Orthodynamic Headphones & all things planar

[anm]

while I had orthos in mind, I ended up spending 3.5k on a new hd 428 in a moment of madness. I was looking for a closed headphone for a long time and thought this senn might be good. It doesn't sound very good to me.
Guys are there any good closed orthos as well? Also looking for an answer to my battery amp question.

 

[sachi]

Only closed stock orthos are the newer T20, T40 and T50RPs.

They'll sound decent, but get much better with serious mass damping of the cups and baffle and then actualy sound damping.

However, the best closed orthos are ones that you custom make either by making cups of your own (a simple and cheap task in India specifically) or use a foster headphone.

 

[gurubhai]

I agree, even stock, the T50RP is one of the best closed headphone for the price.

@Brendon : good to see your are liking the HP-2 more & more. It was my evil plan all along.

On other news, while I was away for the weekend, another ortho found its home.
I shall post pics & impressions later.

 

[anm]

ok. gurubhai you know how to do this?

Only closed stock orthos are the newer T20, T40 and T50RPs.

They'll sound decent, but get much better with serious mass damping of the cups and baffle and then actualy sound damping.

However, the best closed orthos are ones that you custom make either by making cups of your own (a simple and cheap task in India specifically) or use a foster headphone.

 

[gurubhai]

I have a pair of T50RP. Once I have some time, I shall look for a wood worker to build some wood cups.
I am also waiting to see what new idea Smeggy (creator of TPs) comes up with.
I am looking for rear-opening cups like LCD-2.

 

[sachi]

I agree, even stock, the T50RP is one of the best closed headphone for the price.

@Brendon : good to see your are liking the HP-2 more & more. It was my evil plan all along.

On other news, while I was away for the weekend, another ortho found its home.
I shall post pics & impressions later.

haha..spreading the ortho goodness i see..

And i heard about the new ortho acquisition...congrats

I have a pair of T50RP. Once I have some time, I shall look for a wood worker to build some wood cups.
I am also waiting to see what new idea Smeggy (creator of TPs) comes up with.
I am looking for rear-opening cups like LCD-2.

Aye..waiting to see and hopefully hear what he's got cooking with the open TPs..honestly i think you should look into location some decent carpenter and have him ready to turn out some cups. I'll be onboard for a few myself hyeah:

 

[gopi]

sachi,
a question - I found in head fi or head case that you were so gaga about Audeze LCD2 and yet haven't bought it and bought 3 Hifiman HE-5
I am planning to go for one of these. Guidance please.

 

[Brendon]

Congrats on the TP50 !

I am resisting all sorts of temptations to get another ortho headphone. I am determined to save up and get a Audeze LCD2 by the end of the year. But its so hard !

 

[gurubhai]

And i heard about the new ortho acquisition...congrats

Its hard to surprise an ortho-ninja. :indifferent14:

Aye..waiting to see and hopefully hear what he's got cooking with the open TPs..honestly i think you should look into location some decent carpenter and have him ready to turn out some cups. I'll be onboard for a few myself

preparing for EHHA has been taking most of my spare time but I have located a couple decent carpenters. Hopefully things would work out soon.

Congrats on the TP50 !

I am resisting all sorts of temptations to get another ortho headphone. I am determined to save up and get a Audeze LCD2 by the end of the year. But its so hard !

TP50s will take some time to be ready,I have their grandpa to enjoy till then.

Resistance is futile!

 

[sachi]

sachi,
a question - I found in head fi or head case that you were so gaga about Audeze LCD2 and yet haven't bought it and bought 3 Hifiman HE-5
I am planning to go for one of these. Guidance please.

HI there,

well i bought the HE-5 for a third time (old the previous two) just to kill time till my LCD-2 is ready. I am told it should be ready to ship by end of June :yahoo: The LCD-2 is definitely much better than the HE5 and I gather it to be better than the LE as well.

Its hard to surprise an ortho-ninja. :indifferent14:

preparing for EHHA has been taking most of my spare time but I have located a couple decent carpenters. Hopefully things would work out soon.

TP50s will take some time to be ready,I have their grandpa to enjoy till then.

Can't wait to see your ehha take shape..sadly i am probably going to be selling + partially trading mine off here soon.

Resistance is futile!

Indeed!..

 

[gurubhai]

Pics of my new ortho acquisition :





This is an OEM version of original Fostex T50 from 1980.

 

[anm]

I visited gurubhai yesterday! Lots of headphones and so little time. Everyone in his apartment seems to be a headphone addict!
I will be looking forward to learn from these guys - modding recabling and everything. I have all the plans to jump into the ehha build.
Loved the yamaha hp50s (iirc), but more than that, it was a pleasure to meet some great guys. Hoping to see you guys at my place maybe next weekend.

 

[gurubhai]

^^The pleasure was all mine & I look forward to get a chance to listen to your magneplanars.


NAD RP18 'mylar' :

Initial impressions are that they do not have the sharper edges in treble that most of my closed/vented orthos had.

Also, they are significantly more detailed than any other headphone I have tried & they are able to present this detail even at very low volumes.
I love this part.

The balance is pretty neutral & they are not overwhelmingly bassy or dark.I understand that they are different than the 'Kapton' version in this regard.

In fact, the bass seems a little inadequate now that I have been spoiled by the HP50S.
The treble could use a bit of sparkle but I am hoping a recable should do the job.

Overall, I still haven't felt the urge to open these for tinkering & which is a first for me.

 

[sachi]

Nice to see my Indian brethren jumping on the ortho + EHHA bangwagon..prepare to get some eargasms when you have your amps going. hyeah:

Btw, I just traded away my EHHA for a very special orange amp..i just hope that the orange amp survives the journey..United Parcel Smashers and the amp being held with hopes and dreams makes me a bit squeamish..but i'll hope for the best..
oh, and a sneak preview at a new SS amp that will soon be driving my orthos :yahoo:

 

[sachi]

Oh, and i wanted to add, a received the HE-5 cable today and tried it on..to my disappointment, the HE-5 left driver seems to be non-functional. I am upset and angry a little. I am going to have Fang of Head-direct replace the headphone for me. This is the exactly kind of thing that I am hoping future companies planning on getting into orthos to avoid. Poor QA is just going to destroy the market and any chance of garnering more to our fold. And I am called an Audeze supporter without taking stock of their own manufacturing process for consistency. Such a shame really. So, I am still relegated to (not complaining..still got a big wide grin on my face) to a 40 year old ortho.. seriously, you folk need to keep an eye out for a Wharfedale Isodynamic. It just destroyed the Senn HD800 and Beyer T1 at a recent micro-meet.

 

[sachi]

A pic that Ken from ALO audio took of me at last week's mini-meet at 32 Ohm Audio

 

[gurubhai]

Soon there will be a time when we shall have such meets here in Delhi.

Its a pity about poor QC of HE-5, lets hope that HE-5LE & HE-6 shall be better.

Kabeer said he liked this pair of NAD better than the wharfies but he is yet to listen to Zebradales.I am pretty content with these for the time being. One great thing about these is that they can be driven easily from portable setup.

BTW, what's the mystery orange one & how does it 'stack' against EHHA ?

 

[sachi]

Soon there will be a time when we shall have such meets here in Delhi.

Its a pity about poor QC of HE-5, lets hope that HE-5LE & HE-6 shall be better.

Kabeer said he liked this pair of NAD better than the wharfies but he is yet to listen to Zebradales.I am pretty content with these for the time being. One great thing about these is that they can be driven easily from portable setup.

BTW, what's the mystery orange one & how does it 'stack' against EHHA ?

Well for the most part mine and Kabeer's music tastes align...but where we differ is the wharfies ability to sound better than the Yh-1000..He says he hears plastickyness in the ID1..My first ID1 was very different, the pads were completely collapsed which gave it a unique sound signature. ALso, as good as his Cyrus 1 amp is, i hardly doubt it is of the same level as the EHHA or stacker 2.

As for the orange amp ..heh it "stacks" up quite well against the EHHA..cause its a Stacker 2

here is a pic of the Agent Orange as I like to call it.

 

[gurubhai]

^^ Wow! Are these the new commercial prototypes from cavalli audio & I thought that the 'liquid gold' is a hybrid.
So, what's gonna be commercial line-up from cavalli audio ?

 

[sachi]

^^ Wow! Are these the new commercial prototypes from cavalli audio & I thought that the 'liquid gold' is a hybrid.
So, what's gonna be commercial line-up from cavalli audio ?

haha..nope..those were one-off Stacker 2 hybrid headphone amp builds that Don created. The Orange one was his original Stacker 2.

The other two were built for friends under the blessings of Alex Cavalli.

As for the new commercial offerings form Cavalli, expect to see a SS amp ( the pic i posted was the Liquid Gold prototype), a hybrid amp (the liquid fire) and a electrostat amp christened the Liquid Lightning.