[Zarich]

I don't use an amp, just an audigy x-fi extreme gamer.  Sounds awesome to me.

 

[BlackSushi222]

Nice, now would any of these headphones listed, be a significant sound quality improvement over the PX100s?

 

[1Time]

A significant improvement? Not necessarily.  Some could prefer the PX100, PortaPro, or KSC75 over a CAL!  Those are open, and the CAL! is closed.  They sound different.    
 
The "sound quality" of the 3 CAL!s that I owned varied from below par to poor.  All 3 that I owned sounded better after modification, but only 1 of them sounded good. I later un-modded 1 CAL! and brought it with my best modded CAL! to a college guy I met through Craigslist.  Out of his ipod the bad one sounded bad, and the good one sounded good. I asked for $10 more for the good one. He had the $ but chose the bad one.
 
People vary in their perception of what sounds better or worse.
 
I think it's too risky to buy a CAL! and hope it sounds good. There may be good sounding stock CAL!s out there, but I'd rather try a D1001 before another CAL! 
Quote:

Nice, now would any of these headphones listed, be a significant sound quality improvement over the PX100s?

 

[BlackSushi222]

Wow thanks abunch for the heads-up. That sure brings more light on the CAL!s quality control.
 
I think I would want to avoid that then if that's the case. I don't like to roll the dice on a lucky good pair.
 
I am now considering the Equation Audio RP-21s at the risk of knowing the headband can crack and break after a period of use...
 
Does any1 else have any other closed headphones to recommend?

 

[grokit]

My Triports actually get better reviews for SQ on Amazon than the CAL!

 
But those new Beyer DT235s look real good for the $ as well.

 

[BlackSushi222]

Such a hard dilema, this whole buying the "perfect pair" for headphones huh?
 
Now stuck between the Denon 1001, M-Audio Q40, and Equation Audio RP-21...
 
Ugh my head is spinning x_x.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Quote:

I like to order off Newegg, but they don't ship to my country.
 
So are u suggest I have to get an amp with it?
 
I'm also wondering if the CAL! can run directly from an Ipod Touch 3g, and how well it would perform on it.

They don't need an amp whatsoever. The kinda of amp I'm talking about really is just a device that adds virtual surround processing (Dolby Headphone in my case). They are NOT headphone amps, and sound terrible if you try to use it for music.
 
Since you're worried about QC, just spend the extra on the Denon D1001k. I'm pretty damn sure they'll be just as good as my CALs.
 
Again like I said before, the CALs are very device sensitive, and their sound did change a lot between my gf's laptop and all my other devices, her laptop being the one that sounded really bad.
 
Perhaps the device 1time used didn't do the CAL justice. They aren't high end phones, but they sound pretty awesome for the $100 range.

 

[BlackSushi222]

Thx a bunch Mad Lust Envy, I'll keep that in mind. For now I'm gunna go sleep on it, and see if I can make my final decision soon.

 

[Zarich]

I just can't imagine anyone calling the sound quality out of these poor.  I have not used any High enders though, but I have gone from an HD202 to a JVC rx700 to a JVC m750 to these and I love how these sound.  Also have a pair of philips 8500s which I use for ps3 gaming which also sound great.

 

[Jani]

Any comparisons between CAL and ad700's. 

 

[1Time]

No one did call the sound quality of "them" poor.
 
Quote:

I just can't imagine anyone calling the sound quality out of these poor. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Quote:

Any comparisons between CAL and ad700's. 

Yes. I owned both. I spent a helluva lot of time with the AD700s. They are very bright, incredible open, with a huge soundstage. They can be very harsh on the treble, and have almost no bass oomph whatsoever. The CAL is by nature a closed headphone, so it isn't fair to compare an open vs a closed, as that in itself yields very different sonic qualities. That being said, the CAL has an open sound for a closed headphone, with pretty good soundstage, though nowhere near the level of the AD700s. If you want something good for everything, the CAL is better. I didn't particularly care for the AD700s for practically everything but gaming. They are about as fun as watching paint dry when it comes to music, IMHO.
 
I myself HAVE owned some pretty good higher end cans (DT770, K701, DT880, and to a lesser extent the RE0 IEMs get high praises) as well as a crapton of other headphones, and gaming headsets, and I still favor the CAL when it comes to overall quality to price. Like I said, they do everything well (except isolation), and don't compromise much. I put them in the same bracket of sound quality as the M50 and ES7, both which are very well loved here.

 

[1Time]

Nope. The 3 sources I used were OK - sources that I and many others have used to their satisfaction with many different headphones. And, "they" certainly do not sound pretty awesome in the $100 price range - not all CAL!s and not to everyone.
 
But how can that be?
 
The 3 unmodded CAL!s that I had sounded from below par to poor. All CAL!s do not sound alike - even from the same source where one CAL! may sound poor and another "pretty awesome".
Quote:

Perhaps the device 1time used didn't do the CAL justice. They aren't high end phones, but they sound pretty awesome for the $100 range.

 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Again, that's entirely your opinion, and you're entitled to it. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I have my own opinion, and I say they're entirely worth the $60 I spent on Newegg and then some. Maybe I got lucky, but so did quite a few others who share my views on them.
 
Joker who is well respected here highly praised them to the point of making them one of his top portables out of 36 that he has tested. This includes beating those well worth triple/quadruple their price.

 

[Jani]

Mad Lust Envy, thanks for the replys. It's starting to look like i got to check out the CAL's. If i like them enough, AD's propably get the boot