The Mad Dog variations are a little more natural sounding. The Prime isn't bad and it's pricing is understandable when you look at the parts/machinery/design costs, but it's not a good value in the context of today's market.

Edit: disclaimer that I've only heard the Alphas, not the Primes, nor the Alpha + stickers. Generalizing a bit about the design.

There are two dots - one in center and one located in the front corner of each channel. At least that's what mine are "tuned" with. All I can say is my ADs never had the glare. I don't think my ears automagically got better at hearing. I'm curious if there are variations then. On the "other" site, everyone is raving about them. I was in the upgrade test group and no one else seems to be on the same page. Besides myself, I think one other person mentioned it occurring at times. Just for reference, I've been playing around with SPL levels with an app on my iPhone6. I'm sticking the phone in the alpha pad to see where it might become an issue. With a peak of 96 dB with Phish's Reba at the 8 minute mark there's a sustained guitar note. At that peak you hear it. I think the average is around 82-85dB for a bit then goes to 87-90dB as the song progresses. So there is a good amount of dynamic range for a rock song. In both of these ranges things aren't so edgy and are enjoyable. I think its when you get above 92dB or so when the ugly head comes out. With my old hearing I tend to like things on the louder side, otherwise details go blurred, missing, etc. Am I expecting these to perform well at a higher SPL?

I'll play around with the dots a bit to see if I can take the bite away.

Update: So I changed out the DAC. I was using an ES9023 based DIY DAC, the Curryman ES9023. I changed it to the AMB Gamma-2 and there is a worlds of a difference. So thus far I'm finding this headphone is very revealing of source. I've heard others mention glare with the ES9023, so this must be half the issue of sorts. Glare + Glare = Bleeding ears. Comparing it to the warmer Gamma-2, it has what I'd call hyper-detail with less bass. Guess I'll have to stick with the Gamma-2 to maintain listening enjoyment. Anywho, with other phones the Curryman isn't a problem and sounds pretty damn good.

Yeah, I'd agree with Marv. I heard the same pair on my own setup, with my own music, so...

I thought there was a bit of extra sub bass emphasis, where it could get a bit loose. What was weird was that it was bassy, and yet not very full or impactful. Bass sounded a bit hollow, and not necessarily fast, either. So there was a lot of rumble, but I don't think it was up to my standard of ortho bass.

The Prime wasn't a very warm headphone either. It sounded a bit scooped out in the lower mids. Mid sounded pretty uneven to my ears, and like Marv, I also noticed a bit of upper midrange hardness/shout, though it wasn't necessarily sibilant.

There was a tightness to the sound from top to bottom, not unlike the HD800, but I think the HD800 was smoother on my setup, whereas the Alpha Prime sounded a bit gritty, grainy, like sandpaper...? Also it sounded a bit thin to my ears. I would have preferred a bit more fullness, and warmth.

I liked the Slants. Didn't listen to your pair, but Jeff's pair of Slants was very very good.

Your Enigma, on the other hand, was very comfy. Stretching the headband made a world of difference!

I might just consider an Enigma as a closed traveling headphone, since I'm planning to go overseas again this summer, and I honestly can't see myself subjecting the HE-560 to dust and humidity... but the Enigma looks like it'll last a nuclear blast.

I went ahead and found a coworker with another pair of alpha primes. We did a quick and dirty comparison, even his pair sound strange in the bass and have wonky mids. He liked the slants a lot, enigmas not as much.