[dryvadeum]

Quote:

Dat Bass hits hard, hits deep, and hits fast. The weight and presence is unbelievable. It's like 800 pound gorilla-diaphrams moving at the speed of light to gobsmack your ears with the greatest bass you've ever heard. LOL

 
That being said I still prefer a more neutral bass with lots of speed, resolution, and texture. Mad Dog is right up my alley as a personal preference, and is closer to "reference" for me.

Hmm...The LCD 2's sound right up my alley. I'm going to be poor pursuing this hobby lol.

 

[vaed]

Another potential candidate is the Koss ESP-950, which appears to be fairly neutral, though with rolloff on either sidem but with the ultra-clean electrostatic sound. The fact that it's a ~$600-700 electrostat and being compared to other end-game rigs is interesting, though to be fair the same has been said about the Mad Dogs. What scares me, however, is the bottleneck of the amplifier it comes with, and how electrostat headphones only work with electrostat systems. I don't suppose anyone has heard it and can compare it to the MD's? Talk of these cans has been extremely quiet.
 
EDIT: LCfiner has actually posted a comparison of the Mad Dogs and the 950 in the 950 thread! Looks pretty promising, actually!
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/581491/koss-esp-950-thread/540#post_8845165
 
For the lazy:
 

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

 

Today has been a busy day. I got the ESP 950 this afternoon. plus I got my old Mad Dogs back with the upgraded Dog Pads. plus I got the Schiit Gungnir DAC! phew!
 
So, to speak very briefly about the 950, my first impressions are incredibly positive. They are exactly what I was hoping for. They have a slightly darker presentation than most high end headphones I've owned. They're not as dark as these new Mad Dogs or the Audeze cans but they don't have a highly tipped up treble either (eg: HD800 or Q701). I can hear that slight upper-mids focus that milosz talks about. When comparing to the Mad Dogs, it does seem a bit brighter. But it's not excessive. My tests tracks for nasty glare and treble shrillness don't make me wince at slightly above average volumes.
 
They throw a very nice, open soundstage. It's not HD800 sized but it certainly sounds nice and expansive with good height and 3D depth. 
As expected, they are very detailed and don't mush together instruments. Very clean, very nice. And the bass really does hit quite hard. A nice surprise. (I remember that one of the issues I had regarding the SR007 was a slight lack of bass slam. I couldn't get that dynamic punch running them from a GES or 323S. And a BHSE wasn't in the cards)
 
My only complaint about the setup is the dual volume knob on the E/90. the left and right channels don't lock together like on Stax amps so I need to grip both firmly and turn. If I'm lazy about it, I'll end up adjusting just one channel and not the other without wanting to.
 
I really love the Mad Dogs and the 950 are, I believe, an improvement on them in most areas when I listen to tracks back to back. Larger soundstage, subtle details in the back of the mix or off to the sides become more clear with more subtle detail being audible, there's a bit more clarity and life to vocals. 
 
As someone who believes the Mad Dogs are amazingly good for their price, I'm glad that the Koss didn't disappoint. (I've owned other $500+ headphones that I've felt are bested by the Mad Dogs) They're more expensive but not drastically so and offer the kinds of improvements I was looking for. Oh, and the comfort is quite good too. better than the SR407 for my head - they exert less pressure on my cheeks and in front of the ears.
[

 
 

 

 

[M-13]

Nevermind

 

[mrspeakers]

FYI You can't compare his plots to mine or Tyll's as his methodology and results are totally different.  So hopefully this isn't confusing to people.  

 

[jibzilla]

Quote:

Dat Bass hits hard, hits deep, and hits fast. The weight and presence is unbelievable. It's like 800 pound gorilla-diaphrams moving at the speed of light to gobsmack your ears with the greatest bass you've ever heard. LOL

 
That being said I still prefer a more neutral bass with lots of speed, resolution, and texture. Mad Dog is right up my alley as a personal preference, and is closer to "reference" for me.

Little exaggerated imo. I found the bass to be def. a bit lean and not as much extension as a d7k. More accurate than a d7k or mad dog though. If you check the lcd thread I did do somthin to up the weight and presence to unbelievable however.

 

[Impulse]

Little sneak peak.

I like it, and I'm usually not a fan of too much bling or mods that don't look stock... That lettering sorta fits their old school steampunk-ish look tho. Whatcha doing to the arms?

 

[eac3]

Quote:

TBH, I don't think the MD really benefits more from a whole lot. Meaning, I generally find it sounds good out of a lot of amps,
similar to the amp person LCD-2. 

 
Do you know (coming from a Schiit magni) what would be a good SS amp upgrade down the road? 
 
Quote:

So a while back we were discussing stands for the MDs, and 6 weeks ago I joined the Massdrop for the Omega style zebra wood stands. 
Fits perfectly and doesn't squish the alpha pads as I had worried this style might. Very happy with it for the 35$ it cost me.

 
Wow, is this going to happen again. Where is the thread on this topic? And are you not concerned about the ear pads being compressed 24/7?
 
Quote:

I'm actually on the list for the he-400 demo, 

 
Come again? There is a thing called a demo list?

 

[vaed]

Quote:

 
Wow, is this going to happen again. Where is the thread on this topic? And are you not concerned about the ear pads being compressed 24/7?
 
 
Come again? There is a thing called a demo list?

 
Actually, Dan reccomends stands like this where the pads wrap evenly around the stand, as opposed to a flat stand where only the bottom of the earpads press together. Here's a picture of my setup (click to enlarge) to see what I mean by that. Sorry that it's hard to see, but you get the point. I'm currently getting a similiarly curvy stand to replace it.
 
 
 
As for the headphone demos, unfortunately, it's too late to sign up since all the spots have been taken, and from the bad experiences with people not shipping things correctly, it may not happen again. If you're interested, here's the thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/645941/headamp-headphone-demos-audeze-hifiman-stax-sign-up-now

 

[jyk524]

Just got my Mad Dogs yesterday and I'm very happy with them. Dan really is a pleasure to do business with.  I got them with the Vader stickers and I love the incognito look.  They're super comfy and the sound is great really balanced.  To the people worried about the Bass (coming from a newbie) it's there and it's good, it's just not booming and vibrating your head and this makes for a really comfortable experience that lets me listen for hours.

My setup 

Modi / Magni (turned to 1:00) and just listening to spotify on high quality

My iphone can drive it to acceptable levels 
 
these Mad Dogs make the world disappear when I have them on and turn on the music

Thanks Dan! Glad i took the dive
 
-James
 
ps. the vader stickers come on if you order it together, leave a note to send them separately if you want them stock with a DIY sticker job

 

[M-13]

Nevermind

 

[Landmantx]

Another potential candidate is the Koss ESP-950, which appears to be fairly neutral, though with rolloff on either sidem but with the ultra-clean electrostatic sound. The fact that it's a ~$600-700 electrostat and being compared to other end-game rigs is interesting, though to be fair the same has been said about the Mad Dogs. What scares me, however, is the bottleneck of the amplifier it comes with, and how electrostat headphones only work with electrostat systems. I don't suppose anyone has heard it and can compare it to the MD's? Talk of these cans has been extremely quiet.

EDIT: LCfiner has actually posted a comparison of the Mad Dogs and the 950 in the 950 thread! Looks pretty promising, actually!

http://www.head-fi.org/t/581491/koss-esp-950-thread/540#post_8845165

For the lazy:

Jazzerdave could address this as he has both in question. At a meet I got to hear them and I can tell you that I strongly preferred the Mad Dogs out of his TabooMK2. I liked it so much I am replicating it with the balanced cable and the TabooMK3. A little bit of amp overkill, but room to grow. LCD3, perhaps

 

[eac3]

Quote:

 
Actually, Dan reccomends stands like this where the pads wrap evenly around the stand, as opposed to a flat stand where only the bottom of the earpads press together. Here's a picture of my setup (click to enlarge) to see what I mean by that. Sorry that it's hard to see, but you get the point. I'm currently getting a similiarly curvy stand to replace it.
 
 
 
As for the headphone demos, unfortunately, it's too late to sign up since all the spots have been taken, and from the bad experiences with people not shipping things correctly, it may not happen again. If you're interested, here's the thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/645941/headamp-headphone-demos-audeze-hifiman-stax-sign-up-now

 
Thanks. I see some similarly omega style stands on ebay for ~$55 but was curious if they were the German made ones or not.

 

[Clemmaster]

Quote:

Tl;dr: an airier, sliiiiightly v-shaped open-back upgrade to the mad dogs that is perhaps a little more aggressive, but retains that beautiful midrange.

I'm running an asgard 2/bifrost. I'd probably upgrade the amplifier, but id like to stick with the asgard2 for as long as I can.

I've been thinking of either the LCD-2's, but afraid the treble might be a bit shelved, but the things I've heard about its bass is very tempting, plus the fact that the MDs seem to be its natural precursor (in terms of voicing)

I've also been thinking about the he-500s, but they're perhaps a bit laid-back from what I've read, and their power as a jack of all trades might not be the perfect investment since I listen mostly to a single genre (albeit a multi faceted one with vastly different production values and timbres). Other than that, their sparkle and slightly more present bass while retaining balance is attractive to me.

...

Thanks for indulging my curiosity!

 
If size and weight is not a concern, the LCD-2 is your best bet if you like the sound of the MDs.
 
HE-400 aside (which, IMO, is not a good performer, at least the pair I owned), the 500s are the least balanced of the Hifiman's lineup. The 5LEs are more balanced but they might lack the bass kick you're after (or not, depending on your DAC/AMP).
For metal and hard-rock, the HE-4 are kings but you want to pair them with a warm/dark amp to tame the treble a bit (it is never ever harsh, but it has energy, just like the DT880).
 
The old Hifimans (5LEs, 4s) are much lighter less heavy than the new x00 series
 
Put a pair of Alpha Pads on either and you get an extremely comfy set of cans!

 

[cans4dessert]

I wonder if Dan has tried making pads with memory foam.....
BTW, i'm really enjoying my 1wk old MDs!

 

[Impulse]

Thanks. I see some similarly omega style stands on ebay for ~$55 but was curious if they were the German made ones or not.

If the wood aesthetic isn't a big priority, you can always get this for $28 with free shipping... Not like the branding is very visible while the headphones are on display, and it'll probably outlast wood. It's very thick plexi, very sturdy, I thought about wrapping mine in something before it arrived but it looks fine as is in my living room.