catscratch

SRD-7 Pro transformer out of a Dared VP-20 speaker amp. Not a terribly great amp mind you, but certainly not a bad one, and the transformer box does a much better job than the SRM-313, which IMO can't drive the O2 worth a damn. I listen to a lot of electronic music in general and psytrance in particular, and any deficiency in bass performance will quickly become obvious. But even with more common tracks, you can hear it. For instance, "Subterranean Homesick Alien" from Radiohead's OK Computer is an example... the bass guitar in the track should be pretty even in volume and definition across the board, but with the Mk2 the lower down the pitch goes, the quieter it gets and the fuzzier the sound gets with less definition. That's definitely an irregularity in the FR and inability to reproduce the deepest notes quite as well as the mid and upper bass. Thom Yorke's voice is also a bit thinner than usual with a lighter/colder tone to it; a bit different from the way more neutral headphones present it. With something like Shpongle though, it is painfully evident. Shpongle is the musical equivalent of a sine sweep - it covers pretty much all frequency ranges simultaneously. And, while I wouldn't ordinarily use electronic music to evaluate a headphone's performance, I know Shpongle like the back of my hand and can tell colorations pretty well, just because I've heard it on pretty much every single system I've critically listened to. Fuck, that's not what I wanted to hear. But, what the heck, it could spare me money in the long run. I think I'll sell them and get an original Mk1. I can't stand any midrange issues. At all. If a headphone has a unpleasantly colored midrange (I can take pleasant colorations a-la-K340 but not unpleasant ones) it goes. The Mk2 unfortunately commits one of it's few sins in the one area I can't forgive it for. I haven't tested it with the McAlister though, who knows what synergy could do. I'm sure that with proper synergy you could, at least to some extent, compensate for its problems, but that's not how I build my systems. I'm in the "transducer first" camp (as long as it is adequately driven, since you can't judge an underdriven transducer), and I want to have a headphone I'm 100% happy with before I upgrade the rest of the system to match. I'll test the SRD-7/Dared combo with whatever else I have on hand and check out a few other sources too just to be completely sure. [Edit: is it just me, or did Stax voice this closer to the SR-404 sound than (I would think) it was before? And isn't the SR-404's particular kind of emphasized upper-midrange coloration a little too typical of so many Japanese headphones? A lot of audio-technicas have similar midrange tones. Heck, in the piano business, a lot of Japanese tune their Kawaii's or whatever to 444hz rather than the typical 440, and that results in a tone that's a bit eerily similar to the type of midrange that I'm hearing out of a lot of Japanese cans. If so... that's not good. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but if that's the case, then my hopes for solid future Stax products are... diminished.]

Interesting. I was hoping you'd say that the O2 Mk1 would be quite a bit better, since the Mk2 is pissing me off right now. There are three things very wrong: 1) insufficient deep bass 2) overemphasized and bloated midbass 3) midrange tone (way too cold and shouty). This is in spite of nearly everything else being very much right. Still haven't done the port mod - maybe this weekend. I don't have blu-tak yet though I have some non-reversible cement to plug those ports, though I'd wager it would probably be a more wise idea to get blu-tak in the first place But, your findings are also making me think that the rest of my signal path is a lot more subpar for this rig than I originally thought. Now, I intentionally haven't spent a ton on upgrading it since I haven't yet settled on the headphone that I want to build the rig around - but maybe if I'm to hear what the headphones really have to offer, I don't have a choice. Other than that, I'm thinking that there might be a FS: O2 MK2 soon followed by a WTB: O2 Mk1... and a new signal path to feed it all. Don't get me wrong, I still think the Mk2 is a very good headphone, fabulous in fact, but in this rig it's colored in all the wrong ways. It sounds like it's trying too hard to impress, whereas in truth, with a transducer this detailed and this dynamic you don't need to try to impress; you just sit back and let the music do the impressing for you. With some genres - especially rock and small-scale ensembles - it works well, but with my favorite electronica, where I know every nuance of every vocal, tone of every instrument and sample down to a fault, it really gets on my nerves. On a far more positive note, I finally managed to get a good fit after some time of wrestling with the headband and getting it into shape. The issue was me not being used to having a bit of pressure at the back of the ear, since for the best fit I find that the headphones have to sit slightly forward on the ear, angling the pinna a bit outwards. But, now that I'm more used to it, fit is finally fine, and damn, they are some comfortable headphones. Spectacular, in fact. I'm also surprised as to how much bass quantity changes with fit - I was finding them deep-bass non-existent and generally bass-deficient, but now there's too much midbass and not enough deep bass, with the overall bass quantity being a bit on the thick side. I think I'll stop bitching and plug those ports as soon as I have the time and patience.

Maybe OT, but man, trying to talk sense into head-fi these days is like trying to beat sense into a wall. I give up.

Right. I'm getting tired of the non-existant deep bass on the O2 MkII, so I think I'm off to plug some bass ports this weekend. I'll let all know how it turns out, (and how much the driver replacement costs).

Don't have anything on digital, but I did look like a 10 year old Daniel Radcliffe. If only it stayed that way unfortunately. The freaky thing is that I have virtually no childhood memories before age 17. Must have been all the drugs I was on at the time (bad health problems here but let's not get into that). So, in a sense, I didn't have a childhood. Explains a thing or two

Nope, one of the few 'stats I haven't tried yet. Definitely on my list. I remember the HE90 fitting well but I was sitting down. Listening while lying down unfortunately puts a very different comfort demand on your headphones. I'll try that. The headband looks like it can be bent without any issues. I've been somewhat reluctant to manhandle $2k phones but what the hell.

I had different comfort issues; there wasn't nearly enough clamping force and the right earcup kept coming off at the bottom. There needs to be a perfect fit for this headphone to generate any meaningful bass, and to have equal volumes of bass in both ears I had to hold the right earcup in place. I couldn't really get a good fit otherwise, with any elastics, or any pair of K340s modded or unmodded. I think it's a spectacularly shitty chassis design, but given the age, it's forgivable. I would love to see it on a DT770 chassis, meaning K340 earcups with pleather earpads and DT770 headband. Or something similar at least.

I actually have some comfort issues with the O2 MkII. The problem is that I usually listen while lying down, which means that the headphones don't have the weight of the cable to keep them planted firmly on my head. In the absense of that, the self-adjusting headband keeps pulling the headphones upwards and I have to re-adjust the fit fairly often. I think the self-adjusting headband design is stupid, and they should go back to a simpler, SR-404 like design where you can adjust the tension and position of the headband yourself. I also like more clamping force in my headphones, with more pressure at the bottom of the earcup by the jawline rather than the top of the earcup by the temples. But, if I were to listen sitting up then yes, it would be a very comfortable headphone. The HD650 is ideal in terms of fit for me, but the velour earpads do slide around more than pleather ones. An HD650 with pleather or real leather eapads would be as comfortable as it gets for me.

Yah that'll get done pretty soon. I do want to get completely familiar with the current sound first, since I don't want to have to swap back and forth. That, and I have to work up the courage to dissect my shiny $2k phones. I have a hard time opening up a sandwich without something going wrong, and I wager this takes a bit more... responsibility.

Just off a long listening session with the O2 MkII, and long listening sessions aren't something I usually do. But, I stayed home sick, so what the hell. I'm really surprised how well it handles metal, but it has a very different presentation of metal than what I'd consider traditionally "good." It keeps up with every riff, every drum stroke, and every bass note, but it does all this without losing its lushness. So, the music has punch, it has speed, but its main quality is still the distinct O2 lushness, which is not how metal is typically presented. So, it's a coloration if you will, but it works. It doesn't hurt that the O2 is dynamic as all hell. Well, I lie, I don't know if Hell is really all that dynamic - but the O2 is. The deep bass dropoff doesn't bother me since bass guitars don't go that low anyway. The added midbass makes for a bass-centric presentation on some tracks that have an overemphasized bass to start with, and without silver cables there is a bit of bass bloat. But, the SRD-7 Pro isn't going to drive the O2 without bass bloat to begin with, and silver cables only mask that (or maybe it's the copper that has a bit of extra bloat on it, and the O2 just shows it up). Classic rock is handled brilliantly. Seriously, I've yet to hear it better. The lushness plays into the slower tempo and more jazzy instrumentation, and everything sounds like it should, if not better. A bit too much bass at times on more bass-heavy recordings but meh. Copper FTL. Once again, the sound is sometimes so dynamic it even goes against the recording so to speak; quiet parts are very quiet - but have a lot of pop and cut through the ambience nicely - and loud parts hit hard. Very hard. My ears are ringing. Interestingly enough, the O2 doesn't mask sibilance. If it's there, you will hear it. I thought it would with its ultra-linear treble, but I guess that's the nature of an ultra-linear treble. The HD650 has dips in the lower treble that mask sibilance when it's there, but the O2 is linear through those regions and recording imperfections come through in all their glory. Sibilance still doesn't hurt your ears like it would on a bright(er) headphone. Vocals can at times have a shouty character, but that's more my source. Guitar tone is perfect, but distortion can at times be given a slightly colored character thanks to the general lushness. So, uh, yeah. O2 can't rock? I really would compare the O2 to a fine wine. It just has that bouquet of tastes and aftertastes - or in this case, layers and layers to the recording - that still doesn't interfere with the fullness of it all, and doesn't break up the overall picture. Infinite depth of detail, but with a focus on drive and overall presentation, and a very realistic tone despite a very liquid and effortless lushness. Or, lushness and musicality without excessive euphony, if you will.

Thanks, exactly what I was looking for.

I'm not quite up to making my own cables yet, but maybe with enough time I'll get there. ATM it's Headphile BlackSilver, which isn't that bright with the 003, but the O2 is on a different level of revealing. And how would I go about doing that? Videotape a full DBT, and get a notarized signature of authenticity through a paid legal observer? Publish a study in a journal? That's not realistic, and you know it. Better yet, YOU prove that I can't hear it, on my rig, in my system.

Definitely. I didn't really post that to dispute the value of DBT, it's more of a poke in the eye to the analog cable naysayer crowd. You really have be deaf not to hear the difference in this rig.

I definitely hear a drop off in the deep bass on the O2 MkII, but not the bump in the midbass. But, my source is somewhat bass-deficient with a drop-off in the deep bass as well, and my amp is slightly bright. Not a good combination for bass prowess. I've moved away from silver cables with the rig in its current state, as they are just too damn bright. Copper brings the mids and highs into balance but the lessened clarity is noticeable. Silver does give things a lot more "wow" factor and a certain shimmer to the instruments, but the tone is unnatural. Copper is more restrained and more subtle but the tone is right. That definitely wasn't the case with the HD650, but the O2 MkII is a good bit brighter naturally (but also more fluid at the same time). So, more experimentation is needed (and a new source). I'm definitely interested in seeing how Spritzer's mod works out. I doubt I'd mind the squealing much, the SR-003 squeals when its fit is adjusted and it doesn't bother me. The O2 takes a lot of fussing around initially to get the fit right but once it's in place it tends to stay in place. P.S. DBT my ass. The difference between the two cables is incredible. Rather, the O2's ability to show this difference is incredible; I haven't heard another headphone that's so revealing to a simple IC change.

Well, let's see. Woke up severely depressed as I've done the last 5 years. Also hung over from yesterday's binge. Dropped some Kava-Kava extract and off to work we go, where all hell is breaking loose and somehow I have to hold shit together. Multi-task for 10 hours doing the typical meaningless and inane things that hold a smoothly-functioning office together, then back home, mow the lawn, and down more Kava. Yes, not exactly the most eventful day. Though later on I have a review to write, and about an hour of Kung-fu stancework to do. So, that is a bit of an improvement. A year ago my day would have been to the tune of "wake up, walk half a mile down the beach to staff center for breakfast, do an hour of coral reef ecology lecture, do a 30m/30min deep transect monitoring dive, lunch, 2 hours of basking in the sun, then do a 18m/50min transect monitoring dive, then shoot the sunset from the beach in front of my cabin, then dinner, some Chi-gong before sleep, then crashtime. How far the mighty have fallen. Except I'm not that mighty. Still, I will be up there again in about 3-4 years, and this time, for good. Might as well enjoy the reefs while they're still here, methinks.

I've had mine for a few weeks now. Using an SRD-7 Pro out of a Dared VP-20, and it works quite well actually. Not excessively bassy or sleepy at all, quite vivid sounding if anything.

I do notice that every time I leave the NJ area - or US east coast in general, with the exception of NYC and Atlantic City, I am always amazed at how good the food is. I think that's more due to the food here being god-awful rather than the food everywhere else being amazing. There are a few decent to OK restaurants such as Jo-Sho (sushi) and Bluewater Seafood Company (continental US) but mostly it's mediocre japanese/thai/indian and horrible chinese places which I don't really care to mention. If I want good food I have to head up to NYC or Atlantic City. I do love good steak - Morton's in AC or Sparks/Peter Luger in NYC kick ass, but are very expensive. Nobu is an amazing restaurant as well, though I haven't been there in ages. Maybe it's changed. Very expensive as well. The best restaurant I've ever been to was a small Russian cafe in San Diego, owned by a Russian immigrant but with an Irish chef . This isn't "Russian Restaurant" in the east coast sense but a perfectly normal, moderately priced little bistro which served the best food I've ever had by miles. Every bite of just about every dish had an ever-changing bouquet of aftertastes like a fine wine. I don't fancy Russian food much, having grown up with it, but this was from another planet. I think the best solution around here, if you want good food on a regular basis, is to become a good chef yourself. Haven't gotten around to that though.

Chairman Lmao Zedong?

I would definitely be in the market for a $2000-$2500 tube stat amp that has the balls to drive the O2 well, even if it doesn't quite have the quality/refinement of the KGBH SE. So, if that's what the KGST is, I'd buy it. I'm guessing it's hopeless to look for a non-SE KGBH on the used market, but I may be doing that in a few months anyway. Just have to sell everything non-O2 off first.

I agree, I really like the signature of the Planet. Considering how cheap you can get one these days it's one hell of a bargain. It has that unique listenability - you can just put on some tunes and forget all about listening to the system, and get immersed in the music. Unfortunately the O2's resolution far exceeds that of the Planet. Also, the Planet doesn't quite have the right sound signature to be a perfect match. I think a brighter, more vibrant player with a lot more detail - but one that still has all of the prat and impact - would suit it better. Still, I'm keeping mine for a secondary rig. And man, the O2 just keeps growing and growing on me. I love it. I think I may be done, at least for a while, and as far as the headphones themselves are concerned. The plans I have for the rest of the rig though... my wallet is crying in a corner.

I've already asked about this on HF and was ignored. I'm guessing that CanJam was an excuse to up the advertising content. I can't want to see what they'll come up with for the next national meet

Rega Planet 2000. Definitely not good enough to settle on, but it's still quite passable in the meanwhile. Just listened to Shpongle's "Are You Shpongled" and it gave me the chills. Seriously good sound - robust, authoritative, warmish but not too warm, detailed, fast, impactful, vivid, and dynamic. It's new toy fever in catscratchland. Or would that be new toy catscratch fever?

Bah... fine, give me a day or so and I'll have some pics up.

I got a package in the mail. I could take pics but meh. You've all seen O2's before. I still don't have my upgraded source so initial impressions are off the Rega. And, I have to say, it's pretty damn obvious that it isn't up to the task. Still, with 2 hours out of the box I have observed the following: 1) Flattish frequency response. Flattish, but not flat. The highs are a little soft. So is the deep bass. I expected a lot of bass, actually, but if anything bass quantity is a bit on the quiet side. I think it's the Rega, which isn't known for its bass, and the fact that I have silver cables in the system. 2) Impeccable detail. The O2 really doesn't flaunt its detail, but if you listen closely, you'll hear just how astonishingly detailed it can be. 3) Fast! God, I missed planars. I wanted something faster than the HD650/Dared and that's exactly what I got. Much, much faster. 4) Good impact for a 'stat, I suppose, but still not as impactful as I'd like. Very good dynamic range though, doesn't feel compressed, which I expected with a transformer box. 5) Small soundstage. Imaging is very precise, though. Lots of air and good instrument separation. I can't be more specific than that. Yes, I hear a roll-off in the deep bass, slightly loose midbass, and a slight nasal quality to the lower midrange, but I can't stand behind any of that with so little time on the system. Besides, these are brand new, I'm sure burn-in will change things a lot. So, are they head and shoulders better than the Dared/HD650? Um... no. This really puts things into perspective, but I'd say that a balanced (or push-pull rather) HD650 is about on par. There are some things that the O2 does better, and some things that the HD650 does better. I'd say that the O2 wins on detail, speed, tone, and texture, while the HD650 wins on soundstage (equally precise imaging but much bigger headstage... sorry Spritzer ), bass, impact, and dynamic range. So far, I listened to an electronic ambient album ("Call of the Mystic" by Bahramji and Maneesh de Moor, an excellent disk BTW) and I thought the O2 did well. Nothing stuck out as being immediately wrong - except maybe for the smallish headstage - but it also didn't grab me the way the HD650 does. Still, I enjoyed it, and it didn't sound excessively thin or ethereal like it does on other 'stats. Then, I listened to an acoustic new age/ambient album ("Breathe" by Nicholas Gunn, one of the best disks in my collection IMO) and it was honestly the best I've ever heard it sound on any system I've had. I've never heard it sound so lush, full, detailed, and pure. It's a studio recording with an artificial soundstage so I couldn't really test the staging capabilities, but the tone and texture of each instrument was superb. Flutes were so pristinely perfect that I felt I was listening to a physical manifestation of the ideal concept of "flute" more than the real thing. I could easily hear that the flute was recorded in a medium-sized studio, several feet away from the mic, in the center of the studio where the sound was allowed to reverberate. Acoustic guitars were recorded pretty much right at the strings, while the violin was recorded further away from the mic but this time the reverberations were artificially dampened with acoustic treatments so as not to interfere with the tonal purity. The vocals were clearly digitally processed and in the processing some of the acoustic properties were lost, but then they were subtly layered over each other to create a pseudo-reverb effect. They sounded digital, for lack of a better term, but nice. These are the types of things you have to try to pick out on most systems, but the O2, even in my lowly rig (which admittedly is about to get a lot loftier), makes them obvious. I wasn't listening for any specifics but they were clear as day. So, on the whole, cat likes! A lot!! I think that a balanced HD650 would do better on my electronic ambient and psytrance music, but this is one heck of a lot better on acoustic classical, new age, and jazz. Of course, this is all completely out of the box. Let's see what burn in will do!

They're 18wpc, but it isn't the output stage that's clipping but the input/gain stage, or so I've been told. As I said, I don't believe that this is a problem with the concept of driving the HD650 with a speaker amp but a specific design problem with the VP-20. Currently it's driving an SR-003 through an SRD-7 Pro and there is no clipping (that I can hear, I haven't specifically tested for it though). I drove a speaker-reterminated Headphile K340 with the VP-20 and I don't remember any clipping there either. It sounded pretty good too, but I significantly prefer my stock K340 to that Headphiled pair, since the latter was seriously lacking in treble presense or extension - though of course my pair is 1/4" terminated and I couldn't drive it off the VP-20 for a direct comparison.