[posteriorpounde]

After lots of careful consideration, I thought I had settled on the mad dogs for their sweet vocals, overall balance, and durable build. However, right before I was placing my order, I discovered the Soundmagic HP100s, which retailed for $100 less. After doing some more research, I found lots of accolade for these cans, one of which especially caught my eye:
 
"Lots of people like the K550 but would have preferred more bass presence, this HP100 brings you exactly that while maintaining the neutrality and clarity."
-Headfonia
 
I owned the K550s for a month before returning them because of the lack of bass impact and the overall poor fitting (headband, wide cups make it hard to fit, no clamp force). I loved the vocal presence and separation, but I thought that I'd also take a shot at the Mad Dogs, given their slight bass hump and 'honey vocals' according to some. Then comes the HP100 which has reportedly very comfortable cups and more bass presence, while being an overall more neutral headphone. Some others say that the
 
"Soundmagic HP100 is supposed to be weak on bass and is pretty bright."
 
 
 
I would love to hear from anyone who has heard both, or even better someone who owns both, and could give me a comparison between the two!
*to be used with C&C BH and IP5/PC (no DAC) for rock, pop, metal, and electro

 

[posteriorpounde]

bump

 

[Kid 1]

Yes I'm interested in this comparison also. someone out there must of tried both of these headphones.

 

[robm321]

S

 

[Marximus]

I've owned both recently, though not *quite* at the same time.  I found the Mad Dogs to be very cluttered and claustrophobic feeling, like every instrument and voice was trying to reach your ear at the same time.  They were also quite midrangey, so that even though they weren't bass-heavy, they still felt kind of congested.
I definitely prefer the HP100s.  They sound a lot cleaner and more spacious to me, and while they do have heavier bass (I'd describe it as slightly north of neutral), it's still very clean and tight, and doesn't really intrude on the rest of the spectrum.  The Mad Dogs are also pretty heavy, even if they have better comfort over the long term (my ears touch the drivers on the HP100s).  Long-term comfort is an issue for me with the HP100s, but I tried a pad swap with my DT 770s, and not only do the DT 770 pads fit well, they also don't seem to affect the sound much (either positively or negatively).  And of course, I found them more comfortable.  So I've got a pair of the black velours incoming. 
TL; DR:  I definitely prefer the HP100s, regardless of price (factoring in price, I prefer the HP100s more).

 

[posteriorpounde]

Thanks a lot!
 

 

[Marximus]

Sure.  I only owned the Mad Dogs very briefly (like, a day), so they weren't burned in, and my equipment may not have been optimal for them (laptop->Audinst HUD-MX1->Purity Audio KICAS), but I tend to be fairly, uh, blunt (?) and make my decisions about headphones quickly.
On another note, with regard to some saying the HP100s are weak on bass and bright, I don't view them that way at all.  I think they have elevated bass (above neutral) and they're slightly warm.  I'd describe them as organic and rich, but never bright.

 

[McPatD]

I have HP100s coming tomorrow and will (try to remember to) post some thoughts.

 

[McPatD]

Bummer! Got my HP100 but either the cable or phone is defective. Attaching the cable in locked and unlocked positions the sound would cut in and out at different strengths on L or R before finally outputting no sound at all. Going back to Micca/Amazon for a new pair. I have not read anything else on this issue from others.

 

[Marximus]

I've heard some isolated incidents of a sound cut-out issue, but I think they're fairly rare, and I haven't had issues with either of mine.

 

[McPatD]

I tried a very thin 3.5 cable that was able to go into the phone and had the same result so it is definitely an issue with the phone input and not the supplied cable.

 

[Quadpatch]

Hey this is interesting. I have this sound cut out issue. It sounds like a fizzling noise when I move the cable at a few points. My issue seems to be the cable, I have 3 original new cables and they all do it. Then I found another cable with a very thin connector that fitted and the issue was gone. The sound quality also sounded a bit better.

 

[Anewills]

Quote:

Sure.  I only owned the Mad Dogs very briefly (like, a day), so they weren't burned in, and my equipment may not have been optimal for them (laptop->Audinst HUD-MX1->Purity Audio KICAS), but I tend to be fairly, uh, blunt (?) and make my decisions about headphones quickly.
On another note, with regard to some saying the HP100s are weak on bass and bright, I don't view them that way at all.  I think they have elevated bass (above neutral) and they're slightly warm.  I'd describe them as organic and rich, but never bright.

You mention that they weren't burned in.  You gotta think that they would improve dramatically with the proper burn in time?  At least for me, the hp100's definitley did along with the other few headphones I own. 

 

[AbsoluteZero]

Hey, you might want to look at the reviews for both of them here:
 
http://noblehifi.blogspot.sg/2012/10/soundmagic-hp100-review.html#!/2012/10/soundmagic-hp100-review.html
 
http://noblehifi.blogspot.sg/#!/2013/01/mr-speakers-mad-dog-review.html
 
Also I don't think the Mad Dogs are congested , they offer me a great deal of clarity for me and also the the comfort of the Mad Dogs are one of the better ones in the price range.Can't say anything about the Soundmagic HP100 since I have not owned one.
 
Just my 2 cents....

 

[Makiah S]

Quote:

Hey, you might want to look at the reviews for both of them here:
 
http://noblehifi.blogspot.sg/2012/10/soundmagic-hp100-review.html#!/2012/10/soundmagic-hp100-review.html
 
http://noblehifi.blogspot.sg/#!/2013/01/mr-speakers-mad-dog-review.html
 
Also I don't think the Mad Dogs are congested , they offer me a great deal of clarity for me and also the the comfort of the Mad Dogs are one of the better ones in the price range.Can't say anything about the Soundmagic HP100 since I have not owned one.
 
Just my 2 cents....

I owned the Mad Dogs for about 6 days and yea they sounded Very Congested to me with some music, with Darker Tunes, like Nu Jazz they where wonderful! non the Less I've heard about the Sound Magics as well, although they seems to have some SERIOUS quality issues... compliants of Sound cutting out in addition to overly bassy pairs...
 
I will say the Mad Dogs scale amazingly well, a cheap amp and DAP will make them sound horribly cramped, where as a nice Source and amp will open them up nicely!