[devouringone3]

The color shift effect:
 

 
DuPont makes such a paint called "ChromaLusion", it's a two step process and the substance seems to be considerably more expensive than regular paint.
 
The old John Petrucci (from the progressive metal band Dream Theater) signature electric guitars had a "Mystic Dream" color scheme that looks similar to the color shifting Paradox:
 
 
(yes, this is the same guitar, but photographed at two different angles)
 
I always loved that guitar and its special color scheme (he used it in almost every concerts), Paradox using that paint producing a similar effect has got to be one of the coolest idea I've seen in the realm of headphones and modding.

 

[LFF]

We tested several color shift paints and finishes to get to the one we are currently using. It's definitely NOT cheap. We have pictures up on our website of the color shift Paradox.
All of our paints have been upgraded and our new finish technique really lends itself to nice results at the cost of a long cure time. We do put a lot of time and effort into these. I hope it shows in the final look and sound of each headphone.

 

[Puranti]

Just received my pair of paradox and I thought I had to tell my impressions as I have been hearing them for 20 min, I have a Hifiman HE-4:
 
-First those are extremely comfortable, the hifiman headphones are knowed for not being comfort champ but I could wear the paradox all day
-Mids, where have you been ! I knew the he-4 was bright, but not that bright. It's like I'm rediscovering all the songs I heard
-Those are neutral and hence are very enjoyable, the balance is a great SQ plus.
-The soundstage is surprisingly good.
-On some complicated passage, they lack a bit of speed in the bass section.
 
So far so good !

 

[pbandstefanwich]

Quote:

 
Thanks for your review. Just to note...the Paradox has a very accurate soundstage and I go through a LOT of work to make sure it does. A lot of headphones EXAGGERATE soundstage to make it more pleasing. Also, given the current trends in mastering, soundstage is one of the things most producers don't really care about (see Californication by RHCP...it's nearly mono). The Paradox will give you EXACTLY what your chain is able to reproduce from the recordings you are playing...warts and all. I'm a big fan of honesty.

 
I'd like to clarify what I meant by my comment on soundstage issues. I found the left to right soundstage to be fine. My main gripe with the soundstage was in the depth perception. From what I heard, I found the instruments were generally placed at the same depth. The "wall of sound" I believe others have used to describe orthos in general. I agree many headphones can exaggerate the soundstage (HD800 is a prime example) and I thought the left-right separation was fine on the Paradox. I just couldn't get an appreciable sense of depth perception, but maybe that's just me. Anyone else notice this?
 
As a side note, while I like the RHCP music, I despise their mastering. There are so many things I'd like to see fixed about the mastering before the soundstage. I of course wouldn't expect to hear any semblance of a soundstage on a recording like that. I can hardly listen to RHCP recordings on a revealing system... I have to jump back to some good old SR60 to really enjoy the Chili Peppers

 

[LFF]

Quote:

 
I'd like to clarify what I meant by my comment on soundstage issues. I found the left to right soundstage to be fine. My main gripe with the soundstage was in the depth perception. From what I heard, I found the instruments were generally placed at the same depth. The "wall of sound" I believe others have used to describe orthos in general. I agree many headphones can exaggerate the soundstage (HD800 is a prime example) and I thought the left-right separation was fine on the Paradox. I just couldn't get an appreciable sense of depth perception, but maybe that's just me. Anyone else notice this?
 
As a side note, while I like the RHCP music, I despise their mastering. There are so many things I'd like to see fixed about the mastering before the soundstage. I of course wouldn't expect to hear any semblance of a soundstage on a recording like that. I can hardly listen to RHCP recordings on a revealing system... I have to jump back to some good old SR60 to really enjoy the Chili Peppers

 
BTW...I also measure depth.
 
The problem with depth is US. I have that problem too. It's called the "Cone of Confusion" and is a well documented problem in the vast majority of the population. It's prominent in all binaural material and stereo material. There are tricks you can use on speakers to eliminate it, but you can't do it with headphones.  
 
I totally agree with your comments about RHCP. The sad thing is that they are actually recorded and mixed beautifully. It's the mastering where they are ruined. The dynamic range on Californication is to DIE for! I wish you guys could hear the versions I have...especially Californication.

 

[remilio]

Waiting for my second set to organize the mini-tour in Russia, lol 

 

[jgray91]

Waiting for my second set to organize the mini-tour in Russia, lol 

Did you say Russia??

 

[remilio]

Quote:

Did you say Russia??

Yep 

 I'm the only owner of Paradox there.

 

[jgray91]

 I'm the only owner of Paradox there.

I suppose when you're doing the tour, it will be in a Russian forum? I'm in Moscow btw, but am not a native here.

 

[wolfetan44]

Quote:

Terrific review, HideousPride.. I've added it to the index (second post).  Your decked out Paradox' look amazing.. I anticipate sending my Paradox around on another tour after this leg is complete (and hopefully an international one if it can be facilitated, as well), so I might have to prod Luis for a new pair.  I'd like to keep my pair in circulation so anyone (who's trustworthy) will get a chance to hear these impressive phones.

Could I be included in a audition? PM me if you are fine with it.

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Yep 

 I'm the only owner of Paradox there.

There are 3 others...

 

[remilio]

Quote:

There are 3 others...

3 others in Russia? 

 There is no single mention about paradox on russian forums - that's strange! That's why i thought i'm the only one 

 
jgray91
 
Of course, the tour will be on russian forum, but i will repost impressions here too. My goal is to make these headphones legendary! 

 

[LFF]

Quote:

3 others in Russia? 

 There is no single mention about paradox on russian forums - that's strange! That's why i thought i'm the only one 

 
jgray91
 
Of course, the tour will be on russian forum, but i will repost impressions here too. My goal is to make these headphones legendary! 

I know...
 
I never demand owners to post their impressions. If they do so, it's out of their own free will/desire.
 
Doing the math, only about 1 in 5 owners actually ever posts something. Some buy it and disappear from the forums completely.

 

[SMG52]

Having owned the Paradox for some time now, I have been investigating a speaker amp to drive them, after having been impressed when using my Musical Fidelity A1 amp off the speaker taps. Since my Paradox are wired single ended, the amp needed to have shared negative common grounds. I did a bunch of research and came upon a relatively inexpensive amp (by 'high end' standards) by TBI called the Millenia MG3. I've included some links to reviews about the amp that compared it to some pretty esoteric SE tube amps and even some Pass Labs class A amps. It costs $500 and there is a 30 day trial period.
 
Even though it was not designed for headphone use, and the negative taps are not shared, the designer was happy to work with me to give it a try. First I tried it with some resistors to help with the grounding issue and to diminish background hiss from the gain of the amp. Then Jan (the designer) came up with a box to go between the amp and the headphones (with a resistor network to both take care of the negative grounding issue, the background hiss, and the impedance issue of the headphones). Now I believe this amp with the Paradox headphones is providing me with some of the best hi fi music reproduction I have ever listened to, since getting into the audio hobby in the mid 1970s. Although I am new to headphone use, I have owned in the past various top of the line Stax Lambda headphone set ups, but mainly have had some pretty nice stereo set ups (Magneplanars, Quad electrostatics, various Spendors, tube amps both push pull and single ended, etc., etc.) I have a pretty good idea about what constitutes good sound.
 
Also, Jan was outstanding to work with. He really wanted to help make his amp work, even though driving headphones was not what the amp was designed to do;  others may well have suggested I look elsewhere. Oh, and the amp can work off 8 AA batteries (with 10 watts/8 ohms rather than around 30 watts on ac). Some prefer it on batteries. Either way, a phenomenal amp.
 
http://www.tbisound.com/dsp_products_millenia.asp
 
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=108242.0
 
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue62/millenia.htm

 

[antonyfirst]

I have a Headamp AE-2. How good is it supposed to sound with it? The AE-2 is half way in quality between the original Pico and (supposedly) Pico Power. What's the optimal amplification for the Paradox? Is it supposed to scale a lot? Is it one of those headphones, like the AD2000, which shine even with the AE2 or the Gilmore Lite? Or is it harder to please, like Sennheiser HD650 or LCD-2? Thanks