[Chadley]

Just a quick FYI to the MadDog community.  If anyone is looking for a pair of MadDogs, I have put mine on the For Sale forum.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Love the simplicity of the Rega. It has top-notch performance and a decent price. I'm guessing you mean cartridge? I'm using a Sumiko Blue Point Special EVO III, an absolutely amazing cartridge. On my Thorens, I mounted my Infinity Black Widow tonearm with a Dynavector 10X5 cartridge. Both spin doctors sound wonderful, just can't get better than Vinyl! 

Regarding the Annies, I agree with MLE on this one. The biggest difference for me between the 650 and the 65th is the treble extension and clarity. The roll-off was very desirable early in my audio career, but I've moved on to want some amount of treble, even though I still am sensitive to harsh treble. The Annies deliver excellent treble and soundstage for the price, and those are two things that I've had issues with the HD650. Honestly adding the Reign cable did open up the frequency somewhat due to the silver, but I still prefer the Annies. Unfortunately for both of these headphones, they are going to be up on the FS forums soon enough to recoup some money spent on other items. Both are winners, but if you are looking for the more balanced with some warmth the 65th are better in almost every way.

Good to see someoe else who was able to directly compare. People think I'm joking when I praise the Annie, but then, they either didn't compare it directly, or tried comparing it to flagships...

 

[Lorspeaker]

Quote:

Just a quick FYI to the MadDog community.  If anyone is looking for a pair of MadDogs, I have put mine on the For Sale forum.

which version is yurs?

 

[Chadley]

Quote:

which version is yurs?

umm....When I purchased them (2 months ago) from Mr. Speakers, I got it with the Alpha Pads and comfort strap so they are whatever version that is.  How would I find out the exact version?

 

[Greed]

umm....When I purchased them (2 months ago) from Mr. Speakers, I got it with the Alpha Pads and comfort strap so they are whatever version that is.  How would I find out the exact version?

I'm guessing they are either 3.0 or 3.1

 

[jazzerdave]

Quote:

umm....When I purchased them (2 months ago) from Mr. Speakers, I got it with the Alpha Pads and comfort strap so they are whatever version that is.  How would I find out the exact version?

2 months ago would most likely be version 3.1.

 

[Chadley]

Quote:

2 months ago would most likely be version 3.1.

What's the difference between 3.0 and 3.1

 

[vaed]

I'm on my phone so I can't pinpoint to you, but Dan has a timeline of the changes and what they do. You should PM for that PDF.

That being said, Dan, I think it would be useful to put that PDF in your website announcements so its consistently available.

 

[mrspeakers]

I'm working on a FAQ for the site and the doc will live there.  Here it is again for anyone who'd like to reference it. 
 
 
   
 
FYI, I'm out of the office for  a few days on family stuff.  We'll be shipping domestically within 48 hours of orders, International orders will ship Monday and Tuesday, as the staff isn't trained on International shipping yet.  
 
I'll also be offline most of the time.

 

[Chadley]

Quote:

I'm working on a FAQ for the site and the doc will live there.  Here it is again for anyone who'd like to reference it. 
 
 
   
 
FYI, I'm out of the office for  a few days on family stuff.  We'll be shipping domestically within 48 hours of orders, International orders will ship Monday and Tuesday, as the staff isn't trained on International shipping yet.  
 
I'll also be offline most of the time.

Thanks for the PDF Dan.  Looks like mine are version 3.0

 

[Greed]

Quote:

Good to see someoe else who was able to directly compare. People think I'm joking when I praise the Annie, but then, they either didn't compare it directly, or tried comparing it to flagships...

 
Indeed. I try to keep an "open-mind" when reviewing and comparing my flagships to headphones such as the HD650, Mad Dogs, and Annies. They all are very good headphones in their respective price ranges and for specific needs. I still prefer open headphones to closed, but the TH-900 and Mad Dogs are here to stay for when I want and need some isolation. The Annies deserve some praise, although I don't think they are breaking any grounds or anything. I still prefer the HE-500, LCD-2, and HD700. One thing I should say about the Annies is they aren't worth their MSRP. I got mine used, and I've seen them new for $375-400, which is a decent deal. I wouldn't pay the 500-600$ they were going for new when they released, but at the price I paid, they are well worth it and you are getting a very comparable headphone to most headphones in the 600-1000$ range IMO. 

 

[doublea71]

FR Graphs would be a helpful way to give customers a frame of reference when considering the differences between the 3 Alpha Pad versions...

 

[M-13]

Quote:

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.

OMG MLE I totally agree with this! I had the version 3.1 btw. You hit it on the nail. I described it as harshness to the treble. A dark headphone can still have treble issues or random peakiness. LCD-2s also have this problem, but to a much lesser degree. Now my HE-500 has smooth treble even though it's significantly brighter than both the LCD-2/Mad Dog. Great job on spotting this issue.

 

[Hutnicks]

Quote:

I think the MD would be more enjoyable than the ESP950, though not as technically accurate.

The ESP950 is a wonderful electrostatic, but it's a bit safe sounding, and a bit soft hitting in comparison.

The MD is more engaging to me. I think the ESP950 is a masterful headphone for acoustic, and less aggressive genres, IMHO. The soundstage is leaps and bounds ahead of the MD too, but that's to be expected.

The MD has better depth and imaging, for sure. Immersion is a total victory for the MD.

I got rid of my 950's unfortunately. before I had a chance to run them on a STAX amp. Had I known of that little trick at the time I would still have them. The word I used to describe the 950 was "polite" They never jump out at you with an unexpected frequency "highlight" or transient anomaly.
 
Working up a set of T20's now so I am very interested in the MD sign. Imaging is good the depth lacking so far. The MD T50 may just turn out to be the way to go for me here. (Until I come by a spare 700 bucks for a new 950 rig).

 

[Lorspeaker]

apart from fitting it on T50rps.... what other cans can the alpha pads fit onto?  anyone experimented ? 
denon/beyer/ultrasone?  
 
(Or any intention to produce such sizes to fit these in the near future? Mr Speaker?  alpha pads look well made, at least from the fotos 

)