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Quote:
Don't get me wrong, I really like both O2 Mk1 and Mk2. But I thought the O2 Mk2 was more forward in the mids with a more pronounced mid-bass peak than the Mk1, although I felt they were slightly less dark when I would compare the two on my old GES.
I still needed to use the brighter PS Audio DLIII DAC (which I got in March) to brighten up the O2 Mk2, but then I sold the Mk2 a couple of months later when I decided the Mk1 were more neutral and balanced. It just wasn't financially feasible to own both when I was in the process of buying a ZDT amp and saving up for the WES amp. At first I had sold the Mk1 in Feb and kept the Mk2, but I bought another Mk1 when I got the PS Audio, and eventually sold the Mk2 which I'd owned for almost a year. I still don't have a Mk2 to try anymore for comparisons and amp reviews, but the O2 Mk2 on Dinan's modded SRM-717 were not dark and I do still like them. Someday I expect I will get another pair of Mk2, and do the earpad spring mod again and enjoy them.
I know the source is important, and wont ignore that. After I got the WES a month ago, I switched to the Apogee mini-DAC but I'm planning to make space in my main rig for the brighter PS Audio again. I may send the PS Audio to Cullen Circuits for the stage IV mods, or get another DAC, but that is a few months down the road. I have new bills that need to be paid, unless I get stupid and put the DAC on a credit card. The Pico DAC-only also has very good synergy with the O2 Mk1 and Mk2, so that is always an option if I elect to only use my Macbook Pro. I'm also saving up to buy a used Pass Pearl phono preamp, and will feed that through input transformers into the WES and see how that sounds (my WES only takes XLR inputs).
Quote:
I know what you mean. I would like to add that I don't think the HD800 spread everything wide and far within the soundstage, as I mentioned that it is mostly the venue that seems bigger, or the walls that are farther away, etc. The instruments don't move to the far ends of the soundstage or spread out too far. That why I tried to break it up into parts 1 & 2.
I also want to remind people that I am using an upgraded Warren Audio HD800 cable that improves the HD800 micro-detail to competing levels with O2 and HE60, but with the stock cable the HD800 are slightly less detailed and slightly more veiled than the O2 or HE60 or Jade (but still very much better than HD600). Still, with stock cable the soundstage is bigger than the O2, so I am not sure what is going on there as I am not an expert in psychoacoustics.
The micro-detail of the O2 Mk1 is what makes it work so well for me at low to medium volume levels, as I don't have to crank it up to hear the detail. And I like that they don't loss a proportionate amount of bass as the volume goes down, so the bass detail and texture or presence is still nice at low to medium volumes. The HD800 bass at low volumes is not as good, but improves as I crank them up. The timbre and tone, and refined organic rich warm sound are what keep drawing me back to the O2 Mk1. And, they don't sound bad at loud volumes, rather it just seems that the bass and mids get louder at a faster rate than the treble does, as the volumes get very high. They are not a phone that likes to distort or get shrill at high volumes if you have an amp with enough power.
What I have been trying to say in this thread is that I don't think the stats can replace my HD800, and I don't think the HD800 can replace my stats. If I had never heard the HD800 on the ZDT amp, my top three stats could likely have replaced most of my dynamic headphones except the HE-5 (the main reason I keep the K1000 is because they are good on hot days and I like being able to say I own a pair
). I still think people who love stats shouldn't dismiss the HD800 without trying them in a properly matched rig.
| Originally Posted by greggf /img/forum/go_quote.gif AC1, I'm using the O2Mk.II, which should be considered even "darker" than the I, and I'm using it with a "dark" Marantz CDP and a "dark" current-model tube standard Stax amp, and I've had the HD800 across different amps, and my experience is the direct opposite of yours - it's the O2 that is the ultimate "flexible" can, no matter what I play. I think it's just personal choice, or mood (if you have many different headphones/systems), or perhaps even genetics or hearing?? |
Don't get me wrong, I really like both O2 Mk1 and Mk2. But I thought the O2 Mk2 was more forward in the mids with a more pronounced mid-bass peak than the Mk1, although I felt they were slightly less dark when I would compare the two on my old GES.
I still needed to use the brighter PS Audio DLIII DAC (which I got in March) to brighten up the O2 Mk2, but then I sold the Mk2 a couple of months later when I decided the Mk1 were more neutral and balanced. It just wasn't financially feasible to own both when I was in the process of buying a ZDT amp and saving up for the WES amp. At first I had sold the Mk1 in Feb and kept the Mk2, but I bought another Mk1 when I got the PS Audio, and eventually sold the Mk2 which I'd owned for almost a year. I still don't have a Mk2 to try anymore for comparisons and amp reviews, but the O2 Mk2 on Dinan's modded SRM-717 were not dark and I do still like them. Someday I expect I will get another pair of Mk2, and do the earpad spring mod again and enjoy them.
I know the source is important, and wont ignore that. After I got the WES a month ago, I switched to the Apogee mini-DAC but I'm planning to make space in my main rig for the brighter PS Audio again. I may send the PS Audio to Cullen Circuits for the stage IV mods, or get another DAC, but that is a few months down the road. I have new bills that need to be paid, unless I get stupid and put the DAC on a credit card. The Pico DAC-only also has very good synergy with the O2 Mk1 and Mk2, so that is always an option if I elect to only use my Macbook Pro. I'm also saving up to buy a used Pass Pearl phono preamp, and will feed that through input transformers into the WES and see how that sounds (my WES only takes XLR inputs).
Quote:
| Originally Posted by Deadneddz /img/forum/go_quote.gif HPA, thank you for your impressions. I've come to notice differences when I listen to the O2. Its a different experience than with any other headphones i've owned/own, and this presentation could appeal or detract from peoples perspectives. It might be the smaller headstage, minimal distortion, equilization technique or a combination of elements, but I see deeper into the recordings especially regarding soundstage and even songs within albums on the O2. As far as the out of head images, it seems to me that this is only conceived by lengthening the distance between the driver and ears, speakers of course having a signficant distance between the source point and the listener. But when listening to the soundscape within the recording, the O2 is the only phone i've heard that gives me the best look into the nuances within the recording rather than between me and the transducer. I'd be curious if the HD800 resolves differences in the actual recording itself rather than not being able to resolve those differences that well and just having a disporportionately large soundstage. I need to audition moar phones and moar better amps... 
|
I know what you mean. I would like to add that I don't think the HD800 spread everything wide and far within the soundstage, as I mentioned that it is mostly the venue that seems bigger, or the walls that are farther away, etc. The instruments don't move to the far ends of the soundstage or spread out too far. That why I tried to break it up into parts 1 & 2.
I also want to remind people that I am using an upgraded Warren Audio HD800 cable that improves the HD800 micro-detail to competing levels with O2 and HE60, but with the stock cable the HD800 are slightly less detailed and slightly more veiled than the O2 or HE60 or Jade (but still very much better than HD600). Still, with stock cable the soundstage is bigger than the O2, so I am not sure what is going on there as I am not an expert in psychoacoustics.
The micro-detail of the O2 Mk1 is what makes it work so well for me at low to medium volume levels, as I don't have to crank it up to hear the detail. And I like that they don't loss a proportionate amount of bass as the volume goes down, so the bass detail and texture or presence is still nice at low to medium volumes. The HD800 bass at low volumes is not as good, but improves as I crank them up. The timbre and tone, and refined organic rich warm sound are what keep drawing me back to the O2 Mk1. And, they don't sound bad at loud volumes, rather it just seems that the bass and mids get louder at a faster rate than the treble does, as the volumes get very high. They are not a phone that likes to distort or get shrill at high volumes if you have an amp with enough power.
What I have been trying to say in this thread is that I don't think the stats can replace my HD800, and I don't think the HD800 can replace my stats. If I had never heard the HD800 on the ZDT amp, my top three stats could likely have replaced most of my dynamic headphones except the HE-5 (the main reason I keep the K1000 is because they are good on hot days and I like being able to say I own a pair
