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Better than I had expected compared to the Oratory Hifi target, having as most significant deviation only a 5 dB presence dip around 1.5 kHz, so a bit the opposite of many Stax Lambda models.
Better than I had expected compared to the Oratory Hifi target, having as most significant deviation only a 5 dB presence dip around 1.5 kHz, so a bit the opposite of many Stax Lambda models.
No, it's certainly not a "new toy syndrome". I'd suggest looking at Keith Howard's and oratory's measurements (just google for it). Also what I'm hearing seems to match with other respected studio guys' reviews. It think people are starting to get insanely obsessed with Harman's target curve but I'm not entirely sure that it works for studio work.
A first thing to note is that I've tried (and measured) several of them because of various QC issues.
Luck would have it I've been regularly measuring headphones with the exact same protocol around once a week in an effort to gather data en masse, and pulling all my X65's measurements done with the blocked ear canal mics highlighted a pretty significant issue : these may have one of the worst cases of "pads break-in" I've experienced yet.
Sennheiser HD6 series was critiqued for inconsistent pads, but seems they made some progress with the newest pad changes.
Pad shape seem somewhat atypical, not sure if there is possibility for pad swap with some aftermarket pad?
Better than I had expected compared to the Oratory Hifi target, having as most significant deviation only a 5 dB presence dip around 1.5 kHz, so a bit the opposite of many Stax Lambda models.
I wouldn't make a direct comparison between the two. The HD6 series pads deteriorate but I didn't get the feeling that they "broke in" that much during the first few weeks. I haven't measured my HD650 with Sennheiser's stock pads with quite the same regularity and with the exact same process each time, but I'm skeptical that they'd change that much in such a short amount of time.
@MayaTlab : How is the current situation with the pads? Did they stabilise? Did you manage to derive a stabile EQ?
Both get the same Harman score according to the Oratory measurementsso they made a better headphone than akg702?
How is progress with the new probe? Did you make some new measurements?Hi, I've put my weekly measurements on hold for now as I've reached a point where it's evident that my DIY probe and blocked ear canal entrance mics have limitations I'd like to get past, so I've been spending most of my time making a new probe. I'll definitely resume doing them once that's done and I really hope that the X65 will get to a stable point as I find them supremely enjoyable post EQ .
I like the DCA yoke and swivel-less design. Everything is driven off the wire headband with just one “hinge” where the yoke meets the cup.Yep but they got an awful lot of things right as well. In an age when some HP companies are still struggling to understand that swivelling cups shouldn't been seen as a polite proposition but a fundamental aspect of what makes a great pair of headphones, constantly try to reinvent the wheel by re-imagining the yoke mechanism (and invariably fail in the process), or ship HPs with cables with no relief (*cough* Hifiman *cough*), the Hi-X65 is a breath of fresh air IMO. Other than some small tolerancing niggles, so far I think I only have one gripe with their design, it's that the earcup packaging + pad design doesn't provide enough space at the rear for my ear lobes (not enough depth at the rear once mounted on my head + the pads are compressed). It's one of my favourite HP designs I've seen in a while.
They sound atrocious without EQ and I would have found them very difficult to EQ without some additional tricks I've added to my "EQ assist toolbox" this year but I have a feeling that the fundamentals may be there for a pretty neatly EQable pair of HPs in the end and that I'll keep them long term.
How is progress with the new probe? Did you make some new measurements?
I like the DCA yoke and swivel-less design. Everything is driven off the wire headband with just one “hinge” where the yoke meets the cup.
How are the pads like? Closer to nice protein leather earpads from Dan Clark/Audeze, or more mid-fi Audio-Technica plasticky pleather? Worried they are the latter even though I'm very interested otherwise.
In terms of how the pleather feels, they're among the most pleasant pleather pads I've tried so far (I also quite like Bose's latest pads for the 700/QC45 if that's a useful comparison point for you).
No idea about how durable the pleather actually is.