perfect from the Lyr.  Versus the DT880, I'd say the mids are superior, the bass is, of course, superior, and the highs are crisp but not as overbearing as the DT880. Do these benefit from burn-in?
 
The soundstage is not that of an open phone, but not bad for a closed can. And isolation!! These aren't quite in the same league as the HE-500, but considering they cost less than half as much, the performance is fantastic.  These blow away the Senn HD25-1 ii.  The highs sound crisper than the HD600.
 
Alright, time to give these a workout and see how things fallout after the honeymoon.

yup yup, the Lyr is awesome with the MD's. My favorite and fun tubes with the MD's were the Sylvanias. They blow the DT880s out of the water, I had the 250 ohms and thought they were horrible. Did you get them with the Dog Pads?

 

[BobJS]

Quote:

yup yup, the Lyr is awesome with the MD's. My favorite and fun tubes with the MD's were the Sylvanias. They blow the DT880s out of the water, I had the 250 ohms and thought they were horrible. Did you get them with the Dog Pads?

Yep, Dog Pads..... smells like a freshly oiled baseball glove 
 
I'm still within the window to return the DT880s..... which I think I'm going to do.  After quickly swapping the MDs through all my other headphones, I guess they are a little darker than some of the sizzlers.  I see why they appeal to HD650 lovers.... I can appreciate the highs are crisp, yet non-fatiguing.... makes them a bit tolerant of less than stellar recordings.  I think this always appealed to the HD650 fans, though I could never appreciate the 650s in that way.  The MDs are doing it for me, though.

 

[anoxy]

edit: nevermind.

 

[kskwerl]

Quote:

Yep, Dog Pads..... smells like a freshly oiled baseball glove 
 
I'm still within the window to return the DT880s..... which I think I'm going to do.  After quickly swapping the MDs through all my other headphones, I guess they are a little darker than some of the sizzlers.  I see why they appeal to HD650 lovers.... I can appreciate the highs are crisp, yet non-fatiguing.... makes them a bit tolerant of less than stellar recordings.  I think this always appealed to the HD650 fans, though I could never appreciate the 650s in that way.  The MDs are doing it for me, though.

Nice! Yea they are great, I have the HD600s and to me they are like a wide open MD. 

 

[MattTCG]

Quote:

Yep, Dog Pads..... smells like a freshly oiled baseball glove 
 
I'm still within the window to return the DT880s..... which I think I'm going to do.  After quickly swapping the MDs through all my other headphones, I guess they are a little darker than some of the sizzlers.  I see why they appeal to HD650 lovers.... I can appreciate the highs are crisp, yet non-fatiguing.... makes them a bit tolerant of less than stellar recordings.  I think this always appealed to the HD650 fans, though I could never appreciate the 650s in that way.  The MDs are doing it for me, though.

 
I find that the maddog is the perfect complement to my 650's. One closed ortho that isolates well and one open dynamic. Perfect!! 

 

[ssrock64]

If anyone's got a Panasonic HDTV, I've found that the remote makes a fantastic device to stretch the MDs out, and now that I'm no longer sick I can finally enjoy them, too!

 

[preproman]

Huh - that looks like it will mess the clamping up..  No thanks..

 

[mrspeakers]

I wouldn't suggest that, it probably will deform the headband and loosen the fit (unless you are trying to accomplish that. In general they should not be opened much wider than your head....

 

[kskwerl]

Can't you just stretch the band with your hands and stretch it back if needed?

 

[ssrock64]

I'm doing it intentionally. The pad contact is just a little much for me.

 

[MattTCG]

^^ 

  I had to bend mine in a little to get a tighter fit. 

 

[kskwerl]

i have a massive head

 

[mrspeakers]

Well, heads do vary a lot, as I've found first hand...  If you need to loosen the fit, the best adjustment is simply to grasp both sides of the curve right above the ear cups and gently bend out.  It moves very fast in that direction and gives best geometry for large heads...
 
Cheers...

 

[kskwerl]

Lids only makes one size in their SnapBack hats and I have to use the last two buttons :*(