[kstuart]

Mike Ting of headfonia's full impressions of the Alpha Dog from Saturday are now up at:
 
http://www.headfonia.com/tokyo-headphone-festival-2013-autumn/6/

 

[mechgamer123]

 

  Will 1/8" cables be made available? Want to upgrade, but have nothing that fits 1/4" and would rather not use an adapter.

I just purchased from Audeze for $20 since I would think theirs is the highest quality available, plus I like the idea of saying I purchased something from Audeze since everything else on their website would seriously damage my bank accout.  I wish I had this adapter at the Philly headphone meet

 

Wow, the Grado one actually looks like it uses a thicker cable, while being $5 less:

 

[imackler]

  Mike Ting of headfonia's full impressions of the Alpha Dog from Saturday are now up at:
 
http://www.headfonia.com/tokyo-headphone-festival-2013-autumn/6/

 
I've always liked, though not agreed, with Mike's reviews; I've asked many questions he's graciously answered. And yet, he gets mugged on headfi all the time. I hope he catches some good will for this one  

 

[C.C.S.]

  Wow, the Grado one actually looks like it uses a thicker cable, while being $5 less:

 
I think that might just be a slight difference in perspective. I think they'd be nearly identical if you could both of them side by side.

 

[koolas]

Hey, I plan on purchasing the Alpha Dogs soon, but I just have a few questions on amping them. I have an around $500 budget, and was considering the ALO PanAm. Would this be a reasonable amp/DAC for them? I was also considering going balanced, and looked at the Ibasso PB2/DB2. Would this drive the Alpha's reasonably well? Any other suggestions for what others have been using are welcome, too. Sorry if this has been asked before, I'd love to read through 200+ pages, but I fear I'd miss the next shipment of Alpha Dogs if I did.

I will be having this (alo+ad) setup in few days, so I'll be able to tell

 

[nicholars]

This thread is making me want to try the AD's.....Can anyone compare the bass quantity / impact to other headphones? HE400? D2000? HD650? Also what effect does changing the bass knob have?

 

[miceblue]

 The sound signature of the Alpha is also more laid back with fuller mids and lows when compared to the Thunderpants. Blacker background too. These are all good improvements and in no area do I feel the Thunderpants to be better for music listening.

Hm, interesting to "hear." I actually liked the Thunderpants headphones when I tried them.
 
Then again, if the housing *ahem 3D printed earcups* makes a difference in the sound quality, so would the wood used on a Thunderpants, no? Therefore, each Thunderpants would sound different since each one is hand, and I mean hand, crafted with different materials.

 

 
 

 Overall I think the Thunderpants are still more spacious, but what the Alpha lack in width, it makes up gobs by improving the soundstage depth far beyond the Thunderpants’. So, that’s a win to the Alpha in my book.

I'm not sure if I'd like that super depth-of-vision sound listening experience since I tend to prefer a wider soundstage.
 
I guess I'll "hear" for myself if the Alpha Dog does indeed sound like that tomorrow. :-o

 

[preproman]

   
Generally the phrase " the ____ headphones totally destroy the ____ headphones " is equivalent to " I only have three tracks in my music collection ".

 

 

[mikemercer]

I'm lovin' my Alpha Dogs!
I wish I had something negative to say - wait, NO I don't!!

 
 
As I said in my Alpha impressions in my RMAF/CanJam coverage for Enjoy The Music & our collective
CanJam coverage for Audio360.org (where others shared their thoughts as well)
 
Sorry in advance for all the scrolling to get to them!!
 
They make a fantastic mate for the ALO Island (KILLER overall presentation)

 
They're comfortable and easy to deal with (man the cables snap into place so easily - no havin' to talk dirty to get
em to snap in like some of the other mini-XLR connectors).  And the stand is a great touch!  
 
The sound w/ the Island is superbly reproduced: Clean and coherent.  The low end is extended and free of distortion, but not too overwhelming.  The midrange is silky and detailed.  The highs open and engaging.
 
I've been transfixed listening to Radiohead in-particular over the last couple days (had a MAD writing marathon goin' on) and this combo draws me in.
Kid A on the Alpha's is an incredible sonic joyride.  
 
I had a ton of fun bumpin' the Radiohead TKOL Remix double-LP as well.  The bass waves of Carabou's remix of "Little by Little" (the track I picked for a group demo of the Audeze LCD-XC at Headmasters during the California Audio Show) were luscious and smooth with amazing power.  The vocals floated across the soundstage from left-to-right, right-to-left with holographic-like imaging.  I'm havin' a BLAST with these!
 
Also rockin' Four Tet's Pink is a head-knocker.  The drums pound with intense velocity, the transient attack is sublime.  All the various triggered sounds exist in their own space: Thus the headphones capabilities
for dimensionality.  The sound is warm, but not "warmed-over" - at least not to me.
 
The ear pads are like ear-muffs and I can wear em all day!!
 
Some further impressions coming, but I don't know of any other closed ortho cans I'd rather have anywhere near this price range,
personally.  I think Dan has a stunning achievement under his belt here.
 
I've also run them w/ my two top reference tube rigs: My ALO Studio Six & E.A.R. HP4 - and on both occasions I woulda listened alot longer had my wifey not come and grabbed me!  My only quandary is do I keep my Mad Dogs now??  I love those too.  It's a disease, though there are worse addictions!
 
I plan on doing a full review of the Alpha Dogs for my Sonic Satori column at Positive Feedback and bestowing a Writers Choice Award upon
these wonderful headphones for 2013!

 

[Extra]

I will be having this (alo+ad) setup in few days, so I'll be able to tell

Great, definitely looking forward to your impressions.

 

[Asr]

Would it be a compliment or an insult to call the Alpha Dog a poor man's Audeze LCD-XC if that was hypothetically how I assess them (and not taking for granted that "poor man" is just an expression not to be taken literally and anyone who can afford either should consider themselves fortunate)?

 
I wouldn't personally call the Alpha Dog a poor man's LCD-XC. Granted I didn't compare them directly to each other at RMAF, but I compared the LCD-2 to the XC, and then the Alpha Dog to the LCD-2, so it was indirect, but the Alpha Dog was way more like the LCD-2 than the XC, almost identical-sounding. By far the closest-sounding pair of headphones that I've ever heard in almost every sonic way imaginable. So close to each other that I'm now viewing the Alpha Dog as the closed equivalent of the LCD-2.

 

[sunneebear]

   
I wouldn't personally call the Alpha Dog a poor man's LCD-XC. Granted I didn't compare them directly to each other at RMAF, but I compared the LCD-2 to the XC, and then the Alpha Dog to the LCD-2, so it was indirect, but the Alpha Dog was way more like the LCD-2 than the XC, almost identical-sounding. By far the closest-sounding pair of headphones that I've ever heard in almost every sonic way imaginable. So close to each other that I'm now viewing the Alpha Dog as the closed equivalent of the LCD-2.

Was the AD and LCD-2 on the same rig?

 

[koiloco]

   
I wouldn't personally call the Alpha Dog a poor man's LCD-XC. Granted I didn't compare them directly to each other at RMAF, but I compared the LCD-2 to the XC, and then the Alpha Dog to the LCD-2, so it was indirect, but the Alpha Dog was way more like the LCD-2 than the XC, almost identical-sounding. By far the closest-sounding pair of headphones that I've ever heard in almost every sonic way imaginable. So close to each other that I'm now viewing the Alpha Dog as the closed equivalent of the LCD-2.

 
Hmm, IMO, I found the AD to be a more exciting in sound signature with a bit more air in the upper mid/high and being a closed HP, I could feel the bass more noticeably on the AD due to the back pressure.  This impression is based on my experience with both HPs at the recent CA meet.  The 2 HPs were driven by various amps.  I didn't have a chance to listen to both HPs on the same amp.

 

[Craigster75]

   
Hmm, IMO, I found the AD to be a more exciting in sound signature with a bit more air in the upper mid/high and being a closed HP, I could feel the bass more noticeably on the AD due to the back pressure.  This impression is based on my experience with both HPs at the recent CA meet.  The 2 HPs were driven by various amps.  I didn't have a chance to listen to both HPs on the same amp.

So are you saying you consider the AD to be superior to the LCD-2? (not to put you on the spot......)

 

[Asr]

Was the AD and LCD-2 on the same rig?

 
Yes, I was alternating between them on MrSpeakers' setup where the amp was a Cavalli Liquid Glass and I think the source was a Burson Conductor.