What are you listening with?

[BaDToaD]

I take my hat off to the Open Pandora team. I've just done a direct comparison to my sony MP3 player using the same 320Kbps MP3s into a CMoy headphone amp and the Pandora is a good deal better!


Bass is deep and powerful without being bloated.


Mids are again excellent but are a tad recessed and need to warm up a tiny bit. Hopefully burn in will improve this but even if it stays as is it's excellent as I'm really nit picking here.


Highs are detailed with plenty of extension.


Like most portable sources the soundstage is a little narrow but there is more space between the instruments than my sony MP3 player can manage.


Overall the Pandora is an excellent portable source and has exceeded my expectations. If it is better than my Panasonic portable CD player I will have found my new portable source of choice.


These are early thoughts and the chances are the Pandora will improve as I clock up more hours.


ToaD

 

[Bosbeetle]

Actually I hook my pandora upto my 1970s sansui system, and you never heard me complain


It's very good in the audio department, thats why I am also escited about efforts I see of turning the pandora into a musical instrument.

 

[bzar]

In order of preference: Sennheiser PMX100, Koss PortaPro and Koss Plugs. PMX100s work nicely with a hat, PortaPros on a train and plugs when all else fails . At home I usually use speakers, so big headphones are not an option. Now I only need my pandora

 

[fraseyboy]

I'm hoping I'll be able to get optical out from the Pandora to my Beresford TC-7510 DAC which is connected to my Little Dot MKII tube amp and finally through my Grado HF2 headphones, but I'll probably just have to make do with my KSC-75's.

 

[Mr_Loon]

Using cheapo in-ear phones from deal extreme, surprisingly good for the price.


Also using an Altec Lansing iMT237 Orbit for music / video without headphones. Nice review of mobile speakers here.

 

[Christoph.Krn]

if youre getting high quality phones, be prepared to wait your time to burn them in

It might be good for some users to note that most high-end in-ears won't need any burn-in due to the way they produce the sound, the IE8 I use are an exception in this regard.

 

[xpansive]

Sennheiser CX300-II, $90 of awesomeness.

 

[Link]

It might be good for some users to note that most high-end in-ears won't need any burn-in due to the way they produce the sound, the IE8 I use are an exception in this regard.

I've also read that the Grado GS-1000 and the PS-1000 are also NOT at 100% of full sound when fresh/new.


Peace & Pandora,


Link


EDIT: Musta been stoned here. NOT added and "of full sound"

 

[Aninhumer]

Sennheiser CX300-II, $90 of awesomeness.

Sennheiser CX400-II here, and they only cost £40.

The only problem is, once you get a good pair of headphones/buds, you're talking some good money for them, those kind.. you have to rerip your entire music collection, since you suddenly starting hearing all the imperfections of your earlier rips. *garg*

I rip everything in FLAC, at least for my archive.

After around 150 hours of burn-in, they began to show their real face. Just so you know should you ever buy a pair of these. Out of the box, they sound more horrible than you can imagine.

If they sound so bad, why don't they burn them in at the factory?

 

[JeanLouSchmidt]

I use TECHNICS RPF200 on all my portable devices, good sound and very comfortable headphones and at home all my devices are pluged into my HiFi amp Onkyo TX-SV343.

 

[Yannick]

sennheiser HD 485, best 100€ I ever spend


i bought them for the comfort level, but the sound is just amazing, they go to 11 without distortion

 

[Null]

I use a pair of Sennheiser MX300s + a pair of Klipsch Custom 1s.

 

[Christoph.Krn]

If they sound so bad, why don't they burn them in at the factory?

I have no idea. I read that some people like it if they aren't burnt in, because this way they see that they are new. But I doubt that this is the reason.

 

[Link]

I have no idea. I read that some people like it if they aren't burnt in, because this way they see that they are new. But I doubt that this is the reason.

It isn't good to burn them in at the factory, pink noise, gray noise etc really don't do the trick, hours of varied use and different changes burn in the phones. Its like breaking in a new pair of Dr. Martins or combat boots. Think of a new car, you don't want to pull out of the dealer's lot and tach the engine out at every stop sign or while on the freeway. At the same time, you don't want to drive it 3000 miles cross country either at 65mph. Good phones work the same way.


Peace & Pandora,


Link

 

[Elanzer]

Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250-Ohm headphones

Audio-gd Sparrow DAC + Amp via USB connection

.


Though I might end up buying a closed, lower impedance pair of headphones for the Pandora if they don't drive it well enough without the amp, maybe some audio-technica ATH-M50s. I've bought numerous pairs of earbuds but they always just fall out while I'm using them.

 

[fraseyboy]

It isn't good to burn them in at the factory, pink noise, gray noise etc really don't do the trick, hours of varied use and different changes burn in the phones. Its like breaking in a new pair of Dr. Martins or combat boots. Think of a new car, you don't want to pull out of the dealer's lot and tach the engine out at every stop sign or while on the freeway. At the same time, you don't want to drive it 3000 miles cross country either at 65mph. Good phones work the same way.


Peace & Pandora,


Link

Some people would argue that burning headphones in doesn't just burn in the drivers, it's burning in your ears and getting them used to the sound as well, which is why burning them in at the factory wouldn't be as effective. There's also money to think about.

 

[j6cubic]

I'm pandora-less; until then my iPod touch will have to do.


Having gone through two Sennheiser CX300s in as many years I finally switched to a v-moda Vibe. The sound quality is roughly similar and the v-moda is much sturdier, which I welcome. I have no idea how it performs at high volume levels, though, as I'm sensitive to noise.


Admittedly, it's not exactly high-end equipment but it is noticeably better than no-name earbuds and it's good enough for me not to consider upgrades.


Oh, and I'll try hooking my Pandora up to my Cambridge SoundWorks DTT3500 Digital. Best second-hand purchase I've ever made.


I'd like to use this moment to thank the audiophiles of the world for upgrading from perfectly fine systems to even better ones, making their old ones affordable to us plebians through the second-hand market.

 

[Granitehead]

Sennheiser CX300-II, $90 of awesomeness.

Me the same, but I got them for less than $90. ^^

 

[Lupus The Third]

Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250-Ohm headphones

Audio-gd Sparrow DAC + Amp via USB connection

.


Though I might end up buying a closed, lower impedance pair of headphones for the Pandora if they don't drive it well enough without the amp, maybe some audio-technica ATH-M50s. I've bought numerous pairs of earbuds but they always just fall out while I'm using them.

I have the DT 770-Pro80. If you're looking for a pair of good closed headphones I'd suggest that one. That way you can still have essentially the same pair of headphones, minus the amp. My mp3 player has enough output to drive the 80ohm version without an amp so I'm sure the Pandora will. I got my pair from Guitar Center for $160. Best pair of headphones I've ever owned, way better than my Senns. So comfortable, and so good throughout all ranges. My only problem is that the cord is 9ft long and gets in the way constantly.

 

[Poem58]

My last pair of phones were Sony In ear buds (MDR51LP)iirc, but I hear they are no longer avaliable, I am sensitive to audio flaws and have to encode to 192Kbps mp3 to not be annoyed by the compression, these phones sounded great, were comfortable and had headache inducing bass response (6-23,000) iirc.


I used them with my Samsung T-10 and it sounded amazing in combination. Hopefully since they died after lots of use, I will replace with the version they have out now (still around $30) and they will be just as good. I was surprised to hear cheaper phones sound so good, cannot imagine the $400 dollar buds but with Mp3's I guess I will never need that kind of gear.