[Leander7777]

I'll gladly make comparison between the pro2900 and other headphones of your choice. Check my profile and let me know which ones interest you.
 

 

[BournePerfect]

 
Quote:

Sounds like a review from Amazon. Doesn't convince me. At all. This forum still needs a full review with A-B comparisons with other open cans like the HD650, DT-880 and maybe even T1.

I'm not gonna do a review for the 2900s because I've pretty much summed up my thoughts about it a few times in this thread if people wanna search my posts. I haven't heard an HD 650-and the T1 is my next purchase.
 
To be honest-a lot of what people have written about the T1 remind me of the 2900s-except the 2900s will probably have a little more bass emphasis. But the rest is there: great soundstage, great treble that NEVER pierces, VERY DETAILED mids, and deep bass. Even though people rave about the 2900s bass-I have yet to hear a whole lot of slam or impact. That may be because I'm coming from a 900 though. And the bass, while great-I wouldn't say it's very tight and defined either. It's deep, sure-and I wouldn't call it bloated really either. But compared to say an AD2000 or K702 (properly amped)-it's not as distinct and tight as those, if you will. Even the DT 990 (from distant memory lol) had tighter bass-but I have heard much better cans since then so that may be a fluke memory.
 
The mids are...INCREDIBLE. Imagine the Pro 900s mids brought forward about 3 rows-and then add even more detail and texture throughout, and you'd have the 2900s mids. Just phenomenal really. I'm hearing details (cliche I know) in the mids that I haven't heard with other detailed cans such as K702, DT 880, and AD2000. That's saying a LOT imo about the details of this headphone. Textures in a singers voice, background vocals, and even a certain 'growl' that a singer is using that I have never heard before all became readily apparent in songs I've heard literally a few hundred times. If there's a weakness to be had in the mids-I would say that it's not as tonally correct as it could be. Not bad by any means-but amazing timbre/tonality is one of the things that has me salivating over the T1.
 
The treble? Never ever harsh to my ears-not once. It's not a treble I've fallen in love with either-like I did with the AD2000. It never pierces, and extends pretty well. And I think I'll leave it at that lol.
 
DT 880 comparisons: There is no comparison!! I A/B'd these with the DT 880/32 just last night-and what a downgrade it was! First thought that came to mind? "Thin-sounding. Everywhere." They are really not even in the same ballpark as the 2900- AT ALL. The DTs have a very thin piercing treble. The mids seem pretty good still-but a bit lifeless and not nearly as detailed, warm, or smooth as the 2900s. The bass has always been a great part of the 880s imo-in that it is very textured and extends nice and deep to my ears. It's doesn't have nearly the quantity of the 2900s bass-but I think the quality is a little better on the DT 880s bass. Keep in mind though-it still sounds 'light' and would do nothing to appease a basshead, where the 2900 probably could. All in all though-going from the 2900 back to the DT 880 is a major step backward imo. Like going from 1080p back to 480p if you will.
 
EQUIPMENT: I am pairing these with an EXCELLENT amp in the Audio gd C-2.1. To my ears, I preferred this amp over any others I have owned including the Concerto, C-2 SA, m-Stage, and Asgard, and E-9.  The weak link in my system at this point is probably my dac-which is a Squeezbox Touch. Most people say this dac compares well with those up to $500 or more-so I'm not too worried about that at this point. I am coming from a Reference 9 though-and am definitely looking forward to something of that caliber again in the near future. The C-2.1 is the most critically revealing amp (not cold or sterile either) that I have ever had-same as the 2900s in that regard. So in that regard, my dac IS the weakest link right now.
 
Hit me with any questions guys, and I'll try my best to answer.
 
-Daniel
 

 

[BournePerfect]

Also: these NEED amping-much more so than the Pro 900s do. I agree with the other poster who said the mids get a little sucked out without an amp. I agree-the mids REALLY come out -as do the details-with proper amping.
 
Burnin? They need some, but not a whole lot. I was visiting my little brother when I bought these for the first time. I left them burning for 24 hours, and on the second day he goes "These sound a lot better than yesterday!". I agreed as well. And he doesn't even know what the term break in means, he's not an audiiophile, and I never mentioned anything about it to him. He just simply came to that conclusion. I would say that the biggest change during that first day was clarity and separation of everything. A lot of that caould probably be attributed to the bass tightening up a bit during that time-but honestly I didn't really listen that critically during the first 24 hours.
 
I've probably burned them in a 800 hours by now-but I'm not gonna say what changes took place, because I have used them on all sorts of equipment during the past month-so it's hard to say. I'll let others chime in in that regard if they want.
 
-Daniel

 

[MohawkUS]

Daniel, would you mind doing a quick comparision between your current amp, the M-stage, and the Asgard with the 2900? I'm still looking for an amp for mine, and your review shows me that I'm nowhere near the potential of these headphones with my sound card.

 

[BournePerfect]

MohawkUS:  Unfortunately, I don't have those other 2 anymore. I was never a fan of the Asgard frankly-I thought it was a harsh sounding amp by any measure. In all fairness, they supposedly changed it since then-but I can't comment on that. I always loved the m-Stage (bought it twice!), but I can tell you right now the C-2.1 is more neutral and detailed by a fair margin. It also has a blacker background and more coherent soundstage to boot.
 
You can rest assured that amping these will help alot-though I'm not sure about your onboard amping abilities either. If you wanna just get a cheap E-9, I'm sure that will bring great benefits right off-it matches pretty well imo when I tried it with my Pro 900s. But if you want more refinedment from top to bottom, and are a detail-person like me-you should look into the C2.2 (newest version with MOAR POWER!!) which will surely be incredible-just swap out the stock opamps. I'm using the LT1028 ANC8s in mine, fwiw.
 
-Daniel

 

[MohawkUS]

I'm pretty much deciding between the Little Dot MKV and the C2.2 right now. I'm going to put my whole budget into an amp, $350 because I have the ASUS essence card. The DAC is pretty good, but the amp section just isn't enough anymore.
The C2.2 seems to push a lot of power and it looks better built, so I'm really considering it. Would you say that it makes the headphones harsher in any way? Being a black metal listener quite a lot of my library relies on its low production level, raw sound. The 2900s have the perfect balance of aggression/forgivingness? for me now, I'm not sure I'd want to make them any smoother, or harsher.

EDIT!: The C2.2 and 2.1 are dual mono designs right? They don't say it on the site and I'm no electronics expert but it looks like it is based on the pics.

Another EDIT: I just read through an old review by Currawong comparing the MKV to an older version of the C2.1, even the older version of the Audio-GD amp blew the MKV away, looks like I'll be going sligtly over budget and getting the Audio-GD amp, I hate you head-fi

 

[BournePerfect]

Yep-almost all of AGD gear is dual mono. The build quality of their stuff is definitely top notch as well. A couple of things to think about: Audio GD gear needs LOTS of burn in-at least a few hundred hours. Whether you believe in that or not-MANY people here will tell you that. So keep in mind you will want to run it say 20/7 for a couple of weeks-and then more burn in if you change opamps after that.
 
I definitely would NOT describe the C-2.x as harsh. In fact-the opposite. It has a very smooth character-probably from running in a high Class A. It is kind of unique because even though it's smooth-it is extremely detailed to boot-and damn neutral throughout. I really wish I still had the Pro 900s for this-since they would seem to be a perfect match in my book. When I think of harsh amps-two come to mind-the Asgard (v.1 anyway) and the E-9. Apologist would claim the E-9 isn't harsh, but it's just dead on neutral. I would beg to differ. The Concerto iEAD neutral, but never harsh by any stretch. Boring, bland possibly-but not harsh. The C-2.1 is 99.99% as neutral as the Concerto, but smoother and more musical to my ears, and never boring or bland.
 
Keep in mind the C-2.2 will run you around $410 shipped-add another twenty for a pair of opamps. If that's out of your budget-I still highly recommend the m-Stage, which is a very good, slightly warm amp that handles everything well. But again if you can swing it-the AGD is more revealing and detailed, with a better soundstage-and has WAY more power (especially the C-2.2) and would probably be your last SS amp-ever. Unless the HE-6 comes calling lol.
 
-Daniel

 

[MohawkUS]

Budgets are meant to be broken, I think I can swing it. I do believe in burn-in, it was very real with my 2900s. I like to listen through the burn-in, can have a lot of fun when the bass spikes, not so much when the treble does though.

One thing I'm a bit confused on, does the amp come with opamps? Its not too clear, and they list a few varieties on the bottom of the page. Or is that something else?

 

[BournePerfect]

I'd suggest looking into an opamp upgrade as well then. The 'Earth' ones on Audio GD's site should be a perfect pairing imo, for an additional $20. If you do get those-be sure to get the 2 single-channel ones, and NOT 1 dual one. And forget the Moon for these headphones, since you'll lose details, bass won't be quite as tight-and it may be too syrupy. It would probably be a good pairing for the 900s though. Let us know what you decide!
 
-Daniel

 

[MohawkUS]

I'm not sure if I would buy any of the opomps with the amp, maybe as a future upgrade. Which ones have you tried? What about the sun? The moon really doesn't sound like it would be good for me. I love the aggressiveness of these headphones, I would never do anything to tune it down.

 

[BournePerfect]

I've only heard the Moon and the LT1028 ANC8 that was highly recommended by another forum user. I have the stock opamps sitting here-but I never tried them since nearly everyone recommended swapping them out first thing. I assume they aren't great sounding since Audio GD is probably assuming people are using the ACSS connections in conjunction with one of their dacs with this, and putting in cheap stock opamps. The Sun v.2 is supposed to be pretty aggressive and bright (hence the name), and might not be the best match-but I think it would be okay. It would probably be terrible for the 900s though.
 
-Daniel

 

[MohawkUS]

I've only heard the Moon and the LT1028 ANC8 that was highly recommended by another forum user. I have the stock opamps sitting here-but I never tried them since nearly everyone recommended swapping them out first thing. I assume they aren't great sounding since Audio GD is probably assuming people are using the ACSS connections in conjunction with one of their dacs with this, and putting in cheap stock opamps. The Sun v.2 is supposed to be pretty aggressive and bright (hence the name), and might not be the best match-but I think it would be okay. It would probably be terrible for the 900s though.
 
-Daniel

Maybe I should get one of them with the amp then. Would you recommend the opamps your using now or should I just stick with one of the Augio-GD options?

 

[BournePerfect]

If I were you I'd get the Earth opamp since you're already placing an order from them-and since most reports are that it's an excellent opamp-once burn in is complete. I got my C-2.1 used, and I wasn't sure if AGD would even sell me the opamps only, and I didn't want to worry about emailing them about it, waiting for PayPal to clear, etc etc...Although, one poster here said he tried quite a few opamps (including the AGD ones) and said he preferred the LT1028 ANC8 over them all-so I took him at his word and ordered them. Here's the link and seller I bought them from-total was $14.99 and they arrived in less than a week-even though the ad suggests a longer delivery estimate:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260837694165&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:1123
 
I'm sure you can't go wrong with either!!
 
-Daniel
 
edit: I honestly am very tempted to buy the Sun to try out. The smooth C-2.1 coupled with the smooth 2900 might need a tiny bit more agressiveness-and I wonder if the Sun also may add a bit more bass impact to boot. Who know-I haven't really done much research on these opamps yet. Something to think about.

 

[MohawkUS]

I'm not going to be ordering any time soon, I might end up getting it around Christmas time. Thanks for helping me out and please keep us updated if you try any of the other opamps.

 

[slidesear]

All of you are going to love me!!!

 
I have a cheap/quick/effective mod that you can quickly A/B test and see the results for yourself by just doing one side
 

My 900 Pro's are already modded with a kees/markl mod (I attached dampening material to (dynamat equiv) the inside of the cup (covered it with foam) and put some dampening on the inside of the baffle. This mod (kees/marl) definitely removed the boomy bass and replaced it with punchy bass less quantity was the payoff.
 
So, then I wanted to toy around with the cans some more and got an idea to line the baffle with electrical tape to create a better seal to the earpad ring. Did I notice an improvement? Heck yes!
 
The mids seem to have become more forward and the bass is now even punchier and more well-defined...

 
Pic
 
.
 
 
 
 
I'll get around to doing a cleaner job later (the overlapping tape doesn't seem like a good thing.)