[JamesMcProgger]

Quote:

Like most dynamic transducer headphones, for drivers that size, give it 30-50 hours for 'most burn-in for time'. I am a pro-burner (as there is scientific evidence for it) but usually on audiophile forums like here it's heavily overstated.

I was joking with the Pro-burner comment 

 but yes, these must be totally burned in by now, and over the 50 hours.

 

[metalsonata]

I also use the XM6 to power mine, and they sound great. However, I have more luck with the sound when they are back and down, as opposed to the back and up that has been suggested. As for the number of moving parts... The way I put them on is by adjusting the size of the headband first, putting that on my head, getting the pads where I like them, and then spreading out the headband to get them firm on my skull.
 
Quote:

Yeah, I can tell the sound change dramatically if you change the positioning, but mostly if I press them hard onto the ears. very bery picky with the positioning. 
 
Im pretty sure I wont be using this for metal, what is it with that emtpy well sound?

To be honest, I've yet to find a headphone that renders metal in anything other than a mediocre fashion, at best. Any recommendations?
 

 

[JamesMcProgger]

Quote:

 
To be honest, I've yet to find a headphone that renders metal in anything other than a mediocre fashion, at best. Any recommendations?
 

HD25 

 

[metalsonata]

Quote:

HD25 

Haha really? Well, ****. ^^ Any full-sizes? Not to hijack this thread, or anything...
 

 

[maverickronin]

I like the DT1350 with metal.  Of course I like it with pretty much everything.  I'm also not really a fan of the idea that different genres need radically different sound sigs.  The closest I get to that is saying that sort of thing is that most electronic music requires pretty deep bass extension since synths go can lower than any physical instrument.  (Organs get close enough you won't be able to tell without some measurement equipment though.)
 
I think more just personal tastes.  I can sot of understand where people like that come from since I though death metal was great on my former pair of SR325is but it didn't really matter how awesome it sounded to my brain because my ears were begging for mercy halfway through a single album so I had to sell them.
 
I can't stand the harsh treble that most dynamics have so I ended up listening to death metal on my HD650s, which might make me more than a little weird.  My main IEMs are SE530s.  I think someone's head just exploded trying to reconcile that...
 
Thankfully the the DT1350s don't have harsh treble either.  I think these things are just amazing for a dynamic.  My adoration might be a little colored though, since I've never heard the HD25 which is their direct rival.  Maybe I should grab a pair and test them out.
 
Maybe it's just because I use random play a lot.  It can cover a classical string quartet, a Final Fantasy trance remix, an Jpop anime OP, and some seriously heavy metal in the space of 20 minutes.  If a headphones falls on its face with one of them I won't use it much, and if its expensive I'll probably return it or sell it eventually.

 

[metalsonata]

I actually do think that the DT 1350's sound quite nice with well-produced black metal (oxymoron?) and with some of the out-there prog stuff. Where they are a bit lacking for me is the sludgy, droney, doomy metal: Boris's earliest albums, for example, and the discographies of Sleep and Harvey Milk. While the DT 1350s sound pretty great to my ears with just about everything I throw at them, giving them some stretched-out sludge seems to stretch them a bit thin: hardly the enveloping experience that it ought to be. I mean, it sounds fine, but hey, I can be picky. ^^ And it could very well be my ears or the recordings themselves--they're probably honestly meant to be played on speakers (even cruddy ones) at ridiculous volumes, not on headphones played at medium volumes.

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

I actually do think that the DT 1350's sound quite nice with well-produced black metal (oxymoron?) and with some of the out-there prog stuff. Where they are a bit lacking for me is the sludgy, droney, doomy metal: Boris's earliest albums, for example, and the discographies of Sleep and Harvey Milk. While the DT 1350s sound pretty great to my ears with just about everything I throw at them, giving them some stretched-out sludge seems to stretch them a bit thin: hardly the enveloping experience that it ought to be. I mean, it sounds fine, but hey, I can be picky. ^^ And it could very well be my ears or the recordings themselves--they're probably honestly meant to be played on speakers (even cruddy ones) at ridiculous volumes, not on headphones played at medium volumes.

You aren't going to get that kind of feeling from headphones without some sort of DSP if you're listening to "normal" music which is mixed for speakers.  I eagerly await Nuclear Blast releasing a binaural compilation album...Yeah right...
 
If you're listening from a computer you can try Dolby Headphone or Isone for cheap/free.  If you find yourself over-burdened by a heavy wallet you should try the Symth Realiser.
 
I find that the "Stereo Enhancer" on my Cowon D2+ works pretty well in conjunction with the crossfeed on my XM6.  On its own, the crossfeed trades soundstage width for depth but the Stereo Enhancer adds the width back again while keeping the depth.
 
Right now:
 
Candlemass, Epicus Doomicus Metallius on Cowon D2+ > XM6 > DT1350 = Quite good.
 
My HD650s didn't go low enough for this album without any EQ but the 1350s are just fine.

 

[Beagle]

What is black metal? Is it sort of a cross between R&B/Soul and metal? What are some of the bands? Would Michael Jackson's "Give In To Me" qualify?
Quote:

 I actually do think that the DT 1350's sound quite nice with well-produced black metal

 

[metalsonata]

Quote:

You aren't going to get that kind of feeling from headphones without some sort of DSP if you're listening to "normal" music which is mixed for speakers.  I eagerly await Nuclear Blast releasing a binaural compilation album...Yeah right...
 
If you're listening from a computer you can try Dolby Headphone or Isone for cheap/free.  If you find yourself over-burdened by a heavy wallet you should try the Symth Realiser.
 
I find that the "Stereo Enhancer" on my Cowon D2+ works pretty well in conjunction with the crossfeed on my XM6.  On its own, the crossfeed trades soundstage width for depth but the Stereo Enhancer adds the width back again while keeping the depth.
 
Right now:
 
Candlemass, Epicus Doomicus Metallius on Cowon D2+ > XM6 > DT1350 = Quite good.
 
My HD650s didn't go low enough for this album without any EQ but the 1350s are just fine.

 
Thanks for the software suggestions, I'll make time to play with them sometime soon. You've mentioned the HD650 a couple of times now--I've got one on the way that should be in my hands either late this week or early next week. How would you say the DT 1350 stacks up against the HD650?
 
Quote:

What is black metal? Is it sort of a cross between R&B/Soul and metal? What are some of the bands? Would Michael Jackson's "Give In To Me" qualify?

 
Haha, I wish that's what black metal was. Seriously, that would be *awesome.* Someone needs to get on that.
 
And in case you were being perfectly serious: Ulver (their older stuff), Burzum, Negura Bunget, Drudkh, Wolves in the Throne Room, Agalloch, Krallice.
 
 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

Thanks for the software suggestions, I'll make time to play with them sometime soon. You've mentioned the HD650 a couple of times now--I've got one on the way that should be in my hands either late this week or early next week. How would you say the DT 1350 stacks up against the HD650?

I sold my HD650s recently because my modded Fostex T50RPs stole all their head time, but they were my main 'phone for about a year before that.
 
The short answer is that the HD650 has a richer midrange, better soundstaging, and better imaging while the DT1350 has better bass (in both extension and quality).  I think the treble might better on the 1350s too, but I don't really pay much attention to the treble if its not piercing or screeching so I'm not the person to ask about that.  The HD650 is also more enveloping than the 1350.
 
The 650 also needed EQ to bring up the sub-bass pretty badly but since I always used it at home fed from my PC that wasn't an issue.  The 1350s don't need that at all which is a good thing in a portable 'phone.  To be fair to the Senns the 1350s are nearly miraculous in regards to bass extension and in relation to what would be considered the HD650's competition, I've heard only heard one open dynamic I wouldn't feel compelled to add at least 6dB at 20hz or so with a 2-3 octave width, and that's the K601.  I'd still add some, but its bass is deep enough it wouldn't bother me if I was away from an EQ-able source.  I also thought the bass boost on My XM6 worked pretty well with the HD650s.  It definitely pushes the mid bass past my idea of neutral but I though it still sounded better than without it with most music.
 
And of course that's leaving out comfort and isolation because they're in completely different categories.

 

[metalsonata]

Quote:

I sold my HD650s recently because my modded Fostex T50RPs stole all their head time, but they were my main 'phone for about a year before that.
 
The short answer is that the HD650 has a richer midrange, better soundstaging, and better imaging while the DT1350 has better bass (in both extension and quality).  I think the treble might better on the 1350s too, but I don't really pay much attention to the treble if its not piercing or screeching so I'm not the person to ask about that.  The HD650 is also more enveloping than the 1350.
 
The 650 also needed EQ to bring up the sub-bass pretty badly but since I always used it at home fed from my PC that wasn't an issue.  The 1350s don't need that at all which is a good thing in a portable 'phone.  To be fair to the Senns the 1350s are nearly miraculous in regards to bass extension and in relation to what would be considered the HD650's competition, I've heard only heard one open dynamic I wouldn't feel compelled to add at least 6dB at 20hz or so with a 2-3 octave width, and that's the K601.  I'd still add some, but its bass is deep enough it wouldn't bother me if I was away from an EQ-able source.  I also thought the bass boost on My XM6 worked pretty well with the HD650s.  It definitely pushes the mid bass past my idea of neutral but I though it still sounded better than without it with most music.
 
And of course that's leaving out comfort and isolation because they're in completely different categories.

 
Cool, thanks for the info. Looking forward to pitting them against the DT 1350s and the rest of my stable.
 
 

 

[nierika]

 
Quote:

My HM 601 sounded like it lacked power to drive the DT 1350. It is rated at 30mW or so so you should look for an amp that outputs more than that.

I disagree with this. I'm using my 1350s with an HM 601 and it sounds well driven on a volume level or 2 or 3.
 

 

[MayaTlab]

Quote:

 


I disagree with this. I'm using my 1350s with an HM 601 and it sounds well driven on a volume level or 2 or 3.
 

If you're only speaking about volume, then yes an HM 601 is plenty enough. An iPhone 4 as well.
 
But I think there isn't enough headroom on the HM 601. As it should be since its power rating is barely higher than an iPhone 4. The result IMHO is a lack of scale in the sound. I find that properly amped DT 1350 give me a sound that gets awfully close to full size headphones (big, evelopping, etc.). Underamped DT 1350 sound nice, but like portable headphones of their price range. There is something tiny about their sound in those conditions. I cannot compare the hM 601 and HM 801 directly, but I can compare each of them to my MacBook Pro headphones output, which is likely to be slightly more powerful than a HM 601 ("bigger" sound) but less than the HM 801 - which has an even "bigger" sound (obviously the sound quality is terrible otherwise).
 

 

[shamu144]

Finally received mine yesterday.
 
They are absolutely gorgeous looking. And definitely targeted as portable with its very convenient and unobtrusive case to carry them around. The earcups are surprisingly small though. Fit is ok for me, after a coupe of minutes fiddling with them to find the sweet spot. They don't clamp that hard even out of the box but I guess that beeing used to the DT48, all other headphones feel like pillows

 
Just had a quick listen for half an hour connected to my office desktop computer with M-audio 192 card and Creek OBH11 (where they will spend some time for proper break-in). They have qualities for sure. A very nice tonal balance (it would be perfect for me with a little more emphasis in the midrange 100-400Hz where I feel voices are just so slightly recessed). Bass is remarkable. I am glad they don't share this horrible metallic voicing that the T1 are suffering.  Very quick. They seem to handle transient response very well. Instrument separation is excellent. Fairly detailed but then, I can't really say on this set up. Someone mentionned an electrostatic airy sound, and I can relate to that, sound waves have a small footprint and maybe lacking density or weight compared to what I am used to. What I really don't like so far is the disjointed sound stage: 2D, flat, 3 blob effect. This alone fails to involve me in the listening experience and makes the all experience uncohesive. I feel they are rather on the analytical side (which doesn't mean bright but emotionnally uninvolving). I will now let them settle some days on my ears before writting further impressions.

 

[rasmushorn]

@shamu144: uninvolning and very boring was my first impressions too. But after some burn-in of the headphone and my brain they do become very involving indeed! Just wait and see...