[Armaegis]

Quote:

 
I took a second look through the Holiday Buyers Guide and I don'tknow how, but the XM5 (as opposed to the flagship XM6) slipped under my radar and on paper it looks to be a pretty decent pair with MD
Searching it up on Head-fi, it's only listed as three people owning it, and there's few reviews.
 
Has anyone had any experience with XM5/MD pairing? I can only assume with a +10dB gain switch as well as a 75ohm load switch it seems like it'll have lots of driving force for MD, but I'm new to amping (and power hungry cans in general) so excuse my ignorance.
 
I checked out the MK3 and SR-71, and the PB2, but none of them have features that I'd like and two of which are twice the price of my cans, so way out of budget.

Headphoneaddict has experience with the XM5, so you might ask him what he thinks. Back a while ago when portable dac/amps were starting just starting to hit their stride, I remember the XM5 amp was considered very good vs the competitors, but fell a bit behind on its dac. If you didn't want the dac, then the XM4 was the cheaper option. Actually, I think I saw an XM4 on the sale forums the other day.

 

[Apo0th3karY]

Quote:

Quote:

 
I took a second look through the Holiday Buyers Guide and I don'tknow how, but the XM5 (as opposed to the flagship XM6) slipped under my radar and on paper it looks to be a pretty decent pair with MD
Searching it up on Head-fi, it's only listed as three people owning it, and there's few reviews.
 
Has anyone had any experience with XM5/MD pairing? I can only assume with a +10dB gain switch as well as a 75ohm load switch it seems like it'll have lots of driving force for MD, but I'm new to amping (and power hungry cans in general) so excuse my ignorance.
 
I checked out the MK3 and SR-71, and the PB2, but none of them have features that I'd like and two of which are twice the price of my cans, so way out of budget.

Headphoneaddict has experience with the XM5, so you might ask him what he thinks. Back a while ago when portable dac/amps were starting just starting to hit their stride, I remember the XM5 amp was considered very good vs the competitors, but fell a bit behind on its dac. If you didn't want the dac, then the XM4 was the cheaper option. Actually, I think I saw an XM4 on the sale forums the other day.

 
I was going to use the XM5 as a home USB DAC/amp until I get a Lyr.
 
I'll shoot HA a pm. Thanks for the referral! I hope he doesn't mind being pm'd about it hah

 

[MattTCG]

Quote:

I'm planning to go to a local headphone store who carries Mad Dog this afternoon if the weather is friendly. There were floods in several areas in Jakarta, so traffic is kinda hell in the last couple of days. They also have a Shure pads MD (not for sale though). I'm hoping to be able to demo some portable amps there with the MD, including the MK3-B, the new Portaphile, and the Apex Glacier. I'll share the impressions here.

 
I wasn't aware that any merchant carried the MD locally. Is there a list of merchant who stock these? 

 

[gorboman]

I wasn't aware that any merchant carried the MD locally. Is there a list of merchant who stock these? 

You're in Jakarta too, Matt?

 

[jazzerdave]

It may have changed, but I believe the only places that stock the Mad Dogs were outside the US.  From gorboman we know there's at least one place in Indonesia, and I believe there was someone trying to get set up as a distributor in the Netherlands (though I don't know what came of that).  I can't really say more than that as it's just going from memory from older comments in this thread.
 
Quote:

You're in Jakarta too, Matt?

 
Quote:

 
I wasn't aware that any merchant carried the MD locally. Is there a list of merchant who stock these? 

 

[mrspeakers]

SoundConsult in the Netherlands

ClearSound Audio in New York
 
Big Knob Audio in Indonesia

 

[MattTCG]

^^ Thanks Dan. I was just curious about retail locations. 

 

[kskwerl]

That's really cool to see that merchants actually are carrying Dan's cans! That gotta feel awesome.

 

[hopkinsdrums]

Just wanted to say that I got my MD's recently and am loving them. MrSpeakers does a damn fine job. Thanks so much!
 

 

[gorboman]

I took my Sansui amp to the local store. We paired it with an MS2+. The source was from a laptop and the headphone was the MD. The consensus this afternoon was that they all synergize beautifully.

Other amp pairing with the MD that received good impressions are the MK3-B, the Portaphile 627 (if I remember the number correctly), and the E17.

As for the MD itself, mostly they prefer the Dog Pads from the Shure pads.

 

[reddragon]

Quote:

I took my Sansui amp to the local store. We paired it with an MS2+. The source was from a laptop and the headphone was the MD. The consensus this afternoon was that they all synergize beautifully.
Other amp pairing with the MD that received good impressions are the MK3-B, the Portaphile 627 (if I remember the number correctly), and the E17.
As for the MD itself, mostly they prefer the Dog Pads from the Shure pads.

 
 
the e17 did ok? i just gave that amp to my brother, maybe sometimes in the future we will be able to try it with the mad dog. 

 

[MattTCG]

I found the e17 just average with the MD. It was "okay" and certainly better than straight from my ipod. Ultimately it didn't wow me enough to keep it as a portable. 

 

[BobJS]

I'm considering these, but some comments seem to indicate the highs are rolled off?   Is this true?  I love my HE-500, HD600, Beyer DT880.  I would not be happy if the highs were rolled off like, say the HD650.  Given my likes and dislikes, can anyone either recommend or warn me away from the MDs ?
 
Thanks

 

[MattTCG]

First off, I love the maddogs. But they are closer to the 650 than to the 880's. They are well balanced with a nice touch of warmth with the dogpadz. In fairness I'd call the dt880 on the bright side.

Perhaps if you ordered with the shure pads they would suit you better. I only have the dogpadz version so maybe someone else can comment on the other version.

 

[paradoxper]

Quote:

First off, I love the maddogs. But they are closer to the 650 than to the 880's. They are well balanced with a nice touch of warmth with the dogpadz. In fairness I'd call the dt880 on the bright side.
Perhaps if you ordered with the shure pads they would suit you better. I only have the dogpadz version so maybe someone else can comment on the other version.

840 pads are pretty similar as well. And even the Fischer 003 pads, I'd say.