[mrspeakers]

We're really excited to introduce MrSpeakers' worst kept secret; Alpha Prime!
 
Yup.  It LOOKS like an Alpha Dog.  
 

 
You might think it's the same.  
 
Until you put it on your head and turn on the music.  
 
So what's different?  Well, we re-engineered the legendary Fostex T50RP driver and realized a new level of performance for our Alpha headphone line.  This is not a minor upgrade, and the Alpha Dog is still a great sounding headphone.  
 
We've spent the last year working on the approaches executed in this product, with a lot of dead-ends along the way and thousands and thousands of tests to get where we ended.  Our work was primarily driven by listening tests, and we are SO sick of our test tracks.  But we are so happy with how really musical and present this headphone sounds, and we hope those of you who try or buy one will really have a fun time with it.
 
Key benefits of the new driver are:
 

1. A really "easy" and fast sound, detailed but not "zingy" for a faster, more detailed sound free of hardness or glare
2. Better transition from bass to midrange and mids to highs for a darker and smoother tone topped by more organic highs
3. Bass that goes lower, is more articulate, hits harder, yet is more balanced with the rest of the music
4. Lower distortion across the spectrum
5. Improved transient response

 
We're really stoked to show this at RMAF, where we will have two tables this year.  We might even have a few to sell, we'll see.  
 
Alpha Prime is $999.99 and is available now with the first 100 (besides RMAF) to be shipped by December 8.
 
We are assessing the viability of upgrades, there are risks and we may not be able to reliably perform them. We will research and decide around mid November.

 

[EraserXIV]

Whyyyy???? My wallet is crying.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Dan, can Alpha Dogs be upgraded to Prime?

 

[reddog]

My wallet is crying I in despair. I hope you can upgrade an existing pair, but if not, oh well, what's money to a fool, possessed by the audiophile bug. If I must, I will use the regular alpha for the doctors office and the new prime pair for my desktop set up.

 

[mrspeakers]

My wallet is crying I in despair. I hope you can upgrade an existing pair, but if not, oh well, what's money to a fool, possessed by the audiophile bug. If I must, I will use the regular alpha for the doctors office and the new prime pair for my desktop set up.

Answer added in first post....

 

[Lohb]

How to distinguish a used Prime and A-Dog on the used market in future ?!

 

[Tony1110]

How to distinguish a used Prime and A-Dog on the used market in future ?!

Yeah, a little 'P' somewhere discreet so people could distinguish between the two.

I don't know what to do now. I'm thinking about putting my recently purchased Alpha Dog's on the sales forums and pre ordering these...but then I'd be without headphones for a little while. Then again, if I wait too long, we might be looking at 12 week waiting lists like with the original AD.

Probably the most sensible thing for an owner of the existing AD would be to wait for impressions and find out whether the additional expenditure is worth it. If I were in the USA I'd wait and see if the upgrade could be performed, but I'm not so shipping costs and further customs fees are a deterrent for me.

I don't suppose I'm the only one wondering what to do. Maybe I'll just keep hold of my Alpha Dog's and love them as they are. Lol.

 

[M-13]

Sweet. Let the journey begin

 

[cute]

Finally a dog with a bite as big as it's bark!

 

[preproman]

Well I owned every other dog,  Why not this one.  
 
So if I understand correctly this correctly "we re-engineered the legendary Fostex T50RP driver"  This is the same driver, but somehow actually modified - (I mean the driver itself)? 
 
I agree with Lohb.  There should be "Prime" somewhere on the cups..

 

[korg17]

good thing i decided to pass up on the alpha dog for now haha. but should have at least made it look different externally even just a bit, maybe a different color on the cups perhaps or as what others say maybe a "P" or a "Prime" indicator, otherwise, i expect alpha dogs being "fakely" sold as primes

 

[swspiers]

Dang, this has been a great year for headphones, and a really bad year for wallets.  I'm looking forward to the impressions on these bad boys.

 

[Tony1110]

Well I owned every other dog,  Why not this one.  

So if I understand correctly this correctly [COLOR=000080]"we re-engineered the legendary Fostex T50RP driver"  [/COLOR]This is the same driver, but somehow actually modified - (I mean the driver itself)? 

I agree with Lohb.  There should be "Prime" somewhere on the cups..

So much for all those reviews stating that Dan had already 'squeezed every last drop of goodness out of the T50rp drivers.'

 

[swspiers]

So much for all those reviews stating that Dan had already 'squeezed every last drop of goodness out of the T50rp drivers.

No kidding. But, progress is inevitable, and once you stop moving this business, you're probably dead in the water.
 
Anyway, I was thinking about selling my Alpha's, but will probably hold off until they decide about the upgradeability.

 

[RainHeaven]

 The best headphone that I own and use just got even better? Do want. I hope we can upgrade if possible because I don't want to pay the hefty full price...