General Headphone Chat

[Bengineer]

30 minutes ago, RePete said:

Hey what about my Grado PS1000

Did I have that?

 

I feel like I had more Grado but couldn't remember what or when

[Ccollins]

 

 

I respectfully disagree, based on what I hear.

(Re Ben and the susvaras)

 

And that is part of this great hobby of ours

 

Edited July 11, 2022 by Ccollins

[DrTobiasFunke]

On 11/07/2022 at 1:58 PM, Bengineer said:

Sennheiser HD6xx
Sennheiser HD600
Sennheiser HD800
Sennheiser HD800S
Beyerdynamic T70
Beyerdynamic DT250
Beyerdynamic T5p (gen 2)
Beyerdynamic T1 (gen 2)
Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro
Audio Technica AD700
Audio Techinca AD900
Audeze LCD2C
Audeze LCD3
Audeze LCD4
Audeze LCD5
Audeze LCDX (pre 2019)
Mr Speakers Aeon
DCA Aeon Noire
ZMF Verite Open
ZMF Verite Closed
ZMF Autuer
ZMF Eikon
ZMF Aeolus
ZMF Atticus
Fostex TH610
Fostex TH900 MK2
Modhouse Argon MK2
Final D8000
Final D8000 Pro
Meze Empyrean
Focal Clear
Focal Clear MG
Focal Utopia
Focal Stellia
Focal Elegia
Focal Radiance
Hifiman Ananda
Hifiman Arya V2
Hifiman HE1000se
Hifiman HE6se
Hifiman Susvara
Stax SR007
Stax SR009
Grado GH4
Grado GH2
Grado GS1000e

Allessandro MSPro
Abyss 1266
Abyss Diana Phi
Kennerton/LSA-1
Sony MDR-Z7m2
Sony MDR-Z1R
ALO Campfire Cascade

It would be all too easy to look at this list and see:  Addiction, compulsion and deep-seated defects of character.

But...  what I see is:  A man who has selflessly devoted himself to serving others.  I see a man who has spared no expense, as he sought to grow his knowledge and insights of the headphone game.  

Thanks for your service Benno...

 

[Bengineer]

10 minutes ago, DrTobiasFunke said:

It would be all too easy to look at this list and see:  Addiction, compulsion and deep-seated defects of character.

But...  what I see is:  A man who has selflessly devoted himself to serving others.  I see a man who has spared no expense, as he sought to grow his knowledge and insights of the headphone game.  

Thanks for your service Benno...

 

Takes a brilliant mind to identify another.

[Ehrmantraut]

1 hour ago, Bengineer said:

Takes a brilliant mind to identify another.

Great minds think alike…..fools seldom differ…..audiofools that is!

[Bengineer]

1 hour ago, Ehrmantraut said:

Great minds think alike…..fools seldom differ…..audiofools that is!

A fool and his Mola Mola are easily separated 

[ColdsnapBry]

@Bengineer No Koss Porta Pro or KSC75? You've gotta treat yourself to some of those.

 

Second try with HD800 for me, I bought one a few months ago and couldn't even finish a single song with it. Instant treble stab and also this weird super dispersed dead soundstage that reminded me of listening to something with first generation noise canceling. I heard lower serial numbers sound better and a 01,XXX found its way to me. And I'll be damned it does sound way better, it's gotten a lot of head-time now.

[Bengineer]

20 hours ago, ColdsnapBry said:

@Bengineer No Koss Porta Pro or KSC75? You've gotta treat yourself to some of those.

 

Second try with HD800 for me, I bought one a few months ago and couldn't even finish a single song with it. Instant treble stab and also this weird super dispersed dead soundstage that reminded me of listening to something with first generation noise canceling. I heard lower serial numbers sound better and a 01,XXX found its way to me. And I'll be damned it does sound way better, it's gotten a lot of head-time now.

I'm all about good tonality and mids, but I am finding, now, it needs to really be up there for resolution/dynamics to grab me.

 

CA-1A is not far away. We shall see!

[ColdsnapBry]

On 22/07/2022 at 7:41 PM, Bengineer said:

I'm all about good tonality and mids, but I am finding, now, it needs to really be up there for resolution/dynamics to grab me.

 

CA-1A is not far away. We shall see!

I could see that! Some reason big dynamic swings can fatigue me a lot. I find things that are overly dynamic like the Verite or Utopia to be a bit too much in headphone form. But I'm pretty sensitive to these things. I really like the small dynamics / texture, I guess people call it microdynamics, but I find it portrayed really well in Sennheisers off this SW51+ and have been addicted to it since.

[eLicky]

Can confirm some HD800 sound different.

I've owned a pair with low serial number with harsh treble, I sold those and the person who bought them seems to enjoy them.

My most recent pair has smoother treble.

The myths are REAL.

[Andre28]

I must say, I was never a big headphone fan, but circumstances recently meant I cant be cranking the speakers loudly most of the time. So after getting my old headphones out (sennheiser HD598), they just werent cutting it in terms of speed / coherence in the bottom end / muddying up the mids. So i bought some new headphones and a headphone amp which has been much improved over the old 598s. I did get a chance to play the speakers again over the weekend, and to be honest they seemed kind of dull compared to the headphones. Its not a super high end system by any means, but the bookshelves and integrated still probably cost 3x more than the headphone / head amp set up.

Unfortunately now I am curious about leveling up in headphones, and that is why im not good at saving.

[Bengineer]

32 minutes ago, Andre28 said:

I must say, I was never a big headphone fan, but circumstances recently meant I cant be cranking the speakers loudly most of the time. So after getting my old headphones out (sennheiser HD598), they just werent cutting it in terms of speed / coherence in the bottom end / muddying up the mids. So i bought some new headphones and a headphone amp which has been much improved over the old 598s. I did get a chance to play the speakers again over the weekend, and to be honest they seemed kind of dull compared to the headphones. Its not a super high end system by any means, but the bookshelves and integrated still probably cost 3x more than the headphone / head amp set up.

Unfortunately now I am curious about leveling up in headphones, and that is why im not good at saving.

Just run a Susvara off a good speaker amp. Be done with it.

[Andre28]

I think my tastes would lead me more towards an LCD4 or something, but we are a long long long way from ever needing to find out.

I am curious about electrostatics now too.

[Bengineer]

2 hours ago, Andre28 said:

I think my tastes would lead me more towards an LCD4 or something, but we are a long long long way from ever needing to find out.

I am curious about electrostatics now too.

Susvara and done. Trust. Perfect headphone for 90% of people.

 

LCD4 is a neck breaker.

 

The SR007 for sale atm is sweet too. Warm and stax-y

[Andre28]

Im def on the dark / warm side, treble harshness and sibilance has always been an issue for me even with speakers. That said, I am reasonably certain I will never be spending Susvara or LCD4 money. If I get to LCD-X area ill be happy (I hope).

 

[Bengineer]

Audeze may bring the new tech to a LCD3 refresh. That would be the pick for a darker lover.

[DrTobiasFunke]

5 hours ago, Andre28 said:

Unfortunately now I am curious about leveling up in headphones, and that is why im not good at saving.

This hobby is not compatible with sound financial management.

 

Having said that...  there's really no point in putting money in the bank when inflation is where it's at today. 

[Ehrmantraut]

2 hours ago, Bengineer said:

Susvara and done. Trust. Perfect headphone for 90% of people.

 

LCD4 is a neck breaker.

 

The SR007 for sale atm is sweet too. Warm and stax-y

Agreed on SQ of 007. For lovers of an Audeze “house sound”, dark and quite lush. People complain about these estats sounding a bit thin and hollowed out in the mids. Well my friends, like a lot of HPs, these need a lot of voltage swing. So we’re in BHSE or Carbon territory and very little else will do. So a relatively “cheap” estat but all of the usual Stax amps can’t drive it properly. Whilst I have CRBN and X9K, I often love to rock out on the 007. It’s a dark horse of a HP! Birgir of Mjolnir Audio says it’s his fave.

[Andre28]

1 hour ago, Bengineer said:

Audeze may bring the new tech to a LCD3 refresh. That would be the pick for a darker lover.

Yeah i did have that in the back of my mind, will be worth a look for sure.

[Bengineer]

My favourite warmer/darker headphone is probably either the Aeolus or the Sony Z1R. Try hear one of those?

[Kevy]

Susvara off a speaker amp. Sublime. But get the volume setting wrong and it's a very, very painful mistake.

Best I've ever heard in a headphone. And the holographic presentation was near high-end 2 channel setup. It was that good.

 

I wouldn't personally do it though. 

 

I find that if I've been listening to a headphone for some time and then pick up another ; it takes a little time to readjust. And my memory of the headphone doesn't always re-correlate with the first impression. Brain adjustment seems real. 

 

And as subtle as it may be, headphones do vary from batch to batch. My replacement LCD-5 I actually like more than the first one.

 

Listening to Utopia with the Danacable Lazuli Reference Plus on a portable/transportable setup. (SP2K -> Cayin C9) and it's plenty enjoyable. 

 

I never took to the HD800S. Even with a Danacable Lazuli upgrade.  Perhaps as I moved up to the Utopia very soon after.  The soundstage was just too wide and it seemed to be lacking in oomph/body/dynamics in comparison.

Edited July 30, 2022 by Kevin Kwan

[barbz127]

6 hours ago, Kevin Kwan said:

My replacement LCD-5 I actually like more than the first one.

 

What happened to your first?

[frankn]

I’ve been up a few hours listening to Dire Straits SACDs on my Quad ERA-1 planar magnetic cans - great sounding phones. 
Good balance of solid bass and great mid/highs.  I don’t like elevated highs so to me these sound great. 

[Jovan.s1987]

Vmoda have announced their new Crossfade Wireless 3 model - https://www.roland.com/us/company/press_releases/2022/V-MODA-Introduces-Crossfade-3-Wireless-Headphones/

 

I was a fan of the Crossfade Wireless 2 headphones, except for the pads being too small for my ears, causing discomfort after an hour or 2 of listening, so sadly had to give them away. Will be interested to try these on, hopefully a larger cup.

 

No mention of the new BT codecs unfortunately.

Edited August 1, 2022 by Jovan.s1987

[TonyW]

On 16/6/2022 at 12:58 PM, TonyW said:

Thought I'd just post some comparisons having gotten a new DAC after four or five years with a Chord Hugo 2. I got a Denafrips Terminator from a SNA member TimZ, picked it up yesterday. It is the first version of the Terminator.

 

I know first impressions are not always long term impressions, but I felt the differences were very noticeable and writing them down at this initial phase may be of interest.

 

First up, size - its huge. Really takes up some desk space. The photo illustrates the massiveness. Not for a small space for sure.

 

Secondly, it looks fantastic despite the mammoth proportions. 

 

To the sound: well, my comparisons are being made with my existing equipment which is normally a Chord Hugo 2 running through a Sparkos Aries amp to the latest version of the Abyss 1266 . I'll be doing my comparison with this system. I also use a Nirvana, usually with a Focal Utopia headphone... (its the synergy thing). I'll look at that separately at a later date. 

 

One thing to note is I gave up on the USB as an input as soon as I listened to a Coax from a Bluesound node steamer. Treble, clarity, "lifting the veil" were all improved markedly with the coax input. USB made the comparison with the Hugo 2 very close... especially if you value treble "broken glass crinkle" sounds. I'm not sure if the change to the Terminator would be worth it if using USB.

 

For additional comparison I have a tt2 and a fostex HPA8 DAC. These are normally plugged into speakers systems. Its worth noting I bought the tt2 for use with my headphones but loved it too much with the speakers and that's where it stays. The Hugo 2, to my ears, is very close to the tt2, maybe 95%. The tt2 has a better bass, more depth and control, but on most music the Hugo 2 has be very close. 

 

So how do the first impressions of the Terminator stack up to the Hugo 2? 

 

Bass: Using the Abyss seems a bit stronger, particularly lower bass. Bass texture is excellent.

 

Treble: Upper treble is more laid back than the Hugo 2. Some may say the brightness is gone, some may say that the crystal clarity is a bit more recessed... I'm going to say it seems more natural, with a bit less emphasis on that upper treble. Bear in mind the Abyss 1266 is know to have a strong upper and lower frequency curve.

 

Mid range: No contest Terminator 10/10, Hugo 2 about 8/10.

 

Musicality: Well that's where the Terminator has it in spades. Cannot find the exact way to describe listening to the music: is it timbre, tone, "meat on the bones"... all those things. I just feel like not stopping a track midway, I have to keep listening. The non-fatiguing sound just rolls on.

 

Resolution: Yes, I'm a resolution nut. Yes, all the sounds from the tt2, and Hugo 2, are there. Am I imagining more in the bass??? Maybe, but resolution is a somewhat misleading term all I can say is all the detail is there in spades. If I had to make a choice I'd say the detail is superior to the Hugo 2, not sure about the tt2.

 

Preference: Well that's the real question. As I spend more decades with new and improved headphones/amps/dac/ I have learnt that in many cases its not just sound quality but synergy and "flavour". That's something I can "taste" with my ears and the Terminator: a flavour to the sound I do like. Its a keeper.

 

I think my impressions will of course be modified with more listening but some wow moments are definitely happening with the Abyss 1266. The Terminator suits their V shaped frequency response giving a more natural mid range than I experienced with the Hugo 2... good at that was! I can say it is like adding all the things I prefer about the Utopias to the Abyss... a certain warmth, toe tapping thing. Female folk/jazz vocals sound just better. Standouts that improved include:

 

Suzie Ungerteider "My name is Suzie Ungerteider : so much less fatiguing, so smooth

 

Love and Liberty "Jazzmeia Horn" : just more impact, more meat on the notes

 

The Blue Nile "A walk across the rooftops" : never heard it so good, who cares why! A demonstration of what the Terminator can do.

 

Linnea Olsson "Ah!" : the texture to her cello is just better, her voice... more natural

 

Jack Johnson - any album : well suited to the Terminator's mid range smooth, natural timbre

 

Holy Cole "Temptation" : I recently started to use the second track on this album called train song as a test of bass. The Terminator rose to the occassion but what surprised me is some details in the music I didn't notice before, no congestion in the notes at all, all separate and well defined. And her voice! This track convinced me the Terminator was special.

 

Charly Antolini "knock out 2000" : a real test of bass, confusion turned to clarity, excellent

 

Rock Candy Funk Party "Groove is king" : the most bass, the second track just gets the toes tapping like nothing else... Terminator musicality is superior in spades with this.

 

Julia Fordham "Concrete love" : the bass sounds as good as my speaker system with its rel subwoofer... awesome, perfect tone to her voice which tests some systems I've found

 

Dead Can Dance, track Yulunga from the live album : Terminator recreates the great atmosphere of this performance, I'm hearing the soundstage the placement of the instruments. Chord DACs are good at this so its something to say the Terminator holds its own here. Not sure which is better but I can say the Terminator is good, its a being there feeling. The texture in that drum, the little scream at 3:29 m just are so good. This is a step up... maybe two...

 

Shpongle "are you shpongled" : This contains a mess of music, that can be congested on lesser systems. Beautifully rendered. The bass amazes, have a listen to 8.30 m into the album... wow. I don't think I noticed how good the bass was before...

 

Hiromi "Spark" : one of my all time fav albums. A bit dry on the Hugo 2, but a real sparkle in the treble. The treble may have lost a bit of sparkle on the Terminator, but overall I think the added meat on the sound is to my liking.

 

Yello "Point" : wow, enough said. The bass just pounds.

 

Classical music seems to be a different kettle of fish. I am listening to some lovely Sarasate by Julia Fisher as I write this. Classical is to my ears is where Chord sparkles, something about adding "air" to the soundstage. The Abyss seem to shine with classical and Chord together. I'm not convinced that the Terminator beats out the Chord sound for classical, I can only say the sound is more "rounded" and less edgy on the Terminator. Its these characteristics I love the chord for. The Terminator is not bad or flawed, but the Chord has something with violins like being there, a snap to the notes as well. I will do some long term listening on this question. 

 

 

I could go on but you get the drift... I'll be keeping the Terminator.

 

Going forward I ask myself: can I put the Abyss down to listen to the Utopias ever again... that's a question I didn't expect to have to answer, but if I do I'll let you know how the Utopias go as well. I'm just not removing the Abyss headphones any time soon, they greatly improved with the Terminator!!!!

 

Just my 2 cents,

 

Tony

 

 

 

Just a follow up after a few weeks with the Terminator. I managed to realise that I should load the manufacturers recommended USB drivers and it improved the quality of sound significantly. Now very close to the coaxial input sound quality, not sure I could tell which one was which unless A/B testing.

 

But one thing that surprised me… I plugged the terminator into my speaker system, to compare to the TT2. My wife didn’t like it at all. I found it flat, not dynamic in comparison, not special feeling of punch. It was smooth, even a bit mellow. But not a keeper in the speaker system. I think the B&W speakers don’t have the synergy required at least in my room. By the way I have Dirac room correction and prefer that off normally, so my taste may be different to some. As Bengineer as said that Harmon sound frequency curve isn’t right for all of us including me.

 

The Terminator is still doing duty with my headphones however. It has a synergy with the Abyss 1266 for sure, and the Focal Utopia works well with it. I’m going to do some TT2/ Terminator comparisons with the headphones next when I get some time.

 

cheers,

 

Tony