[MattTCG]

Sorry to hear about all the trouble with the paint. The matte black would have been killer.

 

[mrspeakers]

Yeah, it's disappointing, but the glossy black will look sweet.  

 

[swspiers]

  Yeah, it's disappointing, but the glossy black will look sweet.

Yep.  I might have to buy an extra set for my wife....

 

[Sanctuary]

I've had my ADs for about three weeks now, and...
edit: I have no idea what the hell is going on.

 

[MattTCG]

What is your amp and source?

 

[MattTCG]

If you have specific songs from Tool, I have four of their albums and will give them a listen for you.

 

[GeneraI]

Glossy alpha dogs sound interesting. 

 

[TMRaven]

  I've had my ADs for about three weeks now, and I honestly can't tell if mine are just defective or if they are really supposed to sound this way.  I know that they are supposed to be "neutral", but if anything they sound completely anemic.  Everything sounds entirely artificial and devoid of any kind of life.  The bass is so hidden the majority of the time that it may as well not even be considered to exist.  You can hear it sometimes, but it's so rare that I forget that these even have the ability to play any at all.  I don't want "bass-head" headphones, and I've heard "neutral" before and what I heard had way more bass.
 
When you listen to something like Tool, you aren't supposed to think "Man, those drums sound like tin cans or metal chairs" or that the bass guitar is being played on a keyboard instead.  They don't sound good with music, they don't sound good with movies, and they sound "okay" with games.  The closest comparison to another pair that I have would be the infrared set that came with my Pioneer Dolby Headphone/DTS box, but even those have more bass than these, and those are pretty tinny sounding at times too.

 
What were you past experiences with headphones?

 

[Sanctuary]

  What is your amp and source?

 
Actually, momentarily scratch what I just said.  I have no idea what is going on and why I would be getting two distinctly different sounds from the same card.  I've been listening to these on my new PC that's using Windows 8 for the last three weeks.  Everything, and I mean everything just sounded completely drained of life.  My new system has a new Essence STX and my Windows 7 PC has the exact same card.  Both of them have the same drivers, same settings and everything, but they don't sound the same at all for some reason. 
 
For the first time, I just hooked up these headphones to my Windows 7 system and they sound a lot different.  Thing is, it can't actually be the card though, because the one in my new system is new, and up until a week ago I was using the STX that I put into my older system.  On the older system, there's definitely audible bass, pretty much all of the time now on the songs that you should be able to hear it.
 
Now I need to watch some movies on my older system too...

 

[claud W]

   
Actually, momentarily scratch what I just said.  I have no idea what is going on and why I would be getting two distinctly different sounds from the same card.  I've been listening to these on my new PC that's using Windows 8 for the last three weeks.  Everything, and I mean everything just sounded completely drained of life.  My new system has a new Essence STX and my Windows 7 PC has the exact same card.  Both of them have the same drivers, same settings and everything, but they don't sound the same at all for some reason. 
 
For the first time, I just hooked up these headphones to my Windows 7 system and they sound a lot different.  Thing is, it can't actually be the card though, because the one in my new system is new, and up until a week ago I was using the STX that I put into my older system.  On the older system, there's definitely audible bass, pretty much all of the time now on the songs that you should be able to hear it.
 
Now I need to watch some movies on my older system too...

If you are just plugging them into a computer, that explains a lot. You need a decent headphone amp with POWER. At least a Schiit Asgard 2, or better the Lyr that was made to make sure Orthos  have enough power. These ain't no ear buds.

 

[mrspeakers]

  I have no idea what is going on and why I would be getting two distinctly different sounds from the same card.  I've been listening to these on my new PC that's using Windows 8 for the last three weeks.  Everything, and I mean everything just sounded completely drained of life.  My new system has a new Essence STX and my Windows 7 PC has the exact same card.  Both of them have the same drivers, same settings and everything, but they don't sound the same at all for some reason. 
 

 
Just a guess: you had set EQ on the old OS/player and the new OS is at neutral?

 

[mrspeakers]

FYI we will be doing a glossy metallic black, similar to the light metallic finish of the Claret.  This will minimize the visibility of scratches, fingerprints, etc.  A straight gloss black is an OCD person's nightmare color.  

 

[MattTCG]

Okay, makes sense now. As others have already said, you'll need a hp amp and preferably a decent dac. But at least and amp and you could use the STX as a dac for now. 
 
Planar magnetic hp's will need good power to sound like they are supposed to.

 

[TeskR]

Holy **** I am so torn up as to what colour to go again, it took me days to decide the first time! When do we need to notify you of the colour we want by? Looking forward to some pictures of the gloss black.

 

[IAmThe1Guy]

Glossy black sounds great!  I personally prefer that over matte black.