[rhythmdevils]

I drink drugs before I listen to headphones for the first time. 

 

[preproman]

Wayne,
 
Very good write up and advice..

 

[ultrabike]

Quote:

I drink drugs before I listen to headphones for the first time. 

 
I do unboxing videos. 

 

[wje]

Quote:

I drink drugs before I listen to headphones for the first time. 

 
I've read where bath salts are the new rage.  Unfortunately, you might not feel like listening to your new headphones, but instead going out an looking to cannibalize someone.  

   

 

[paradoxper]

Fortunately, there's portable gear to allow both. 

 

[hekeli]

Ok received them.. I'm ADHD from all the new cans coming at the same time...
 
Overall sounds very good and comfort is top notch. It's just slightly lacking subbass impact, then again I'm spoiled with LCD-2/3. Maybe some more detailed impressions later if I.... hey look a squirrel!!!

 

[wje]

Quote:

Ok received them.. I'm ADHD from all the new cans coming at the same time...
 
Overall sounds very good and comfort is top notch. It's just slightly lacking subbass impact, then again I'm spoiled with LCD-2/3. Maybe some more detailed impressions later if I.... hey look a squirrel!!!

 
I think that was basically part of the reason for writing the paragraph that I did so a person could approach their listening with a relaxed method and be able to take in the headphone approach with their music.  Maybe, in your case, you should put the other headphones out of sight.  Only take out the pair that you want to use and listen to.  If you're sitting in a chair with your tunes on, but looking at 5 other pair of headphones, my guess is that it would be awfully hard not to properly focus on the pair your wearing without thinking about the sounds of the others.  Give it a try and see what becomes of it.
 
I don't think you're in a bad situation.  Having such an opportunity is something that most of us could only hope for.  

 

[kskwerl]

I need to find a lazy boy style computer chair as thats where I do all my listening. The chair I have now is comfortable but I want a chair I can melt into. Anyone have a chair like this?

 

[dorino]

Don't look for a computer chair. Look for an office chair. There's lots of really high end office chairs out there that are very comfy and some recline.

Craigslist/Freecycle is a great place to look.

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

Ok received them.. I'm ADHD from all the new cans coming at the same time...
 
Overall sounds very good and comfort is top notch. It's just slightly lacking subbass impact, then again I'm spoiled with LCD-2/3. Maybe some more detailed impressions later if I.... hey look a squirrel!!!

 Both the Mad Dogs and others specifically LCD-2/3 have their strong-er points and weak-er points. But the value of Mad Dog is pretty
undeniable, IMHO.
Quote:

 
I think that was basically part of the reason for writing the paragraph that I did so a person could approach their listening with a relaxed method and be able to take in the headphone approach with their music.  Maybe, in your case, you should put the other headphones out of sight.  Only take out the pair that you want to use and listen to.  If you're sitting in a chair with your tunes on, but looking at 5 other pair of headphones, my guess is that it would be awfully hard not to properly focus on the pair your wearing without thinking about the sounds of the others.  Give it a try and see what becomes of it.
 
I don't think you're in a bad situation.  Having such an opportunity is something that most of us could only hope for.  

Couldn't agree with this more. It takes removing yourself from other cans to really appreciate what the Mad Dogs bring to the table.
 
wje my offer still stands to send you my LCD-2 for a listen. 

 

[kskwerl]

Don't look for a computer chair. Look for an office chair. There's lots of really high end office chairs out there that are very comfy and some recline.

Craigslist/Freecycle is a great place to look.

 
Nice thanks for the tip

 

[Dirksqjaw]

[size=medium]Long post ahead – the tl:dr version – Got mad dogs, Dubai hilarity ensues, figure I need an amp for a true listening assessment. Oh and I’m a newb, so have no idea what I’m talking about. Cheers![/size]
 
[size=medium]On to the long version. There’s a cookie at the end for anyone who reads it all![/size]
 
[size=medium]Well, I finally got these delivered to my office today. Unfortunately I’ve got a touch of bronchitis so I’m working from home, but the thought of these things sitting in my office over the weekend untended to prompted me to sneak in at lunch time and snag them. Mission accomplished, no one saw a thing J[/size].
 
[size=medium]First thing I do when I get to the car, like some excited 8 year old at Christmas, key open the packaging. Initial impressions of the look and feel of them is generally good. The build quality itself doesn’t blow me away, but is fine for the price. The leather headband adds a touch of expensiveness to the feel of them, and of course the Shure 840 pads are quite lush feeling and comfy. I’m sitting in my car with the AC blasting in the baking parking lot, trying on unplugged headphones…. Right, so, anyway…[/size]
 
[size=medium]Comfort was a big concern for me as a lot of the headphones I’ve auditioned here in Dubai weren’t very comfortable. For my gaming needs, I got the Samson SR850’s (cheap but surprisingly good) that were flat our torture devices, so I was nervous – and I’m happy to report, my mutant sized head is very pleased!! Easily as comfortable as the AD700’s (post comfort mod), which is a great benchmark IMO.[/size]
 
[size=medium]But while in the car, I notice the large headphone plug and no adapter in sight. “Huh, no problem.” I say out loud, there’s dozens of electronic and music stores about, I’ll just stop by on the way home, spread my disease a bit, and pick some up.[/size]
 
[size=medium]2.5 hours later, I’ve come to the conclusion that the entirety of the UAE is out of stock on this item. I had people telling me “They don’t make them anymore.”  To “You should upgrade your old headphones, modern head phones have the small as standard and sound much better.” … yeah, thanks. F*&K.[/size]
 
[size=medium]I’m sitting in the car, frustrated that I’m going to have to order this stupid adapter thing from the US or China to get to listen to my cans, and then I notice under the Mad Dog sticker a word that initially read as “LOOK”.. wait a second, that’s… LOCK! One twist and the cable unplugs to reveal a standard small plug.. Sweet! I can use a line out to line out cable, I’ve got a few at home![/size]
 
[size=medium]I take WJE’s advice and settle in at home, cool off from the unbearable middle eastern heat, have a few coughing fits, and drink a Snapple and eat a potbelly's meatball sandwich I picked up while hunting for the adapter. Finally cooled off and chilled out a bit, I take a seat in my comfy chair, and bring out the iPod. It took trying a few cables to fine one that fit inside the chamber of the headphones, but I found one (albeit short) that works for now.[/size]
 
[size=medium]So I start listening…[/size]
 
[size=medium]Now, for reference, I’m new to high end audio and headphones in general. MLE’s thread for gaming headphones was my gateway drug. My only owned headphones to date include a pair of IEM Shure 310’s, Samson SR-850, AT AD-700, and.. well, that’s it. I’ve a bit of a fetish for anything quality, though. Be it cars, watches, socks (don’t laugh), and the like, and music has always played a huge part of my life, so it’s only natural I’d take to this addiction on so easily. [/size]
 
[size=medium]… and I listened… and I’m not going to comment on the sound at this point, to be honest. Mrspeakers website states that these can be driven through idevices, but he recommends the amps. Well, yes, that’s technically true. They can be listened to straight from an iDevice, but… well, you shouldn’t.  What I do hear is, well.. it’s hard to describe. I think the word that best sums up my feeling is “Potential”. Don’t get me wrong, iPod/iPad cranked on max volume is listenable volume, but it feels like driving a sports bike around only in first gear. It’s a lovely gear, but the bike *wants more!*-  and you can feel it.[/size]
 
[size=medium]So – the setup I’ve ordered as my first true step into the high fidelity world is as follows:[/size]
[size=medium]Cans – Mad Dogs - $300 (incl. shipping)[/size]
[size=medium]Amp - http://epiphany-acoustics.co.uk/our-products/ehp-o2-portable-audio-headphone-amplifier/ - $160ish (incl. shipping)[/size]
[size=medium]DAC - http://epiphany-acoustics.co.uk/our-products/e-dac-24bit-miniature-usb-dac/ - $160ish (incl. shipping)[/size]
 
[size=medium]This is Epiphany-Acoustics Objective2 and ODAC offering. I went with EA for the O2 and ODAC as they ship standard with the correct AC adapter for my region. Figured it’s one less thing to worry about.  I got the separate amp/dac so I could use the amp as portable when I fly/travel.[/size]
 
[size=medium]iPad digital extractor - http://store.micgadget.com/ipad3-card-readers/315-cf-sd-high-speed-card-reader-for-ipad-3.html – $55 (incl. shipping)[/size]
 
[size=medium]Went with the MIC All-in-one because you can actually plug in the device itself, which means one less device I need to worried about (powered USB hub) to get the correct digital signal from the iPad, which will be my primary source. [/size]
 
[size=medium]Total price under $700 – a birthday present to myself! [/size]
 
[size=medium]All in all I think I’ve done pretty good for a first plunge. Everything benchmarks extremely well against much higher priced kit, is hand crafted/modified/assembled by individuals passionate about what they do, and the quality of their products.  Aside from the MIC card reader .[/size]
 
[size=medium]So yeah, I’m listening to them now (Right Away, Great Captain! – perfect music for these IMO, even if underpowered.) and just cannot wait for the rest of my kit to arrive. The O2/ODAC should be here next week, and the MIC card a bit earlier. [/size]
 
[size=medium]Oh and I did try them through my mixamp to see if the amplification on the mixamp (in stereo mode) helped, it didn't. Also, tried it in dolby headphone mode for a few games of the latest CoD and bleh, awful. Very confusing directional sound. Went back to the SR850's and back to feeling like I'm cheating. Didn't buy these for gaming anyway, so no drama - just thought I'd check .[/size]
 
[size=medium][size=small]Will report back when I’ve gotten the rest of my kit and had more time with the cans. [/size][/size]
 
[size=medium][size=small]-Dirk[/size][/size]
 
[size=medium][size=small]P.s. The cookie was a lie.[/size][/size]
[size=medium][size=small]P.p.s. Unbeknownst to me, the iPad has a better internal amp than the iPod classic 160gb. Even without an amp and a DAC and all that, I've got... goosebumps. Some albums still sound meek, but playing through EQu and increasing the gain helps. Still want my O2 and ODAC before more detailed assessment from an audio newb.[/size][/size]

 

[AnAnalogSpirit]

hi wje,

I'm sure you probably already know this, but having checked the bitrates on Amazon's mp3 store downloads versus Google's Play store's mp3 downloads, the Play store's stuff is all 320kbps mp3, if that matters to ya!

 

[audionewbi]

@Dirksqjaw Whatever you for living, quiet and start becoming a full time blogger on audio-gear, really enjoyed reading your review

 

[wje]

Quote:

[size=medium]I’m sitting in the car, frustrated that I’m going to have to order this stupid adapter thing from the US or China to get to listen to my cans, and then I notice under the Mad Dog sticker a word that initially read as “LOOK”.. wait a second, that’s… LOCK! One twist and the cable unplugs to reveal a standard small plug.. Sweet! I can use a line out to line out cable, I’ve got a few at home![/size]
 

 
 
Thanks for the write-up.  A very good initial experience with you dealing with Dan of Mad Dog.  Also, it's great that he offers to cater to International customers, so you have access to some of the custom items from here in the U.S.  I remember another member in the forum here resides in Dubai.  The name escapes me at the moment, but he was on a big buying and selling binge for a while in the F/S section as he apparently was interested in trying out many different headphones and various amplifiers.
 
I've realized several pages back where another user had noted the "bubbling" of the label around where the jack plugs into the ear cup.  I'm wondering if Dan has considered using a razor blade to scrape those moldel letters and arrow off of the ear pad prior to installing the custom label?  It would allow the custom label to like flat on the cup plastic and reduce the appearance of the bubbling.