I thought I'd just give an update since the MAD has crossed the 150-hour mark. I am still a newbie, so please bear with me.
Since my initial impressions, I have replaced the Roksan Caspian (which has gone back to its speakers duty) with a Cambridge Audio Azur 840C. My set-up now looks like this:
CA Azur 840C --> Straightwire Encore II --> MAD Ear+ Purist HD2 --> RS-1
With so many new components in the chain, it would be impossible to attribute any SQ characteristics to any particular one component. So this is not exactly an update about the MAD, more like an impression of the current set-up that I have. I have run the Roksan briefly through the MAD and similarly, I have heard the Supermacro briefly with the 840C. Not a fair thing to do, using the Xin amp as a reference but that's the only headphone amp that I listened to most. Only where I am confident enough to attribute a particular quality to a particular component, would I do so.
Treble The treble is silky smooth. It sparkles without being strident. This is probably due to the synergy between the 840C and the MAD. Although the highs were never harsh with the Roksan+MAD, it was not as sweet as compared to the 840C+MAD. Naturally, there are plenty of details.
Mids This is probably the weakest part of the spectrum, depending on how you look at it. On certain recording, the vocals were sucked out (Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody). Same with electric guitars (Joe Satriani: Ice 9). With almost all other recordings, the mids were never the most forward, imparting a sense of depth of a soundstage. I am not sure if I can hear any warmth that is associated with tube amplification. And no sibilance.
Bass There is plenty of bass but perhaps a little less than the Supermacro and very different too. To give an analogy: bass from the Supermacro was like a hammer slamming on your chest when it hit you. With the MAD, it is the same hammer but this time the hammer is wrapped in a piece of very thick cloth. Although lacking the punch and quantity of the Supermacro, I find the MAD's bass more natural and better balanced when the whole spectrum is taken into consideration. The Supermacro's bass was unbearable at times when it intruded into the mids (Corinne Bailey Rae: Like A Star).
PRaT With the MAD, you'll definitely tap your feet. However, when it was substituted with the Supermacro, you'll stand up and jive (Led Zeppelin: D'yer Mak'er). No contest here. Not that there is anything wrong with MAD's PRaT. Just not as PRaTty.
Headstage / Soundstage Headstage is above the eyes and around my receding hairline. Image is solid enough. Soundstage is very narrow but there is depth. Not much that I can say here.
If you ask me for a single word to describe the whole set-up, the first word that would come to my mind would be legato. Similarly, replacing the MAD with the Supermacro was like staccato to me.
The Supermacro provided the slam that the MAD could never match. And because of the way it controlled each note so tightly, it seemed that you can see into the black background that was there. It also seemed very cold, lacking the overall warmth that the MAD has.
With the MAD, it is syrupy. Each note seems to flow into the next. Perhaps it's due to the air and decay. Because of this, it is difficult to discern the same background as in the case of the Supermacro. There are plenty of details and clarity is so good that sometimes I can actually "see" the fingers plucking a chord. The treble remains well extended and the RS-1 remains a bright headphone but I can listen to it hours on end without fatigue. The mids are perhaps not the best here but it only affects a very small number of tracks that I have.
So nothing is really perfect after all. Having said that, I am enjoying the whole set-up thoroughly. MAD + RS-1 is the best combo that I've heard (not that I have heard many others LOL).
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