[wolfetan44]

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If have not hear them. but the guy who did the 50 Flagship review said this one for classical:
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009S331VU/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p23_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1M3S6DPZQNMXVYQK1028&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846

I could be mistaken, but I thought he was referring to these. If you do go with these, then spend the left over on a decent amp.

http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-AD900-Audiophile-Open-air-Headphones/dp/B0006OQY2S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361560990&sr=8-1&keywords=ATH-AD900

What about closed back. Sorry forgot to say that.

 

[sonitus mirus]

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For Mad Dog, I think you may want to look at either C&C BH or JDS Labs C421 (w/ AD8620) or maybe the upcoming C5.
 
I couldn't get any good sound out of the Mad Dog with my Fiio E12, or an O2. It's surprisingly a picky headphone in terms of amp and source.
 
Without the right amp/source combo, Mad Dog sounds overly warm and dark, with very little treble.
 
I did get some pretty good results out of Meridian Explorer DAC, though, and my brother said he enjoyed it with the Burson Conductor.

 
I'm not having any problems with my O2 amp and the Mad Dogs.  Sounds great to me.  This is what I use in my office.  Using a Logitech Squeezebox Touch as the source, optical out to an Audioengine D1 DAC (2 Vrms output) powered by an iPad AC adapter/usb cable to the O2 via RCA-to-mini cable.  I've clipped resistors on my O2 so that the gain switch is now 0 dB or 2.5 dB.  I've been using the 0 dB setting and I think it sounds great.  It might even sound better than with my Asgard.  It does not sound much different, if at all.
 
Maybe both amps I have are not that great with the Mad Dogs, but comparing it with my Denon D5000 with J$ pads in a similar setup, I don't notice any problems with treble or overly dark sound.  Not saying that you don't, but I would like to get other opinions on this to see if it is just our ears or if the amps are the issue.

 

[Kamakahah]

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How do you all find there looks and build quality? In some pics they look ugly but in others they look nice.

 
Well it's just the T50RP with some excellent leather pads put on, so I would say the build quality is solid. That being said, I personally think they look kind of ugly, but that's because I prefer a sleeker look (because I have a huge dome and don't need it to be bigger). I'd sacrifice the look for the sound any day.

 

[aamefford]

I'll chime in on O2 and Meridian. I heard both for the first time at the SF Bay Area meet. Others liked the meridian a lot. I did not. To me, it lost bass impact and control, and became a bit too bright and thin. To others, the meridian took away the darkness, and added sparkle. To each their own, we hear differently. I liked the O2. It was as good or better than my iBasso pb2/db2 set up. Neither are stellar, but both are good. The Lyr is very good, if just a bit syrupy. The burson concerto that Dan had was outstanding. There were also 3 kit amps that floored me - the sunrise project tube hybrid, Eddie Current's new BOM and boards kit, and Amb's high power mini3 with the lithium ion battery option. I think I was most surprised by the mini 3, as I was switching back and forth with the venerable B22, and the mini3 showed quite well.

 

[egonza24]

I just got my Mad Dogs and I need a portable amp for them, I don't want a amp that is too big because I will primarily be using them for school and the gym. What would you recommend? 

 

[gmoney9438]

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I just got my Mad Dogs and I need a portable amp for them, I don't want a amp that is too big because I will primarily be using them for school and the gym. What would you recommend? 

I'm not sure working out with them on is a good idea..lol
 
have you thought about iems?

 

[anoxy]

lmao mad dogs at the gym

 

[Bananaheadlin]

For Mad Dog, I think you may want to look at either C&C BH or JDS Labs C421 (w/ AD8620) or maybe the upcoming C5.

I couldn't get any good sound out of the Mad Dog with my Fiio E12, or an O2. It's surprisingly a picky headphone in terms of amp and source.

Without the right amp/source combo, Mad Dog sounds overly warm and dark, with very little treble.

I did get some pretty good results out of Meridian Explorer DAC, though, and my brother said he enjoyed it with the Burson Conductor.

I didn't quite like my Mad Dog with the C421 w/ 8620 (the BB for the extra punch is great at times though), but I do have an O2 coming and I'll see how that is. What part of the O2 did you not like? I've seen several people say that it's a pretty good match, although maybe not exceptionally well like the Lyr.

 

[anoxy]

My nfb12 sounds like sex. But I haven't tried anything else so don't take my word for it.

 

[Bill-P]

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I didn't quite like my Mad Dog with the C421 w/ 8620, but I do have an O2 coming and I'll see how that is. What part of the O2 did you not like? I've seen several people saying it's a a pretty good match, although not exceptionally great like the Lyr.

 
I haven't tried it with the C421 (since I just got a C421 again yesterday or so), so that was just a guess. I did try it with C&C BH, though, and I liked the extra sparkle.
 
I didn't like the Lyr either. Dan had a Lyr + Bifrost stack for us to demo, though I was pushing sound through my iPhone 5 with Dan's dock, so I suspect only Lyr was at work, but anyway... the sound coming out of Lyr was a bit too warm for my liking. It wasn't dark or anything of the sort. Soundstage was nice, and I could hear pretty good mid, but it was nasal due to the warmth. Bass also sounded slightly congested to me.
 
Out of O2, it was pretty much the same as Lyr. I could hear some clean treble, but the whole presentation was still overly warm to me.
 
And the dark sound actually came from the Fiio E12. Though I know E12 doesn't have any good treble to speak of (other than that it rolls off smoothly), so it's probably the worst amp for Mad Dog IMO.
 
To be fair, though, most of the setups I heard on that day were very clean and some with slight treble boost (like the HD800 setups), so maybe my perspective was skewered.
 
I know that at home, I love the Fiio E12's dark and warm sound to death.

 

[kskwerl]

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I haven't tried it with the C421 (since I just got a C421 again yesterday or so), so that was just a guess. I did try it with C&C BH, though, and I liked the extra sparkle.
 
I didn't like the Lyr either. Dan had a Lyr + Bifrost stack for us to demo, though I was pushing sound through my iPhone 5 with Dan's dock, so I suspect only Lyr was at work, but anyway... the sound coming out of Lyr was a bit too warm for my liking. It wasn't dark or anything of the sort. Soundstage was nice, and I could hear pretty good mid, but it was nasal due to the warmth. Bass also sounded slightly congested to me.
 
Out of O2, it was pretty much the same as Lyr. I could hear some clean treble, but the whole presentation was still overly warm to me.
 
And the dark sound actually came from the Fiio E12. Though I know E12 doesn't have any good treble to speak of (other than that it rolls off smoothly), so it's probably the worst amp for Mad Dog IMO.
 
To be fair, though, most of the setups I heard on that day were very clean and some with slight treble boost (like the HD800 setups), so maybe my perspective was skewered.
 
I know that at home, I love the Fiio E12's dark and warm sound to death.

Dammit! I just got the E12, it's no good with the MDs? I'm gunna go cry now

 

[mechgamer123]

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I haven't tried it with the C421 (since I just got a C421 again yesterday or so), so that was just a guess. I did try it with C&C BH, though, and I liked the extra sparkle.
 
I didn't like the Lyr either. Dan had a Lyr + Bifrost stack for us to demo, though I was pushing sound through my iPhone 5 with Dan's dock, so I suspect only Lyr was at work, but anyway... the sound coming out of Lyr was a bit too warm for my liking. It wasn't dark or anything of the sort. Soundstage was nice, and I could hear pretty good mid, but it was nasal due to the warmth. Bass also sounded slightly congested to me.
 
Out of O2, it was pretty much the same as Lyr. I could hear some clean treble, but the whole presentation was still overly warm to me.
 
And the dark sound actually came from the Fiio E12. Though I know E12 doesn't have any good treble to speak of (other than that it rolls off smoothly), so it's probably the worst amp for Mad Dog IMO.
 
To be fair, though, most of the setups I heard on that day were very clean and some with slight treble boost (like the HD800 setups), so maybe my perspective was skewered.
 
I know that at home, I love the Fiio E12's dark and warm sound to death.

I'm sorry, but from everywhere I've heard, both the O2 and E12 are very neutral amps that don't add much coloration, if any. Have you tried the amps with other headphones to see if the MDs are overly warm to you? I personally like the warmth, but to each their own.
I'd say anything from Fiio from E07k on up would do a good job at driving the MDs portably.

 

[kskwerl]

I'm sorry, but from everywhere I've heard, both the O2 and E12 are very neutral amps that don't add much coloration, if any. Have you tried the amps with other headphones to see if the MDs are overly warm to you? I personally like the warmth, but to each their own.
I'd say anything from Fiio from E07k on up would do a good job at driving the MDs portably.

How much more powerful is the E12 than the E07k?

 

[Kamakahah]

I haven't tried it with the C421 (since I just got a C421 again yesterday or so), so that was just a guess. I did try it with C&C BH, though, and I liked the extra sparkle.

I didn't like the Lyr either. Dan had a Lyr + Bifrost stack for us to demo, though I was pushing sound through my iPhone 5 with Dan's dock, so I suspect only Lyr was at work, but anyway... the sound coming out of Lyr was a bit too warm for my liking. It wasn't dark or anything of the sort. Soundstage was nice, and I could hear pretty good mid, but it was nasal due to the warmth. Bass also sounded slightly congested to me.

Out of O2, it was pretty much the same as Lyr. I could hear some clean treble, but the whole presentation was still overly warm to me.

And the dark sound actually came from the Fiio E12. Though I know E12 doesn't have any good treble to speak of (other than that it rolls off smoothly), so it's probably the worst amp for Mad Dog IMO.

To be fair, though, most of the setups I heard on that day were very clean and some with slight treble boost (like the HD800 setups), so maybe my perspective was skewered.

I know that at home, I love the Fiio E12's dark and warm sound to death.

If you can remember, how well did the C&C BH power the Mad Dogs? I just want to know if it still retains its clarity, separation, and has enough juice to keep the tight punchy bass.

 

[Bill-P]

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Dammit! I just got the E12, it's no good with the MDs? I'm gunna go cry now

 
It's not all that bad, but it does make the Mad Dog overly thick and syrupy... if you are into that.
 
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I'm sorry, but from everywhere I've heard, both the O2 and E12 are very neutral amps that don't add much coloration, if any. Have you tried the amps with other headphones to see if the MDs are overly warm to you? I personally like the warmth, but to each their own.
I'd say anything from Fiio from E07k on up would do a good job at driving the MDs portably.

 
I'd agree that O2 is very neutral. E12? Not so much. I have tried E12 with a lot of headphones... and I'm sure you can ask any other E12 owner to see if E12 is a neutral amp. In essence, E12 is probably more neutral than other Fiio amps, but it's very far from transparent... or even clean. There is a very slight emphasis in the lower midrange, and the overall sound is a bit on the mellow side.
 
I'm not against some slight added warmth in order to smooth out the music, but... it was really overly warm and dark to me.
 
And yes, I have tried both amps with other headphones. See here for some impressions:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/649174/review-fiio-e12-comparison-to-c-c-bh-jds-labs-o2-jds-labs-c421
 
I didn't mention the Mad Dog, because I didn't really like the presentation out of either of those amps. I tried E12 with 2 different Mad Dogs (one from Dan's table and one from a different room) to make sure it wasn't just me.
 
Maybe I had a bad seal with the new pads? I don't know, really... but sincerely, I would still recommend Mad Dog to other people looking for a good closed headphone under $300. I really liked it a lot out of the Meridian Explorer. The sound opened up, and it was only lacking a tiny bit of the articulated bass of the LCD-2. Everything else was equal. Mad Dog + Meridian Explorer is still less than the price of a used LCD-2, so I think it's some serious value.
 
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If you can remember, how well did the C&C BH power the Mad Dogs? I just want to know if it still retains its clarity, separation, and has enough juice to keep the tight punchy bass.

 
The C&C BH did a pretty good job. I preferred Output 1 to keep the thick, syrupy mid of the Mad Dog. Switching SF and LF to On helped cleaning the sound for me, and brought the sound signature to something more natural, but the lush/smoothness was retained because I think that's how Mad Dog was originally intended to be.
 
It's not perfect, of course. I think I still prefer the Meridian Explorer... (sorry to sound like a broken record, but it does sound pretty good out of the DAC), but for a portable setup, I'd say C&C BH is the better fit for Mad Dog than other amps.
 
And you can see very clearly I don't rate C&C BH very highly against E12 or O2 for any other headphone. I just think Mad Dog is a special case.