[x838nwy]

FWIW, I hope they improve on the finish. The shine really brings out the ripples - and matte black would be nice. The adjustors aren't actually gold - well mine aren't - they're copper-coloured to my eyes which would look lovely on black.

 

[miceblue]

Oh daaaang! The raw white 3D-printed earcups look exponentially better and more attractive to me than the shiny uneven-looking painted ones.

 

[Change is Good]

Quote:

Oh daaaang! The raw white 3D-printed earcups look exponentially better and more attractive to me than the shiny uneven-looking painted ones.

 
Yes, that white does look beastly!
 
And I agree about the uneven-looking paint... not a plus when considering the price of these...

 

[martybm5]

I believe I read a response from Dan in one of these threads that none of these were the final product in terms of finish.

 

[uzi]

Oh hey, so that's what those were!  I guess I was on a list too...
 
At the recent LA meet up as things were winding down, I wandered by Dan's booth (having just bought a Mad Dog 3.2 from him at the show), and he was holding a pair of headphones with white cups.  "Oh hey, what are those?" I ask.  "You didn't see this and please don't post anything about it" Dan replies with some nervousness in his face.  "I know how to keep quiet" I respond... but I can tell that if he had one of those "Men In Black" memory-erasing flashy thingies that he'd be using it on me right about now.
 
I decide to make myself scarce, but overhear an excited-sounding Jude ask "Are those *the* headphones you were telling me about?" as I walk away.
 
So I was on the list of "you know there's something exciting coming, you can't say anything and you don't get to experience it"... the worst list of all!
 
I guess I'll just have to enjoy these Mad Dogs 'til the upgrades happen... really nice of Dan to just charge the difference to upgrade.  That's supremely good customer service, and one of the factors that helped me to decide to pull the trigger in the first place (besides the other obvious ones).

 

[warrenpchi]

Wait a tick... Uzi, you're in the Bay Area?  Why are you not here with us at the headphone meet (and Headmasters)? 

  The info is in my sig if you want to stop by. 

 

[doublea71]

I'm not too concerned about the color, but I kind of dig the unpainted white cups - they sort of have a Stormtrooper vibe.

 

[ssrock64]

I think I speak for the majority when I say I'm perfectly fine with the color. In fact, I think it goes very well with the copper finish of the headband supports. On the Mad Dog thread we've already been there with discussing who will change that copper finish for what price, and Dan has made clear that his focus is on keeping the price low on high-end products, not catering to everyone's colorizing needs.
 
Somewhere down the road we may see some different color options (like when the all-black option was added to the Mad Dog), but we just need to stop hounding Dan and let him make that decision for himself.

 

[MattTCG]

@jerg...
 
yes, when I close my eyes with the AD on I can easily get a sense of openness and space of a decent open back hp. They are at least on par with the hd650 IMO for sound stage and instrument separation which in itself is an incredible feat. 

 

[DMax99]

So much big hypes of this new headphone!

 

[Marximus]

Quote:

I think I speak for the majority when I say I'm perfectly fine with the color. In fact, I think it goes very well with the copper finish of the headband supports. On the Mad Dog thread we've already been there with discussing who will change that copper finish for what price, and Dan has made clear that his focus is on keeping the price low on high-end products, not catering to everyone's colorizing needs.
 
Somewhere down the road we may see some different color options (like when the all-black option was added to the Mad Dog), but we just need to stop hounding Dan and let him make that decision for himself.

Heh...hounding...Mad Dogs.

 

[TenMoonsNorth]

Spoiler: Quote

 
 
Quote:

 
I can verify that the cups felt extremely durable, and resistant to hand-applied crush forces (sorry Dan

).
 
 
This.
 
 
Many impressions - most of which are from listening tests conducted in far more ideal conditions than my audition - have already been posted.  But as a long-time fan of the Mad Dogs, my shortened answer would simply be MUCH BETTER. 

  So much better it's not even funny.
 
 
He can hardly contain himself! 

 
 
Indeed! 

 
 
Doesn't it?  Except that - through a rather accidental discovery - we found out that the pairing above results in an rather significant and pleasing bloom in the mid-range, with the highs opening up so as to clearly not be dark any more.  It pushes the Mad Dogs clear out of any semblance of neutrality, but it was such a wonderful coloration I must say.
 
 
Just to be clear, this is not my impression.  I'm not saying I disagree (or agree).  But people did remark, after having crisscrossed the Headmasters room between the Abyss and the Alpha, that they favored the Alpha.  I'm not going to point out who, and I suspect that they will be posting shortly anyway.
 
Beyond agreeing with what Jude has said in the video, I don't have a lot to add in terms of detailed impressions.  However, I can say that in the limited amount of time that I had with it, I found no faults with it, save for the fact that the pairs I listened to were not under my ownership.  And I have a strong suspicion that I may have found my closed-back unicorn.
 
 
Sure, in fact, here are a few crappy pics of everything I saw/heard there.  There was some trouble with the lighting in the room all morning... and I have a crap camera... but here goes:
 

The unpainted demo unit featured at Headmasters/California Audio Show.
 

The unpainted demo unit featured at Headmasters/California Audio Show (alternate view).
 

Ear cup close-up showing previous "screw-settings" for adjusting bass response.
 

Dan "Mr. Speakers" Clark holding up a partially-printed ear cup.
 

A close-up of the partially-printed ear cup.
 

Another close-up of the partially-printed ear cup.
 

Yet another pic of the partially-printed ear cup, with an updated prototype in the rear.
 

The updated prototype coated with the metallic claret finish.
 

A close up of the updated prototype's ear cup - featuring the "set-screw" bass response adjuster.
 

---

 
Stay tuned everyone, I believe that HiFiGuy528 will be on site to take better photos, and shoot a video (possibly with an interview), in just a few hours from now.  And Bill-P has got MORE than a few gorgeous pics - as well as detailed impressions - going up soon.  Keep and eye out for their posts! 

 

 
As soon as I saw it was mentioned that it would be a car paint finish knew it was going to be shinier than an oiled bald head on a summers day. Personally, I'm neither a fan of that dark red or it's shine and it reminds me far too much of those classic cars that use the same colour. I would prefer a less shiny finish and something more like a dull black with MrSpeakers branding upon it. It's one of the few headphones where I would actually be proud to have them branded, simply because of their obscurity.
 
I do look forward to putting a miniature spoiler on each cup and a "go faster stripe".

 

[vincent215]

I am excited! Definitely going to purchase this for the holidays.
Jude, is there a quick comparision between this bad boy and the Audeze LCD close version?

 

[hans030390]

Can't wait to hear how these sound! Just gotta wait till I get the funds freed up.
 
I'm curious if the new cups do anything to help with harmonic distortion, as that's one area where the T50RP hasn't excelled yet (it's good, but not fantastic based on measurements). I'm sure some level of distortion is just inherent to the driver itself.

 

[Oregonian]

So much big hypes of this new headphone!

Unprecedented. Comparisons to the best closed cans in existence.