[tolis626]

seems like we think very much alike yes a better amp may give a slight improvement in clarity, staging etc. The normal dac/amp stuff, but it’s definitely not because of power as you say. For example my Hugo doesn’t drive them particularly more well than my old aune x1s did, or even my iphone...

Oh and yeah mine is the S version, I hardly doubt there’s any difference in sound but I’m not the most qualified person to ask about that

Yup! In my, admittedly limited, experience, peak power output usually doesn't come to play until you go to super power hungry cans. T50rp? Sure, give it gobs of power. But even an old pair of AKG K514 MK2 I have, with its 92db/mw sensitivity (among its other negatives) doesn't require THAT much power. It suffocates when driven directly from my phone, having no bass and sounding choked, but plug it into the Q1 and I barely go over 5/9 on high gain before it's painfully loud. But with the Q1 it opens up and bass somehow appears. It's not a lot of it, and it's not quality bass, but it's there. Whereas the MSR7 can be driven by nearly anything, but give it quality over power any day. I tried them on an iFi iDSD Micro BL and they just brought out that much more detail. They became a bit harsh in the process, but still.

Aha! I thought you were talking about the non S version. Great to see that the internet's non S>S doesn't seem to hold true. Happy about that!

Thank you again mate!

 

[caenlenfromOCN]

In stock form, the shp9500 is an objectively very good headphone for it’s price. Fairly neutral, fairly wide soundstage. Negatives, unrefined and somewhat hazy upper mid/low treble, and the bass is not particularly impactful, tight or deep.

They can be modded in many different ways using different pads and damping materials. Personally I use angled sheepskin hm5 and some thin napkin paper to tame the treble a bit. Result is way slammier bass (still not very tight or deep, but can’t expect too much at this price), more well behaved low treble, super wide and deep soundstage although very unnatural/not realistic in dimensions. Objectively it may be a worse headphone this way, but subjectively a whole lot more fun.
Also tried non-angled velour hm5 pads and those were closer to the stock sound, but still better than stock imo.
There are many good tutorials on various threads on how to change pads. One method allows you to keep the stock pads intact, another one says you have to rip off the old pads. Your call.

Burn in, I’m not fully a believer but haven’t tried any extensive a/b-testing on new vs old pairs of any headphones. But all the way from shp9500 to Focal clear and everything in between that I’ve owned, can’t say I’ve experienced it much.

Driveability, something like Lyr3 which was recommended here is super overkill for the shp9500. Not that it won’t sound good on a lyr3, but you shouldn’t spend that much on an amp if it’s only gonna drive the shp. I’m very looking forward to hearing the lyr3 myself, but for driving shp only such a quality amp is a waste of money. You’ll get a bigger improvement by upgrading headphones at that point.
The shp is super easy to drive, your amp should be plenty.

all depends on your amp and dac too, I use tubes, and it makes the treble perfect. solid state amps liek magni 3 make the treble too harsh for most of my cans... so its not fair to say this or that can has this problem, it really all depends what you pair with it. i have some solid states that are good at everything, etc.

 

[tolis626]

all depends on your amp and dac too, I use tubes, and it makes the treble perfect. solid state amps liek magni 3 make the treble too harsh for most of my cans... so its not fair to say this or that can has this problem, it really all depends what you pair with it. i have some solid states that are good at everything, etc.

While I somewhat agree with what you say, I think of it the other way around. Solid states are more objective, transparent, call it what you want. They aren't supposed to alter the sound too much. So, for me, a headphone that's harsh or whatever on most solid state amps is that way because that's what it is. If it responds well to tubes, great, and it's even better if you have a tube amp. But needing a tube amp is like needing to change the pads to make a pair of cans comfortable. If they aren't comfortable stock, they they aren't comfortable. If you can change the pads to make them comfrotable, great, but it's not how it was designed.

That said, going back to my MSR7 (see a pattern here? ), I also got to try them with a tube amp from iFi (I think it was the iCan, but I'm not sure, it was the one that could switch between tube and solid state modes) at the same convention. They definitely softened up and became warmer. It was a really pleasant sound, like a totatlly different headphone. But I wouldn't consider that that's what the MSR7 was supposed to sound like. It just responded well to the tubiness.

 

[caenlenfromOCN]

While I somewhat agree with what you say, I think of it the other way around. Solid states are more objective, transparent, call it what you want. They aren't supposed to alter the sound too much. So, for me, a headphone that's harsh or whatever on most solid state amps is that way because that's what it is. If it responds well to tubes, great, and it's even better if you have a tube amp. But needing a tube amp is like needing to change the pads to make a pair of cans comfortable. If they aren't comfortable stock, they they aren't comfortable. If you can change the pads to make them comfrotable, great, but it's not how it was designed.

That said, going back to my MSR7 (see a pattern here? ), I also got to try them with a tube amp from iFi (I think it was the iCan, but I'm not sure, it was the one that could switch between tube and solid state modes) at the same convention. They definitely softened up and became warmer. It was a really pleasant sound, like a totatlly different headphone. But I wouldn't consider that that's what the MSR7 was supposed to sound like. It just responded well to the tubiness.

magni 3 is considered the best solid state on a budget right now, and it is harsh, as is magni 2, and magni 1. its just schiit's designs.

i have an O2 amp from massdrop here as well and its not harsh at all, and they are both regarded as the top two solid state amps on a budget in the market... i have to disagree with your statement, they both tried for neutral, but thats just impossible to achieve on a budget.

your Q1 will sound great with 9500S though, I find Fiio amps in general to be a little relaxed on the treble. schiit is just harsh.

 

[makne]

all depends on your amp and dac too, I use tubes, and it makes the treble perfect. solid state amps liek magni 3 make the treble too harsh for most of my cans... so its not fair to say this or that can has this problem, it really all depends what you pair with it. i have some solid states that are good at everything, etc.

And why is that not fair?
When describing headphones, it is normal to say how it does on a neutral/transparent amp that works well with the headphones’ impedance (like for instance, don’t use OTL’s on low-impedance headphones), if nothing is said otherwise. That way we know how the headphones sound without any added «flavor». Or should we just stop mentioning the flaws of any headphone because they can be fixed with an amp with a particular tonality? If so, how should readers know what kind of amp would go well with certain headphones to make them fit their taste?

Obviously you can «tune» the headphones to a certain degree with amps that «color» the sound, but then we’re not talking about the headphones’ character but rather the amp’s.

 

[tolis626]

magni 3 is considered the best solid state on a budget right now, and it is harsh, as is magni 2, and magni 1. its just schiit's designs.

i have an O2 amp from massdrop here as well and its not harsh at all, and they are both regarded as the top two solid state amps on a budget in the market... i have to disagree with your statement, they both tried for neutral, but thats just impossible to achieve on a budget.

your Q1 will sound great with 9500S though, I find Fiio amps in general to be a little relaxed on the treble. schiit is just harsh.

While you're right about the Magni and the O2, I agree with makne overall. Tube amps are great for a lot of things, but accuracy and transparency are not among them. So are budget amps. The Q1 is great, but it's quite warm sounding. It pairs well with bright headphones like the MSR7 and, probably, the 9500, but not so much with warm, bassy cans. It's not the headphones' fault, it's the amp's.

I view coloring the sound of a headphone with different amps somehwat like EQing. Sure, you can do all sorts of things with it, but none of it is what the headphone was designed to do, no matter how well it responds and how well it may or may not sound.

 

[caenlenfromOCN]

While you're right about the Magni and the O2, I agree with makne overall. Tube amps are great for a lot of things, but accuracy and transparency are not among them. So are budget amps. The Q1 is great, but it's quite warm sounding. It pairs well with bright headphones like the MSR7 and, probably, the 9500, but not so much with warm, bassy cans. It's not the headphones' fault, it's the amp's.

I view coloring the sound of a headphone with different amps somehwat like EQing. Sure, you can do all sorts of things with it, but none of it is what the headphone was designed to do, no matter how well it responds and how well it may or may not sound.

right I agree with all that, my point was that there is asynergy between all 3 items in the chain, amp/dac/headphone. i think your Q1 is going to be great with 9500S, please tell me your getting some hm5 pleather pads for it though, just trust me on that one... seriously i spent way too many hours with too many earpads, 3d adapter and without... ugh i need a life. lol

 

[Slater]

right I agree with all that, my point was that there is asynergy between all 3 items in the chain, amp/dac/headphone. i think your Q1 is going to be great with 9500S, please tell me your getting some hm5 pleather pads for it though, just trust me on that one... seriously i spent way too many hours with too many earpads, 3d adapter and without... ugh i need a life. lol

Yeah, HM5 pleathers are the key to unlocking the potential of the 9500. No 3D adapters; just wrap the pad around the cup and it’s ready to go.

I personally use the angled pads on mine, but the non-angled are great too.

 

[tolis626]

right I agree with all that, my point was that there is asynergy between all 3 items in the chain, amp/dac/headphone. i think your Q1 is going to be great with 9500S, please tell me your getting some hm5 pleather pads for it though, just trust me on that one... seriously i spent way too many hours with too many earpads, 3d adapter and without... ugh i need a life. lol

Tell me about spending too much time with too many of these things.

I already have a spare pair of HM5 pleathers, and I also have the leather ones I use with my MSR7. Both flat. So I guess I'm covered on that front. I wanna get a pair of angled pads at some point out of curiosity, but that's gonna be at some point in the future. I'm just debating on the adapter. On one hand you say it's not needed, on the other hand I can decide for myself for ~15€. Oh well.

 

[Slater]

Tell me about spending too much time with too many of these things.

I already have a spare pair of HM5 pleathers, and I also have the leather ones I use with my MSR7. Both flat. So I guess I'm covered on that front. I wanna get a pair of angled pads at some point out of curiosity, but that's gonna be at some point in the future. I'm just debating on the adapter. On one hand you say it's not needed, on the other hand I can decide for myself for ~15€. Oh well.

Nah, save your money and skip the adapters. You don’t need them at all.

They look and sound good on paper, but they are totally unnecessary and degrade the sound.

Once you install the pads, the little notches from the stock pad make no difference. You can’t see them, can’t feel them, and they are not in the way at all.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Nah, save your money and skip the adapters. You don’t need them at all.

They look and sound good on paper, but they are totally unnecessary and degrade the sound.

Once you install the pads, the little notches from the stock pad make no difference. You can’t see them, can’t feel them, and they are not in the way at all.

agreed. the adapters are not needed.
I have hybrid pads on mine, they are modded with magnets on the drivers and I run them through a Schiit Magni 3.. for less than $200.00 for the whole chain, they sound phenomenal. I have no doubt that to get significant improvements in sound (for my particular use/taste in music) I would easily have to spend another $200.00 ....which isn't a lot of money in the big picture, but when it comes to price to value ratio, the law of diminishing returns etc, it means I would literally have to double my initial investment to feel as if significant improvements were achieved.

 

[tolis626]

Nah, save your money and skip the adapters. You don’t need them at all.

They look and sound good on paper, but they are totally unnecessary and degrade the sound.

Once you install the pads, the little notches from the stock pad make no difference. You can’t see them, can’t feel them, and they are not in the way at all.

Well then, I'm gonna try the cans with just the HM5 installed and see how it goes! I just hope that my pads don't rip because they're already quite stretched from being fitted over the cup of the MSR7. And seeing how the SHP9500s are quite bigger than those, and also seeing an e-Bay listing for a pair of 9500 with HM5s that were ripped while being fitted, I don't feel so confident about it. But meh, I'll see how it goes.

Thanks for your input mate!

agreed. the adapters are not needed.
I have hybrid pads on mine, they are modded with magnets on the drivers and I run them through a Schiit Magni 3.. for less than $200.00 for the whole chain, they sound phenomenal. I have no doubt that to get significant improvements in sound (for my particular use/taste in music) I would easily have to spend another $200.00 ....which isn't a lot of money in the big picture, but when it comes to price to value ratio, the law of diminishing returns etc, it means I would literally have to double my initial investment to feel as if significant improvements were achieved.

Interesting... What kind of mod are you talking about?

 

[caenlenfromOCN]

I have taken several pads on and off my 9500S, wrapped around entire thing, never had a single rip, maybe that person should have used common sense, and gently tugged around all edges, instead of trying to manhandle a piece of cloth material. yeah some stretching and holding the opposite corner is needed, but eh well I have had 0 issues and done it a hundred times if not more.

 

[tolis626]

I have taken several pads on and off my 9500S, wrapped around entire thing, never had a single rip, maybe that person should have used common sense, and gently tugged around all edges, instead of trying to manhandle a piece of cloth material. yeah some stretching and holding the opposite corner is needed, but eh well I have had 0 issues and done it a hundred times if not more.

I figured that it's his fault, I just don't know if I can do better.

But if you say it's done easily, I have no reason to not believe you. So I'll see first hand in about 10 days. Hopefully sooner.

 

[caenlenfromOCN]

I figured that it's his fault, I just don't know if I can do better.

But if you say it's done easily, I have no reason to not believe you. So I'll see first hand in about 10 days. Hopefully sooner.

Just go slow. pull a edge over the side, hold on to other edges, kep turning, going slow, when you pull the earpad over the very top point is where it gets easier. i really need to make a youtube video showing how to do it.

to remove the 9500S stock earpad, you just take a corner, then take the corner next to it, and just pull hard. it doesnt matter which corners just create pressure on two end points. pull hard, and it pops right off and pops right back on too. some youtuber used a knife to remove it, destroyed the stock earpad. sigh.