[BadFish81]

I'm unsure at this point if the MadDog's are still breaking in, or if my ears have just retrained themselves from listening to the Dennons for so long, but I'm really digging these now.  There was a fairly long period where I was unimpressed with what I was hearing, but now I'm loving it.  I still miss the deep bass extension, especially when listening to electronica, but I'm really appreciating mids and highs far more than I could on the Dennons.  Snares, cymbals and bass pops and slaps sound incredible. 
 
The downside to this clarity in the mid range is that you can really tell the difference between a live recording and a sampled drum track, perhaps it's time to invest in a DAC, or maybe that will compound the problem? 
 
My minor complaints, and my ears aren't as well developed as most on these forums, but there is a range somewhere in the upper-lows/lower-mids that's a touch too loud, certain drums can induce a bit of a wince-effect, meanwhile the lower bass is a little lifeless.  Some of this is probably correctable with EQ'ing, but I can understand why there is such mixed feedback on the bass, it really depends on what kind of music you're listening to.  It's not as big a deal as harsh treble which I can't tolerate at all, but It sounds like the new pads were designed precisely to balance this out.  I've wanted to hold out to hear first hand impressions, but I may just go ahead and preorder myself now that I know I'm happy with the headphones.  Just a little concerned about losing too much of the mid-bass which is my favorite range with the funk, acid-jazz and downtempo I listen to a lot of.
 

 

[LCfiner]

I'm gonna guess it might be mostly due to retraining your ears from the Denons. having owned them before (D5000), I know that the bass can be really fun and other cans might sound weak in that area at first. The MD bass is pretty darn good, but not nearly as big as the Dx000 bass.
 
On another note, I am running the MD now from the Fostex HP-P1 and i think they sound incredible. the DAC in the HP-P1 really surprised me. It opens up the soundstage by a good amount over the iPhone DAC  - and even the ODAC on my computer. And the highs sound more prominent than the ODAC or iphone DAC. The sound is very toe-tapping. The Mad Dogs are slightly laid back headphones and the HP-P1 gives them a little extra jolt.
 
The amp in the HP-P1 needs to be set to gain 3 and the dial used between noon and 3 oclock but the sound isn't harsh or brittle (no scratchiness or sibilance) with the MD. The highs are definitely more lively than the iphone DAC. Bass has good kick and extends deep but isn't rounded or slightly blooming like the Continental amp I was using prior to this.
 
The best combo was Fostex line out to the Cont. (or Amphora on the desktop) but that's too big of a transportable package for me to carry around. The sound of this setup has me reconsidering using my computer with ODAC and Amphora. I might want to make an ipod/ ipad the main music playback device in my house, so I can take advantage of the HP-P1 DAC. I can hook it up to my Amphora while sitting at a desk, or use the HP-P1 amp while in the bedroom/ living room reading chair, etc.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

I'm unsure at this point if the MadDog's are still breaking in, or if my ears have just retrained themselves from listening to the Dennons for so long, but I'm really digging these now.  There was a fairly long period where I was unimpressed with what I was hearing, but now I'm loving it.  I still miss the deep bass extension, especially when listening to electronica, but I'm really appreciating mids and highs far more than I could on the Dennons.  Snares, cymbals and bass pops and slaps sound incredible. 
 
The downside to this clarity in the mid range is that you can really tell the difference between a live recording and a sampled drum track, perhaps it's time to invest in a DAC, or maybe that will compound the problem? 
 
My minor complaints, and my ears aren't as well developed as most on these forums, but there is a range somewhere in the upper-lows/lower-mids that's a touch too loud, certain drums can induce a bit of a wince-effect, meanwhile the lower bass is a little lifeless.  Some of this is probably correctable with EQ'ing, but I can understand why there is such mixed feedback on the bass, it really depends on what kind of music you're listening to.  It's not as big a deal as harsh treble which I can't tolerate at all, but It sounds like the new pads were designed precisely to balance this out.  I've wanted to hold out to hear first hand impressions, but I may just go ahead and preorder myself now that I know I'm happy with the headphones.  Just a little concerned about losing too much of the mid-bass which is my favorite range with the funk, acid-jazz and downtempo I listen to a lot of.
 

 
You mean the sound is too forward and aggressive to your ears? 

 

[RushNerd]

Quote:

I'm gonna guess it might be mostly due to retrainign your ears from the Denons. having owned them before (D5000), I know that the bass can be really fun and other cans might sound weak in that area at first. The MD bass is pretty darn good, but not nearly as big as the Dx000 bass.
 
On another note, I am running the MD now from the Fostex HP-P1 and i think they sound incredible. the DAC in the HP-P1 really surprised me. It opens up the soundstage by a good amount over the iPhone DAC  - and even the ODAC on my computer. And the highs sound more prominent than the ODAC or iphone DAC. The sound is very toe-tapping. The Mad Dogs are slightly laid back headphones and the HP-P1 gives them a little extra jolt.
 
The amp in the HP-P1 needs to be set to gain 3 and the dial used between noon and 3 oclock but the sound isn't harsh or brittle (no scratchiness or sibilance) with the MD. The highs are definitely more lively than the iphone DAC. Bass has good kick and extends deep but isn't rounded or slightly blooming like the Continental amp I was using prior to this.
 
The best combo was Fostex line out to the Cont. (or Amphora on the desktop) but that's too big of a transportable package for me to carry around. The sound of this setup has me reconsidering using my computer with ODAC and Amphora. I might want to make an ipod/ ipad the main music playback device in my house, so I can take advantage of the HP-P1 DAC. I can hook it up to my Amphora while sitting at a desk, or use the HP-P1 amp while in the bedroom/ living room reading chair, etc.

Tell me about it, I just got my 5k's yesterday and will get the mad dogs W/dogpads as soon as he ships them. Hopefully I don't compare them too harshly.

 

[olegausany]

Quote:

I'm gonna guess it might be mostly due to retrainign your ears from the Denons. having owned them before (D5000), I know that the bass can be really fun and other cans might sound weak in that area at first. The MD bass is pretty darn good, but not nearly as big as the Dx000 bass.
 
On another note, I am running the MD now from the Fostex HP-P1 and i think they sound incredible. the DAC in the HP-P1 really surprised me. It opens up the soundstage by a good amount over the iPhone DAC  - and even the ODAC on my computer. And the highs sound more prominent than the ODAC or iphone DAC. The sound is very toe-tapping. The Mad Dogs are slightly laid back headphones and the HP-P1 gives them a little extra jolt.
 
The amp in the HP-P1 needs to be set to gain 3 and the dial used between noon and 3 oclock but the sound isn't harsh or brittle (no scratchiness or sibilance) with the MD. The highs are definitely more lively than the iphone DAC. Bass has good kick and extends deep but isn't rounded or slightly blooming like the Continental amp I was using prior to this.
 
The best combo was Fostex line out to the Cont. (or Amphora on the desktop) but that's too big of a transportable package for me to carry around. The sound of this setup has me reconsidering using my computer with ODAC and Amphora. I might want to make an ipod/ ipad the main music playback device in my house, so I can take advantage of the HP-P1 DAC. I can hook it up to my Amphora while sitting at a desk, or use the HP-P1 amp while in the bedroom/ living room reading chair, etc.

Tell me about it, I just got my 5k's yesterday and will get the mad dogs W/dogpads as soon as he ships them. Hopefully I don't compare them too harshly.

What about Asgard? You have it already or still waiting for it?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[RushNerd]

Quote:

What about Asgard? You have it already or still waiting for it?
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Yeah it showed up the same day! I posted impressions on the denon amping thread. Seriously impressed with the asgard aside from random bits of static from turning the knob almost all the way up. Man this thing is built well. Should be a good fit for the mad dogs but i'm really not sure.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Yeah it showed up the same day! I posted impressions on the denon amping thread. Seriously impressed with the asgard aside from random bits of static from turning the knob almost all the way up. Man this thing is built well. Should be a good fit for the mad dogs but i'm really not sure.

 
 
You had to turn it all the way up with an efficient headphone like Denons?

 

[RushNerd]

Quote:

 
 
You had to turn it all the way up on with an efficient headphone like Denons?

nonononoooo. 12 o clock is very pleasing and 2 o clock is usually maximum. I just meant when nothing is playing, turning it up that high. So i'll have to go through my chain and see if something is making that intermittent static noise.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

nonononoooo. 12 o clock is very pleasing and 2 o clock is usually maximum. I just meant when nothing is playing, turning it up that high. So i'll have to go through my chain and see if something is making that intermittent static noise.

 
 
OK - My bad.

 

[MattTCG]

I don't think that I even got to 12 with the Asgard and Denon. 

 

[RushNerd]

Quote:

I don't think that I even got to 12 with the Asgard and Denon. 

I use the itunes EQ on the 32 and 64hz bands so I have to minus about 6db from the EQ menu.

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

I'm unsure at this point if the MadDog's are still breaking in, or if my ears have just retrained themselves from listening to the Dennons for so long, but I'm really digging these now.

 
It's your brain/ears adjusting to the Mad Dogs.

 

[RushNerd]

Quote:

Quote:
 
It's your brain/ears adjusting to the Mad Dogs.

Since it's a completely different "speaker" I seriously wonder if the Fostex's need little if any burning in.

 

[MattTCG]

For me, the modded fostex did take some time to burn in properly and to sound it's best. I didn't keep up with the hours. But they started to really sound good after a month. I didn't wear them a lot in the beginning. 

 

[RushNerd]

Quote:

For me, the modded fostex did take some time to burn in properly and to sound it's best. I didn't keep up with the hours. But they started to really sound good after a month. I didn't wear them a lot in the beginning. 

I don't have a month to burn them in because the mad dogs have to go back in 15 days after I get them if I decide not to keep them