[Cruelhand Luke]

I have had the Argon for a week now, and the Dekoni Blue for a few days. They are similar in some ways, for example, the bass is close in quality and quantity. (Argon wins, of course, but it's close).
What I am finding more interesting is how they are different. The soundstage on the Argon is clearly much larger, but sometimes it is hard to get a handle on what that means. Defining soundstage is sometimes elusive and difficult to put a fine point on....but the difference on this particular track was pretty striking.
Around the 1:15 mark Lou Reed sings, "and the colored girls go, 'do, do-do,do, do-do'..." then female vocals fade in singing the same refrain.
On the Dekonis it sounds like the volume is slowing rising on the vocals and the voices are getting closer. With the Argons that same moment sounds like they start out very far away and their voices rise in volume because they are moving closer. With the Dekonis, the 'colored girls' seem to be covering a shorter distance, versus how the Argon presents the sound

 

[7keys]

I have had the Argon for a week now, and the Dekoni Blue for a few days. They are similar in some ways, for example, the bass is close in quality and quantity. (Argon wins, of course, but it's close).
What I am finding more interesting is how they are different. The soundstage on the Argon is clearly much larger, but sometimes it is hard to get a handle on what that means. Defining soundstage is sometimes elusive and difficult to put a fine point on....but the difference on this particular track was pretty striking.
Around the 1:15 mark Lou Reed sings, "and the colored girls go, 'do, do-do,do, do-do'..." then female vocals fade in singing the same refrain.
On the Dekonis it sounds like the volume is slowing rising on the vocals and the voices are getting closer. With the Argons that same moment sounds like they start out very far away and their voices rise in volume because they are moving closer. With the Dekonis, the 'colored girls' seem to be covering a shorter distance, versus how the Argon presents the sound

When are you going to be done with your review?

 

[Tacanacy]

Compared to HM5 hybrids, ZMF Cowhides are a lot stiffer and keeps the ear further from the driver, but other versions like lambskin/pleather should be softer.
I´m satisfied with cowhide as it smoothens the treble peaks and makes the sub bass HUGE, I mean I am having LCD levels of bass now (additonal damping was required).

The LCD series has ruler-flat bass...

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

When are you going to be done with your review?

I still have a couple of more days with the Blue, I'm taking my final notes and going to compose my thoughts....
I'm honestly kind of hesitant because I don't want to slag off the Blue, I like them compared to my other headphones. Interestingly, the sound is actually more similar to my Fidelio L2 than to the Argon. L2 has better treble and soundstage... but just a little. The Dekoni has better bass and midrange...but just a little.
Compared to the Argon...I like the Argon better in almost every way.
I guess my dilemma is this:
I keep coming back to the question of, 'who is the Dekoni for?' It's a bit of a toss up with the L2 in terms of sound, but the L2 is more versatile and portable (it sounds great out of anything, it can be driven by anything you plug it into) The Dekoni is a little bit portable (it needs a decent DAP or if you are using it with a phone, a portable amp) but it works better as a stay at home headphone. Over all sound quality I give the edge to the Blue, they have more...heft and weight to the sound. I do really LIKE the Blue....
BUT...if the Dekoni is better as a stay at home can, the Argon is even better still. For me, the difference between the Argon and the Dekoni is even greater than the difference between the L2 and the Dekoni.
I like the Blue, I am grateful for the chance to listen to them, but ultimately I want to give people an accurate picture of the sound....I'm working on how to do that in an even handed way, without sounding like I am trashing them.

 

[rendyG]

The LCD series has ruler-flat bass...

True, I may not have expressed myself clearly.
With Cowhides, sub bass extension is miles better compared to hybrids, it kicks hard and it actually reminds me lcd bass (even though it is less tight and fast, of course) when critically damped. I actually tuned my pair to have a touch more low end just to be a more fun. Argons have even more low end, which imho is one of the reasons of the big sound stage.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

I just got an email saying my order has shipped. Its been twelve weeks since I ordered my Argons so right on schedule.

You just got them a couple of days ago and you already have an ad in the classifieds looking for a trade...what happened?

 

[7keys]

I thought I'd like the sound signature more than I actually do. It does have everything it was advertisedone as but the overall tonality is just not for me.
I'd like to do some pad rolling but buying hundreds of dollars worth of pads is not in the cards. Mine came with the lambskin pads.

I have to say I didn’t like the tone of the M50x or HD598 and a few other cans that folks seem to like.

 

[Rhamnetin]

I thought I'd like the sound signature more than I actually do. It does have everything it was advertisedone as but the overall tonality is just not for me.
I'd like to do some pad rolling but buying hundreds of dollars worth of pads is not in the cards. Mine came with the lambskin pads.

I have to say I didn’t like the tone of the M50x or HD598 and a few other cans that folks seem to like.

Which one of the three comes closest to what you like?

 

[7keys]

I liked the 598 over the m50 because of the soundstage and positioning, I also liked the hd600 more than the 650..
The Open Alpha had the most WOW factor for me.

 

[VRacer-111]

With Gustard H10 output gain switches set to +12 and using the stock opamps I'm loving the Argon Mk3... so precise and detailed yet also very impactful and having a large space for the sound to play in and come across unique... extremely enjoyable listening for me. Need to find out what it's like on my second H10 with the Burson V6 Vivid single & Classic dual opamps. If my modded Purplehearts didn't have their massive subbass, the Argon would have easily replaced them...

The Argon Mk3 didn't wow me at first listen, but has steadily become more impressive as I find out what gear and settings it needs to show what it really can sound like... absolutely beautiful sounding headphone to me... I'll even put it ahead of my Purplehearts at this moment as it does everything absolutely better other than the massive subbass experience... it's not too far behind the Purplehearts in subbass impact though. The Trentemoller, The Last Resort album shows what it can do... all that detail/intricacies with relaxed yet very present highs along with clean, hard hitting, fairly massive, and punchy bass... VERY NICE.

The three amigos that are the best of friends - the M0, H10, and Argon Mk3:

 

[FullBlownEargasam]

The Argon Mk3 didn't wow me at first listen, but has steadily become more impressive as I find out what gear and settings it needs to show what it really can sound like... absolutely beautiful sounding headphone to me... I'll even put it ahead of my Purplehearts at this moment as it does everything absolutely better other than the massive subbass experience... it's not too far behind the Purplehearts in subbass impact though. The Trentemoller, The Last Resort album shows what it can do... all that detail/intricacies with relaxed yet very present highs along with clean, hard hitting, fairly massive, and punchy bass... VERY NICE.

What mods did you do to the purple hearts? Do you recommend the mods?

 

[VRacer-111]

What mods did you do to the purple hearts? Do you recommend the mods?

All my gear is listed in my signature link at the bottom of my posts, but yes I do highly recommend the Lawton driver damping and different pads. Would recommend the Jmoney V3 pads for a Purpleheart only, but they are basically impossible to acquire having been out of production for many, many years now. How my TH-X00PH measures with the Lawton damping, Jmoney V3 pads, and custom inside-pad half-attenuators:

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-L74fPBt/1/3ffdb2de/O/i-L74fPBt.png

 

[HiFiRebel]

Is there anyone with Monoprice Monolith M1060C and Argon Mk3 that could compare them. They are similar price and both get good reviews. I wonder which one should I go for. I like my bass deep and rumbling but without sacrificing mids and highs.

 

[VRacer-111]

Is there anyone with Monoprice Monolith M1060C and Argon Mk3 that could compare them. They are similar price and both get good reviews. I wonder which one should I go for. I like my bass deep and rumbling but without sacrificing mids and highs.

Don't have the M1060C but do have a few M1060 V2's, of which one has been modded. I like the Argon over it in every way, much cleaner bass with better extension and better details and clarity. M1060 also has that flat sounding planar characteristic, where the Argons lean more towards fuller sounding dynamics. I'll be selling off my M1060s because the Argon is finally a planar I really like the signature of (don't particularly care for how most planars sound).

My modded M1060...

And the picture just got me thinking this as well - I'll take the Argon Mk3 over the Campfire Audio Cascades for their sound! The Cascades are really portable and easily driven from most any source though. But they absolutely SUCK for gaming (narrower soundstage than Fostex TH-X00 but with poor, confusing imaging in the middle 1/3 of it being their main issue) where the Argons are absolutely awesome for gaming. Argon absolutely requires a GOOD high power amp to really experience it (same with the M1060).

 

[HiFiRebel]

Don't have the M1060C but do have a few M1060 V2's, of which one has been modded. I like the Argon over it in every way, much cleaner bass with better extension and better details and clarity. M1060 also has that flat sounding planar characteristic, where the Argons lean more towards fuller sounding dynamics. I'll be selling off my M1060s because the Argon is finally a planar I really like the signature of (don't particularly care for how most planars sound).

My modded M1060...

And the picture just got me thinking this as well - I'll take the Argon Mk3 over the Campfire Audio Cascades for their sound! The Cascades are really portable and easily driven from most any source though. But they absolutely SUCK for gaming (narrower soundstage than Fostex TH-X00 but with poor, confusing imaging in the middle 1/3 of it being their main issue) where the Argons are absolutely awesome for gaming. Argon absolutely requires a GOOD high power amp to really experience it (same with the M1060).

Thank you! I'm looking for closed headphones because my family complains about music coming form my Fidelio X2's at night as per this thread. I also fall a little bit flat when it comes to "good amp" requirement. I only have FX Audio DAC X6, which is meant to be quite good for the price, but I doubt it can be considered as "good amp" when compared to ones double or triple the price.

I really like the industrial look of Argon mk3 actually. The only two things that are stopping me from ordering is whether I should go for 1060C instead (apparently they are meant to be "better" than open 1060's) and the 12 weeks waiting list for the Argons. I am more of a same-day delivery guy (ie spoilt by Amazon Prime). I could have the 1060C tomorrow, but need to wait until late Januray 2019 for the Argons. I'm just not sure whether it is worth to be waiting that long. And what if I don't like them? I'm in UK, so sending them back will be expensive too.