[Koolpep]

I remember an amp that had a cross feed slider. That would be ideal to play around with to simulate one aspect of room feel.....

 

[EtymoticFtW]

I gotta, respectfully, disagree. I have both those albums and checked on this thread while I'm on the train and I think both tracks from Decemberists and Sam Cooke sound normal to me.

 

[Beagle]

  I've heard it on a lot of albums. It's not so much an echo as it is a "scoop" - I'd best describe it as a produced hollowness in it's midrange reproduction. I'd put money that this is a consequence of ROOMFEEL, by attempting to voice the headphones to sound like a pair of speakers in an acoustically treated room (taking Chamber properties into account) the changes have the effect of shifting some vocal production to produce this sense of space. 

 
Nonsense. My HP50 has almost pinpoint vocal imaging, perfectly centered on good recordings, and no "hole in the middle". Are you sure your source is not playing games with you?

 

[AustinValentine]

I'm hoping its some level of manufacturing/product variation. (I had to send mine back for a defective headband too, which thus far I'm the only person I've heard of that has had that issue.)
 
The midrange scoop I heard wasn't a "recessed" midrange (like, say, on the M-100's with their V-shaped sound sig). It's a difference that is simply not present on my M-100s, Amperiors, SHR840s, DT250-250, or modded HD580 (the headphones I was comparing them to while testing them out). They actually sound a lot like the DT250-250, but with much better bass extension and impact plus the weirdness going on in the midrange.
 
I'm also, anecdotally, not the only one to have heard this. Beyond NuClear285, in searching around I've found that Ultrabike and Donunus have described (in almost identical language, between the two of them) the same phenomenon. With any luck, my next pair won't have it. Crossing my fingers, because I really think these are great headphones otherwise. That, and I'm really tired of auditioning mid-fi closed portables.

 

[AustinValentine]

   
Nonsense. My HP50 has almost pinpoint vocal imaging, perfectly centered on good recordings, and no "hole in the middle". Are you sure your source is not playing games with you?

 
Sources. Also, it's not artifacts in/problems with my music files (with few exceptions, ALAC files personally ripped from CD's by way of MediaMonkey on my Windows media server) as the difference doesn't show up while using the other listed headphones. 
 

I gotta, respectfully, disagree. I have both those albums and checked on this thread while I'm on the train and I think both tracks from Decemberists and Sam Cooke sound normal to me.

 
Certainly no disrespect taken. I'd love it if mine *didn't* have that going on. UPS can't get here fast enough. (Tracking says it left San Pablo, CA just after noon today en route to Chicago.)

 

[Beagle]

 
Sources. Also, it's not artifacts in/problems with my music files (with few exceptions, ALAC files personally ripped from CD's by way of MediaMonkey on my Windows media server) as the difference doesn't show up while using the other listed headphones.

 
Hmmmm...well maybe it is not nonsense then. My apologies. Perhaps your set has mismatched drivers that are causing odd phased-like imaging. I was just listening to the Jayhawks and the lead vocal, snare drum et al (centre images) were set tight in the middle and not buried at all. The HP50 is not forward in the midrange but not distant either. I can see it might sound distant if one is used to more mid-forward cans like the Sony MDR-1R. But if your other cans sound fine with your sources, maybe your HP50 is not as it should be.

 

[SonusAudio]

   
Nonsense. My HP50 has almost pinpoint vocal imaging, perfectly centered on good recordings, and no "hole in the middle". Are you sure your source is not playing games with you?

No nosense, I do agree with his hearings on the sort of hollow like sound the midrange is presented with the HP50. I ultimately prefer the Sennheiser Momentum in midrange and even moreso with the AKG K545 which I feel bests the HP50 in every way. Review coming...

 

[Beagle]

To each their own...

 

[lecco]

Is it possible to replace cable with a simple jack 3.5mm to jack 3.5mm cable?

 

[AustinValentine]

  Is it possible to replace cable with a simple jack 3.5mm to jack 3.5mm cable?

 
It sure is.

 

[AustinValentine]

New replacement arrived this morning. I warmed the pads for around 30 minutes (it was 14 degrees out and they were cold and stiff). 
 
Verdict: The first pair of HP50's were seriously defective. Anyone who got a pair like I initially described should immediately pack them up and either exchange them or put in a warranty claim. It would be hyperbole to say that they don't sound like the same headphone -- but there are some definite, extreme differences. All of the scoop I mentioned is gone, tone and instrument (especially vocal) timbre are all really well reproduced. No more synthetic timbre, no more hollow sound, no more scoop. 
 
Modest Mouse's "We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank" and...everything is *exactly* where it should be. Midrange on "Missed the Boat" and "We've Got Everything" are crisp and clear, with proper tone and timbre. On Sam Cooke's "You Send Me", Cooke is front and center. On the old pair, his female backup singers seemed audibly five feet in front of him; on this pair, fixed. (Getting the sound right on this test track is really important to me. It's the song my wife and I danced to at our wedding.) Re: The Decemberists. Colin Meloy is back where he should be. On "Sunshine" from the Billy Liar EP, Meloy and Jenny Conlee are both pushed forward - rather than Meloy sounding like he was mumbling just behind her. Tori Amos sounds pitch perfect. 
 
 

 <-- This face.
 
Man these headphones are sweet. Large scale mid-fi headphone sell off coming this weekend/next week of all the others that I've accumulated. Hunt over.
 
1. I owe a mea culpa to Roomfeel and Barton, as Roomfeel clearly wasn't the cause of the previous problems. They were just plain broken.
2. /Rant: I know that every manufacturer ships out the occasional bad unit, but I really hope that my unit was a rare exception. I wish that I had the old pair here to A/B them more directly and to get them measured. I just don't $299 wish that I still had the defective pair here. /Rantover.

 

[Beagle]

  New replacement arrived this morning. I warmed the pads for around 30 minutes (it was 14 degrees out and they were cold and stiff).
 
Verdict: The first pair of HP50's were seriously defective. Anyone who got a pair like I initially described should immediately pack them up and either exchange them or put in a warranty claim. It would be hyperbole to say that they don't sound like the same headphone -- but there are some definite, extreme differences. All of the scoop I mentioned is gone, tone and instrument (especially vocal) timbre are all really well reproduced. No more synthetic timbre, no more hollow sound, no more scoop.
 
Modest Mouse's "We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank" and...everything is *exactly* where it should be. Midrange on "Missed the Boat" and "We've Got Everything" are crisp and clear, with proper tone and timbre. On Sam Cooke's "You Send Me", Cooke is front and center. On the old pair, his female backup singers seemed audibly five feet in front of him; on this pair, fixed. (Getting the sound right on this test track is really important to me. It's the song my wife and I danced to at our wedding.) Re: The Decemberists. Colin Meloy is back where he should be. On "Sunshine" from the Billy Liar EP, Meloy and Jenny Conlee are both pushed forward - rather than Meloy sounding like he was mumbling just behind her. Tori Amos sounds pitch perfect.
 
 

 <-- This face.
 
Man these headphones are sweet. Large scale mid-fi headphone sell off coming this weekend/next week of all the others that I've accumulated. Hunt over.
 
1. I owe a mea culpa to Roomfeel and Barton, as Roomfeel clearly wasn't the cause of the previous problems. They were just plain broken.
2. /Rant: I know that every manufacturer ships out the occasional bad unit, but I really hope that my unit was a rare exception. I wish that I had the old pair here to A/B them more directly and to get them measured. I just don't $299 wish that I still had the defective pair here. /Rantover.

 
Well this is good news indeed. I am glad you got to the bottom of what the problem was. The way you were describing the sound of the original pair was so far removed from what I was hearing with mine.
 
Enjoy your new HP50

 

[amigomatt]

I'm going to audition a pair on Sunday. I'm rather excited. I reckon they'll beat my KRK KNS8400s as closed back monitoring/tracking/music production cans..

 

[Sharpeshots]

I've had mine for 2 months now.
They're very very well cooked in.
I bought them with my Astell&Kern AK120, which is STUNNING.
They have a wonderful 'British' sound signature....
Flat as piss on a plate.
Airy, Non-Fatiguing, comfy... although my right ear is not as happy as it could be, we're working on it.
They do NOT sound the same, after two months, as they did in the store.
You have MUCH to look forward to.
Read the 'Wall Of Fame' review on The InnerFidelity, and perhaps my customer review on the NAD site.
They have a wonderful, effortless bottom end, smooth smooth mids...insane vocals,and you NEVER get listening fatigue...
Some advice from an old dog.
There's TWO kinds of music you can listen to.
Files that you LOVE, and more often than not.... files that makes the gear sound as good as it possibly can.
That WON'T be Metallica.
It WILL be Morph the Cat, Donald Fagen, or Jazz at the Pawnshop. You want to hear these cans as beautifully as possible?
Use the finest source materials you can.... clearly,that doesn't include Mp3's or iPhones.
FLAC, WAV, AIFF etc.... ONLY, Muchacho.
Good Listening.
John Sharpe/Sharpeshots.com

 

[gdpeck]

  New replacement arrived this morning. I warmed the pads for around 30 minutes (it was 14 degrees out and they were cold and stiff). 
 
Verdict: The first pair of HP50's were seriously defective. Anyone who got a pair like I initially described should immediately pack them up and either exchange them or put in a warranty claim. It would be hyperbole to say that they don't sound like the same headphone -- but there are some definite, extreme differences. All of the scoop I mentioned is gone, tone and instrument (especially vocal) timbre are all really well reproduced. No more synthetic timbre, no more hollow sound, no more scoop. 
 
Modest Mouse's "We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank" and...everything is *exactly* where it should be. Midrange on "Missed the Boat" and "We've Got Everything" are crisp and clear, with proper tone and timbre. On Sam Cooke's "You Send Me", Cooke is front and center. On the old pair, his female backup singers seemed audibly five feet in front of him; on this pair, fixed. (Getting the sound right on this test track is really important to me. It's the song my wife and I danced to at our wedding.) Re: The Decemberists. Colin Meloy is back where he should be. On "Sunshine" from the Billy Liar EP, Meloy and Jenny Conlee are both pushed forward - rather than Meloy sounding like he was mumbling just behind her. Tori Amos sounds pitch perfect. 
 
 

 <-- This face.
 
Man these headphones are sweet. Large scale mid-fi headphone sell off coming this weekend/next week of all the others that I've accumulated. Hunt over.
 
1. I owe a mea culpa to Roomfeel and Barton, as Roomfeel clearly wasn't the cause of the previous problems. They were just plain broken.
2. /Rant: I know that every manufacturer ships out the occasional bad unit, but I really hope that my unit was a rare exception. I wish that I had the old pair here to A/B them more directly and to get them measured. I just don't $299 wish that I still had the defective pair here. /Rantover.

This just makes me happy. I'm glad when something works out like it should, and while I don't have the experience with multiple headphones that most on head-fi have, I do feel like the HP50s are something special, and I'm glad you are able to experience it as well. I've had some experience with NAD quality issues (not on my HP50s), and while they were really a pain to work out, the end result was worth the hassle.