[jibzilla]

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^^ True...but then you'd have no amp or dac. 

Yah but the schiit magni is only $110 shipped and the lcd-2 is an amp skank.

 

[aamefford]

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Is 3.2 that much better than 3.0? I own 3.0 and to be honest quite underwhelmed by their performance. So it's either sell out or upgrade to 3.2 decision for me, not sure which to go.
Anyone compared 3.0 with 3.2 to comment?

 
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I have, and the 3.2 is a definite improvement in bass, fullness, and musicality (IMHO). I liked the 3.0, but wasn't as enthusiastic as others here. The 3.2 sounds more like I was expecting them to be. They are clearly not perfect (a bit too dark, artificial S sounds, too upfront and congested), but they do so many things right, compared to their shortcomings.

I felt the 3.0 (If that's the first Alpha pad MD) was a bit flat and un-engaging. The 3.2 is anything but boring. It's clearly the best closed headphone I've heard that actually seals well (the D7000 did not)

Mad Lust Envy nails it pretty well.  I listened to both back to back.  The difference from 3.0 to 3.2 is noticeable, and desirable.  The Mad Dog house sound is still prevalent.  If the house sound is not for you, then going to the 3.2 may not make the difference for you.  It may be worth doing anyway, however, as the 3.2 upgrade will be easier to sell at a slightly higher price (IMHO of course), should you decide they are not to your taste.

 

[MattTCG]

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Matt, a headphone doesn't need to have emphasized treble to have sibilance. The MD is definitely a dark headphone, without question. Smooth overall, but certain s sounds have a tizz to them that isn't exactly natural. I heard that off both MDs I have used so far. Not a problem I had with the LCD2, HD650s, or Annies.

One AMAZING strength the MD has its it's imaging. That's a planar trait, and the MD is no exception. The MD's imaging in Dolby Headphone is also quite excellent, and it really helps make positional cues easy to tell where they are coming from, despite the soundstage not being anywhere near as good as the headphones I'm used to, though again, open vs closed.

 
I'm certainly not one of those who pretends to everything when I don't. That would be Mrs. Matt. She hasn't been wrong once since we got together...middle school. 
 
Although I have not heard a dark signature hp with sibilants. To me, the accentuation of the "s" sounds always happens with bright hp's. And I've certainly never heard  anything of the sort with the MD. Now, I have heard the MD sound somewhat bright before, but that was with very brightly recorded material. 
 
If you have specific tracks where sibilants are present please share them with me so that I can listen and possible learn something new. 

 

[Andrew_WOT]

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 It may be worth doing anyway, however, as the 3.2 upgrade will be easier to sell at a slightly higher price (IMHO of course), should you decide they are not to your taste.

Thanks for the input, I'll probably do just that, or should I wait for 3.3?

 

[Kamakahah]

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Thanks for the input, I'll probably do just that, or should I wait for 3.3?

 
Their descriptions seem to give a good idea what it will sound like. Mr.Speakers (Dan), described the sound in the recent newsletter as follows,
"The sound is extremely neutral, just a tiny bit dark, and incredibly lively and dynamic.  The phones sound even more “open” and mids are cleaner and less congested at higher volumes or in more complex passages.  The phone is never shrill or sibilant, and the bass is flatter, more powerful and stronger, but never over-bearing."
So if you feel like that might be what you need, upgrade.
 
However, I don't think that upgrading them with the intent to sell is a wise choice. Cost to have it done, with shipping both ways, is going to run you near 40$ and I'm not sure you'll recoup that in a sell, let alone increase the value to make it worth the effort. 
 
As far as 3.3 goes. Dan said in his newsletter,
"I believe the phones are at a point where we will likely be making fewer and fewer changes.  I love the pads and am not changing them, and am not doing any testing to change the sound."
 
He recommended that those with the 3.1 wait "6-12 months" before considering an upgrade. Basically, they are focused on their new products (balanced, cables, etc) and availability in Europe and other locations. If I had to guess, the 3.1 and 3.2 were a result of dialing in the new Alpha pads. I would personally wager that we won't see a 3.3 for at least 10 months. As such, I wouldn't wait hoping for something game changing at this point. The only reason for a random sudden change would be the discovery of something noticeably beneficial to the sound, and since he isn't testing, that would be unlikely to occur. 

 

[jibzilla]

So I have had a couple of hours with the annies. Biggest impression so far is the comfort, best velour pads I have ever worn. While I don't have the md's right now I do have the lcd-2's. Where I would say the mad dog wins in comfort and isolation the annies win in comfort and soundstage. That isn't to say the soundstage is bad on the lcd-2, just that it's much smaller and I'm looking for an open can with a large soundstage. I will have to go over some notes but I think I like these better than the quincy's that I tried out last year and I think they're gonna give the hd-650's which I liked a lil better a run for their money. I will have the md's back soon though.

 

[Greed]

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So I have had a couple of hours with the annies. Biggest impression so far is the comfort, best velour pads I have ever worn. While I don't have the md's right now I do have the lcd-2's. Where I would say the mad dog wins in comfort and isolation the annies win in comfort and soundstage. That isn't to say the soundstage is bad on the lcd-2, just that it's much smaller and I'm looking for an open can with a large soundstage. I will have to go over some notes but I think I like these better than the quincy's that I tried out last year and I think they're gonna give the hd-650's which I liked a lil better a run for their money. I will have the md's back soon though.

 
So far, I'm enjoying the Annies more than the HD650. I too just received a pair of Annies, and I like them a lot so far.

 

[hans030390]

To add to those discussing the MD's treble, I've always found the T50RP and its variants to have some slight treble issues. Measurements often seem to indicate a mild-ish treble peak or two, usually around 10KHz and sometimes 7-8Khz, relative to the nearby frequencies. Even if the overall frequency response has a darker tilt to it, I think the lack of smoothness in those treble areas can cause the issues one might hear. I've found this to be the case in the T50RPs I tried modding, the Paradox I used to own, and the MDs. While it might be a common T50RP trait, I think it's a fairly minor problem, even when compared to many other well-received headphones. I've always found a bit of EQ helps smooth out the treble and gives a more natural sound.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

As far as 3.3 goes. Dan said in his newsletter,
"I believe the phones are at a point where we will likely be making fewer and fewer changes.  I love the pads and am not changing them, and am not doing any testing to change the sound."
 
He recommended that those with the 3.1 wait "6-12 months" before considering an upgrade. Basically, they are focused on their new products (balanced, cables, etc) and availability in Europe and other locations. If I had to guess, the 3.1 and 3.2 were a result of dialing in the new Alpha pads. I would personally wager that we won't see a 3.3 for at least 10 months. As such, I wouldn't wait hoping for something game changing at this point. The only reason for a random sudden change would be the discovery of something noticeably beneficial to the sound, and since he isn't testing, that would be unlikely to occur. 

Yep, that 6-12 months wait recommendation is exactly what makes me a bit hesitant to pull the trigger now.
And wouldn't new pads be dialed in before going to public, which they probably were, but then again we have 3 releases in like 2 months?

Please don't take this comment as a negative, I am all for product improvement, it's just the frequency that puts me at unease.

 

[Kamakahah]

Yep, that 6-12 months wait recommendation is exactly what makes me a bit hesitant to pull the trigger now.
And wouldn't new pads be dialed in before going to public, which they probably were, but then again we have 3 releases in like 2 months?
Please don't take this comment as a negative, I am all for product improvement, it's just the frequency that puts me at unease.

They're normal concerns to have. Dan probably found something new after the release of the alpha pads.

As far as frequency of updates, I wouldn't be too concerned, as he said he's not working on sound improvement at this time.

 

[darrenscerri]

I am using the Magni to power my Mad Dogs. Overall am very happy with what I'm listening.
 
One thing I noticed is that the Mad Dogs require tons of power, especially when compared to my M50s (volume knob @ 12 is loud on the M50s). Sometimes (depends on the song) I can easily max out my Magni without the volume from the Mad Dogs being too loud. For some music which is mastered relatively quieter, I had to max out the Magni and increase all EQ bands by about +16db to achieve moderately loud volumes! I will be upgrading to the Schiit Lyr soon, so power should no longer be a problem.
 
Before the Magni, I used to drive my Mad Dogs using the Fiio E17, which I found to be severely underpowered for the Mad Dogs. The Mad Dogs are extremely flat, especially when compared to my M50s. With a flat EQ, the soundstage is very limited, but using a U-shaped EQ opened the soundstage much, much more - instruments sound further apart.
 
My first impressions when I tried the Mad Dogs with the M50s was that the M50s are much more fun, especially in low frequencies. At first, I thought I received a defective pair but some fiddling with the EQ and using a better amp (Magni) seemed to have made the Mad Dogs much better.
 
To be honest (I know I might be bashed for saying this), I still sometimes find the M50s to be "more fun".

 

[sonitus mirus]

What are you using for the source?  The Magni should offer plenty of volume level for the Mad Dogs.

 

[doublea71]

As far as 3.3 goes. Dan said in his newsletter,
"I believe the phones are at a point where we will likely be making fewer and fewer changes.  I love the pads and am not changing them, and am not doing any testing to change the sound."

 
True, but he is leaving the possibility open and states on his website: "So we never stop coming up with ideas and modifications, tweeks and tunes, and when one works, it's a great day." 
 
I'm going to err on the side of caution and wait awhile for an upgrade. The new one seems to be a noticeable improvement based on feedback, so it seems like it would be worth it to get the re-tune, but even Dan doesn't know when he'll have another worthwhile tweak. 

 

[Oregonian]

Any of you run these out of a vintage amp? I wish I had owned my Kenwood KA-5700 integrated amp when I tried out the MD's, cause as said, these are power hungry and that amp of mine could drive ANY headphone.

I probably still would have returned them but ya never know.

Vintage tuners/amps are the bomb.

 

[gikigill]

Yup, vintage amplifier powered Maddogs here.

I would recommend an amplifier between 1970 to 1980 as they had great headphone out.

Make sure to find one with no resistors in the headphone out.