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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 28, 2011 22:01:51 GMT
Jumbos work Mike!! BTW - All working again so I'm back on line without the poxy Kindle so I can cause a bit more havoc ..... How are you getting on with OPA227? tried AD843 yet? Mike.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2011 22:17:14 GMT
Jumbos work Mike!! BTW - All working again so I'm back on line without the poxy Kindle so I can cause a bit more havoc ..... How are you getting on with OPA227? tried AD843 yet? Mike. I like OPA227. More clout than the one that was in there and it feels easier on the ears for me. I'm getting a fantastic weight in the bass and a fast attack. I quite like it actually. I haven't swapped the AD843's yet. I'm thinking of putting the 843's in my other Neco so I can directly compare one against the other. Once again, many thanks Mike. It's getting better all the time!! Better, better better) (Sgt Pepper's just in case you think I'm off my rocker!) I'm fixing the bass where the Grados don't go, It's got my mind a wondering, Where's it coming from? (Dang dang dang dang dang)
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 28, 2011 22:39:37 GMT
How are you getting on with OPA227? tried AD843 yet? Mike. I like OPA227. More clout than the one that was in there and it feels easier on the ears for me. I'm getting a fantastic weight in the bass and a fast attack. I quite like it actually. I haven't swapped the AD843's yet. I'm thinking of putting the 843's in my other Neco so I can directly compare one against the other. Once again, many thanks Mike. It's getting better all the time!! Better, better better) (Sgt Pepper's just in case you think I'm off my rocker!) I'm fixing the bass where the Grados don't go, It's got my mind a wondering, Where's it coming from? (Dang dang dang dang dang) Lovely Rita Grado maid, oooooh err matron nice pair of bowls.... And of course henry the horse dances the Grado.... ying tong ying tong..... ole ole biscuit barrel.....
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Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 28, 2011 22:41:30 GMT
Ding Dong!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2011 11:34:40 GMT
If your sr60/80 pads have totally failed and you do not want to spend an absolute fortune then these fit and sound perfectly fine too... www.maplin.co.uk/large-foam-ear-pads-11388They don't look large enough when you see them in the store but they do fit; I use them myself. And the cost? £ 3.19 for a PAIR! At that price you risk nothing in trying them. I wouldn't use anything else now. The foam is thick enough to be comfortable yet thin enough to have no effect on SQ. And you could always do the 'dime-sized' cut out trick and then the foam is out of the equation. Derek I don't expect comments back on everything I post but I really recommend that Grado users try these pads for themselves. They sound good. Because they are a little thinner than Grado originals the transducers are closer to your ears giving a better seal which means tighter, more extended bass. And then the thinner foam means less loss at the top end. Seriously, give them a try. I bet if the Maplin replacements cost 80 quid you'd all be writing reports on how you can make them even better by freezing them for two days first Derek
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2011 12:14:35 GMT
At the price that Maplins sell them for they're a bargain Derek. I bet they're just as good as the normal pads too.
They're so cheap, you wouldn't worry about doing the 'hole' mod in them either. A lot of people like the pads with a hole taken out of the middle.
There are a lot of options for the Grados:
TTVJ Flats. Soft pads Maplin soft pads Maplins and Grado soft pads with a hole in the middle. Bowls. Bowls Backwards Big bowls.
There's even a mod where you get a sock and roll them around the bowls to make them more comfortable.
Quite a lot of options for one headphone. (Let alone other options like glueing the case up to stop resonances and using wood cups)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2011 19:56:17 GMT
Mike,
AD843 in today and instant reaction after listening on the opa227 is pretty positive.
It seems 'weightier'. I'm not sure whether that's because the mids have gone slightly back, but there's a much more 'organic' sound now in comparison to the original.
At the moment, I'm just listening to a crappy podcast so I'll give it a go with something decent. I know the sound of the podcast programme pretty well though and it definitely seems 'fatter'.
It's picking up grain in the top, but that may be the nasty quality so we'll see. Does 843 take more from the battery? Just had a thought, the battery may need a perk up and the opamp is really showing it......
I quite like the 843 too in spite of the grit. (at the moment)
Edit: Plugged in and it cleared. The 843 gives an early warning of the battery on its way out. It feels as though it needs a little bit more power to drive it and that was enough for the battery at the state it was in. The sound started to clip badly and that was what I was hearing at the start. It is like this one needs a little more voltage to be driven properly.
I'll check it again tomorrow when the battery is up and running properly.
Edit: I had a good listen this morning after a charge up. The AD843 is weighty and there's a strong bass slam going on. Listening to the podcast I was talking about, I'm more aware of the mic fader going up and down so it is quite revealing. I've never heard 843 before - it's rather nice actually. I'm not sure exactly what's different in comparison to Opa 227, but it feels as though it has slightly more bass presence and is very different to the one supplied with the amp. It also picks up MP3 compression a little more obviously. (That 'whooshy' type of treble sound you can get with MP3)
These SR80i's with the jumbos really produce a strong bass and I think the 843 is helping.
To be honest, I can't choose between 227 and 843. I think 843 is perhaps better for me. The Neco really gives it some on the 843!!
I suspect that the 843 needs a little more voltage to drive it since it showed the battery problem immediately yesterday after I swapped the op amps. 227 sounded fine but 843 went all gritty on me.
One thing for sure, it's definitely worth a play if you can get the op amps. The presentation changes in subtle ways but you wouldn't believe you were listening to a portable amp with the sr80i attached.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2011 21:10:45 GMT
the AD843 is not suited for supply voltages below +/- 4.5V so below 9V supply voltage the opamp will not function properly. NiMH rechargeables are 8.4V mostly and drop pretty fast to 8V. Lithium should do better.
Good opamp, not suited for 9V battery powered C'moy alikes. needs proper decoupling to to prevent oscilation (gritty sound) OPA 227 runs O.K. from +/- 2.5V (so single 5V supply is already O.K.)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2011 17:51:27 GMT
I popped opa227 back and the top is cleaner. I did like the sound of ad843 although now I'm back to a familiar sound,
The 843 may have had slightly less mids and a fatter bass. The bass seemed harder hitting but the 227 is definitely cleaner sounding in this amp.
Actually, I quite like opa227 but I'm pretty familiar with its sound since they are used quite a lot in stuff I've heard at work. It's pretty well regarded. The only thing is that when you're familiar with a sound, you tend to accept that sound as 'correct' or at least 'more correct' than something else.
AD843 is a definite contender on a mains amp. It has this lovely rich sound and if it hadn't been for the 'grits' I would have left it in. It was ok when the amp was plugged in and on a fresh battery. I'm not sure how far it will go before the 'grits' turn up, but I heard it instantly, the minute I changed from op227.
One thing - I still really like the sr80i with the jumbos for some reason. I normally start to play around with other headphones if I feel something is not quite right, but this suits my ears.
I think I may go for something further up in the Grado lineup with these pads. Until now, I've always had a problem with the Grado basic sound but this is really good.
I'm gagging for a 325i with them but it's just too much money for metal dumbells either side of your ears. Too expensive for just an experiment. (There's supposed to be more extension on 325i) The one I had was too toppy for me although it was very revealing, but I had a problem with that treble. With these pads, it may be ok.
Miguel's comment has made me wonder though since he didn't like the sr80 with these pads. I went back to bowls and I found that hard to take so it just shows how we hear so differently.
I'm really happy with the sr80i sound now but that blasted curiosity has started and I hear the call of aq 125i or 225i!!
The 'i' series are slightly different to the standard ones from before and are supposed to be a little more relaxed. I found that with the 325i in comparison to the 325 but still too much up top for me.
Since the top whack for an opa 227 is 18v, is there any benefit to upping the voltage for them?
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 14, 2011 22:34:12 GMT
The 843 is a beautiful sounding chip Ian, don't you have another "beefier" amp you can stick them in? I loved the 843 in the WNA and they do run quite warm so not really suited to a battery operated portable.... why don't you whack a 12V - 15V supply into the Neco with the AD-843? will sound a lot better I'll see if I have something kicking about.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2011 8:02:38 GMT
I'll give it a go Mike. It does clear with the amp plugged in and does have a lovely 'fat and full' sound.
I'll look for something with a bit more guts. Would it go in V-Can?
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 15, 2011 10:27:23 GMT
I'll give it a go Mike. It does clear with the amp plugged in and does have a lovely 'fat and full' sound. I'll look for something with a bit more guys. Would it go in V-Can? No no...... it would NOT go in a V-CAN... the V-CAN uses a 14 pin quad chip.... if you'd like to try the OPA227 sound in the V-CAN I can send you an OPA4227 which is a quad version of the OPA227 and it's DIP14 so a direct drop in replacement.... I have plenty kicking about so it's not a problem. All the best, Mike.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2011 11:31:38 GMT
Oh.. sorry Mike, I've never looked inside!! I'm not even sure what's in there now. I know it has a big sound - it's the one that you did with the long volume knob. (One of two that you outed) Whatever is in there sounds good to me. It's a powerful little beast to be sure. AD543 has a different type of sound to OPA227. It's more 'spread out' and weighty. I know when I asked you about it, I was looking for a more 'organic' sound from the Neco and the 543 is most definitely pig slurry organic!! It's very good, maybe time for another amp then with bigger power supply. I'd like to keep the Neco portable because I use it so much away from home. V-Can is drop dead gorgeous. X-Can 1 and 2 are drop dead gorgeous with the new tubes in. X-Can 8 is OK. May try that with new valves. (Something to add weight) Panda rumbles on with avengeance!! Doing well with amps. Ian
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2011 19:33:07 GMT
I have been trying the Grado SR125i today. New and not burned in properly but I am sure that this particular headphone has been revoiced. I've tried the lot up to the 325 and recently started with the sr80i which I suspected was different from the original sr80. Now I'm convinced that there is a difference. The original 125 that I tried was my least favourite headphone out of the series. For me it was just gritty, edgy and plain nasty sounding. I had a similar problem with the 325. The new 125i seems way less shrill and a lot more even over the spectrum. I am using the Jumbos because I like them so much and in comparison to the sr80i it seems a tad more refined in the treble. The bass slam is still there and that was something I felt was amiss in the original sr125. This headphone is really well balanced and feels beautifully open with the Jumbos and a lovely slam, similar to sr80i. (Perhaps a fraction less slam) The cable is quite a bit thicker, but I feel that this is quite a different listen in comparison to the original. These jumbo pads make all the difference to comfort and both the sr80i and sr125i seem to have more 'space' within the sound and more confusingly, the bass doesn't recede. I really expected the bass to lessen with these pads, but it's not the case. The mids go back a bit, which is what some Grado guys might find poor. Grados are good at mids I think, but with the mids going back a slight amount (btw, something that the PS1000 does too in comparison to the cheaper models) the bass seems to get quite 'fruity' and the Grado top remains. So I guess I'm describing a 'U' shaped response with these pads, which I think Frans referred to when he looked at the PS1000 response. I think the PS1000 is one of the best headphones I've tried and I'm trying to recoup some of that sound in these models I suppose. I don't understand Grado not offering these pads on these models. The comfort is great and the sound seems to develop more openness. In fact, going back to bowls sounds much more 'middley' to me. I must have odd ears!!!!
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Post by Chris53 on Mar 29, 2011 19:43:48 GMT
Hear Hear, except that the 80 was a bit worse. I quite liked them until I heard other phones.. now they just sound too forward and exaggerated to me
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2011 19:59:03 GMT
Hear Hear, except that the 80 was a bit worse. I quite liked them until I heard other phones.. now they just sound too forward and exaggerated to me Chris, you found the sr80 more gritty? The sr125i is smoother to my ears than the original. A bit less bass than the sr80i. I think the sr80i is also a smoothed out version in comparison to the original. These pads have made them all really useable for me, but I know that some Grado guys don't like them. It's opened up the Grado world to me!!
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Post by Chris53 on Mar 29, 2011 20:10:40 GMT
Hear Hear, except that the 80 was a bit worse. I quite liked them until I heard other phones.. now they just sound too forward and exaggerated to me Chris, you found the sr80 more gritty? The sr125i is smoother to my ears than the original. A bit less bass than the sr80i. I think the sr80i is also a smoothed out version in comparison to the original. These pads have made them all really useable for me, but I know that some Grado guys don't like them. It's opened up the Grado world to me!! It's a while since I heard the 80s but from memory they were more forward and less detailed than the 125s (it was your "plain nasty" that struck a chord). The 125s seem rather gritty these days when compared to my HD600s. I can't really listen to them for long. They seem to sound at their best on the computer. The HD600s have really come into their own with the Panda though.
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Post by freddypipsqueek on Mar 29, 2011 21:53:37 GMT
Picked up some large bowls. Tried them with my Allesandro MS2'. They are comfy and they do make the headphones much more usable. They are very trebley (I'm sure thats a word) in a way which could devide tastes. They are a try before you buy. Also try taking the entire grills off your HD600's.
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Post by Chris53 on Mar 30, 2011 5:06:27 GMT
Also try taking the entire grills off your HD600's. Wouldn't that leave them rather exposed to damage... apart from being pretty impratical... I imagine you might mean the foam pads?? If so, tried that... thought it was better for a while... then realised it made the top end much worse and horribly out of balance with the rest of the sound so replaced them... much better with than without in my opinion. Looks like Sennheiser might know what they are doing regarding pads after all.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2011 7:08:35 GMT
Picked up some large bowls. Tried them with my Allesandro MS2'. They are comfy and they do make the headphones much more usable. They are very trebley (I'm sure thats a word) in a way which could devide tastes. They are a try before you buy. Also try taking the entire grills off your HD600's. It seems the further up the line you go, that treble starts to show..... I have found the sr125i more has more treble than the sr80i with Jumbos. For me, after a long listen, the sr80i is the limit. Really close listening shows the mids do recede which is what (I think) gives the impression of big bass..... but in the sr125i's case, a squeakier treble. (Similar to bowls)
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 30, 2011 9:01:48 GMT
I can't believe that people are STILL arsing around trying to get these shite headphones to sound half decent.... possibly the ONLY headphone in the world that you have to fart about with like this..... bowls, flats, Sennheiser pads, Maplin pads, Beyer pads..... fukk off!! the damned things should come supplied with a decent pair of pads.... if Sennheiser or AKG supplied a lump of uncomfortable "foam" with their headphones people would be up in arms yet seem quite content to accept this crap from Grado.
Bloody horrible headphones, shouty, uncomfortable, poorly made, extremely overpriced.... it's not pads they need, it's a total redesign IMO.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2011 11:00:04 GMT
I can't believe that people are STILL arsing around trying to get these shite headphones to sound half decent.... possibly the ONLY headphone in the world that you have to fart about with like this..... bowls, flats, Sennheiser pads, Maplin pads, Beyer pads..... fukk off!! the damned things should come supplied with a decent pair of pads.... if Sennheiser or AKG supplied a lump of uncomfortable "foam" with their headphones people would be up in arms yet seem quite content to accept this crap from Grado. Bloody horrible headphones, shouty, uncomfortable, poorly made, extremely overpriced.... it's not pads they need, it's a total redesign IMO. Cor - say what you mean Mike!!! ;D
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 30, 2011 11:49:57 GMT
I can't believe that people are STILL arsing around trying to get these shite headphones to sound half decent.... possibly the ONLY headphone in the world that you have to fart about with like this..... bowls, flats, Sennheiser pads, Maplin pads, Beyer pads..... fukk off!! the damned things should come supplied with a decent pair of pads.... if Sennheiser or AKG supplied a lump of uncomfortable "foam" with their headphones people would be up in arms yet seem quite content to accept this crap from Grado. Bloody horrible headphones, shouty, uncomfortable, poorly made, extremely overpriced.... it's not pads they need, it's a total redesign IMO. Cor - say what you mean Mike!!! ;D Ian, I have been faffing about with these headphones for years, the general idea is that you buy a pair of headphones, stick them on your head and enjoy the music.... seems to me more time is spent arsing about with "pads" for Grado 'phones than actually listening to the music. This says a LOT about these headphones to me and one main reason I avoid them like the plague.... spending £50 on a pair of pads to get them to sound half decent should not be necessary IMO.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2011 12:02:37 GMT
You are right, Mike. The way that you put it was brilliant though!! ;D I've also played around with the bloody things for years but this time, I wanted to compare the tonal balance with the K701 as well. (That's another one I fight with) Even Grado can't make their minds up because they now sell the sr125i with soft pads. So are they supposed to sound right with bowls or pads? It seems that Grado doesn't know either. All three variations do sound different and imo it seems to be the mids that change so that the (physical) impedance is changed making you listen at a different volume to get a natural sound. That's what gives a different tonal balance and so varying amounts of bass along with distance from ear drums and shape of pad of course. I don't know - Senns - too laid back. (HD250 ok though) Beyers - too much bass or too little (770 and 880) Audio Technica - nice but a bit thin. K701 - erm...... love/loathe sound Grado - erm ......same Always looking for that perfect sound.
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Post by freddypipsqueek on Mar 30, 2011 12:44:24 GMT
With the HD600 I did mean the external grills so yes they would be a bit exposed to damage. Does make them a bit brighter. Turning to Grados with the large bowls, as they are quite rigid at the edges they don't suit those of us who ware glasses - the arm of the glasses lift them and breaks the seal with your head.
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