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Helpbot
310
Mar 16, 2018
These are pretty special sounding cans. I have never heard a closed back over-ear HP so neutral&objective. It's more neutral than the 6xx to MY ears(on certain tracks) , simply because the 6xx will get pretty warm sounding when your song has the right frequencies for it. The GMP has more bass, but it doesn't envelope the music in the same way. Somebody in some thread online said they scale well and I have to agree. I can hear the body the my Modi Multibit puts into these, and I can't say that for all my other mid-fi headphones. Bass is punchy, and possibly very slighty increased, can't remember the graph atm. The mids are my favorite part.. They are transparent, and I get the sensation that I'm not even wearing headphones sometimes, I'm just hearing sound as it is in nature. It's pretty incredible stuff, I will probably buy one of their open backs to really immerse myself in that feeling one day. Highs are sparkly as well, however I liked the timbre of them, haven't done more than one 4 hours listening bout yet, but I did not get fatigued. There is a lack of detail here though, some highs are favored a bit more than others, I'm not sure why that is. The Velour pads take the fun out of these headphone for me, mainly in the bass. If you are using it more for reference instead of pleasure then it might be a necessary evil, but I think there are better aftermarket pads out there. TL;DR, if you want a closed back over ear neutral Headphone with punchy bass (not really full, punchy) I would take the dive. I thought the Thinksound On2's were neutral, but now I've seen the light haha. Edit: I would like to retract this statement. Though the bass is elevated, these headphone still manage to sound objective and the bass is realistic while not too overblown. If it's not to your liking, I do think a pad change will remedy that. While I have bought the same brands for mid-fi headphones in the past (558->6XX, SHP9500->X2HR[on the way]> when I say I want to explore GMP again, it's because there was some magic there, as opposed to still looking for magic.
(Edited)
Arcy
40
Mar 18, 2018
HelpbotReally enjoy the read. Out of curiosity, what genre sounds do you think sounds the best with these cans?
Helpbot
310
Mar 22, 2018
ArcyAlright, I would like to label the above post as first impressions. I have already made some edits in trying to better detail what I'm hearing. These headphones favor the lower frequencies. That is a fact. They do not color the sound but it becomes difficult to hear over a lot of the favored stuff down below more often than I would like, which still isnt that often for my musical taste but often enough. I don't mind the tradeoff though, but in my realization that I had not listened to any rock music, I discovered just how unenergetic these things can be.
I originally tried some Smashing pumpkins and Sonic youth. Since the headphones don't color much, if the guitars aren't very forward and driving then track then it isn't gonna engage you much. Sonic Youth's 'Daydream Nation' wasnt the best material for the headphones to shine, but their other songs from other albums seem to fare much better. I can give examples if asked.
Megadeth's Peace Sells album was the complete opposite. It is not an exaggeration when I say I was sweating just listening to it through my Modi. The energy there was infectious. I hadn't listened to that album in years, yet I listened to every song I remembered and had a great time.
If I had to answer your question, I want to say that these headphones can do well with any genre, HOWEVER, not all songs will fill up the headphones as well as others.. I'm not an expert, but because I get the feeling of the placement of the microphone or microphones at times when I listen to classical, I am inclined to say that it is the distance from the microphone will alter what you will hear quite a bit, but I suppose that is the purpose of reference cans like these, as oppose to cans that will make anything sound full and musical.
Because of their bass freq bump, they are great for hip hop-rap. I will stand by this statement, they are great for classical.. Sometimes. String instruments sound amazing with these. Quartets, sonatas, i can hear every bow stroke. Orchestral recordings especially with Voice may not fair as well. The brass and percussion are naturally favored, and unless it is balanced well, it becomes difficult to hear all the instruments, but in certain loud pieces I dont think that balancing is an easy issue to fix after the fact. I want to try to listen with the velour pads someday to see if that can be remedied, but Im still afraid that will take the enjoyment out of my listening experience.
Rock can sound good.. I dont really understand why some songs sound great and others are quite lackluster. Folk rock.. I dont listen to any myself, but from what I mentioned, it would probably be pretty lifeless, however, this is still only two weeks into understanding what I'm hearing. I see now with reviewers say they have been listening to headphones for a few months before reviewing now XD.
So I hope everyone takes my review with a grain of salt. Regardless though, I will be enjoying these for quite a while despite their deficiencies. They are that good.
Edit: To avoid creating additional notifications, I just wanted to add that these have obsoleted my T50RP MK3. All I wanted from those was some more bass.. well GMP gave me that and more clarity as well. Fostex sounds grainy in comparison.
Dynamic drivers - 1 Planar - 0
Arcy
40
Apr 4, 2018
HelpbotI got to give you props for writing such a detailed response. Overall I do agree with your sound impressions. I would add however that these headphones have a really detailed mid range than some of the other headphones I have. That being said edm or bass heavy music doesn't sound as good as cans such as V moda crossfades which is made for bass.I have heard that MK3s require an external amp to unlock the full potential, not sure how true that is. I am actually curious how does these compare to the Hifi man 4xx that is always dropped. Ik its comparing open to closed back, dynamic to planar. However its around the same price point and would make a good comparison.
Helpbot
310
Apr 4, 2018
ArcyThanks for the endorsement. I definitely agree with you on the mid range. Unfortunately I haven't tried and V shaped cans, and though i did get my X2HR recently they aren't really V shaped.
I have my magni 3 powering the fostex! But the sound is just not as clear somehow. O.o well anyways, cheers to the GMPs!
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