[Beagle]

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Seems the Mikros must be the most polarizing headphone on the market at the moment. Beagle and others have proclaimed their greatness, but still others have said they're absolute trash.

 
The usual sign of greatness...

 

[dleblanc343]

Well, I'll be honest with myself. They are in the >300$ bracket so maybe I'm being a bit tough on them. They're definitely tuned to be colored and consumer friendly with a lot of midbass; what makes a good on the go phone... It definitely doesn't not remind me of Martin Logan's sound signature, and that's what bothers me.
 
I still find the competition outdoes it, so again, wouldn't be my choice, but others may very well like it.

 

[Beagle]

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Well, I'll be honest with myself. They are in the >300$ bracket so maybe I'm being a bit tough on them. They're definitely tuned to be colored and consumer friendly with a lot of midbass; what makes a good on the go phone... It definitely doesn't not remind me of Martin Logan's sound signature, and that's what bothers me.
 
I still find the competition outdoes it, so again, wouldn't be my choice, but others may very well like it.

 
This is what puzzles me. I don't hear coloration and excess midbass at all. I hear it pretty much the same as this other review. You could say I hear the total reverse of what I hear with the B&W P5. I just hear an open clarity/transparency from the low bass all the way up. I hate the fit and have to really futz with them to get them in place properly. I also stretched them out a bit to alleviate the tightness in the fit. But the fit is not critical to the sound....I don't hear night and day if the fit is not quite right, just subtle differences.
 
So again, rather puzzling, and I think Craigster hears them the same way you did.

 

[Hutnicks]

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This is what puzzles me. I don't hear coloration and excess midbass at all. I hear it pretty much the same as this other review. You could say I hear the total reverse of what I hear with the B&W P5. I just hear an open clarity/transparency from the low bass all the way up. I hate the fit and have to really futz with them to get them in place properly. I also stretched them out a bit to alleviate the tightness in the fit. But the fit is not critical to the sound....I don't hear night and day if the fit is not quite right, just subtle differences.
 
So again, rather puzzling, and I think Craigster hears them the same way you did.

Do these things have serial numbers? I'm wondering if there are different production batches involved here.

 

[dleblanc343]

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Quote:
 
This is what puzzles me. I don't hear coloration and excess midbass at all. I hear it pretty much the same as this other review. You could say I hear the total reverse of what I hear with the B&W P5. I just hear an open clarity/transparency from the low bass all the way up. I hate the fit and have to really futz with them to get them in place properly. I also stretched them out a bit to alleviate the tightness in the fit. But the fit is not critical to the sound....I don't hear night and day if the fit is not quite right, just subtle differences.
 
So again, rather puzzling, and I think Craigster hears them the same way you did.

I let them burn in on a tivoli radio all day and gave it another listen today; they're not quite as mid-bassy now would you know. It's still warmer than neutral though. I also believe fit plays a big part in it all. The cups keep squeezing forward and falling towards the front of my face (slipping off my ear towards my sideburns). If I hold them in place they do sound better. But man, I shouldn't have to do all this to enjoy them!
 
They aren't as laid back as the P5's I'll give you that; but the P5 is still an overall better total package imo.

 

[Beagle]

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I let them burn in on a tivoli radio all day and gave it another listen today; they're not quite as mid-bassy now would you know. It's still warmer than neutral though. I also believe fit plays a big part in it all. The cups keep squeezing forward and falling towards the front of my face (slipping off my ear towards my sideburns). If I hold them in place they do sound better. But man, I shouldn't have to do all this to enjoy them!
 
They aren't as laid back as the P5's I'll give you that; but the P5 is still an overall better total package imo.

 
If I could have something with the fit and build of the P5 that has the sound of the Mikros, that would make me happy.  Maybe that is the KEF M500

 

[ianmedium]

Erratum, see post 62!

 

[Hutnicks]

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Ken Kessler, a highly respected HiFi journalist whom I have found over the years to have a good ear for things compared them to the B&W P3. Not only preferred the P3 over them but said the Kef's were nothing more than beats dressed with a HiFi label. In other words expect a Beats type sound signature!

Oh that is cold!

I do think it funny that loudspeaker companies can just arrive as they see their market shares gone down the toilet with their speakers and think slapping on their brand name suddenly gives them credibility.

See my post above. When times are tough marketing and accounting take over the show.!

It is often said by the HIFi press that headphones can never live up to loudspeakers.. Well, loudspeaker companies can, from what I have heard so far, not come near dedicated headphone companies in terms of sound quality.

Whoever said or says that is a complete dolt. Anyone working in production will tell you the reverse is true. Particularly when it comes to reproducing the human voice.

The best I have heard so far are the P5's but they are still a country mile behind my DT1350's in all sonic terms.. They do look nice though and I think that is what the loudspeaker market is aiming at with their headphones, looks over substance!

Style is everything. The Beats vs Yamaha specifically points out the use of their headphones as a fashion accessory. It is one of the hinge points of their design patent infringement claim.

 

One would think though that when your rep was on the line you might do what Denon did and engage a professional headphone company to do the design work.

 

[dleblanc343]

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If I could have something with the fit and build of the P5 that has the sound of the Mikros, that would make me happy.  Maybe that is the KEF M500

You might like the higher end ultrasone portables... But I too look forward to the KEF

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Ken Kessler, a highly respected HiFi journalist whom I have found over the years to have a good ear for things compared them to the B&W P3. Not only preferred the P3 over them but said the Kef's were nothing more than beats dressed with a HiFi label. In other words expect a Beats type sound signature!

OH NO!!!!

 

 
crap
 
damn

 

[williamcmoran]

Can anyone tell me where is a good place to order these in the US? I can't seem to find any stores that stock these yet.

I'm torn between these and the P5's. The P5's are very comfortable and sound just fine to me. Hopefully these are the same.

Thanks

 

[bourdieu]

Quote:

Ken Kessler, a highly respected HiFi journalist whom I have found over the years to have a good ear for things compared them to the B&W P3. Not only preferred the P3 over them but said the Kef's were nothing more than beats dressed with a HiFi label. In other words expect a Beats type sound signature!

I do think it funny that loudspeaker companies can just arrive as they see their market shares gone down the toilet with their speakers and think slapping on their brand name suddenly gives them credibility.

It is often said by the HIFi press that headphones can never live up to loudspeakers.. Well, loudspeaker companies can, from what I have heard so far, not come near dedicated headphone companies in terms of sound quality.

The best I have heard so far are the P5's but they are still a country mile behind my DT1350's in all sonic terms.. They do look nice though and I think that is what the loudspeaker market is aiming at with their headphones, looks over substance!

 
From kef's recent products like the LS50 or the new computer speaker, it will certainly be a shock to me if they make headphones with beats type of sound. I think I will wait and have a listen of them before making any judgement, as I still have high hopes of them.
 
Somehow I agree that in the current market, there is no loudspeaker companies which can make headphones with the same kind of quality as that of headphone companies. But I think as the pie get larger and everyone wants a bite of it, the loudspeaker companies might start to take headphone seriously and throw in more resources into developing good headphones. In the end, we, the consumers, will probably benefit from that. 

 
I must say the DT1350 will always hold a legendary status in my heart!

 

[Hutnicks]

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From kef's recent products like the LS50 or the new computer speaker, it will certainly be a shock to me if they make headphones with beats type of sound. I think I will wait and have a listen of them before making any judgement, as I still have high hopes of them.
 
Somehow I agree that in the current market, there is no loudspeaker companies which can make headphones with the same kind of quality as that of headphone companies. But I think as the pie get larger and everyone wants a bite of it, the loudspeaker companies might start to take headphone seriously and throw in more resources into developing good headphones. In the end, we, the consumers, will probably benefit from that. 

 
I must say the DT1350 will always hold a legendary status in my heart!

I think general technology rules apply here.
 
Never ever buy release 1.0 of anything.
 
Any further revs that are .0 are to be avoided until .1 is out with the fixes.
 
Favour the underdog over the giant as they will make their first effort a loss leader to gain a following. The giant has nothing to lose by trading on the faithfuls blind acceptance. They will always be forgiven for a bad product.
 
When all else fails you can fix it with software (Electi Q is your friend here). Bad hardware can always be overcome with good software.
 
If any manufacturer states or compares their product to a competitors, take that as an endorsement and buy the product compared to.
 
Buy everything on a credit card. It's a lot easier to return a disappointing product when the financial institution is on your side.
 
Avoid anything endorsed by any celebrity like the plague.

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

I think general technology rules apply here.
 
Never ever buy release 1.0 of anything.
 
Any further revs that are .0 are to be avoided until .1 is out with the fixes.
 
Favour the underdog over the giant as they will make their first effort a loss leader to gain a following. The giant has nothing to lose by trading on the faithfuls blind acceptance. They will always be forgiven for a bad product.
 
When all else fails you can fix it with software (Electi Q is your friend here). Bad hardware can always be overcome with good software.
 
If any manufacturer states or compares their product to a competitors, take that as an endorsement and buy the product compared to.
 
Buy everything on a credit card. It's a lot easier to return a disappointing product when the financial institution is on your side.
 
Avoid anything endorsed by any celebrity like the plague.

 
 
I wish manufacturers would adopt Billy Joel's "Get It Right The First Time" as it's theme song.

 

[Hutnicks]

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I wish manufacturers would adopt Billy Joel's "Get It Right The First Time" as it's theme song.

 
Marketing doods call that a feature . At (Insert Well Respected Companies Name Here) We let you be the test pilot!