Six months ago, I barely knew what an orthodynamic headphone was. There was this giant thread in the headphones forum, but I didn’t read it. Why would people get so worked up over some 1970s Japanese mid-fi phones?
I have been around Head-Fi for about 3 years, gradually working my way through various dynamic and electrostatic headphones with tube amps of my own construction. It’s a fun journey, but to date none of the systems I’ve tried has given me the level of satisfaction of the vinyl, DHT, horn speaker system I built in the 90s. Dynamics were slow, dull and flat compared to my Altec horns. Electrostatics had similar speed and detail, but the midrange was thin, cool, and uninvolving. I’ve been drifting towards a high-end Stax system, but really I wanted something that combined the best of both worlds.
Based on the enthusiastic endorsement of Immtbkr, I bought a pair of the HiFi Man HE-5 orthodynamics. We share similar tastes in music and I respect his experience and judgment regarding equipment. In his words, “the HE-5 brings a keg to the party.” Despite all its well reported weaknesses and production problems, I am an enthusiastic fan of the headphone. I am also now a convert to orthodynamic technology in general. This is a major step towards the presentation I had been seeking. I now hope to see the day when ultra-high-end orthos set the standard for all headphones.
I first stumbled across the “Thunderpants” by accident in the For Sale section. Of course, I had no idea how these sounded, but “smeggy’s” cosmetics and obvious craftsmanship blew me away. As a DIY amp builder, former professional cabinet maker and audio
experimenter, I immediately connected.
Music: Mostly classic rock, blues and folk. Occasionally, a little classical. I prefer live recordings:
Neil Young – Live at Massey Hall
Lorena McKennitt – Live in Paris and Toronto
Supertramp – Live in Paris
Eagles – Hell Freezes Over
Vivaldi – Four Seasons (Connecticut Early Music Ensemble)
Elmer Bernstein – the Magnificent Seven (movie soundtrack) Phoenix Symphony
Studio albums:
John Lee Hooker “Chill Out”
Peter Gabriel “So”
Cowboy Junkies “Studio”
Patricia Barber “Modern Cool”
Joan Baez “Diamonds and Rust”
Equipment:
Audio Alchemy DDS Pro Transport, Audio Note Dac 1 (NOS with tube output), DIY SET amp with transformer output-based ___ on the directly-heated GM-70 Russian transmitting triode. This amp was originally designed for the K-1000 and is essentially half way between a headphone amp and a speaker amp. It is a very “warm” amp that was an attempt to balance the somewhat edgy and digital sounding upper registers of the K-1000. It works best on very aggressive, forward-sounding headphones with upward-tilted treble. Definitely talking the HE-5 here. But on something like the Sennheiser 600 series, it will put you to sleep. My equipment preference is an analog-like presentation with a slightly warm and full midrange emphasis. In contrast, I usually prefer aggressive headphones to mate with my warm, tube-based electronics.
Out of the Box Impressions:
Stunning craftsmanship and build quality. A very classical, very high-end aesthetic with excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail. Just picking them up and examining them is a great pleasure. The kingwood cups are mirror imaged grain matched, finished in lacquer, giving the impression more of a musical instrument than of audio equipment. The original Fostex headband has an additional flexible strap where it meets the head that looks totally factory original. The cup attachment parts are now made of kingwood that perfectly matches the cups. A nice professional Mogami cable now does connection duties. The ear pads are lamb skin Stax O2 models. It is a very comfortable headphone. It is hard to believe that the Thunderpants started life as $75.00 Fostex Studio monitors.
On first listen, it is immediately apparent that these are very near top-tier headphones. They are clearly better in tone, resolution, speed, detail and across-the-board smooth frequency response than the HD-600 or RS-1, both of which I own. The “ortho” hallmarks of rich, full midrange, combined with near-electrostatic speed and detail are immediately recognizable. Female vocals are full and fleshed—my hallmark of a good midrange. Same with acoustic and electric guitar. You get plenty of the instrument’s wood tones, and the strings have a three-dimensional roundness to them. Bass is tight and articulate, no boominess or echo here. Treble is detailed and extended and never harsh. Soundstage is better than average for a closed headphone, particularly in width and separation of instruments.
A couple of other factors immediately jump out. First, these headphones have almost zero sound leakage. Isolation is as good as it gets. The second factor is that they are much less demanding of power than the HE-5 orthos. The amp is 3 notches down on the attenuator for the same volume. This means that many more amplifiers will be suitable for the Thunderpants than the HE-5.
Compared to the HE-5, the first thing that strikes me about the Thunderpants is their smooth, even presentation. In contrast, the HE-5 is a rollercoaster ride. Obviously, a lot of time and effort has been put into the tuning and damping process. The HE-5 could have benefited greatly from a little more attention in this area. Grossly generalizing, the HE-5 is the Grado of the ortho world and the Thunderpants is the Sennheiser. Both are legitimate presentations. It boils down to personal preference and system synergy.
I don’t know what type of signal chain was used in the tuning process for these headphones, but chances are it was a more neutral, technically accurate system than I possess. I would definitely be interested in hearing these with more modern electronics. Even with my retro electronics, the Thunderpants are superior in resolution and tonal accuracy to the HD-600 and RS-1s. They are the full equal of the HE-5 in tonal accuracy, superior in smoothness, but a hair behind in resolution and detail. Perhaps it is just because I prefer the more forward, aggressive presentation of the HE-5. Many, perhaps most, would prefer a more neutral presentation. Same is true when the Thunderpants are compared to the K1000 and Koss electrostatic ESP950. In any case, the fact that Smeggy has elevated a $75 studio monitor to a legitimate contender on this level is a stunning achievement. The fact that these are closed rather than open headphones make this even more remarkable. They are, in fact, the best closed headphones I have ever heard. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have heard them.
