[Kojaku]

Hey Head-Fiers,
 

 
Just wanted to put my quick two cents in about the Smeggy Thunderpants TP1.
 
In all honesty, the sounds is world-class.
 
I have heard pretty much every popular low to mid-fi to lower hi-fi headphone all the way up to scaled HD 650 rigs.
 
As far as speed and detail, the TP's are truly exceptional. Staging and separation are outstanding. Each instrument doesn't simply get its own realm, it has room to breathe, in a SEALED headphone.
 
They scale well. They're fairly merciful to poor recordings and truly exceptional with uncompressed codecs.
 
What they don't have, however, is the dark or bright label that you can apply to most headphones. They're damn near neutral for something enclosed in wood and sealed.
 
Most of all, they're pretty damn musical. I know, right? Musical and neutral? Perhaps it has a lot to do with how transparent the TP1 is as far as what you feed it. I feed it with ALACs from a FiiO E10 and a TTVJ Slim. The warmth and body of the TTVJ Slim with the wider staging and separation of the E10 (when compared to a standard DAP) all translate beautifully into the TP1.
 
The main point is that the TP1 can take anything you throw at it. It's a fantastic all-rounder with the detail and speed to ascend into what feels like a sealed headphone class all its own.
 
I just feel like people should understand that the TP1 really is an exceptional headphone, and not just upper mid-fi material.
 
Kojaku

 

[MorbidToaster]

I was honestly underwhelmed. While I did like them quite a bit they didn't even comes close to my LCD 2s to my ears. They've been hyped so much around here (like p[size=x-small]eople saying they sound better than LCD 2s)[/size] that I suppose my expectations were pretty high.
 
Overall I found their bass somewhat lacking without EQ and the rest I'd describe as 'decent for closed phones'.
 
One thing I will give them though...They respond amazingly well to EQ. No bleed or distortion...Just more of whatever you wanted from them. This made them more 'fun' than my LCD 2, but I still preffered the huge jump in detail the LCD 2 offered.
 
tl;dr - They're gorgeous and respond very well to EQ making them very fun, but their lack of detail is what really counted them out for me.
 
EDIT: I think upper mid-fi is right where they belong. Good price for a good product.

 

[Translash]

Are these better than d7000s/d5000s?

 

[MorbidToaster]

Are these better than d7000s/d5000s?

I'd say that depends on your signature preferences. The Thunderpants is more neutral where as the D7000 is somewhat U shaped.

Overall they're really in the same league I think.

 

[Taowolf51]

Quote:

Are these better than d7000s/d5000s?

I don't have the thunderpants, but I have a modded T50rp, and I would say no (D7000), but it is pretty close for a headphone I spent a total of $120 on. But they're VERY different sounding. Neither one can replace the other.
If you're wondering if you should get them *instead* of the Denons, I'd say no. Get the Denons, and the Fostex's.
I would consider the D7000's as hifi, only just. I would put modded T50rp's in upper mid-fi, which is a hell of an achievement for such a cheap headphone.

 

[MorbidToaster]

I don't have the thunderpants, but I have a modded T50rp, and I would say no (D7000), but it is pretty close for a headphone I spent a total of $120 on. But they're VERY different sounding. Neither one can replace the other.
If you're wondering if you should get them *instead* of the Denons, I'd say no. Get the Denons, and the Fostex's.
I would consider the D7000's as hifi, only just. I would put modded T50rp's in upper mid-fi, which is a hell of an achievement for such a cheap headphone.

I can get behind that. The D7000 is about where I'd say hifi starts.

 

[Bonobo Loco]

Quote:

I can get behind that. The D7000 is about where I'd say hifi starts.

So you're limiting 'hifi' to only the upper tier in terms of price, apparrently... because a lot of people would consider the hd600/650, beyer dt880, akg k/q701, grado 325/ ps500, and several others in the $300-$500 range to be 'hifi'.
 
I think all those I just listed are hifi... but then there are tiers that go astronomically above these in price, like the LCD3 at $2000 or the Stax 009 at $5000.
 
I'm jussayin... just because there are these crazy priced 'hifi' cans, doesn't make something like the hd650 'mid-fi'.

 

[Taowolf51]

You can pick up the D7000's for a bit over $500.

 

[MorbidToaster]

I don't consider any of those hifi...Not based on price but based on sound compared to cans I'd consider hifi.

Those are all (to my ears) solidly mid fi...

The 650 could be considered hifi when powered correctly but there will always be some exceptions to 'rules'.

Edit: It goes both ways price wise. A modded 120 phone can easily be considered upper mid fi.

 

[Kojaku]

I feel like there's a difference to be made between hi-fi and summit-fi. I feel like the LCD-2/3, HE-5/500, HE-6, HD800 are all summit-fi. What does the D7000 pull off in detail versus a planar magnetic that lets it outclass the TP1 solidly?

Kojaku

 

[MorbidToaster]

I feel like there's a difference to be made between hi-fi and summit-fi. I feel like the LCD-2/3, HE-5/500, HE-6, HD800 are all summit-fi. What does the D7000 pull off in detail versus a planar magnetic that lets it outclass the TP1 solidly?
Kojaku

In my mind they're very close to the same level but different flavors. That being said I think that the only thing putting the D7000 ahead is its potential for improvement via mods.

The Thunderpants pushes the t50 driver to its limits where as the D7000 driver has room to improve. A Lawton modded D7000 is without a doubt a cut above.

 

[Kojaku]

Hm. How much is a Lawton modded D7000? I feel like my next jump in hi-fi, depending on how summer job-searching goes, is the LCD-2...so I wanna know just how big that leap would be...

Kojaku

 

[MorbidToaster]

Hm. How much is a Lawton modded D7000? I feel like my next jump in hi-fi, depending on how summer job-searching goes, is the LCD-2...so I wanna know just how big that leap would be...
Kojaku

If you're just making the jump I'd just go with an LCD 2. Lawton overall comes out to more and while it's a good buy for a current owner of the D7000 it's expensive to just outright buy one.

Edit: Consider what you're driving them with though. The D7000 is very easy to drive and sounds great with almost any SS amp. The LCD 2 is much harder to get the best out of. As for more precise pricing you'd have to contact Lawton.

 

[Kojaku]

Quote:

If you're just making the jump I'd just go with an LCD 2. Lawton overall comes out to more and while it's a good buy for a current owner of the D7000 it's expensive to just outright buy one.
Edit: Consider what you're driving them with though. The D7000 is very easy to drive and sounds great with almost any SS amp. The LCD 2 is much harder to get the best out of. As for more precise pricing you'd have to contact Lawton.

I've heard that the TTVJ Slim is a very capable amp and even the specs show a pretty high voltage output...
 
Kojaku

 

[MorbidToaster]

The TTVJ is a great amp. I never said it was bad...but the LCD 2 might push you further down the 'last 2%' rabbit hole.
 
Quote:

I've heard that the TTVJ Slim is a very capable amp and even the specs show a pretty high voltage output...
 
Kojaku