[ssrock64]

  I just purchased the Mad Dogs, and they sound really really nice.  I still like the high end of my HD-650's better, but I really like the color & warmth of the Mad Dogs.
 
How do the Alpha Dogs compare in the high frequencies to the Mad Dogs?  Are they closer to what you would get in a pair of HD-580/600/650's?

I think you'll find the AD a little too revealing in the treble region for your tastes, honestly. It's not near as warm as the MD.

 

[Davinator]

  I do not know about the Senns much, but MD vs AD I like the treble of the ADs much better. At least from what I recall as I was in the upgrade program. I always disliked the MDs treble, but with the ADs the only real complaint I have is that its a little too revealing for a lot of recordings.
 
The tube I am using now has tamed it a touch, but a few recordings are unlistenable with the amount of sibilance they have. For instance take the entire Midian album by Cradle of Filth (probably not the most popular but bear with me). Its not recorded very well in the first place (a dynamic range of 5) and the vocals rely on a lot of treble and have a great deal of sibilance. So its not a very fun recording to listen to, and there are other bands that have this trouble as well. I am quite picky on sibilance though, and the much better details of the ADs treble makes most of those recording bearable. Though I most say cymbals sound quite good on these headphones. I always find a lot of cymbals fakey sounding and distorted on a lot of headphones, but on the ADs the cymbals sound proper. Actually the only problem with cymbals I have now is that the sound stage is too wide for some songs, and it makes the cymbals placed weird on some recordings. Anyways, I cant believe I just complained about too good of a sound stage.

 
What tube amp are you using?  I wasn't considering upgrading my amp to a tube, but now I'm contemplating the idea.
 
I hear the Crack OTL is supposed to be incredible with the 650s, and I assume it would also work very well with the MD/AD headphones as well.

 

[Mullet]

I think the general consensus on amps and orthos is go for a good SS or hybrid amp. No go on the OTL amps. They work best with high impedance cans. Orthos typically are hungry for more current over voltage.

 

[olegausany]

 I do not know about the Senns much, but MD vs AD I like the treble of the ADs much better. At least from what I recall as I was in the upgrade program. I always disliked the MDs treble, but with the ADs the only real complaint I have is that its a little too revealing for a lot of recordings.
 
The tube I am using now has tamed it a touch, but a few recordings are unlistenable with the amount of sibilance they have. For instance take the entire Midian album by Cradle of Filth (probably not the most popular but bear with me). Its not recorded very well in the first place (a dynamic range of 5) and the vocals rely on a lot of treble and have a great deal of sibilance. So its not a very fun recording to listen to, and there are other bands that have this trouble as well. I am quite picky on sibilance though, and the much better details of the ADs treble makes most of those recording bearable. Though I most say cymbals sound quite good on these headphones. I always find a lot of cymbals fakey sounding and distorted on a lot of headphones, but on the ADs the cymbals sound proper. Actually the only problem with cymbals I have now is that the sound stage is too wide for some songs, and it makes the cymbals placed weird on some recordings. Anyways, I cant believe I just complained about too good of a sound stage.

 
What tube amp are you using?  I wasn't considering upgrading my amp to a tube, but now I'm contemplating the idea.
 
I hear the Crack OTL is supposed to be incredible with the 650s, and I assume it would also work very well with the MD/AD headphones as well.

As it was already said Crack is for high impedance headphones so will work with HD650 but not with MD/AD. But if you still want easy setup with tube amp which works with both you should consider WA7. I prefer WA7 over Schiit stack for AD

 

[gamefreak054]

   
What tube amp are you using?  I wasn't considering upgrading my amp to a tube, but now I'm contemplating the idea.
 
I hear the Crack OTL is supposed to be incredible with the 650s, and I assume it would also work very well with the MD/AD headphones as well.

I am using the Project Ember Hybrid Tube Amp. I highly recommend it. It is $100 cheaper than the LYR and it has a slew of settings, and accepts A LOT of different tubes with an auto selecting circuit and heater. It also only uses 1 tube so you do not have to worry about buying pairs, quads, etc. 
 
On the highest output setting I think it puts out 1.6-2 W @ 50 ohms (the graph is kinda wonky), so it puts out enough power for the ADs to drive them optimally.

 

[mrspeakers]

  are we through the december orders yet? i know there was a slight delay with the move...hopefully they're back into full production.

 
We are at 12/30-31, we'll be well into the first week of January by tomorrow.  

 

[MattTCG]

How did the move go Dan? Everything firing on all cylinders now?

 

[kugino]

We are at 12/30-31, we'll be well into the first week of January by tomorrow.  

Thanks for the update. Mine should be up in the next week or so

 

[mrspeakers]

  How did the move go Dan? Everything firing on all cylinders now?

 
Yup.  Our new space is legit!

 

[MattTCG]

Fantastic!! Drinks at Dan's this Friday...
 

 

[kstuart]

Regarding treble and bass.... don't buy headphones for trable and bass, instead get a good digital software EQ, such as a VST plugin for Jriver or Foobar (or use Jriver's built-in parametric EQ).
 
The real benefit of the Mad Dog and Alpha Dog is the clean response at all frequencies.   There is a minimum of blurring of the sound by after-ringing.
 
Some people are so used to the excess sound energy created by poor drivers with mediocre tuning, that they find the Mad Dog or Alpha Dog "dull" and "slow" when in actuality, they are hearing more of the original recording.

 

[Greed]

So what you are saying is the recordings are "dull" and "slow"? Tricks on us I guess... 

 

[mrspeakers]

Just sent out another round of upgrade notices...  The last of the first upgrades goes out today.

 

[miceblue]

Regarding treble and bass.... don't buy headphones for trable and bass, instead get a good digital software EQ,

I kinda stopped reading there and the image of an Apple earbud suddenly popped into my head for some reason. XD

[rule]

mrspeakers, are you going to have a photo of the black Alpha Dog in the near future? I'm kind of curious to see how they turn out. The earcups are pretty round and I don't think I've seen a headphone with round, matte black earcups before.

 

[Greed]

I kinda stopped reading there and the image of an Apple earbud suddenly popped into my head for some reason. XD

---

mrspeakers, are you going to have a photo of the black Alpha Dog in the near future? I'm kind of curious to see how they turn out. The earcups are pretty round and I don't think I've seen a headphone with round, matte black earcups before.

 

 

 
Note: Jacked from Jude, props for one of the best looking photos of the two.