[ruleof72]

Hi All,
I am very interested in the Mad Dogs but am also considering the Shure SRH840's. Can anyone give me an idea of the differences between these two as far as soundstage, etc. My music listening tends towards classic rock, jazz and blues if that helps. I'll be streaming FLAC files to a Squeezebox and using an amp/dac though I haven't decided which combo yet.

 

[MattTCG]

Fully open hp's with large drivers will typically have a better soundstage than the MD. But often not by much, which is impressive considering that the MD is closed. For a closed phone the soundstage is impressive with the MD.
 
With that being said the SRH840 can't hold a candle to the MD IMO. It's not even close. I'd take the MD all day even over the upper tier hp's in the Shure line. 

 

[gelocks]

Quote:

Hi All,
I am very interested in the Mad Dogs but am also considering the Shure SRH840's. Can anyone give me an idea of the differences between these two as far as soundstage, etc. My music listening tends towards classic rock, jazz and blues if that helps. I'll be streaming FLAC files to a Squeezebox and using an amp/dac though I haven't decided which combo yet.

 
Coming from a Shure fan (having owned: SRH440, 840, 940 and 1840), the Mad Dogs walk all over them in terms of neutrality, bass extension and quantity, and sound stage. I still believe that the SRH940s have been my favorites for female vocals and acoustic, and the SRH1840 have been the best at instrument separation but the Mad Dogs are just BETTER overall (and that's without taking into consideration the comfort and sturdyness). Of course, there's a difference in pricing from the 840s to the Mad Dogs (the SRH840s are being sold at TTVJ right now for like $160 while the Mad Dogs is $300+ and also, you need a decent amp for the MDs while the SRH840s can be driven from practically anything...) but I would just pick the Mad Dogs and forget about other headphones unless you want to upgrade to a higher tier can...
 
Good luck!

 

[BleaK]

Quote:

Really? Are you running the O2 with high gain or normal with the HE-500? At low gain, the O2 isn't loud enough. At high gain, it distorts.

Using low gain. 100% volume on the computer (of course), to ODAC, to O2 low gain.
 
Even with jazz, with low volume on the recording, I never go over 2'o clock. Usually around 11'o clock.
 
I think they have great synergy with both HE-500 and Mad Dogs, everything sounds so clean and real.

 

[gelocks]

Quote:

Your making me more excited about my purchase are they really that good? can't wait ot my mad dogs arrive!!! The shure 440 are one of my fav headphones there clairty and detail is amazing for the price.

 
I loved my SRH440s (with 840 earpads) and I had it for like 2 years or more! The Mad Dogs are a different beast. In fact, more than a few posts ago I wrote that me and some of my co-workers at first found the Mad Dogs to be underwhelming, it was almost "bland"... until our ears got used to the sound and then... oh boy... I believe that the MDs have enough clarity and detail all over the spectrum and does not sacrifice anything. It gives more bass (way more), more soundstage, excellent mids (I still find these mid-centric), than the SRH440s. If you loved the 440s you WILL appreciate the Mad Dogs.
 
Of course, YMMV, but I firmly believe this.
 
Good luck!
 
 
BTW, enjoying Calvin Harris - 18 Months Continuous Mix right now after listening to Rush a few minutes ago! lol Yep, these cans can play everything well!

 

[beaver316]

Quote:

I used to design amps and we used to say an amp is only as good as the power supply.
 
The First Class international had to be shut off because while it would take payment but USPS.com won't process customs forms for First Class so I had to literally go to the post office to ship, and hand complete all the customs paperwork.  It took way too much time...

 
Oh second bummer, oh well.
 
The return policy is a great option, but again I would need to sell my HE400 to be able to put an order in for the mad dog, which would ultimately defeat the purpose of auditioning the mad dog to see which I prefer. I would feel terrible had I sold my HE400 for the MD but ended up preferring the HE400.

 

[ruleof72]

Quote:

Fully open hp's with large drivers will typically have a better soundstage than the MD. But often not by much, which is impressive considering that the MD is closed. For a closed phone the soundstage is impressive with the MD.
 
With that being said the SRH840 can't hold a candle to the MD IMO. It's not even close. I'd take the MD all day even over the upper tier hp's in the Shure line. 

 
Quote:

 
Coming from a Shure fan (having owned: SRH440, 840, 940 and 1840), the Mad Dogs walk all over them in terms of neutrality, bass extension and quantity, and sound stage. I still believe that the SRH940s have been my favorites for female vocals and acoustic, and the SRH1840 have been the best at instrument separation but the Mad Dogs are just BETTER overall (and that's without taking into consideration the comfort and sturdyness). Of course, there's a difference in pricing from the 840s to the Mad Dogs (the SRH840s are being sold at TTVJ right now for like $160 while the Mad Dogs is $300+ and also, you need a decent amp for the MDs while the SRH840s can be driven from practically anything...) but I would just pick the Mad Dogs and forget about other headphones unless you want to upgrade to a higher tier can...
 
Good luck!

Sounds like the Mad Dogs are definitely worth the price difference then. I'm planning on getting an amp no matter which headphone I get. Now I need to double check the budget and make sure I don't get in too much trouble with the boss before I plunk down the $$'s!

 

[ssrock64]

Quote:

 
 I just bought two headphones from Spider (Moonlight and Power Force) for testing so...

What do you think of the Moonlight so far?

 

[wolfetan44]

Might be placing an order for these today. Just hope my parents agree!

 

[teofilrocks]

Man, $300 towards the Mad Dogs? Or $300 towards an engagement ring.
 
*facepalm*
 
It should not be this difficult.

 

[Kamakahah]

Man, $300 towards the Mad Dogs? Or $300 towards an engagement ring.

*facepalm*

It should not be this difficult.

Mad Dogs, no contest. She already waited this long, right?

P.S. My wife would beat me if she read this.

 

[aamefford]

Quote:

Man, $300 towards the Mad Dogs? Or $300 towards an engagement ring.
 
*facepalm*
 
It should not be this difficult.

Depends.  If you are really in love, there is always time to buy headphones.  If you are even half seriously considering the question, then get the Mad Dogs, and welcome the consequences...
 
Regarding the little MERIDIAN (explorer?) I did not like the pairing at all.  Several tried it at the SF bay meetup with my Mad dogs.  Most felt it "removed a veil" "added brightness, etc".  I felt it was overly bright, brittle, thin, lacking in bass control and impact, and just really didn't do a nice job with the MD's.  This is definitely imho, though, as there were about 4 or 5 folks who preferred it over my iBasso and an O2 that were in the same room.

 

[teofilrocks]

Mad Dogs, no contest. She already waited this long, right?

P.S. My wife would beat me if she read this.

 
Lol, exactly! Maybe this is the perfect test. If she's okay with the Mad Dog purchase, I know this will last.

 

[gelocks]

Quote:

What do you think of the Moonlight so far?

 
Nothing... it hasn't reached my ears yet!
But once they do, I created a thread for them so I'll post up some impressions... all I can say is that I liked their looks enough that I had to convince a buddy of mine to get them for me and send them here! Hope their sound and comfort are at least comparable to the MDs.

 

[ssrock64]

Quote:

 
Nothing... it hasn't reached my ears yet!
But once they do, I created a thread for them so I'll post up some impressions... all I can say is that I liked their looks enough that I had to convince a buddy of mine to get them for me and send them here! Hope their sound and comfort are at least comparable to the MDs.

I'm worried they'll fall flat, but perhaps I'm underestimating Spider.