[Bluebirdy]

The c5 does not have power to drive it well. I maxed out the volume and it is probably at my MacBook Air's 3/4 volume. The bass boost is good though.

 

[spurxiii]

I sold my C5 because it couldn't give me enough volume to my mad dogs. I got the PB2s now

 

[slim shady]

Should I go for amp+dac or only amp (portable) budgets 150 and source is my HTC one.

 

[hans030390]

You might want to consider saving a bit more for something nicer, unless there are good solutions in that price range...It's not a market I really keep up with. Try it with the HTC One alone first. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how well it drove the MD, though the volume could not get crazy loud.

 

[uncola]

  okay a bit of confusion cause im a noob now abt the balanced cable does it affect the sq too much , second i thought that balanced means that the balanced version is much more neutral and balanced that the cans are more modified i will be glaad ifsomeone can can explain this balanced thing in a bit of a detail.

This is the type of balanced they were talking about.  They weren't talking about high/mid/low being balanced, which is something else.
Balanced Headphones 
Balanced headphones are headphones that have been wired for balanced, or differential drive operation. Normally headphones have three connections: a left and right signal that is connected to the + side of the driver coil and then a common return for the - side of the driver coil. This common connection and its contact and other resistances to ground allow a small amount of cross-talk between channels to develop. Balanced headphones have four connections with a normal and inverted audio signal driving the = and - side of the driver coils for each channel. While this method requires special four-channel balanced headphone amplifiers, it completely removes the opportunity for cross-talk at the headphones and effectively doubles the slew rate of the amplifier/headphone system providing significantly cleaner sound.
 
http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/balanced-drive-faq.php

 

[kstuart]

This is why splitting this off from the main thread was a bad idea.  There was just a review of using the Mad Dog with a balanced amp and comparing with single-ended, in the main Mad Dog thread.

 

[slim shady]

can someone shed some on how well do the e12 go with md's or any other amp at 150 dollars of price point.Also how will a 3.5mm plug amp perform with the balanced md's using a adptor for xlr to 3.5mm since xlr amp's are expensive ???

 

[zachdini]

  can someone shed some on how well do the e12 go with md's or any other amp at 150 dollars of price point.Also how will a 3.5mm plug amp perform with the balanced md's using a adptor for xlr to 3.5mm since xlr amp's are expensive ???

I'm interested in opinions on the e12, too. I was going to get the JDS c5d amp/dac but since a few people have said it doesn't have enough power, I'm looking into other things. Portable amps (with a possible dac) in the $150 range would be great!

 

[slim shady]

  I'm interested in opinions on the e12, too. I was going to get the JDS c5d amp/dac but since a few people have said it doesn't have enough power, I'm looking into other things. Portable amps (with a possible dac) in the $150 range would be great!

i think e17 fits the bill at 140 bucks but don't know how well do they go with md's

 

[SeanDavid010]

I just picked up an iBasso D12 last week, and it pairs very nicely with my Mad Dogs.  It's quite an improvement over the Fiio E17 (which I bought, and then promptly got rid of).  The amp portion has plenty of power and my portable rig sounds much better.
 

 

[doublea71]

  This is why splitting this off from the main thread was a bad idea.  There was just a review of using the Mad Dog with a balanced amp and comparing with single-ended, in the main Mad Dog thread.

Post a link or re-post here. If you don't like the thread, don't participate.

 

[doublea71]

  i think e17 fits the bill at 140 bucks but don't know how well do they go with md's

It will provide plenty of volume, but I suspect that the MDs don't quite live up to their full potential with the E17. For me, I use it with Foobar2000/Wasapi and it sounds pretty damned good, but I have no frame of reference. There may be better options in that price range, but perhaps not many.

 

[doublea71]

From Head-fi Member EAC3:
Quote:

I just thought I would drop in with a quick note. I have been listening and burning in both my new balanced Mad Dogs 3.2 and my NFB-28. I recently switched back and plugged in my original Single Ended (1/4") Mad Dogs v3.2 to my new NFB-28.
 
I have only compared it with one song that I am really in love with (so I know alot of the cues and different parts of the song to look forward to) and what I immediately notice is that the single-ended version sounds a little bit dark, sort of cramped, or closed in whereas the balanced version sounds wider, having more room for minor details to be heard. I am not sure if this is what you guys refer to as a wider soundstage, but that was my impression. I am definitely thinking about an all balanced setup from now on, and will most likely be upgrading my single ended version of the Mad Dogs to the balanced version of the Alpha Dogs or something else.
 
Oh, also the bass is more present on the balanced version. I believe it is subtle, but noticeable. I will do more listening now that I was able to steal my single ended Mad dogs back from my fiancee 

 
 
 
EDIT: Had my fiancee listened to both and she can definitely hear a difference. Her words for the single ended version were "sounds muffled" and "I didn't realize something could sound better than these"
 

 

[martybm5]

  I'm interested in opinions on the e12, too. I was going to get the JDS c5d amp/dac but since a few people have said it doesn't have enough power, I'm looking into other things. Portable amps (with a possible dac) in the $150 range would be great!

IMO - THe E12 has more than enough power and sounds really good with the MD's. At this price point, I believe it is one of the better options available. The plus is the bass response. If I was to be extra critical I'd say the sound leans just slightly dark but that's a preference to me so all the better.
 
In comparison my ALO RxMKIII sounds much more even and has a better overall sound (but at $600 it should).
 
I would definitely recommend the E12 as a portable < $150 amp for the MD's. I believe most people would be happy with that choice.

 

[Bluebirdy]

I just received my Aune T1, and it feels phenomenal on my Mad Dogs. Much Much better than O2ODAC or E12+ODAC for my taste.

Addicted to that tube sound now.. haha