Regarding the amperiors with vocals that seem behind/recessed - this was exactly what i thought too when i bought my pair and stuck some dark tranquillity on.
However, after burn-in, the bass/punch has subsided a bit, the highs became clearer and the vocals have come forward a bit so don't worry, they will only improve!
My pair now have 100+ hours on them and i absolutely love them for metal. With a cable upgrade, they are only sibilant on a rare certain song etc (also makes them louder compared to the horrendous stock steel cable).
Fwiw, my mate just bought a pair too and scoffed at burn in/cable upgrade so we did a quick comparison between his set and mine, the differences were extremely easy to notice - he even admitted there was a difference, most notably in clarity. I also noticed the strong bass was back on the new set haha.
Enjoy!
P.s. After burn in, try "Tool - Eulogy" on them...Amazing! If you don't mind Tool that is.
What the above poster said
I pulled on mine then while pulling gently wiggled them back and forth (as in frontwards to backwards) and they came off after that.
Regarding which cable... i guess probably the custom cans one ? It's slightly more in terms of dollar but like i said i have a feeling it's better too.
The only reason i got the Oyaide is because i'm impatient and the oyaide came quickly
No regrets though, as there is still a very very noticeable change in quality (and also volume too due to much less resistance, making them even easier to drive from just a portable).
Here are mine with the Oyaide cable if you're curious...
Note the awesome yellow cable-tie holding the cable near the headband on the right side haha... still waiting for the hd25 cable clamp set to come but i'm liking the cable tie look...it's "customised"!
My favourite band of all time
, though i do prefer their really early stuff - Orchid's my favourite album.
I saw them live earlier this year in Sydney, Aus - frigging brilliant man! My neck/back was sore for 2 days from the headbanging ahah.
The Fiio... more of a personal choice i think. If your source has a good amp, you won't need to get a seperate amp for the amperiors as they are pretty easy to power anyways - especially once you get that upgrade cable with much less resistance.
In my case, the amp in my phone is just ok, so by using the fiio, to my ears the sound is better (even though it's double amped). The music has more body to it, the bass extends more and is much better controlled, and the highs seem to be more detailed. Not sure if this is just because the fiio amp is doing a better job or just colouring the signal...but it sounds quite a bit better to my ears with the fiio than without.
Fwiw, most amperior owners seem to say they've noticed slight increase in sq with an amp with a small few saying they've noticed a good difference with the amp. Obviously depending on what amp you get will potentially net you a different result.
I would definitely get the cable first though, the cable is a measurable upgrade... you will definitely notice differences with the very least being louder volume at same setting making the headphones easier to drive.
