Hilton Posted November 11, 2020 Posted November 11, 2020 (edited) I'm ordering some Lawton Chambers today! Wild Ziricote Wild Ziricote by Hilton, on Flickr Wild Chechen Wild Chechen by Hilton, on Flickr Flame Marbled Walnut Flame Marbled Walnut by Hilton, on Flickr Black Limba Black Limba by Hilton, on Flickr Hopefully I'll get them before christmas. Edited November 11, 2020 by Hilton
Bengineer Posted November 11, 2020 Posted November 11, 2020 Getting the big angled pads too? And the dampening kits comes with it too yeha? Have fun!
Hilton Posted November 12, 2020 Author Posted November 12, 2020 No dont need the Pads - stock pads are great.
Hilton Posted November 25, 2020 Author Posted November 25, 2020 Lawton Chambers on their way, hopefully receive them by Friday!
Hilton Posted November 26, 2020 Author Posted November 26, 2020 Just doing some more research before they get here. Will also do testing with minidsp Ears... Not just frequency response but also decay/reverb tests. Janka Hardness in pounds-force - Walnut 1010 lbf (stock TH610 cups) Zelkova Serratta 1040 lbf (Sony R10 Cups - just for comparison) Wild Ziricote 1970 / 2200 lbf Wild Chechen 2250 / 2300 lbf Flame Marbled Walnut 1010 lbf Black Limba 490 /840 lbf
Hilton Posted December 15, 2020 Author Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) Santa came early! Wild Ziricote - Wild Chechen - Black Limba - Flame Marbled Walnut Time to listen!!!!!! Edited December 15, 2020 by Hilton 1
Hilton Posted December 15, 2020 Author Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) Initial impressions of Wild Chechen... Definitely fatter sub bass at 30-50hz and fuller bass around 80hz. Still tight and fast sounding, not much difference in midrange and treble detected. hmmmm. might have fixed the occassional sibilance around 6-8k! More listening required.... Edited December 15, 2020 by Hilton
Hilton Posted December 15, 2020 Author Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) Just WOW WOW WOW... amazing in every way.... The fit and finish is spectacular! The sound seems tighter but also deeper and fatter and also smoother in the upper midrage and lower treble where the stock TH610's have a tendancy to be siblant on some brightly recorded tracks. The sparkle, air, separation, width and staging is there and even sweeter since the edge has been just so slightly taken away at around 5-6k. Im my opinion this has made the TH610 the perfect headphones with the Wild Chechen. Not sure how I'm going to go with the others since this has spoilt me now I think! The bass is just sooo good, just sounds like a really good fat dynamic and fast kick that you get in a good live gig in a small/medium room with warm and tight bass from bass guitar. Listening to everything from Glitterbox EDM night club stuff, to Steely Dan Gaucho, Tracy Chapman Baby Can I Hold You - nice bass.. Super Tramp Still in Love... And Hoff Ensemble - Polarity... WOW - feels like im in the room with that beautiful double bass and Piano! Edited December 15, 2020 by Hilton
Ray H Posted December 15, 2020 Posted December 15, 2020 Gosh, They look beautiful, especially the third pair (striped blond and dark wood), black limba ? Interesting gambit, wouldn’t the four pairs of cups be worth double the price of the headphone ? Have you owned the th-900 ? And liked the 610 more ? Are the cupS easy to install for a layman ?
Hilton Posted December 15, 2020 Author Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) Yes thats the Black Limba, it's a really light wood (weight) much lighter than the Walnut and the Wild Chechen is much heavier and the Wild Ziricote is even heavier. No I havent owned the TH-900 but I auditioned them before buying the TH610 and love the TH610 far more. TH900MKII really hurt my ears in the treble with lots of sibilance and too bright and too boomy in the bass. TH610 much more neutral and controlled, and even more amazing with the heavier denser bigger Wild Chechen wood. Yes very easy to install just be careful. I'll video the change over to the next pair. oh and yes one pair of cups is worth as much as I paid for the TH610s. But definitely worth it! ($2600 delivered for the 4 pairs) Edited December 15, 2020 by Hilton 1
Ray H Posted December 15, 2020 Posted December 15, 2020 Did you get a range of the different sound signatures ? Ie 1 to 5 ? I think I like the sound of the type 1 cup from the descriptions.
Hilton Posted December 15, 2020 Author Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) Wild Ziricote (Type 5 - 1970 / 2200 lbf Janka Hardness) These feel the heaviest by a lot Wild Chechen (Type 4 - 2250 / 2300 lbf Janka Hardness) Next Heaviest Flame Marbled Walnut (Type 1 - 1010 lbf Janka Hardness) Second Lightest Black Limba (Type 1 - 490 / 840 lbf Janka Hardness - really soft!) Feel Really Light - Mark had these originally listed as Type 2 but he's changing them to Type 1 - These are a lot Blonder than Marks Pic here as you tell from my Pic below. Edited December 15, 2020 by Hilton 1
Ray H Posted December 15, 2020 Posted December 15, 2020 Thanks, Much appreciated, will be interested to hear how the other cups go.
Hilton Posted December 16, 2020 Author Posted December 16, 2020 Youtube video of Wild Chechen to Black Limba change over inbound... ;) Black Limba only a subtle difference in sound so far but definitely a little warmer sounding in the 70- 120hz region... No sign of sibilance. :)
Hilton Posted December 16, 2020 Author Posted December 16, 2020 (edited) Youtube video of Wild Chechen to Black Limba Lawton Chamber Changeover on TH610. 1080p is up - 4K is up! Edited December 17, 2020 by Hilton 1
Hilton Posted December 17, 2020 Author Posted December 17, 2020 Just some insight to the cup design from Mark - I'm sure he wont mind me sharing his thoughts on my question... How did you decide on the size of the cups??? to which he replied.. (that I agree with completely) "Myself, I feel one can only obtain just so much info from measurements, the real test is listening. Rather than just making a copy of the original cups, we wanted to make as many improvements as possible to the design. Cups serve a purpose, acting as a combination of speaker cabinet and body of a musical instrument. If you treat them seriously this way, you can get a lot more out of the headphone itself. We are on the second generation of our cups, original versions (2008-2011) were also deeper than stock cups and were an excellent upgrade. Ultimately, with some very sophisticated new equipment providing almost total control, we were able to do everything we ever wanted in terms of perfecting the shape inside and out, getting wall thicknesses to taper just right, etc. Development of the current generation was extended, many forms/shapes were tried before we reached the shape you now see. I may be in minority, but I genuinely prefer closed to open headphones, all other things being equal. But the catch always is reduction of soundstage size and a bit of a reverberant “sea shell” effect. Bigger cups with correct internal volume and shape really help push the soundstage out. We use a small piece of acoustic foam inside the cups which helps prevent some of the internal reflections which also helps the enclosure disappear a bit. Customers are constantly surprised at what a difference cups can make. Enjoy! Mark Lawton"
Hilton Posted December 18, 2020 Author Posted December 18, 2020 (edited) Wild Ziricote Type 5 Lawton Cup..... VERY different Much less bass overall and what's there is super tight and extends low. More forward mid range and top end - much more vocal oriented. No sharpness in treble but definitely brighter but not too bright. So far favourites are Wild Chechen (Type 4) followed by Black Limba (Type 1). Black Limba was much much warmer and fuller sounding. More listening to be done! Edited December 18, 2020 by Hilton
Hilton Posted December 19, 2020 Author Posted December 19, 2020 TH610 swapped over to Flame Marble Walnut Lawton Cups.. Ahhh thats better - a bit of warmth has come back as well as punch and depth to the bass. Very nice.
Hilton Posted December 20, 2020 Author Posted December 20, 2020 Stock TH610 Walnut Cups - 1.4oz / 41grams - Type 1 - Janka Hardness 1010 Lawton Black Limba Cups - 2.3oz / 65grams - Type 1 - Janka Hardness 490 > 840 Lawton Flame Marbled Walnut - 2.4oz / 69grams - Type 1 - Janka Hardness 1010 Lawton Wild Chechen - 3.4oz / 95grams - Type 4 - Janka Hardness 2250 > 2300 Lawton Wild Ziricote - 4.1oz / 115grams - Type 5 - Janka Hardness 1970 > 2200
Hilton Posted December 20, 2020 Author Posted December 20, 2020 Wild Chechen Type 4 definitely my favourite overall for refinement and versatility. Tighter bass that extends low, still has good impact and force and a nice timbre and not boomy. Sweet top end that shimmers but doesnt bite and still extends nicely. Mid range is forward and full but not in your face. Just my perfect kinda headphones! Was listening back to back with Flame Marbled Walnut / Wild Chechen and the Walnut has a nice warmth but with double bass in Jazz it can be a little fuzzy sounding, while the Wild Chechen just sounds natural and full with great impact and articulation with just the right amount of warmth. (Diana Krall - Look of Love & also Jeff Hamilton Treo - Live from San Pedro) The walnut is great with dance and rock and just about everything else but the Wild Chechen has got me.
Hilton Posted December 26, 2020 Author Posted December 26, 2020 (edited) I've been using the Black Limba all day today and am really enjoying them. Something I've noticed is the treble and upper midrange is slightly more gentle on the Black Limba. The Wild Chechen has a slightly harder edge to it so the Black Limba is very nice and punchy and warm but without the edgyness. https://tidal.com/browse/track/91916863 Edited December 26, 2020 by Hilton
Hilton Posted January 1, 2021 Author Posted January 1, 2021 Wife bought me Omega Headphone Stand for Birthday! Very Nice! 1
Hilton Posted February 21, 2021 Author Posted February 21, 2021 (edited) Bought an iFi iDSD Signature to use around the house. These cans definitely benefit from having at least 1000mw driving them that’s for sure. 4100mw on tap, more than enough! More snap, punch and control and less distortion is really noticeable. Can listen much much louder than I should be because they sound so clear. If anyone is thinking of changing their cans maybe buy a decent higher end amp if you’ve got an entry level Amp. I wouldn’t call RME ADI-2 I have as entry level mind you, but headphone amp stage is a little light on compared to this beast. The ifi has really woken them up. Only get upto 96k with a chromecast but that’s good enough for 90% of my music. Have a small battery pack powering the chromecast. Nice to have something a bit easier to move around the house than the RME. I can’t believe how much better it sounds than the fiio Q5S tc with the THX amp. I also checked out the ifi diablo and it was a little less warmer (cooler sounding) than the signature but otherwise very similar. This is the best I've been able to come up with using the bits I had in my collection to make the ifi iDSD Signature tether free from the phone or tablet. It's even pocketable in my shorts without any trouble so I can walk around the house untethered to my phone. Couple right angle mini TOSLINKs to take pressure off the connections and a mini battery pack strapped on with short TOSLINK cable. Can probably make it even more compact with some custom cables and enclosure for the chromecast. Still pretty happy to have some mobility with the stuff I had laying around. Edited February 21, 2021 by Hilton
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