Nintendam
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2011
- Posts
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Also, grado sr60(i's) with a few mods the bass absolutely rocks (as in fun). Those got me into hifi. I gave them away because I got the 225s but the 60i's were fun with a capital F
I had earlier said I believed they had some burn in. This post definitely left me re-thinking that. I wonder if that's how people get to thinking headphones are imbalanced one way or another: they adjust to a given headphone's sound signature. Like if I spent a few weeks on a pair of Grados would I think the M100s are a bloated bassy mess?
I'm convinced that's exactly what it is.
Coming from LP2's, when I first heard the M100's I actually felt they were lacking in bass, but the more I listened to them, everything seemed to open up; bass became more prominent, highs were clear and mids were fine to my ears. Normally that could be considered "burn-in", but if that's the case, how do my second pair of M100's sound exactly the same out of the box? Another example is listening to my ATH-M50's after using the M100's for a good while. I used to think the ATH-M50's were very clear sounding; but after getting used to the M100's, they actually sound a bit muffled.
Also, keep in mind I am not suggesting that it doesn't exist at all, just that most of the time, when people say they experience "burn in" it is just their mind getting used to a new headphone's sound. Even Tyll has studied it and his tests has shown the phenomenon to be inconclusive. There are changes in the driver, but the questions then become "are these changes within the threshold of human perception" and "can this be consistently obtained." Naturally all headphones will have some physical changes and even the smallest things can have impact on sound (also I'd put good money on the answer to the latter question being "no").
Btw, I can't remember every headphone I did those DBX tests with, but one of the few I could consistently hear a difference in was the HE-400. Inconsistently was, coincidentally, the PX100-IIs. The M-100s, M-80s, the Momentums, 598s, TMA-1s all just didn't change. I hear more of a change from the XL pads than I heard between my personal pair and a brand new out of box pair of M-100s.
Personally I don't believe in driver burn in (but brain burn in is of course a factor to consider). Nevertheless there are other parts of a headphone that do change over time / with actual usage: the pads. When I changed pads on my well-used DT1350 they lost most of their impressive subbass and sounded rather tinny. But like when they were new that ability came back over about two weeks of daily usage as the new pads got softer and isolation got better (I experienced the same effect when I initially bought them).
Does anyone has a consensus on if the XL pads actually change the sound signature or not? I've read almost all of the comments on this and its all over the place with the results.....I love the current sound of the normal pads but the stock pads hurt my ears after a while and if the XL pads help in 1) comfort and 2) sound leakage, then I'd buy them as long as the sound is the same.
Does anyone has a consensus on if the XL pads actually change the sound signature or not? I've read almost all of the comments on this and its all over the place with the results.....I love the current sound of the normal pads but the stock pads hurt my ears after a while and if the XL pads help in 1) comfort and 2) sound leakage, then I'd buy them as long as the sound is the same.
There was nothing psychological going on...the old and new PX100 simply did not sound like the same headphone before burn in.
There was everything psychological going on. This was not a blind test. You knew before hand which was which. This introduced a bias. This bias affected your perceptions. That's entirely psychological.
I got a pair of m-100 a year ago and absolutely loved it.
Am looking for another pair, an open-back one however, as I have a newborn at home and m-100 forbids me hearing the baby crying and my wife calling me (despite I only keep volume around 20).
May I ask for suggestions?
Ideally a pair with signature close to m-100, a fun can richer in bass with clear highs.
Budget is approximately same as m-100 i.e. $300
Many thanks
Again, I did not have to adjust to a new sound since I was familiar with the PX100 sound.