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Post by tunkejazz on Apr 3, 2016 14:40:28 GMT
For those on the hunt...a new drop of the TH-X00 is available for 9 more days (or until they reach 2000 units). They have changed the cups with a new finish :-)
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jello
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Post by jello on Apr 3, 2016 15:57:55 GMT
Spotted this quote from Will at Massdrop which outlines the differences:
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Post by tunkejazz on Apr 3, 2016 17:51:46 GMT
I am tempted, although I am not sure I can afford them at the moment :-(
For me the question is whether they actually sound as good as a pair of Sennheiser hd650 + Frans filter (which I have not listen too either). Also, the low impedance of the th-x00 may not pair as well with the Ember as the Senns.
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jello
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Post by jello on Apr 3, 2016 19:01:20 GMT
If the Purpleheart is as close to the mahogany version as Will says it is then my money would be on the 650 + filter. Frans recently sent me a desktop Kameleon 2 to audition and I've recently been listening to it with my 650.
I suppose it depends what you are looking for really but to my ears the filtered 650 sounds far better balanced and more resolving. Filtered the bass is also much more linear and the sub bass is great for an open backed 'phone.
I listened to a few pairs of low impedance headphones with the Ember (1) and whilst I suspect the TH-X00 would sound pretty decent I imagine fine volume control would be limited and it'd possibly pick up some tube noise. Ember 2 with its attentuation modules might be more amenable though.
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Post by tunkejazz on Apr 4, 2016 12:28:22 GMT
That sounds great! I am considering building a Kameleon 2 myself although my soldering skills are probably quite rusty at the moment :-P
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Post by tracestar on Apr 5, 2016 2:10:23 GMT
I joined the drop for this. Now I'm thinking of cancelling the drop and getting a 650 to pair with my Ember 2 instead.
Hopefully the filters will be completed sooner rather than later.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Apr 5, 2016 8:00:59 GMT
While the hd650 sounds pretty good as it is, once the sub-bass is added and the mid bass hump is reduced on it from the Kameleon, it becomes quite a different beast altogether. The funny thing is that changes are pretty slight when you casually listen but in the end, they are very profound!! The sound changes aren't intrusive in any way and are done really well.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Apr 5, 2016 8:01:05 GMT
While the hd650 sounds pretty good as it is, once the sub-bass is added and the mid bass hump is reduced on it from the Kameleon, it becomes quite a different beast altogether. The funny thing is that changes are pretty slight when you casually listen but in the end, they are very profound!! The sound changes aren't intrusive in any way and are done really well.
I have a TH900 and the Senn is way more consistent with the Kameleon. The TH900 is more in your face with its bass and treble being more prominent. I guess that's why these variants from Massdrop are being released .... To attempt to calm the TH900 sound a bit perhaps.
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jello
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Post by jello on Apr 7, 2016 15:42:42 GMT
Holy heck. My m.i.a. Polaris finally appeared yesterday after a month long tour of the US and I have to say it really brings the TH-X00 to life.
As Ian can confirm I've not exactly been overly impressed by the TH-X00 thus far. With the Vali 2 w/ Amperex Bugle Boy it's bit ****led (any excuse to push the boundaries of good taste lol), sedate and tubby sounding. With the O2 or E18 it improves a bit but I still feel there's something of a 'disconnect' where I hear the music but don't get any real sense of involvement.
With the Polaris it feels the TH-X00 is driven with greater authority which helps clarity, tame the bass bloat and yet at the same time the sub bass feels more prominent and impactful. It also sounds much less boxy with a greater feeling of width than I've become accustomed too.
Although greatly improved imho the HD650 with filter remains the better option for someone looking for a more balanced / linear and resolving headphone where no particular aspect of the FR jumps out. If however if one wants a very good sounding closed back (or semi-closed?) headphone that has bass well north of neutral, but without the treble prominence (or cost) of a TH900 say, then it's definitely worth a look. Particularly if you have a few different amps you can try it with.
Only gripe with the TH-X00 and Polaris is that I'm struggling to get past 9 o'clock on the volpot so perhaps replacing the stock attenuation module with something with > attenuation would be beneficial.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Apr 7, 2016 16:36:16 GMT
I presume that you have the Polaris on low power, Mark? There's also another option to lower the input gain and that gets it down enough for me. The Polaris is better in this respect than the Tube amps.
I agree that my TH900 takes off like a bull in a china shop from the Polaris. It puts real authority into the sound and has a slightly softer edge than most other ss amps which really suits the Fostex well.
The Polaris is one of my favourites. Interestingly, it must also be to do with treble ......I also like the Aune amp that I have and that is also a little softer up top.
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jello
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Post by jello on Apr 8, 2016 19:57:43 GMT
I've got the Polaris on low gain and with attenuation 'enabled'. I am using low output R due to the impedance of the Fostex and that likely increases the volume a bit but don't think there's much else I can do other than reduce my PC's output volume. Whilst not an ideal solution I may dig out the iFi attenuator and see how that fares. Only probably with that is I end up daisy chaining quite a few things which may degrade SQ (TH-X00 -> Senn 6.35-3.5mm adapter -> ifi attenuator -> 3.5-6.35mm adapter -> Polaris). I really wasn't expecting much difference going from O2 to Polaris to be honest with you but liking the Fostex and Polaris pairing to a bull in a china shop isn't a bad analogy! It's almost like someone gave the TH-X00 a swift kick up the rear. I actually find the TH-X00's treble a bit sharper with the Polaris in comparison to the O2 or Vali so I've stuck it on the mid BW setting which has tamed it just a smidge. I was intent on selling it but now starting to think I might be be daft to...I like to have a really bassy headphone in my 'arsenal' for when my inner basshead needs feeding The Polaris arrived after the 650 and Kameleon so not sure but I think Frans has broken my 650 with his filter.... I plugged the 650 into the Polaris last night and it sounded terrible (in relative terms)...stuck it back into the 650 and it sounded 'right'. Who knows I may not have likedthe 650 through the Polaris even if I hadn't heard the Kameleon but I can't help but thinking that once you've become accustomed to the 650 filtered it may be near impossible to go back to stock. I remember Gordon saying something similar after he started using EQ / Sonarworks with his pair.
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Post by jhelms on Sept 21, 2016 18:52:04 GMT
Old post - but I have the X00 and PH version. The PH is beautiful but I find myself drawn to the X00 in sound signature. The PH just sounds a bit bloated and thick to me but to be fair, I do not have a lot of time on it.
I can agree that both LOVE good amplification and the synergy with Polaris is excellent. In fact, at the latest meet, that was the most common pairing people liked (Polaris with Mahogany X00)
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twgib
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Post by twgib on Sept 24, 2016 23:07:35 GMT
+1 for 'jhelms'
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2016 23:20:52 GMT
I've got the Polaris on low gain and with attenuation 'enabled'. I am using low output R due to the impedance of the Fostex and that likely increases the volume a bit but don't think there's much else I can do other than reduce my PC's output volume. Whilst not an ideal solution I may dig out the iFi attenuator and see how that fares. Only probably with that is I end up daisy chaining quite a few things which may degrade SQ (TH-X00 -> Senn 6.35-3.5mm adapter -> ifi attenuator -> 3.5-6.35mm adapter -> Polaris). I really wasn't expecting much difference going from O2 to Polaris to be honest with you but liking the Fostex and Polaris pairing to a bull in a china shop isn't a bad analogy! It's almost like someone gave the TH-X00 a swift kick up the rear. I actually find the TH-X00's treble a bit sharper with the Polaris in comparison to the O2 or Vali so I've stuck it on the mid BW setting which has tamed it just a smidge. I was intent on selling it but now starting to think I might be be daft to...I like to have a really bassy headphone in my 'arsenal' for when my inner basshead needs feeding The Polaris arrived after the 650 and Kameleon so not sure but I think Frans has broken my 650 with his filter.... I plugged the 650 into the Polaris last night and it sounded terrible (in relative terms)...stuck it back into the 650 and it sounded 'right'. Who knows I may not have likedthe 650 through the Polaris even if I hadn't heard the Kameleon but I can't help but thinking that once you've become accustomed to the 650 filtered it may be near impossible to go back to stock. I remember Gordon saying something similar after he started using EQ / Sonarworks with his pair. When I first got my 650 it was to replace a Q701. The difference was incredible and the 650 fixed everything I thought was wrong with the Q. Then I tried the demo of Sonarworks and thought it was pretty good. Good enough to buy the full version. That was 6 months ago and nowadays I'll switch off Sonarworks now & again and I really wonder what I liked so much about the pure 650 sound. With Sonarworks it sounds open & transparent whilst still retaining the 'body' I loved initially. I'll never go back to an un-filtered 650.
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