[coolvij]

Quote:

I just bought a pair of MDR-CD3000 and my Archos MP3 Recorder and Philips Portable CD player drives them fine but the sound quality is not the best. I prefer to use my cheaper $20 Koss KTX Pro headphones since they sound better with my portable units (these and the Sporta Pros are amazing for the price range they are in). The highs seem really bright and not a lot of bass using the CD3000s on a portable unit.

That really stuns me.........

 

[KR...]

you know something, for some odd reason the Stax Omega 2's sound like crap when listening to MP3's. I wonder why? Hummm, must be the headphones!

 

[neworder]

I don't know if my MDR CD3000 Headphones are broke (bought them brand new) or if all my sources to drive them are bad.

I have tried a turntable hooked up to a SAE pre-amp with headphone jack, a standard sony CD and consumer receiver with a headphone jack (this was real bad), 2 different portable CD players (A sony and a Phillips), a Sony MiniDisc Player, and 2 different mp3 players (Archos Recorder and Neo Portable Jukebox).

In all cases I prefer the sound of my cheap $20 Koss KTX headphones. Call me crazy.

I have a Corda headphone AMP comming in and I pretty sure it will make the CD3000s sound better. I will report when it comes in.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

neworder, I tried those $20 Koss KTX headphones, and I didn't like their sound at all - not even on my portables. To my ears, they have WAY too much bass, recessed mids and harsh screechy sibilant highs. I guess that you are at least somewhat of a fan of heavy bass. j/k

 

[coolvij]

neworder: What was it about the KTX Pro that you liked more?

A while ago, some guy got RS-1s - and went back to his grado 125s....because he felt the extra detail was...well...not enjoyable (!).

Perhaps this is what is happening?

Hmm.....

 

[neworder]

My Corda Amp just showed up and I tested out my MDR CD3000 with them.

I am new to "Hi-Fi Headphones" and maybe I am not use to the high detail/treble but I found the Sony phones to be brighter than I like normally. I ended up putting a EQ inline between my source and the Corda Headphone amp and was able to get a sound that I like very much (with the EQ I like them better than my cheap Koss KTX phones). I adjusted the bass up on the EQ and just a little in the midrage.

Now that I was able to get the sound the way I like it, I have noticed that the sound stage is a lot bigger with the CD3000s. When I go back to the Koss KTX phones, I still think the sound is pretty good but it sounds more like it is driving it directly into my ears and is not around me as much as the CD3000.

So now I have a MP3 Neo Jukebox portable with the line-out going into a EQ and then the Corda Headphone amp (I really like the crossfader of the Corda) and I am very happy with the sound. I did test it out at first with a CD player but I couldn't tell a difference between a 256k bitrate mp3 file and the CD Player.

The Neo Jukebox does create a little noise (I can't hear it when music is playing) but I want to try and get the cleanest mp3 source to the Corda Amp. I also have the Archos MP3 Recorder with Digital out (the headphone jack on the recorder has more noise than the Neo Jukebox) and need to get a good DAC so I can hook up to the Corda headphone amp. If anybody knows of a decent one for around $100-$200, let me know.

-Richard Holdman
www.funmp3players.com

 

[dngl]

Maybe you just don't like the basic traits of the CD3ks. If you like more bass, less brightness, try beyers or senns.