[teknikk7]

Quote:

 
The MD seems to respond well to most desktop amps. It does need a decent amp though. The WA6 is a great amp and it's a good pairing. I have the lyr and bifrost and it sounds tremendous...

Ok, I am looking for a good closed back.  I love Bass, hope these will fit the bill.

 

[C.C.S.]

Quote:

Ok, I am looking for a good closed back.  I love Bass, hope these will fit the bill.

 
Depends on what kind of bass you're looking for. These aren't for big bass; they will not provide the kind of sound you'd hear at a club. The bass is essentially flat on these headphones. It's well extended and quite clean, but it isn't huge. You're looking at the right headphones if you want a good closed pair, though.

 

[cheuh]

At what frequency does the sub-bass start rolling off on the Mad Dogs? Since these are closed back headphones, do they have enough bass impact/rumble for electronic, trance, house, rap/hip-hop music?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

If you're looking for any romanticized bass, the Mad Dogs arent the headphone for you.

 

[ssrock64]

Quote:

At what frequency does the sub-bass start rolling off on the Mad Dogs? Since these are closed back headphones, do they have enough bass impact/rumble for electronic, trance, house, rap/hip-hop music?

I haven't run numbers on mine, but I've never had any issues with sub-bass even when running some Infected Mushroom through them (something I rarely do, as when I dip into electronic music it tends to be more on the minimal side).
 
People are going to hate me for this comparison because it'll sound like overhyping, so let me make clear before I say this that I'm not saying the Mad Dog is anywhere on the same level as an HD800. However, the bass presentation reminds me a little bit of the HD800. It's not big on quantity from a pure stats perspective, but the bass that's there is very visceral and impactful.
 
It's no PRO900 or not even an HE400 in terms of bass presence, but it's a whole lot more lifelike than either of the two. If the bass in your music is more of a constant boom than an actual musical part, you're probably going to be better-satisfied elsewhere. However, if the electronica that you listen to has some complicated bass synth, you may find yourself happier with the MD.
 
It's all down to what you value most.

 

[jazzerdave]

Not that it's a long writeup, but Stereophile's Stephen Mejias posted a short note on the Mad Dogs.

 

[gelocks]

Quote:

At what frequency does the sub-bass start rolling off on the Mad Dogs? Since these are closed back headphones, do they have enough bass impact/rumble for electronic, trance, house, rap/hip-hop music?

 
at 20Hz I hear a bit of rumble, at 25 it's strong enough so it DOES extends low BUT the slam is not the best for those genres...

 

[sonitus mirus]

Quote:

Ok, I am looking for a good closed back.  I love Bass, hope these will fit the bill.

 
I've found that I need to turn up the volume to a level that is louder than I would like to listen at for extended periods of time in order to hear any sub-bass on many songs because the mids seem to drown out the lower frequencies.  At very quiet volume levels, I don't find the Mad Dogs to be nearly as enjoyable with electronic music or even something like Steve Miller Band's bassy intro to "Rock'n Me".
 
 I usually listen at a level just a fraction above where I perceive the left and right channels to become balanced with my amps and measured with a C-weighted SPL meter to be around 70-75 dB max.  To most typical human ears, a natural V-shaped sound signature works best at very low listening levels, and the Mad Dogs are practically flat as a pancake.
 
For me, turning up the volume a bit on certain songs, or EQ'ing, can easily bring things to the way I personally enjoy with the Mad Dogs.  I'm a Denon D5000 fan, just so you know where I am coming from with my preferences.

 

[epoq]

I really want to demo a pair of LCD-2's against the MD's now.  To those out there that have had this opportunity, thoughts on the differences between the two?  Any semblance whatsoever of justification towards paying 3x the money for the LCD's?  I'm loving the MD's so far, great for everything I've thrown at them.  I hear LCD-2 thrown around a lot though so I'm curious to see what $1000 gets you.

 

[Greed]

Quote:

I really want to demo a pair of LCD-2's against the MD's now.  To those out there that have had this opportunity, thoughts on the differences between the two?  Any semblance whatsoever of justification towards paying 3x the money for the LCD's?  I'm loving the MD's so far, great for everything I've thrown at them.  I hear LCD-2 thrown around a lot though so I'm curious to see what $1000 gets you.

Tonality is similar for sure. But you are definitely getting a more refined, detailed, and somewhat more spacious sound. The bass definitely hits harder, and faster becoming more dynamic and visceral. Treble is about the same, but adds clarity and more air in comparison. The mids  are probably the most similar. They both offer lush, liquid, smooth mids that are both intimate and detailed. There a bunch of comparisons between the two headphones in this thread already, try looking them up. In this hobby, many people pay a lot of money for the subtle differences, so to some the upgrade is worth it, to others it isn't. Depends on your idea of value. 

 

[jjshin23]

I have the MD's and have enjoy them quite a bit and also have the LCD3. Both have similarities in tone but the space and clarity where the sounds sneak up on you from every side from the LCD3 makes the difference. Maybe the openness of the LCD3's help in that but for the price the MD's are my favorites to simply carry around and listen to on the go.

 

[epoq]

Any recommendation for tubes on a Lyr with the MD's? I got the Magni but I am thinking about getting the Lyr just to hear the differences between the two amps and I want to pair it with the most recommended set of tubes Schiit offers.

 

[m8o]

Quote:

 
at 20Hz I hear a bit of rumble, at 25 it's strong enough so it DOES extends low BUT the slam is not the best for those genres...

Hmm.  I'm going to compare my set to others @ the NYC Head-fi meet.  I wouldn't describe mine that way @ 25Hz.  (And I was warned about some variation in the treble or bass from unit to unit.)

 

[TunneLVisioN42]

I'm running my MD's off an O2/Odac, I was wondering did anyone find the MD's not as dark as they were expecting? I have some CAL!'s and my friend has some LCD-2's that I am going to A/B with today but my first impressions are that maybe for my tastes the mids/upper mids might be a little to front and center for my tastes? like many say I do notice that the LCD-2's have more weight to the sound and better separation but I am IN NO WAY saying the MD's are "bad" the LCD's do cost 700 dollars more...

It sounds REALLY good for a lot of my acoustic stuff and some of metal tracks that are lighter on drums, but for my electronic stuff and harder hitting metal tracks with a lot of drums the lower frequency's leave me a little wanting because the upper mid's seem to be jumping out at me more than I expected they would and to me at least they don't sound as warm as I was expecting.

This is all subject to change though because I am playing around with seal/clamping force, this may be why they sound kind of weightless to me, if you have previous experience with closed headphones and play around with them until you get that perfect seal I think you will know what I mean, I do have to say these are the most sensitive headphones to seal I have had.

 

[doublea71]

I just received mine today and took them out for a brief test drive with a J3 and E17. They sound very nice, but the E17 doesn't pack enough juice. I could get decent volume, but I can tell they need a bit more muscle behind them (E09K + E17?). What they say about the Alpha Pads is true: it's like having a buttery-soft leather sofa strapped to your head - they are extremely comfortable.
 
I have also heard that their sound signature sort of grows on you, so I'm going to wait awhile until my ears get used to them. I did notice that after I put them back on (interrupted by a call from work), my ears went "Oh, these sound NICE." Isolation is excellent and there was good bass presence (which I'm mentioning because some think they're lacking in that area - so far, that is not my experience).