It's been a long time coming this headphone, and I've finally pulled the trigger on this pair.
I'm in Australia - where the retail prices of these cans were ludacris (AUD$347) - and they were on 'sale' for AUD$249 when I got them. Still daylight robbery, but I thought for the comfort and convenience of local warranty...
Having previously owned a number of headphones / in ears (mostly for mixing as opposed to pure music / movie enjoyment), I thought I'd pamper myself with one for the aurals.
This is fresh out of the box - probably an hour + of listening, and I'm sure it'll get better once it's burned in.
The reviews are in comparison to an ATH-m50, Shure SRH840 and were done through either Apple lossless, FLAC, or ACC files through my FIIO desktop combo (E09K + E07K).
Songs :
So What (Miles Davis)
Blue in Green (Miles Davis)
Blue Train (Coltrane)
Time (Pink Floyd)
In Due Time (KSE)
Forgotten One (Times of Grace)
Welcome to the Jungle (GnR)
Make a Move (icon for hire)
Nothing too fancy, and this is from a newbie to anything audiophile...
Sound
Like most of the reviews - the soundstage. It's nothing that I've heard from a headphone before, just the depth and width of the soundstage is staggering. There's a general feel of elegance to these cans that I can't really find words to describe.
Good bass that doesn't overpower, and mid-bass grooves comes through quite brilliantly. These are not flat-frequency headphones though, as the bass is boosted a tad bit.
Mids - low mids are just sultry. It's 'scooped' a tad bit, and this works in the rock / heavier music settings. The trumpet parts in 'So What' were brilliant on these cans I must say.
Trebles - as with most of the other reviewers - it's quite treble-heavy. I'm very sensitive to the higher frequencies (due to hearing damage suffered through hours of heavy metal jamming as a teenager), and with some songs the treble does stand out a lot (i.e. Ariel's vocals in some of the Icon for Hire songs, as well as old school Axl).
Overall verdict: Loving it, apart from the trebles.WIth some treble cut on the Fiio I can live with the shrills. I wonder what it would be like once the cans are properly 'burned in'. Soundstage and the overall response from these headphones are pretty amazing.
Standout track for me was Killswitch Engage's In Due Time, where the guitars just sit nicely behind the vocals. Some frequencies aren't reproduced well with the other cans that I've got.
Build Quality
I dislike the fact that cables are hardwired into the cans. I think this is "old school" design that should probably be rectified in this day and age.
The cables that run out of the headband to the cans are also quite flimsy, and I fear for them.
Comfort
Definitely the most comfortable of all the headphones that I've owned.
My ears tend to sweat quite easily, even with say the M50. This was a class of its own. The velour cups do help a lot, and they are so light... and has minimal pressure on the ears / head.
Verdict:
I'm keeping them, and overall I'm quite satisfied. We will see down the track (a month or so) if my feelings have changed once they burn in properly.
Cheers
I'm in Australia - where the retail prices of these cans were ludacris (AUD$347) - and they were on 'sale' for AUD$249 when I got them. Still daylight robbery, but I thought for the comfort and convenience of local warranty...
Having previously owned a number of headphones / in ears (mostly for mixing as opposed to pure music / movie enjoyment), I thought I'd pamper myself with one for the aurals.
This is fresh out of the box - probably an hour + of listening, and I'm sure it'll get better once it's burned in.
The reviews are in comparison to an ATH-m50, Shure SRH840 and were done through either Apple lossless, FLAC, or ACC files through my FIIO desktop combo (E09K + E07K).
Songs :
So What (Miles Davis)
Blue in Green (Miles Davis)
Blue Train (Coltrane)
Time (Pink Floyd)
In Due Time (KSE)
Forgotten One (Times of Grace)
Welcome to the Jungle (GnR)
Make a Move (icon for hire)
Nothing too fancy, and this is from a newbie to anything audiophile...
Sound
Like most of the reviews - the soundstage. It's nothing that I've heard from a headphone before, just the depth and width of the soundstage is staggering. There's a general feel of elegance to these cans that I can't really find words to describe.
Good bass that doesn't overpower, and mid-bass grooves comes through quite brilliantly. These are not flat-frequency headphones though, as the bass is boosted a tad bit.
Mids - low mids are just sultry. It's 'scooped' a tad bit, and this works in the rock / heavier music settings. The trumpet parts in 'So What' were brilliant on these cans I must say.
Trebles - as with most of the other reviewers - it's quite treble-heavy. I'm very sensitive to the higher frequencies (due to hearing damage suffered through hours of heavy metal jamming as a teenager), and with some songs the treble does stand out a lot (i.e. Ariel's vocals in some of the Icon for Hire songs, as well as old school Axl).
Overall verdict: Loving it, apart from the trebles.WIth some treble cut on the Fiio I can live with the shrills. I wonder what it would be like once the cans are properly 'burned in'. Soundstage and the overall response from these headphones are pretty amazing.
Standout track for me was Killswitch Engage's In Due Time, where the guitars just sit nicely behind the vocals. Some frequencies aren't reproduced well with the other cans that I've got.
Build Quality
I dislike the fact that cables are hardwired into the cans. I think this is "old school" design that should probably be rectified in this day and age.
The cables that run out of the headband to the cans are also quite flimsy, and I fear for them.
Comfort
Definitely the most comfortable of all the headphones that I've owned.
My ears tend to sweat quite easily, even with say the M50. This was a class of its own. The velour cups do help a lot, and they are so light... and has minimal pressure on the ears / head.
Verdict:
I'm keeping them, and overall I'm quite satisfied. We will see down the track (a month or so) if my feelings have changed once they burn in properly.
Cheers
