[DrSheep]

Damn, I should have ordered a long time ago. A Dec 6th order date means next Feb or March I guess.

 

[mrspeakers]

Damn, I should have ordered a long time ago. A Dec 6th order date means next Feb or March I guess.

It should ship in January before the end of the month.  My highest priority is increasing capacity while maintaining quality.  

 

[DrSheep]

It should ship in January before the end of the month.  My highest priority is increasing capacity while maintaining quality.  

I hope the orders keep on coming for you, and have a merry Christmas.

 

[miceblue]

How long does it take to make a single Alpha Dog? Usually 3D printers print pretty slowly from my experience, and I'll bet they need to be precise for these 3D-printed earcups/stopper thingamabob on the rails.

 

[mrspeakers]

How long does it take to make a single Alpha Dog? Usually 3D printers print pretty slowly from my experience, and I'll bet they need to be precise for these 3D-printed earcups/stopper thingamabob on the rails.

 
Let's just say we're operating a sizable number of printers at this point. 

 

[swspiers]

I do find that that first impressions tend to be lasting ones, but re: audiophile equipment, it is not always the case ... Psychologically, you can either WANT to love equipment because you paid a lot of clams for it, or get too caught up by hype & then be disappointed at first blush. It often takes time to sort these things out better.

Equipment with neutral sound characteristics tends to not be as sexy 'cause you don't appear to have that fuller bass that you are so accustomed too. Over time & with extended listening, you realize that the Alpha Dogs have excellent bass that digs deep with uber inner detail, & you don't miss that overly jacked-up bass. You appreciate hearing MORE of the music.

I have found this to be true with better designed loudspeakers as well, or when you apply acoustical room treatments. It comes back to a flatter frequency response. Things sound cleaner, less muddled; but your brain needs some time to adjust to this "different" sound you are hearing.

Also, you need time with equipment to truly appreciate (or not) listening to different musical genres.

+ 1000 on mentioning the psychology of listening.  It's a very unappreciated topic, and neutral can sound like something is missing. 
 
What surprised me was how quickly I adapted to the AD's, especially after spending considerable time with the Grado house sound.

 

[wolfetan44]

How long does it take to make a single Alpha Dog? Usually 3D printers print pretty slowly from my experience, and I'll bet they need to be precise for these 3D-printed earcups/stopper thingamabob on the rails.

I vaguely remember it being mentioned in a video, I think it was 12 hours to print the cups. Don't quote me on that though.. 

 

[sugarshark]

  Hi...  We've had a lot of request for a 3.5mm cable. 
 
One consideration we have is to use the current cable, with a 3' tail and an 18" Y split.  The cable would be the same but shorter.  Doing a lighter and thinner cable is possible.  Either way we'd sell this is an optional add-on.
 
Using a thinner cable will take more time.  For those who have the phones would you consider the current cable a good solution?  Your feedback will help our design best meet your needs.

 
 
Hi Dan,
 
First of all, really happy with the Alpha Dogs .. been enjoying them a lot.
 
Now about the cable -
 
I'm using it at home either at my desk or in the lounge room. The quality is great but I'm finding the length to be a bit short. I'm either routing it to the back of a PC on the floor, or sitting in the lounge connected to the front of a preamp. In either case its about 2-3 foot short to be comfortable. It's quite heavy too.. if there was a way to achieve the same level of quality/cable with a thinner cable, I definitely think it would be an improvement.
 
If i had a headamp on the desk in front of me, the length would be fine, but I'm just finding it a bit short to route somewhere and kick back in a chair.
 
Obviously a balancing act though between different use cases. But hey, there's mine
 
Also, thanks for putting the connectors up for sale on your site. I'll probably get around to making my ideal cable one day (if i can ever figure out how to do a clean Y split)

 

[mrspeakers]

   
 
Hi Dan,
 
First of all, really happy with the Alpha Dogs .. been enjoying them a lot.
 
Now about the cable -
 
I'm using it at home either at my desk or in the lounge room. The quality is great but I'm finding the length to be a bit short. I'm either routing it to the back of a PC on the floor, or sitting in the lounge connected to the front of a preamp. In either case its about 2-3 foot short to be comfortable. It's quite heavy too.. if there was a way to achieve the same level of quality/cable with a thinner cable, I definitely think it would be an improvement.
 
If i had a headamp on the desk in front of me, the length would be fine, but I'm just finding it a bit short to route somewhere and kick back in a chair.
 
Obviously a balancing act though between different use cases. But hey, there's mine
 
Also, thanks for putting the connectors up for sale on your site. I'll probably get around to making my ideal cable one day (if i can ever figure out how to do a clean Y split)

I've gotten a few requests for longer cables.  We may offer a 10' option in the future, but for now we are barely able to keep up with cable production.  Your best bet is DIY or one of the cable vendors...

 

[sugarshark]

 
I've gotten a few requests for longer cables.  We may offer a 10' option in the future, but for now we are barely able to keep up with cable production.  Your best bet is DIY or one of the cable vendors...

 
Yep no worries.. obviously not a priority until things settle down.
 
 
Has anyone tried pairing AD and schiit Mjolnir?? I'd be interested o hear any impressions on that combo

 

[JeremyR]

   
Yep no worries.. obviously not a priority until things settle down.
 
 
Has anyone tried pairing AD and schiit Mjolnir?? I'd be interested o hear any impressions on that combo

If you search this thread for "Mjolnir", you will find a few comments about it.

 

[sugarshark]

  If you search this thread for "Mjolnir", you will find a few comments about it.

 
I found a few passing comments but nothing in depth unfortunately..
 
Was hoping there might be a member or two out there with an early pair who could give us some impressions now the dust has settled

 

[hans030390]

  What you are missing is that is a circular argument.  How do you know that the test says a lot about the harmonic distortion that will be reproduced during music ?  Because you reason that it does.  You are your own validation.   It sounds like science because it has numbers and test devices, but in reality it is not scientific.

 
What you are missing is that you tend to make a lot of (il)logical leaps and assumptions when arguing with others. And though you did not state it explicitly, this quote right here is the equivalency of saying, "I don't understand basic principles of science or how to apply scientific results and analysis to the real world." (Consider this...music is sine waves. If ONE sine wave at any frequency produces HD, it logically and scientifically follows that a collection of multiple sine waves played at the same time will also produce HD, and likely even at a greater magnitude than one sine wave...multiple sine waves also bring in the topic of intermodulation distortion. This should not be difficult to accept considering you were quick to assume most people in the $120 Vali thread didn't listen to a wide variety of music based on even larger logical leaps.)
 
If you don't believe me or think I'm just pulling this all out of my a** to support what I'm saying, fine. I know I'm no expert despite all I've learned so far, but you have mentioned earlier (and unintentionally make it clear in your posts) that this topic is not one you're entirely up-to-speed on. If you are so unsure about these topics (you did ask "How do you know...?"), you really ought to research them more before trying to call others out. 
 
But, as such, the topics of T50RP driver limitations vs. larger, often more technically competent ortho (or not) drivers generally seen in more expensive headphones, whether or not this even matters based on the limits of human hearing, how this factors into pricing and value, etc. are getting OT and best served elsewhere.
 
I'm also a really big fan of the T50RP driver, FYI, and was part of the DIY community when the Paradox was just a whisper and the Mad Dog did not yet exist (I was much less of a modding contributor and more of a learner). Just because I recognize its technical limitations doesn't mean I don't also recognize how amazing it is. It's not quite a top-tier driver, but it's arguably one of the best value-to-performance propositions you can find in terms of drivers.
 
Apologies for being OT, but I hope what I've said about the T50RP driver does not make one enjoy the AD or any other T50RP product any less (because it shouldn't). 

 I also want to make it clear that while I appreciate measurements and do use them as a tool, my current setup is using a NOS DAC. That should say something about my approach to all of this (if you don't know why or what a NOS DAC is, consult teh Googs).

 

[kstuart]

I won't say any more out of respect to others who have made it clear that they are not interested in the subject, and will take it to PM.   In this particular case it is largely on topic, BUT other members have a right to have a say in the direction of the thread, and they have spoken that they are not interested in this aspect.

 

[JeremyR]

  However, enclosure design is a massive part of speaker design and speaker quality, and so it makes sense that it is also a major contributor to headphone quality.  The Mad Dog - along with the Paradox and Thunderpants - represents as far as one can go with the existing Fostex enclosure, yet my first hand experience - and those of others in this thread and in reviews - is that the Alpha Dog has significantly better detail and clarity than the Mad Dog.  So, the change in enclosure definitely makes a significant difference.

 

  Actually, I don't have any doubt that - if I could keep only one pair of headphones period, full stop, it would be the Mad Dogs.  It has "more genre bandwidth" or I think Mike Ting would say "more of an all-rounder".

 
 
Not sure how to reconcile those two statements from the same person. The first quote sounds like you're arguing that changing the enclosure to that of the AD has improved the output of the driver, however you state in the second quote that the original enclosure produces to your ears, and more enjoyable sound.