Don't really care about the 300SEI -- a good amp will do, and we both have good amps. We're comparing headphones, not trying to recreate what you observed.

There's a meet coming up in just a couple of weeks in gaithersburg...

I suspect I will get pelted for this, but the guy who sold me my GLite + DPS owned an R10 (US version, I believe) and said that combination worked very well together. He also said he preferred the HD-650 to the R10, out any amp, so take it as you will. IIRC, the R10s are pretty low impedance cans, and the GLite has minimal output impedance.

He initially offered to sell me the R10 (for $2500, IIRC) but ultimately ended up selling it to his former girlfriend. I'm not sorry I didn't get the R10, but I wish I'd taken a stab at some of his C-J gear.

There's a meet coming up in just a couple of weeks in gaithersburg...

Oh, they'll be there as well (at least, the K501's will be). I was just hoping to get an answer for myself (and perhaps Hirsch) sooner than that.

Pfff. You know how I feel about know-it-alls, Rick.

[The K501] that makes the R10 sound like it has a fat bottom end.

Just for the record, we listened to both the R10 and the K501 out of a Melos this weekend, and Hirsch had this exactly backwards -- the R10 made the K501 sound like a bass monster. It was pretty night and day. The Melos should have had plenty of drive to drive both headphones.

Edited July 27, 200817 yr by Dusty Chalk

I love that argument: amp that is known to only sound good on rare occassions should have plenty of ability to drive headphones that are known to need very specific kinds of amps to sound good

... amp that is known to only sound good on rare occassions ...

This is news to me -- I've never heard the Melos have trouble driving anything. And it was Hirsch's choice of amp, so I trusted his judgment, since his horse in the race was the R10.

It may depend on the Melos but I was looking at buying one and got a chance to audition it at a meet before purchase. Needless to say I did not end up buying it. It had no of the famed synergy with Grados that I hear preached about incessantly on HF and seemed like a bad deal even for $300.

<snip> It had no of the famed synergy with Grados that I hear preached about <snip>

x2

That probably ranks as one of the more disappointing headphone-related experiences I've had. It just didn't sound good at all. Others there said it sounded "right", which defintely sounded wrong to me.

You just needed Carlo (IIRC?) to mod it for you...

Hirsch's is modded.

Hirsch's is modded.

So is postys brain, but it still doesn't function very well.

Hirsch's functions very well.

bozebutton's uber-modded melos sounded pretty close to perfect with the hp-1/2/3s. but not so much with the RS series , and less well with R10s

Well, I'll let Hirsch ask for a rematch if he wants one, but I heard pretty much what I expected to hear, so I'm satisfied. If someone says that an amp has a hard time driving bass out of the R10's, I'd be hard pressed to argue.

Edited July 29, 200817 yr by Dusty Chalk

I'm lazy but.... 2 questions:

A.) what are the impedance of the SFI drivers

B.) swt61, did you ever whip up something with these?

C.) Morbier

I haven't had a chance to try them out yet, but from all the info I imagine they'll be pretty nice.

Mine are 32 ohm, but they're are other impedances as well.

I'll be transplanting a pair into some Darth Beyer woodies soon, but there will be some big modifications.

hm, I might be interested in some quick and dirty transplants ... I'm looking for a pair of low-Z headphones and perhaps these might fit the bill... what's the standard cheap donor recommendation for these?

hm, I might be interested in some quick and dirty transplants ... I'm looking for a pair of low-Z headphones and perhaps these might fit the bill... what's the standard cheap donor recommendation for these?

There isn't a standard yet but I used a dirt cheap Koss UR18 and you can do it in about an hour if you get the damping right the first time. The chassis is pure crap though and not a good platform for planars but it is really cheap...

Darn all the pictures in the first post are missing. Birgir if you still have them I can add them to the first post. Otherwise hopefully Todd saved them before the forum software switch.

I'll have to dig around for them but they should be here somewhere. I'll check later today.

I have an extra pair of 32 ohm drivers Marc. You're welcome to them.

Once the job slows down (late Oct.) I plan on trying some mini Donut style housings.

I have two different donor phones that you're welcome to as well. A really cool looking pair of old Pioneer, and generic cheapo phone. I think the Pioneer will work without a lot of heavy modding.

Who do I have to mug to get an ortho that sounds sort of like the SR-007? More politely what ortho should I be looking for

T-50 v1... if you can find one. The donuts weren't miles off once fitted with SR-007 pads but still had a ways to go.