[pesciolino]

can someone tell me why i prefer the sound of the little dot micro to the headroom total airhead (with crossfeed)?
this is very perplexing! i had gotten the airhead as an upgrade, or so i thought. but then i found myself preferring the sound of the little dot!

 

[Henry Flower]

If it's only with the crossfeed on that you don't like the airhead, that's not particularly surprising - some people don't. Otherwise, I suspect there's something wrong with your ears.

 

[pesciolino]

I use an SACD player and am a musician ~ I'm quite sure there's nothing wrong with my ears. (But thanks for the suggestion.)
The Airhead just sounds... brittle, whereas the Little Dot sounds fuller.

 

[Sherwood]

What headphones are you using with both? The crossfeed was also an excellent point -- have you compared the two with and without crossfeed?

 

[pesciolino]

i'm using ultrasone proline 550s

 

[jpstereo]

Strange. I had the LDM+ and I much prefer the airhead/bithead with or without crossfeed. It's the opposite for me as the Headrooms sound much fuller/smoother to my ears on both my HD580s and RP21s.

 

[kontai69]

I own both the LDM+ and the TAH. I compared both amps using the line out of a vintage Panasonic PCDP (made in Japan!) as source. The cans used were the Alessandro MS-1 (with bowls) and Koss KSC75.

The LDM+ is quite strident and aggressive. It is certainly brighter, has a more forward midrange, and has a "thumpy" bass. The TAH is smoother sounding and darker. I did not use the crossfeed. I've never heard such a difference in amps that I've owned. I've simultaneusly owned and A/B compared a Gilmore Lite and GS-1 before and the difference was a lot more subtle.

LDM+ sounds too fatiquing and unrefined with the MS-1. I much prefer the TAH with this can. However, the LDM+ sounds fantastic with the KSC75. It adds liveliness to its somewhat dark and flat sound. Guitars have much more twang.

However, let your ears to be the judge. Just because something is more expensive doesn't mean that you will or should like it more. It could be that the LDM+ matches better with the phones you have. Buy some more CDs with the money you saved.

 

[pesciolino]

Thanks for these replies... I think it's the alchemy of my particular system

 

[pesciolino]

actually, that's what i thought exactly, the little dot micro being darker (not bright at all). by comparision the airhead was the one that was bright.

 

[Romanee]

…and to my ears, for the brief period I had the LDM+, it sounded not only dark, but downright muddy -- to my ears (no Grados used). I would have rated it as, perhaps, D- rather than the B- it got from Skylab. I guess I'm more critical. I don't accept the bang-for-buck allowance in all cases, especially when I feel that the SQ is very poor.

I'm usually quite forgiving, and rarely post such critical comments, but…

 

[Chris_Himself]

eh im just saying you shouldnt force yourself to like a certain way something sounds, if you like it, then just ditch the Airhead and get something that sounds more like an LDM+.

like an LD Mk2

 

[pesciolino]

true! it doesn't sound "hard and dry" (analytical???) and yes, i do like that! i'll probably sell it and go for the next step up amp.

 

[Henry Flower]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris_Himself /img/forum/go_quote.gif just ditch the Airhead and get something that sounds more like an LDM+. like an LD Mk2

The MKII doesn't exist yet; the replacement for the LDM+ is the MKI.

 

[jilgiljongiljing]

LDM+ is a tad bright and it has a good presentation. But it completely lacks the soundstage. I dont know anything about the 550's maybe they dont have huge soundstage to begin with.

On say a HD650, the soundstage alone is reason enough why LDM+ might lose out against the competition

 

[Romanee]

I don't have any LDM+ units around to test, but it's odd that impressions range from bright to dark/muddy. "burn-in" issues? Unit-to-unit variation? The last time I had an LDM+, I tried it in various system configs and it sounded uniformly dark/muddy/noisy, regardless of source, cables, phones. I gave the LDM+ I had extensive 24/7 play and it did not change.

Do the bright sounding units have extensive play time, very little … ?

Interesting. I wonder how the current version fares.