[brams]

U can find Sean on ebay under his username AffinityAdaptors. I believe mine is the first kind of these he has made so I don't know how he will price these in the future (they don't seem too easy to make and I think he had to order some parts in for the build).

Thanks. I contacted Sean about making me a set. In case anyone else is interested he quoted $120 USD plus shipping .

As I type this I'm listening to the P via a Hidizs S9Pro usb "dongle" dac/amp via the balanced output at what for me is a normal listening volume. Surprisingly it works. Yes, the bass is a bit uncontrolled, there is a bit more edge/strain to the presentation than there should be and the treble extension is simply OK, but it's certainly nowhere as bad as I thought it would be and is actually pretty good all considered; certainly fine for casual listening. The S9Pro has a bit of "tailoring" in the upper mids so I am sure that may be helping things a bit.

Bet the Susvara can't do that!

Has anyone had good results using a usb dongle? There are quite a few good offerings currently on the market and I saw a prototype of an upcoming Earmen product at an audio show last year that should be interesting.

 

[Roasty]

Since you own it and Susvara, how different are these and which one you fancy more ?

I posted that comment in the wrong thread! Will answer it here.

I'd say, they're different enough to keep both in the stable. the P is the overall more fun headphone with its stronger bass. I can feel the cups "pressurising" and the impact and rumble is very tactile. I tried a few more bass heavy songs on the P, and then swapped to the Abyss, and I was half expecting the Abyss to completely demolish the P in bass, but I was wrong. the P definitely holds its own in the lower registries.

in comparison, the susvara bass is tamer and less in amount, but in that effect, the bass details and textures are able to show up more easily.

vocals, piano, and strings are stronger on the susvara than the P. mids are a toss up.. maybe susvara slightly edges the P. I still find soundstage width and front back depth better on the P. very 3d kind of sound, more so than the Sus.

for ease of drive, with the headphones I have, it'll be Stellia, Utopia, SolP, Abyss, Susvara.

 

[Ciggavelli]

I posted that comment in the wrong thread! Will answer it here.

I'd say, they're different enough to keep both in the stable. the P is the overall more fun headphone with its stronger bass. I can feel the cups "pressurising" and the impact and rumble is very tactile. I tried a few more bass heavy songs on the P, and then swapped to the Abyss, and I was half expecting the Abyss to completely demolish the P in bass, but I was wrong. the P definitely holds its own in the lower registries.

in comparison, the susvara bass is tamer and less in amount, but in that effect, the bass details and textures are able to show up more easily.

vocals, piano, and strings are stronger on the susvara than the P. mids are a toss up.. maybe susvara slightly edges the P. I still find soundstage width and front back depth better on the P. very 3d kind of sound, more so than the Sus.

for ease of drive, with the headphones I have, it'll be Stellia, Utopia, SolP, Abyss, Susvara.

I feel like that I either got a bad P when I had mine (as somebody guessed) or the stock cable is the problem?

You're making me want to give the Ps another try

 

[DarginMahkum]

I feel like that I either got a bad P when I had mine (as somebody guessed) or the stock cable is the problem?

You're making me want to give the Ps another try

It is unlikely, as then you should have both drivers equally bad, which is a very very low probability. And if they are not equally bad, considering that average Head-fi ears are slightly above bat hearing levels, you would notice it easily that there's something wrong with the balance.

 

[Roasty]

I feel like that I either got a bad P when I had mine (as somebody guessed) or the stock cable is the problem?

You're making me want to give the Ps another try

Lol the last thing I want is to waste your money. unless you can somehow get a demo set to have a second go, I don't think I could sleep well if i pushed u for another straight up purchase, lest your impressions of the SolP end up the same and u lose out again.

I've been thru that before ie with zmf headphones. got 4 and sold 4. they were just not for me. similar story with Danacables LR; got 3 sold 3.

I have to agree with @DarginMahkum; don't think the t+a quality control would result in 2 poor drivers.. trust your ears.

 

[Ciggavelli]

It is unlikely, as then you should have both drivers equally bad, which is a very very low probability. And if they are not equally bad, considering that average Head-fi ears are slightly above bat hearing levels, you would notice it easily that there's something wrong with the balance.

Good point. I guess it was either the stock cable or the genres I listen to (which are different than many folks in this thread).

 

[DJJEZ]

I feel like that I either got a bad P when I had mine (as somebody guessed) or the stock cable is the problem?

You're making me want to give the Ps another try

i also agree with the others in saying i doubt you got a bad pair and they just arent for you.

 

[jlbrach]

I feel like that I either got a bad P when I had mine (as somebody guessed) or the stock cable is the problem?

You're making me want to give the Ps another try

the stock is not a bad cable and certainly would not account for you not liking the bass response which is for most a strength of the P for most myself included...it is either the music you listen to or something in your chain that doesnt jell well because to me the P is the equal of the susvara and that is high praise

 

[ThanatosVI]

While I don't want to believe that @Ciggavelli hit a faulty pair, his impressions did align with that weird measurements that was posted some pages ago.

In that measurement was a huge subbass rolloff, like the one he experienced.

 

[jlbrach]

I continue to believe the issue for him is his choice of music...I mean listening to rap and metal is testing the bass performance differently than say listening to sinatra or elton john lol

 

[nwavesailor]

I feel like that I either got a bad P when I had mine (as somebody guessed) or the stock cable is the problem?

You're making me want to give the Ps another try

There are some dealers in the US that have demo P

 

[brams]

I continue to believe the issue for him is his choice of music...I mean listening to rap and metal is testing the bass performance differently than say listening to sinatra or elton john lol

I have yet to encounter any type of music including rap on which the Sol-P sounds bass shy especially in the sub-bass. I am more inclined to think an equipment mismatch is to blame although his source and amp appear to be first class.

@Ciggavelli trying it again at a dealer with different amps is probably the best next step. Also, compare directly to some of your other headphones on the same amps. Listen to the entire range, not just the bass. Sometimes a problem in one area will lock your ears to that area and make you think the deficiency is somewhere else. For example if your amp is over emphasizing the upper bass it might make it sound like the sub-bass is rolled off.

For me the bass is great, even bordering on bloomy when compared to my tuned Lawton tuned TH900. Just wish the Sol-P was not so polite on certain tracks that I know to have a high jump factor ...

 

[Roasty]

the amount of bass, rumble, punch and pressure in the cups I'm getting with the P... I really can't ask for much more. of the headphones I have, only the Abyss can top the P for bass, but even then, the margin isn't really that much either. despite the Abyss having more of bass, the added midrange and warmth of the P, that fullness and density of the sound, makes the P a much nicer listen overall. in comparison to the Elite.. that headphone has a real lack of bass punch and extension which I couldn't ignore. I don't think I even want to try the dca Stealth..

I can only imagine that the P in Solitaire-P stands for phenomenal.

 

[Ciggavelli]

I have yet to encounter any type of music including rap on which the Sol-P sounds bass shy especially in the sub-bass. I am more inclined to think an equipment mismatch is to blame although his source and amp appear to be first class.

@Ciggavelli trying it again at a dealer with different amps is probably the best next step. Also, compare directly to some of your other headphones on the same amps. Listen to the entire range, not just the bass. Sometimes a problem in one area will lock your ears to that area and make you think the deficiency is somewhere else. For example if your amp is over emphasizing the upper bass it might make it sound like the sub-bass is rolled off.

For me the bass is great, even bordering on bloomy when compared to my tuned Lawton tuned TH900. Just wish the Sol-P was not so polite on certain tracks that I know to have a high jump factor ...

It is possible I was focusing too much on what I felt was a lack of sub bass. I guess it could be an equipment mismatch with the Ps, but all the other headphones I currently have display no such problems. I might try to get a demo of the Ps again, but I’m not going to purchase a new amp or dac just for the them

But I have tried to optimize my traditional headphone setup for power (I guess my estat too). However, the Utopias sound good out of my setup and they are easy to drive.

I dunno…if I can demo them again I probably will

 

[Elusiveness]

I think the Solitaire P is more like a semi open headphones perhaps that explains the “pressure in the cups”. The Susvara and 1266 do sound more open to my ears compared to the Solitaire P.