[Quadfather]

109 Pro Treble

I found that the treble diminished after about 100 hours. For my old ears, the high end on these phones suits me just right

I tried the HiFiMAN EF400 and found that the impedance was too high, so the volume control was at just above minimum. The highs were also emphasized, so I returned the EF400, and I am satisfied with the sound quality from my sightly warmer FiiO M11Pro.

Me too. No hot treble with the Lotoo DAPs. They're supposedly bright DAPs.

 

[Quadfather]

Just finished listening to Ott - Fairchildren with the 109 Pro and wow, what an absolute delight! I've heard this album through probably 20-30 different headphones and IEMs (at least half of which were more expensive than the 109 Pro), but hearing it through the 109 Pro really grabbed me for some reason. Such great punch, plenty of sparkle, just a great experience.

Funny thing is that I had just followed it up by listening to the same album through the DCA Expanse and I was not nearly as impressed. Sure, I'll bet in reality there were more details, bigger soundstage, etc., but it just felt like some of the energy was missing. There's just something different about the 109 Pro. It's addictive. It's engaging. The dynamics of the album (Fairchildren) really match well with this headphone for some reason. Just another example of the fact that there is no "best", only "different" in this hobby. Glad to own both headphones, but the 109 Pro is capturing my heart at the moment.

EDIT: It makes me recall something that a friend of mine once said. He said, "I don't really listen to headphones. I'm a speaker guy". What he meant was that he preferred the dynamics, the impact, the physical nature of hearing the speakers and subwoofers pressurizing the room, something that you can feel as well as hear, as opposed to just listening passively to the music. Headphones are great for digging deep into the music, dissecting it and "hearing things you haven't heard before". But they can't match the physical dynamic impact of a big set of speakers. This is a little bit of the sense that I get with the 109 Pro. Yes, there are many other headphones out there that have terrific impact, huge bass, etc., but the 109 Pro does it with more finesse and refinement, in my opinion. Add to that the comfort, light weight, superb clarity and texture, and relatively inexpensive price of admission, and you've got a winner.

EDIT #2: Just listened to several Phutureprimitive tracks through the Expanse and oh my was it a terrific listen. Super immersive, huge depth and space, with incredible detail and balanced tonality. Just another example of not being "better", but just "different". The Expanse wasn't a great match for the Ott album, but is a tremendous match for Phutureprimitive. Great times that we live in, where we have such a wide range of choices for audio equipment matching. Just wanted to follow up with my previous post and close the loop by giving some love to the Expanse. Dan really developed a super flagship headphone, but it comes at a price. Relative to their respective prices, I put the 109 Pro and the Expanse right at the top.

How about Sony MDR-Z1R?

 

[DrewVz]

How about Sony MDR-Z1R?

Haven't listened to that one.

 

[Quadfather]

Haven't listened to that one.

My curiosity always gets to me.

 

[csch92]

are are your earpads holding up? mine still look like new beside the little damage of the plastic part i did on the inside of the pads after trying to mounting them on again. (replacing them is still not easy) i really love these headphones thought. the comfort is fantastic and the sound is just right

 

[razoredge]

Im absolutely loving my 109’s pared with the Mojo 2, but im curious, would a dedicated desktop amp make them sing even better if I used the Mojo 2 just as a dac?

Any amp recommendations under $500 that would be a noticeable improvement over the Mojo 2 for when im stuck at my desk?

Hey we’re twins (I have the 109s and that stand) lol. I slipped off the rubber part on top and cut it in half and refitted leaving a small gap in the middle so the headphone can sit comfortably (the stock depth of the overhang is just short of the 109’s steel bands). See pic attached.
As for your question, sadly I haven’t heard the mojo, so I can’t directly answer. But I do love the sound of the 109 on my schiit stack (Modius E + Asgard 3). It sounds more tight, muscular, and bassy relative to how it sounds on my Questyle M12. At $623 shipped for the DAC, amp, and PYST interconnects from schiit, I certainly wouldn’t consider anything more expensive for $800 headphones -but the sound is pretty great for the outlay. I don’t know that a front end upgrade could take the 109 much further than this. I once heard it on a $2000 tube amp (LTA Velo) at a show and I wouldn’t consider that a worthy upgrade from my schiit stack. Hope this helps.

 

[razoredge]

are are your earpads holding up? mine still look like new beside the little damage of the plastic part i did on the inside of the pads after trying to mounting them on again. (replacing them is still not easy) i really love these headphones thought. the comfort is fantastic and the sound is just right

Mine are holding up pretty well. I clean them with lint roller every now and then and they look brand spanking new.

 

[pavoni]

I feared something similar, although when I sent an audio sample to Meze they said it wasn’t right and asked me to return them. They have now confirmed something is wrong and want to replace them.

So I’ll be interested to see if they ones they return are different.

It might even be a combination of what you suggest and a manufacturing fault or tolerance issue.

BTW a cable wrap around the headband damped the resonance - although is a bit ugly - and shouldn’t be required in a product at this price.

So for anyone else interested in the ringing issue, I have now received the replacement 109s. They still ring a little when you tap the headband, but only very briefly.

So if you spend time tapping the headband you might feel there is an issue, but cable and head movements don’t any longer create an annoying ring. If they’d been like this initially I wouldn’t have spent time tapping things looking for a ring!

Meze haven’t established the cause on my previous pair.

BTW it is nice to have these back and working well - they do sound fantastic!

 

[marekm]

Why would anyone want to tap the headband

 

[pavoni]

Why would anyone want to tap the headband

When I was wearing the old pair I would hear a ring when moving my head, or touching the cable.

It was annoying so I then started trying to find out where it was coming from.

In a properly working pair I wouldn’t have heard the ring, and so would have never started tapping things.

I’m not the first person to have had this issue (this thread starts a way back).

 

[Blindranger]

Hey we’re twins (I have the 109s and that stand) lol. I slipped off the rubber part on top and cut it in half and refitted leaving a small gap in the middle so the headphone can sit comfortably (the stock depth of the overhang is just short of the 109’s steel bands). See pic attached.
As for your question, sadly I haven’t heard the mojo, so I can’t directly answer. But I do love the sound of the 109 on my schiit stack (Modius E + Asgard 3). It sounds more tight, muscular, and bassy relative to how it sounds on my Questyle M12. At $623 shipped for the DAC, amp, and PYST interconnects from schiit, I certainly wouldn’t consider anything more expensive for $800 headphones -but the sound is pretty great for the outlay. I don’t know that a front end upgrade could take the 109 much further than this. I once heard it on a $2000 tube amp (LTA Velo) at a show and I wouldn’t consider that a worthy upgrade from my schiit stack. Hope this helps.

Brilliant, I’m going to mod my stand similarly today.

Regarding the amp, I broke down when I found a used Schiit MJ2 locally. I’m still waiting for the new balanced cable to arrive for my 109, but the MJ2 makes my HD600’s sound better than I’ve ever experienced.

 

[razoredge]

Brilliant, I’m going to mod my stand similarly today.

Regarding the amp, I broke down when I found a used Schiit MJ2 locally. I’m still waiting for the new balanced cable to arrive for my 109, but the MJ2 makes my HD600’s sound better than I’ve ever experienced.

That’s quite the stack you got there! I’m sure it’s gonna be killer. Let us know how it sounds.

 

[csch92]

i wonder how it would perform different to the fiio k7 or even better? what is a point of having a stack these days?

 

[peterinvan]

i wonder how it would perform different to the fiio k7 or even better? what is a point of having a stack these days?

I am happy with my FiiO “stack”

 

[csch92]

but why?