HP350 Skytronic 20£
Apr 9, 2010 0:04:02 GMT
Post by clausdk on Apr 9, 2010 0:04:02 GMT
Text kindly written by Toad
First Day
OK a quick update on comfort. I've been listening to these for about 3 hours now and although my ears are warm they are not anywhere near as hot as they would be with HD681s (in stock form not modded) so the SkyTronics are winners on comfort.
The pads are not pleather or velour but are a soft foam with a thin cloth covering as far as I can tell.
BTW the headband rods are covered with a loose fitting rubber tube which dampens vibrations.
I may as well mention at this point that these things are very easy to drive sounding pretty good straight out of my MP3 player with no amplification.
Later that day:
Several hours on these now and WOW we have another giantkiller on our hands...
Detail is a little lacking but there is very little sibilance, mids need to warm up a little and bass is a bit flabby at the moment but these are already a seriously good can.
I reckon they could take on the HD681 for bargain of the century once they've bedded in a bit more.
Even later that day
Now I'm home I've slapped them in the Solo/NAD T585 rig and they are already better out of that than the HD681s. That's not to say they are better just better out of the Solo. The 681s are still better out of my CMoy though.
The SkyTronics sound good out of the Aune too. I can't believe how rapidly they are improving.
Bass is now quite tight. Mids have warmed up and high end detail has improved.
IMHO they are already at audiophile level. Once they lift the slight veil they have across the board they are going to be excellent! Remember they only have about 9 or 10 hours on them so far.
EDIT: Well I've convinced myself if no one else I've just ordered a pair for my partner. She was well impressed.
Day 3
A quick update. My Skytronics now have about 25 hours on them and they are starting to sound really nice.
Bass is a lot tighter, mids are smoother and warmer, detail is better and imaging is more presise. Everytime I listen to them they have changed a little bit so they could take a good while to fully bed in.
I am starting to really enjoy them.
Day 4
These cans have totally floored me.
I have got well over 35 hours on them now and I have just chosen to listen to them in my main rig over my AKG K701s. Not because they are new but after A-B ing them. God knows why... They aren't as detailed or open as the AKGs but bloomin' hell they are just so musical. The present music in an intimate but fun way. I love them...
Also DaveK was having an opinion
Quick update on my Skytronics. After a hour or two listening to them straight out of the box I left them running for 36 hours or so (FLAC via foobar straight out of the MM PC headphone jack).
About an hour ago I gave them another listen. I like them a lot, and even more when I think about how much they cost me but, unlike some, I do find them a little more bass prominent than the 681s. I can't do an A to B comparison with them at the moment 'cos I've posted my fully loaded 681s to a friend over the weekend to help him decide if he wants to invest. On some tracks that have a heavy bass line I currently find them too bassy so I hope this will lighten up a bit. Bass heads may think they're wonderful, or maybe there's not much synergy with my PC sound system - maybe I should not over stress that aspect until I get my 752 DAC back from Tirna after more mods as that is usually the hub of my system. Other than that I think they are truly a great buy.
day 8 after many had gotten their new phones
Am I the only person enjoying these Skytronics?
I find them really nice for classical and acoustic music.
then things like this showed up, by Pink Floyd
I just cannot get them to fit comfortably on my head.... I really respect your ears Toad but these things are definitely not for me and will also be heading for the dustbin I think ;D
and the teasing went on, all in good fun one might add
Noooooooo! I'll use them to test modded amps.... the initial "plug in" (hoping the drivers don't go BANG!).... always good to have a cheap pair for this purpose
Puffin did get his
I have been reserving judgment on these as I thought they were pretty dull when I first got them. However after a few days of normal listening there is definitely something about them. Yesterday I was listening through a LiTe Dac Ah, and Cmoy. When I changed to the 681's they sounded very shut-in in comparison.
However, if I use them through the laptop, they sound dull and mid-bass heavy. I still don't know if I like them and I suspect that in time they will be left to gather dust. I might try modding them. I think I will try some Fablon stuck over them to see what they sound like as a closed phone.
I also got me a pair ;D
I do think that it has a lot to do with musicchoice, to me they really exell in the male voices and not so much in female voices, that seems to be the "normal" sweetspot for headphones (curse you girlpower ;D).
At this moment I listen to "Angie" a fantastic song one og the best from the stones, Keiths yuhus is not as sharp as in my better cans, but the rest is awesome..
Billy Idol also sounds great as do Prince, Huey lewis, Bryan Adams etc.
But Beyonce sounds even worse, than she usually does, that could also be because they are really bad recordings..
The stage is not that big, but it is not really the strong side of my music, but they have got more space now..
Ian we are obviously the best 4 ears here
Or the strangest ;D
Day 9
You're entitled to your opinion Mike but you're obviously not hearing what I hear. They have a lovely smooth and warm midrange and excellent bass now. They also have a soundstage second only to my AKG K701s.
You won't offend me as I trust my owns ears and tbh if no one else liked them I'd still listen to them. It would be a sad world if we all liked the same things
PS if your earlier comments were diplomatic remind me not to piss you off LOL
EDIT :Typos. I have fingeritus tonight!
Day 18, Toad is making a strong comeback
The following is a description of how to mod your Skytronics to produce something IMHO better than the Superlux HD681 and close to the AKG K701 for SQ.
The mod is very simple and just requires the removal of the paper from some of the holes in the baffles with a stanley knife or similar.
All I done was remove the pads and then opened some of the holes. Basically I opened more holes at the front of the baffle rather than the the back i.e. those that sit nearer the front of your head rather than the back of your head. The reason for doing that was to help project the sounds forward and out of your head. I tried all sorts of hole removal between 1 and 7 holes per cup and I've settled on opening 5 holes. I've just used sticky tape to cover the holes where I got too enthusiastic (although the top end was great at 7 holes ). So the pattern I have is now as follows.
I opened the 2 holes nearest the bottom front baffle screw. 1 nearest the top front baffle screw. I also opened a hole closest to to the bottom rear screw and then skipped one hole and opened the one above that almost back centre of the baffle thus giving a slight bias to the front of the headphone if you see what I mean.
The deep bass has suffered a little but I'm not a bass head so I'm fine with it. I may try loading the cups with some foam or Claus' wool stuff in an attempt to bring back a little of the bass but not if it reduces the excellent soundstage.
It seemed to work for me and I now have a soundstage that is on par with but different to the AKG K701s. If anything it has more depth and height but not quite as much width. A tremendous sense of 3D.
Overall they have excellent SQ. TBH these are spending more time on my head than my K701s, not because they are better but just different. I now have 3 pairs. One here at work, one at home and a spare pair because for £13 I can
I urge any of you with the Skytronics to try these mods one hole at a time, stopping when you find the sound you like, If you go too far just use sellotape to cover the hole, you will not be disappointed. ;D
There is more info on both the Skytronics and mods in the Headphonesforum
First Day
OK a quick update on comfort. I've been listening to these for about 3 hours now and although my ears are warm they are not anywhere near as hot as they would be with HD681s (in stock form not modded) so the SkyTronics are winners on comfort.
The pads are not pleather or velour but are a soft foam with a thin cloth covering as far as I can tell.
BTW the headband rods are covered with a loose fitting rubber tube which dampens vibrations.
I may as well mention at this point that these things are very easy to drive sounding pretty good straight out of my MP3 player with no amplification.
Later that day:
Several hours on these now and WOW we have another giantkiller on our hands...
Detail is a little lacking but there is very little sibilance, mids need to warm up a little and bass is a bit flabby at the moment but these are already a seriously good can.
I reckon they could take on the HD681 for bargain of the century once they've bedded in a bit more.
Even later that day
Now I'm home I've slapped them in the Solo/NAD T585 rig and they are already better out of that than the HD681s. That's not to say they are better just better out of the Solo. The 681s are still better out of my CMoy though.
The SkyTronics sound good out of the Aune too. I can't believe how rapidly they are improving.
Bass is now quite tight. Mids have warmed up and high end detail has improved.
IMHO they are already at audiophile level. Once they lift the slight veil they have across the board they are going to be excellent! Remember they only have about 9 or 10 hours on them so far.
EDIT: Well I've convinced myself if no one else I've just ordered a pair for my partner. She was well impressed.
Day 3
A quick update. My Skytronics now have about 25 hours on them and they are starting to sound really nice.
Bass is a lot tighter, mids are smoother and warmer, detail is better and imaging is more presise. Everytime I listen to them they have changed a little bit so they could take a good while to fully bed in.
I am starting to really enjoy them.
Day 4
These cans have totally floored me.
I have got well over 35 hours on them now and I have just chosen to listen to them in my main rig over my AKG K701s. Not because they are new but after A-B ing them. God knows why... They aren't as detailed or open as the AKGs but bloomin' hell they are just so musical. The present music in an intimate but fun way. I love them...
Also DaveK was having an opinion
Quick update on my Skytronics. After a hour or two listening to them straight out of the box I left them running for 36 hours or so (FLAC via foobar straight out of the MM PC headphone jack).
About an hour ago I gave them another listen. I like them a lot, and even more when I think about how much they cost me but, unlike some, I do find them a little more bass prominent than the 681s. I can't do an A to B comparison with them at the moment 'cos I've posted my fully loaded 681s to a friend over the weekend to help him decide if he wants to invest. On some tracks that have a heavy bass line I currently find them too bassy so I hope this will lighten up a bit. Bass heads may think they're wonderful, or maybe there's not much synergy with my PC sound system - maybe I should not over stress that aspect until I get my 752 DAC back from Tirna after more mods as that is usually the hub of my system. Other than that I think they are truly a great buy.
day 8 after many had gotten their new phones
Am I the only person enjoying these Skytronics?
I find them really nice for classical and acoustic music.
then things like this showed up, by Pink Floyd
I just cannot get them to fit comfortably on my head.... I really respect your ears Toad but these things are definitely not for me and will also be heading for the dustbin I think ;D
and the teasing went on, all in good fun one might add
Noooooooo! I'll use them to test modded amps.... the initial "plug in" (hoping the drivers don't go BANG!).... always good to have a cheap pair for this purpose
Puffin did get his
I have been reserving judgment on these as I thought they were pretty dull when I first got them. However after a few days of normal listening there is definitely something about them. Yesterday I was listening through a LiTe Dac Ah, and Cmoy. When I changed to the 681's they sounded very shut-in in comparison.
However, if I use them through the laptop, they sound dull and mid-bass heavy. I still don't know if I like them and I suspect that in time they will be left to gather dust. I might try modding them. I think I will try some Fablon stuck over them to see what they sound like as a closed phone.
I also got me a pair ;D
I do think that it has a lot to do with musicchoice, to me they really exell in the male voices and not so much in female voices, that seems to be the "normal" sweetspot for headphones (curse you girlpower ;D).
At this moment I listen to "Angie" a fantastic song one og the best from the stones, Keiths yuhus is not as sharp as in my better cans, but the rest is awesome..
Billy Idol also sounds great as do Prince, Huey lewis, Bryan Adams etc.
But Beyonce sounds even worse, than she usually does, that could also be because they are really bad recordings..
The stage is not that big, but it is not really the strong side of my music, but they have got more space now..
Ian we are obviously the best 4 ears here
Or the strangest ;D
Day 9
You're entitled to your opinion Mike but you're obviously not hearing what I hear. They have a lovely smooth and warm midrange and excellent bass now. They also have a soundstage second only to my AKG K701s.
You won't offend me as I trust my owns ears and tbh if no one else liked them I'd still listen to them. It would be a sad world if we all liked the same things
PS if your earlier comments were diplomatic remind me not to piss you off LOL
EDIT :Typos. I have fingeritus tonight!
Day 18, Toad is making a strong comeback
The following is a description of how to mod your Skytronics to produce something IMHO better than the Superlux HD681 and close to the AKG K701 for SQ.
The mod is very simple and just requires the removal of the paper from some of the holes in the baffles with a stanley knife or similar.
All I done was remove the pads and then opened some of the holes. Basically I opened more holes at the front of the baffle rather than the the back i.e. those that sit nearer the front of your head rather than the back of your head. The reason for doing that was to help project the sounds forward and out of your head. I tried all sorts of hole removal between 1 and 7 holes per cup and I've settled on opening 5 holes. I've just used sticky tape to cover the holes where I got too enthusiastic (although the top end was great at 7 holes ). So the pattern I have is now as follows.
I opened the 2 holes nearest the bottom front baffle screw. 1 nearest the top front baffle screw. I also opened a hole closest to to the bottom rear screw and then skipped one hole and opened the one above that almost back centre of the baffle thus giving a slight bias to the front of the headphone if you see what I mean.
The deep bass has suffered a little but I'm not a bass head so I'm fine with it. I may try loading the cups with some foam or Claus' wool stuff in an attempt to bring back a little of the bass but not if it reduces the excellent soundstage.
It seemed to work for me and I now have a soundstage that is on par with but different to the AKG K701s. If anything it has more depth and height but not quite as much width. A tremendous sense of 3D.
Overall they have excellent SQ. TBH these are spending more time on my head than my K701s, not because they are better but just different. I now have 3 pairs. One here at work, one at home and a spare pair because for £13 I can
I urge any of you with the Skytronics to try these mods one hole at a time, stopping when you find the sound you like, If you go too far just use sellotape to cover the hole, you will not be disappointed. ;D
There is more info on both the Skytronics and mods in the Headphonesforum