[chrislangley4253]

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Moar%20Off-Topicness!

 
 

Balancing headphones does not  "just remove the common ground" . It feeds the ground wire for each channel (separately of course) with an inverse signal. So the driver gets instead of signal/ground signal/inverse signal. To make that more easy to visualise you could picture it like: the signal voltage pushes the driver, while simultaneously the inverse signal pulls the driver with the same, but inversely directed force.

 
When you have balanced gear it does that.. If you are running your balanced headphones off a regular headphone setup, The only benefit is removing the shared ground, as previously mentioned. I don't need help visualizing it.. I know how balanced audio works. We are just talking about two different things here. You are comparing a balanced set up to a single ended setup. I'm talking balanced headphone vs single ended headphone when the rest of the gear is regular. I might not have made that clear, apologies.
 
 

It is Chris' tone and attitude that is the problem here, and I don't see where I made an assumption???? He made an "I'll tell you how it is" -statement that was beside the point, wrong and misdirecting.
Nothing baseless about stating that.
 
I couldn't care less about my credibility in these forums any more lately.

 

I think once you recognize that we are talking about two different things you will see that my statement wasn't wrong or misdirecting.

Finally, something we agree upon with the credibility

*edit* Also, my original statement was a little nonspecific and not exactly factual. After rereading it, I can see why you thought I was talking about balanced gear in general and not specifically about balanced vs unbalanced using a regular amp, such as the O2. I will edit it accordingly. This should also be my last post on the matter. Sorry for gunking up the thread guys.. I certainly didn't intend to offend anyone and I wasn't looking for an argument by any means.
 
Boy, that was a mess, we were both a little wrong in one way or another, I think.

How 'bout dem Paradox?

 

[manveru]

Are we discussing the properties of balanced audio, or making irrelevant judgements and analyzations of other peoples' behavior and blaming them for things that aren't their fault and have nothing to do with anything to begin with?
 
 
In any case, I've had the Paradox for about two weeks now, but have been too lazy to try and write anything about them. To be honest, I've kind of been losing interest in Head-fi and audio gear. Partly because I no longer subscribe to the notion that there's a direct causal relationship between price and performance, partly because I feel that all my needs are met with what I already have.
 
I'll say something about the sub bass though...I'd like a little more of it. I wouldn't say they're rolled-off. It's a big improvement compared to the actually rolled-off stock T50RP. The Paradox are certainly capable of producing audible sub bass, just not to a degree of strength which is wholly satisfying to me. If this is flat and neutral sub bass, well then it turns out that my personal preference is for slightly exaggerated sub bass. It's not really a problem though. The great thing about the Paradox or maybe just the T50RP in general, is that it responds absolutely marvelously to EQ, even at 20 or 30Hz. I'm eternally grateful that there are no mid-bass mountains, lower mid mountains, lower mid canyons, upper mid mountains/plateaus, treble mountains, treble shelf, cliffs on either end of the spectrum, general upward/downward FR tilt, or other big problems that other headphones have had for me. The sound is very smooth. This is one of the only headphones I've heard that doesn't seem to have any obvious treble spikes or extraneous "sparkle," and on good recordings actually provides quite realistic timbre for cymbals (actually, I thought the stock T50RP already possessed this quality to a considerable degree as well). Really good detail and ambience too, in my humble experience.

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

In any case, I've had the Paradox for about two weeks now, but have been too lazy to try and write anything about them. To be honest, I've kind of been losing interest in Head-fi and audio gear. Partly because I no longer subscribe to the notion that there's a direct causal relationship between price and performance, partly because I feel that all my needs are met with what I already have.
 
I'll say something about the sub bass though...I'd like a little more of it. I wouldn't say they're rolled-off. It's a big improvement compared to the actually rolled-off stock T50RP. The Paradox are certainly capable of producing audible sub bass, just not to a degree of strength which is wholly satisfying to me. If this is flat and neutral sub bass, well then it turns out that my personal preference is for slightly exaggerated sub bass. It's not really a problem though. The great thing about the Paradox or maybe just the T50RP in general, is that it responds absolutely marvelously to EQ, even at 20 or 30Hz. I'm eternally grateful that there are no mid-bass mountains, lower mid mountains, lower mid canyons, upper mid mountains/plateaus, treble mountains, treble shelf, cliffs on either end of the spectrum, general upward/downward FR tilt, or other big problems that other headphones have had for me. The sound is very smooth. This is one of the only headphones I've heard that doesn't seem to have any obvious treble spikes or extraneous "sparkle," and on good recordings actually provides quite realistic timbre for cymbals (actually, I thought the stock T50RP already possessed this quality to a considerable degree as well). Really good detail and ambience too, in my humble experience.

 
I totally hear ya on the losing interest part. I've pretty much lost interest on buying any more gear, but I am still interested in trying to help out people new to the hobby! Posting impressions kinda sucks sometimes.

I'm sure you have probably tried this, but make absolutely sure the sub-bass you are looking for is present on the recording itself. I found the paradox really satisfying as far as sub-bass goes, especially as a former grado-head. I'd be tickled pink if I could get my DIY t50rp to come close to the sub bass of the Paradox! I had a blast playing around with sinewaves with the Paradox
 
I thought the treble was just a little too smooth. Once again, probably because I'm a former grado-head But, it was pleasant and never shelved or anything. I agree with the cymbals on the stock t50rp. I find them a bit bright, but fairly realistic as far as timbre goes.

 

 

[temporaryname]

Quote:

 
I'll say something about the sub bass though...I'd like a little more of it. I wouldn't say they're rolled-off. It's a big improvement compared to the actually rolled-off stock T50RP. The Paradox are certainly capable of producing audible sub bass, just not to a degree of strength which is wholly satisfying to me. If this is flat and neutral sub bass, well then it turns out that my personal preference is for slightly exaggerated sub bass. It's not really a problem though. The great thing about the Paradox or maybe just the T50RP in general, is that it responds absolutely marvelously to EQ, even at 20 or 30Hz. I'm eternally grateful that there are no mid-bass mountains, lower mid mountains, lower mid canyons, upper mid mountains/plateaus, treble mountains, treble shelf, cliffs on either end of the spectrum, general upward/downward FR tilt, or other big problems that other headphones have had for me. The sound is very smooth. This is one of the only headphones I've heard that doesn't seem to have any obvious treble spikes or extraneous "sparkle," and on good recordings actually provides quite realistic timbre for cymbals (actually, I thought the stock T50RP already possessed this quality to a considerable degree as well). Really good detail and ambience too, in my humble experience.

 
Thank you for your impressions. By sub-bass do you mean 100hz and below? Or 60hz and below? There's a few differing opinions on what sub-bass is.

 

[manveru]

Quote:

I totally hear ya on the losing interest part. I've pretty much lost interest on buying any more gear, but I am still interested in trying to help out people new to the hobby! Posting impressions kinda sucks sometimes.

I'm sure you have probably tried this, but make absolutely sure the sub-bass you are looking for is present on the recording itself. I found the paradox really satisfying as far as sub-bass goes, especially as a former grado-head. I'd be tickled pink if I could get my DIY t50rp to come close to the sub bass of the Paradox! I had a blast playing around with sinewaves with the Paradox

 
Yeah.
 
Indeed. I'm basing my impressions on certain tracks which I'm pretty sure contain the sub bass I'm talking about. At least, based on my experiences with parametric EQ's and the observation that on headphones which are rolled-off certain parts of these tracks can come close to or virtually disappear. Come to think of it, I think I could run those songs through a frequency analyzer to be sure of what exactly is going on there if I want. Hadn't occurred to me before for some reason. I've used sine waves as well in any case. I imagine listening volume could possibly have an effect on one's perception of this too.
 
Quote:

Thank you for your impressions. By sub-bass do you mean 100hz and below? Or 60hz and below? There's a few differing opinions on what sub-bass is.

 
Right. 60Hz and below would better describe what I'm referring to.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

Balanced doesn't do anything for any application unless you are running long lengths and are having interference problems.. But, you know this

LFF builds the damn things folks.. If he thinks the thin flimsy v-moda cable is fine...

Not that you shouldn't go balanced if you have balanced gear, or if you just want to try it.. I don't care, go for it!

*edit*
 
What I meant to say was, "In my opinion running headphones balanced doesn't do much regardless of the type of headphone. In my opinion the use of balanced gear is only worthwhile in a studio setting. Specifically, I believe there is no difference between a headphone that has been wired balanced vs. single ended when using single ended gear."

 
 
That's not all it does.  So this statement is not true.  Balanced amp technology is different than balanced cables.  But this discussion is all over this site.  No need to go into it here.

 

[nonamodnar]

Quote:

Well, the paradox was one hell of a first choice. It'll sound good off the TAH, assuming the TAH isn't godawful (I only listened to one once... and the guy was listening to Lil Wayne on Youtube). The Paradox sound pretty proper off a sansa clip, I think you'll be happy with em if you like a neutral sound
 

Well, the paradox is not my first step to the hi-fi world per se, but I get your sentiment. My "first blood" is the KOSS DJ100.

It seems that I started off quite a heating trail of discussion. My apology, gents and ladies.

 

[linuxid10t]

Quote:

Well, the paradox is not my first step to the hi-fi world per se, but I get your sentiment. My "first blood" is the KOSS DJ100.

It seems that I started off quite a heating trail of discussion. My apology, gents and ladies.

I have the DJ100 as well and have extensively listened to the Paradox.  Two totally different beasts.  Good choice going for headphones so far apart.

 

[nonamodnar]

Quote:

I have the DJ100 as well and have extensively listened to the Paradox.  Two totally different beasts.  Good choice going for headphones so far apart.

How would you describe the discrepancy between the two? I really like the DJ100 except for the bass (nothing wrong with the phone, just that I don't like the bass).

 

[linuxid10t]

Quote:

How would you describe the discrepancy between the two? I really like the DJ100 except for the bass (nothing wrong with the phone, just that I don't like the bass).

I guess I'd say that the DJ100 is hard hitting and unrefined compared to the Paradox.  It is also much darker.  I like it for metal and alternative music though.

 

[chrislangley4253]

Yeah.. those two are pretty much worlds apart. Both pretty good headphones. The paradox is definitely better from a technical standpoint and I think it will handle all genres well, whereas the DJ100 is pretty hit or miss.

 

[rawrster]

So these came in the mail today. My first response was ...oh wow these things are ugly. If this is was stock Paradox looks like I would never buy them. It does look like it has changed however, 
 
I was originally thinking of comparing them to a similarly priced headphone in the HE400 but it seems moot since they are different signatures and that the Paradox is something I could enjoy while the HE400 is not for me. Also I'll be using the Anedio D1 as a dac/amp with these. My usual amp only has balanced outs so can't do anything about that. I would think about the HDP if I ever bring it home from work so probably not. However the D1 is a very revealing dac with a great amp. I sold my V200 amp eventually after liking the internal amp better so it definitely is no slouch. 

 

[electropop]

This seems to be the most active thread about the Paradox..
 
It's finally nice to hear what all the talk has been about about. Have listened to about an hour and I have no immediate negative things to say about them, I mean, at all. This is good. 

 

[temporaryname]

Quote:

This seems to be the most active thread about the Paradox..
 
It's finally nice to hear what all the talk has been about about. Have listened to about an hour and I have no immediate negative things to say about them, I mean, at all. This is good. 

 
That's how I feel about my TG!334's... in regards to sound that is. Fit and comfort is a whole other issue.

 

[rawrster]

I'm fairly done with the Paradox. I didn't spend as much time as I wanted with them but still got the general idea of things with them.
 
Unfortunately since the Paradox was not balanced I could not use them with my speaker amp or my Mjolnir. I was only able to use them with my Anedio D1 which is a good dac/amp. I felt the internal amp was better than my V200 amp when I had it so it definitely is no slouch. The other headphones I currently have in my possession is a Hifiman HE400, Sennheiser HD800 and Hifiman HE6. 
 
I felt in terms of quality the Paradox was somewhere in between the HE400 and the HD800/HE6 level of quality. Originally I wanted to compare the Paradox and HE400 but found that the differences in signature were too different to warrant a comparison. The Paradox is tuned to a neutral signature which would usually be my preference but having heard many neutral headphones they all sound different. For neutral headphones I would say the tonality of the Paradox is very good. It is one of the better ones I have heard.
 
I find overall that the Paradox have good extension on both ends of the spectrum particularly the treble. For a neutral headphone it is not really bright or has a hot treble like many others but fairly smooth. If there would be a frequency chart it probably would be fairly flat. I see this headphone as something someone could own if they wanted something neutral. Detail is fairly good. I don't find it as detailed as my HD800 or HE6 but it is still very good. Lastly soundstage is fairly decent but I don't really care much about sound stage. What's really interesting is that in the past I did modify the T50RP and I felt that I got it to sound quite good although a bit warmer for my taste but whatever LFF did to these headphones it certainly is a winner imo.
 
This headphone could also be used if someone had multiple headphones but as a standard to compare it to. What I mean is that sometimes it is hard to say this headphone has a forward midrange, recessed midrange, etc. if that is the only headphone they own or if there is nothing to compare it to. With something like the Paradox it would make those things easier as there would be something flat to compare it to.