[Oregonian]

  I wonder if there would ever be a mod to make the Fostex more open? Or would that be too extensive?

Oh, and there's a thread about someone making a Denon D7000 (Fostex manufactured the D7000 for Denon) into an open back headphone.  Do a search if you're serious about trying this.

 

[irishsammy]

Hi guys...new Mad Dog owner here.  Just a few comments:
 
It took literally all of 8 minutes for Mr. Speakers to ship my MDs after I placed the order.  I was pleasantly shocked.    And the USPS held up their end of the bargain, getting me my new toys in just under 1.5 business days. 
 
Wasn't quite sure what to think of my MDs straight out of the box.  I'm running them primarily at my desk at work out of a Maverick Audio A1 amp and Schiit Modi.  At first I thought the A1 had too much warmth for the MDs but things have leveled off very nicely in that regard.  I read somewhere in this thread that these cans don't "burn in" much (and I'm not usually a believer in the concept as a whole) but I can't explain what I'm hearing any other way.
 
Anyway...
 
They sound fantastic. 

  Glad to be part of the family now.  It's bittersweet because now I have to look for something I haven't had for a LONG time...a SS headphone amp.  I'm sure my tubes will work but I can't help but wonder...

 

[dablues]

 
Oh, and there's a thread about someone making a Denon D7000 (Fostex manufactured the D7000 for Denon) into an open back headphone.  Do a search if you're serious about trying this.

Ooh, good to know. Thanks!

 

[Oregonian]

  Hi guys...new Mad Dog owner here.  Just a few comments:
 
It took literally all of 8 minutes for Mr. Speakers to ship my MDs after I placed the order.  I was pleasantly shocked.    And the USPS held up their end of the bargain, getting me my new toys in just under 1.5 business days. 
 
Wasn't quite sure what to think of my MDs straight out of the box.  I'm running them primarily at my desk at work out of a Maverick Audio A1 amp and Schiit Modi.  At first I thought the A1 had too much warmth for the MDs but things have leveled off very nicely in that regard.  I read somewhere in this thread that these cans don't "burn in" much (and I'm not usually a believer in the concept as a whole) but I can't explain what I'm hearing any other way.
 
Anyway...
 
They sound fantastic. 

  Glad to be part of the family now.  It's bittersweet because now I have to look for something I haven't had for a LONG time...a SS headphone amp.  I'm sure my tubes will work but I can't help but wonder...

Ever thought about trying a vintage amp?  A great choice for these planars.  And affordable as well. 

 

[irishsammy]

Ever thought about trying a vintage amp?  A great choice for these planars.  And affordable as well. 

Any suggestions? I like vintage gear...

 

[gamefreak054]

Any suggestions? I like vintage gear...

I do not have any vintage gear suggestions, but to make your mind wander with even more SS choices I heard the Emotiva Mini X is decent with the MDs. Its pretty much a planar only amp as it is a speaker amp. You can pick one up when they are on sale for $175 and they pop up used on here for $150ish. I personally was really curious about it, but decided on the Project Ember Hybrid Tube Amp for the ADs.
 
The only thing I do not know if it is just a hack to get gobs of power or if the emotiva is actually a decent amp for headphones (I have only read ok things about it for a speaker amp). It is one thing I could not find a clear cut answer on. I did read some people had noise floor problems, but you would be able to change that with a bit of soldering and some resistors.
 
Anyways on a slightly different subject. It would have been nice if I would have bought my amp before I got my MDs upgraded. I am kind of curious how well it would have done with tubes, and what I could tube roll to offset some of the things I did not liked about the MDs. 

 

[Hutnicks]

Any suggestions? I like vintage gear...

http://www.head-fi.org/t/537704/calling-all-vintage-integrated-receiver-owners
 
Oooodles of info here.
 
And particularly here. With regards to the Devotiva
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/629352/he-500-lcd2-d5000-dt770-sr80-on-a-speaker-amp-emotiva-mini-x-a-100-project

 

[irishsammy]

Excellent info.  I might have to go digging into the vintage market...such a cool look to most of those things.  And that little Emo unit has always intrigued me.  I've been considering getting some Emo pieces as backup and the little guy might fit the bill...

 

[irishsammy]

 
Anyways on a slightly different subject. It would have been nice if I would have bought my amp before I got my MDs upgraded. I am kind of curious how well it would have done with tubes, and what I could tube roll to offset some of the things I did not liked about the MDs. 

 
I know in the case of the A1, I turned it from a 3 to a 5-6 on the Tubey Scale (1 being complete syrup and 10 being ice cold) just by replacing the Raytheon 6AK5's it came with stock with some Telefunken diamond-bottom 6AK5's I bought for a song ($40/pr if memory serves) on Tube World.  The Telefunks and Siemens tubes have a reputation for being a little more on the crisp side and in my case, that definitely turned out to be true. 
 
I shudder to think what the MDs might sound like with the A1 with the Raytheons back in there but I'm sure I'll give it a try at some point.  I love the tube sound - I don't own a single piece of all-SS gear in any of my speaker or headphone rigs - but there are times when syrupy just won't do, i.e. with the MDs. 

 

[gamefreak054]

   
I know in the case of the A1, I turned it from a 3 to a 5-6 on the Tubey Scale (1 being complete syrup and 10 being ice cold) just by replacing the Raytheon 6AK5's it came with stock with some Telefunken diamond-bottom 6AK5's I bought for a song ($40/pr if memory serves) on Tube World.  The Telefunks and Siemens tubes have a reputation for being a little more on the crisp side and in my case, that definitely turned out to be true. 
 
I shudder to think what the MDs might sound like with the A1 with the Raytheons back in there but I'm sure I'll give it a try at some point.  I love the tube sound - I don't own a single piece of all-SS gear in any of my speaker or headphone rigs - but there are times when syrupy just won't do, i.e. with the MDs. 

Yeah I know what you are talking about. I made a tube rolling thread for the project ember trying about 16 of my dad's tubes (he owns tube amps for his speakers). The telefunken 12AT7 which I am using now had the crispest sound, and the most detail. However I did like the 12AX7 Amperex Bugle Boy from Holland the best, but I cant keep that one lol. It matched the details of the Telefunken but traded in its crispness for a lush airy smooth sound that could not be beat by any of the other tubes. Though I question if the MDs would have excelled as well with the bugle boy. The ADs are much flatter and less dark imo than the MDs, so a bit of warmth did not hurt it (granted I do not think that tube was that warm, it just had some of the warm advantages to it).
 
I definitely will never be using the stock 6N1P gold grid tube with my amp again. That tube was pretty much a place holder to test the amp to see if it works. It was in my amp for about 15 min. Otherwise there was only 1 tube I disliked more. It had horrible details, sound staging, and was incredibly warm and muddy.
 
The tube I would be really curious about was the Sylvania 12AT7 Triple Mica. It had a musicality to it, and the best treble out of all the tubes. It did have reduced bass and mids. I question if it would have balanced the MDs more from its dark toneness. The thing I always hated about the MDs was its treble was always kind of poor to my ears, unlike the ADs which do not have a single weakness per se, but never really excel at any one thing. Which gives it a really balanced sound that I love.

 

[Willieboy]

For this music lover, there are few things more enjoyable than slipping on a new set of headphones and loving what I hear.  I ordered a set of the "Universal" Mad Dogs and have had them about five days.  I bought them because I sought more isolation than my HD600s were providing and, because I was curious about how they would sound.  Well, they sound very nice.  I don't have the vocabulary or knowledge to describe sound as many of you do, but I will say the sound is what I'd hoped for, i.e., warm and lush.  The alpha pads fit like two big pillows and the set is very comfortable.
 
Most of the music I listen to is jazz, followed by pop and a smattering of, dare I say it, country.  My source is my laptop, which flows into a FiiO E17 dac/amp, and from the FiiO to a Woo Audio WA6. 

 

[sonitus mirus]

I would love to listen to music with my Mad Dogs paired with the WA6.  From what I have read about that Woo amp, it seems like it would be an excellent pairing, in the same way the Schiit Lyr makes these headphones shine.
 
I love country, but Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, and early Statler Brothers era coutry.

 

[Bananaheadlin]

Question: How does tune-up upgrades work with regards to shipping?
 
Answer: Shipping is paid for both ways by the buyer and instructions will be given after purchasing from the website.

 

[mrspeakers]

  I sent an email over yesterday and asked how the processing of tune-ups will go if I order it from their website. Dan usually responds very quickly and in a professional and well-mannered style. However, I was quite surprised and slightly disappointed when I received this for my serious inquiry:
 
 
Not sure what happened there, but it just came out of nowhere and I obviously felt a little disappointed and slightly mocked because it really was a serious inquiry. Maybe I was just having a bad day yesterday. This was what was in the previous email that I sent:
 
 
I'm not sure what happened there, but nevertheless the Mad Dog is still a great headphone and Dan is still a great person who cares about his customers a lot. I really like how a lot of the startups (like Dan, and John from JDS) places a great deal of their attention on customer support and responds to emails in a timely manner. Was expecting a more professional answer from my inquiry, but even though it came out a little condescending, I'm still quite satisfied with the overall customer support from Dan and his crew.

 
Sorry, I wasn't trying to mock.  I just get the question a lot, which probably has more to do with it being too hard to find on the website than anything you have done.  Apologies!

 

[irishsammy]

  I would love to listen to music with my Mad Dogs paired with the WA6.  From what I have read about that Woo amp, it seems like it would be an excellent pairing, in the same way the Schiit Lyr makes these headphones shine.
 
I love country, but Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, and early Statler Brothers era coutry.

 
I had a WA6SE that I used for my Audezes.  I'm sure the regular WA6 is a different animal but that SE made the LCD-2's sing like no other amp I tried.