Whats up with t he Chroma 1 - Page 3

Received the package today, some pictures, burning them in right now...

First impressions, effortless natural smooth sound, very light and comfortable for extended use, open, very open headphone...Sound may change or not in next coming days...For an open headphone that are not my cup of tea, they sound very good to me...The cable is very nice and the termination is very good, very strong...the grill on the back is machined from the same piece of the cup, not an add on, despite of being minimalistic in the desing, and retro looking, they are very light and comfortable...

This may need some tweaking, I'm assuming that it is not the final version neither, but soundwise is very good till now, still will wait a few days more...but right now very good....

Sovkiller, congratulations they look very nice indeed.

From what you can see, is it possible/easy to open them up so they can be re cabled?

Thanks

I don't know, from the front they look like someone split a tin can into two halves and stuck them onto two big lumps of foam, but then one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I hope they sound good. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danz03 

I don't know, from the front they look like someone split a tin can into two halves and stuck them onto two big lumps of foam, but then one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I hope they sound good. 

As I stated many times before, I'm not very fond of the look neither, they are indeed Grado like, and I hate that WWII look, but honestly as opposed to the Gradoes, which I have not found any that I really like yet, they do sound good, still getting used to them, but the sound-stage is huge, they offer the presentation completely effortless like in a huge concert hall, it reminds me the Qualias but with no cavernous effect. Not bored sounding as the HD6XX, but not as fun as the Editions...Neutral I may say (if we know for sure ever how a recording is supposed to sound like) they need more power than the Editions to sound its best...and they very light and comfortable they disappear on your head after a couple of minutes, the clamping force is very light also, so they are not head-banging headphones at all...I was listening yesterday the In Sessions SACD from SRV and Albert King, and that was a very nice experience...

The metal cup is made of one piece, milled, drilled and tuned for the drivers, if you cover the back in any way, the sound get messed up, so I know it was tuned, and not only because Rudi told me, you can not play with the holes on the back unless you want a complete different sound...

I think they look great.  I like the tin can look I guess.  I like the idea of sticking with an old design that works. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosgr63 

Sovkiller, congratulations they look very nice indeed.

From what you can see, is it possible/easy to open them up so they can be re cabled?

Thanks

 What is wrong with the cable? The cable is very nice, and look very nice and feels very nice, and is very sturdy, let me tell you...as I'm not too crazy about the cable believe, and for me that is not a problem at all, one thing I'm sure of, is that if you open them the will be warranty over...Let's hear it first like that, then if you feel the need...later on....well, that is another story...right.... 

Right, it's best to hear as is, but it would be nice to know if they can be opened up and re cabled after the warranty runs out lets say.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosgr63 

Right, it's best to hear as is, but it would be nice to know if they can be opened up and re cabled after the warranty runs out lets say.

Sorry, but I do not know, and honestly I do not care either...for that, you can shoot an email to Rudi, maybe he can even commission to get it re-cabled directly with the cable of your preference for a fee, and still covered under warranty...not sure, you have to discuss it with him...

What I do not get is the "need" of re-cabling everything, even if it sounds good, they go and re-cable it...for example, I know that the HD600 is said to benefit from re-cabling, that is OK with me, even while not even the re-cabled sounded good to me, but what need do you have of re-cabling an R10, or an Edition, that sounds good for the ones who like that sound, out of the box?

I have seen guys here purchasing them and having them sent directly to another party to get the headphones re-cabled, even without hearing them for the first time, I'm not saying that this is your case, but to me that is borderline on the insane side...

Listen first, and if you feel that you need to improve it, then go ahead, but sometimes the cable is part of the design, and its limitations were considered at the time the headphone was designed, Ultrasone does that, for example, and going more expensive not necessarily will make them sound better, just different, I know for a fact that Rudi had spent a lot of time on them, I really doubt that he will skim on a cable, on a $1000.00 headphone, the case it came in, cost more than the cable...yes the most expensive cables you can find nowadays, purchasing wisely, you can get them in bulk maybe for under $20.00 directly from the manufacturer, they are nothing else than good cables in a fancy jacket...whomever tell you the opposite is ripping you off...Nothying against the fellows who do that, or the ones who wants to purchase them...just that I'm not one of them and will never be...sorry...

As a curious thing, for example, every time I have submitted an offer for an equipment, recently I was hunting an Oppo DVP83SE, most of the times it has been refused and instead they offer dropping cables, costing hundreds according to them, in the deal, while I replied saying, OK you can keep the cables, and just knock $100.00 down, they simply refuse, then I do my math of which the real value of the cables is...

Guys I do not want to write an extensive review in something that need to be experienced by yourselves at the end, I have been enjoying them for a few days now, and all I can tell you is that the more I listen to them, the more a love them...that is another experience to be felt...period...the sound is so huge, like a big hall, the sound-stage to die for...in all regards...you need to listen them I have no words to describe them, I will try to be in the NY fall meeting, and I hope that someone there could describe the sound better than me, it is really an speaker like experience... 

The Chromas are VERY NICE. (I got a pair today.) They have light touch and there is no pain I am used to on older, poor CDs from digital glare (which tamed
very nicely) or loose, one-note bass (the bass is very tuneful and transparent). And comfort is first rate. I love that they are so light
and the foam is not rough.  I am reminded of my former
Stax Omegas/007t system because of the speed and immediacy and lack of fatigue, but the vocals are smoother and the bass is far better.
While I am an admirer of the HD800s, Grado PS1000s and T1s, these are far more relaxing and I do not have to worry about wincing from
a painful note of some poorly recorded track.

Vs. the Grado PS1000s, which is what I mainly use with the RP010B amp,

the Chromas have a smaller, more delicate soundfield, while the Grados have a more dramatic, wall-of-sound, 7-foot-high

speaker sound with deep, strong (but not overdone bass). It's a totally different presentation, but just as musically valid.

The Chromas never go over the top. They kind of hold back and present each musical element in way that does not assault you,

but keeps you involved. The Senn 600/650s would also hold back, but there was also some essential musical detail missing,

and I always felt at a loss listening to them. So the Chromas do what the Senn 650s do but keep the music alive and are much more resolving.

The bass is very controlled and tight, and kind of like a first-rate speaker that goes down to 40hz with total truth.

The midrange is smooth and vocals are right-sized and have some density and a realistic and satisfying amount of texture.

Highs remind me of T1s with a tube amp, evident and well extended but very pretty and liquid and not brittle. The Chromas are superior to the T1s

using solid state amps, as the T1s highs can sting sometimes. The Chromas highs do not sting with solid state, and but do not sound suppressed either,

which I think is a classic tube affect.

I sat down with an old Time-Life 1974 CD (Joni Mitchell, Elton John, Steely Dan, Lynard Skynard, Bad Company, etc.)

that I've been hearing for 20 years and some things that always make my ears hurt with other phones (or needed tubes) just sounded

really pleasant an musical, like there was a healing effect (but without muffling things like with Senn 650s). Try listening to "The Bitch is Back"

on some systems, and try not to wince from the tipped-up sound. The Chromas deal with it by transforming it into something musical,

like turning interference into useful signal. The sibilance is there, but is softened just enough to sound musical. Joni's voice on "Help Me" is not

huge and rounded, just sized in proportion to the instruments and silky with a bit of natural hoarseness (her true voice, I think).

In short, this was just a quick test, but I couldn't get up and stop listening, and that's why the Chromas are keepers for my collection.

The soundstage is not huge, but I don't care, as the Chromas separate things just enough so the tone and identity of things come through.

They are just superb with the RP010B. I think Rudi should offer a package deal for the RP010B+Chromas.

The Chromas come with a 5-pin connector and both a single-ended and a balanced adapter cable.
The Chromas sound a bit warmer via the single-ended adapter but the bass is tighter and more detailed with the balanced adapters.
I definitely prefer the balanced, but both are splendid.
Thanks for reading.

I forgot to add that I am using an EMM CDSA cdp as my source.

Just getting in on this thread out of curiosity.

For the record, I love the looks of them...maybe because I live in a retro crazy city.

After all this he had said I do not think that I have much more to add, till now I love them, and I mean I love them...Unfortunatelly they are too open back, and for my purpose, listening on bed is not very ideal, my wife isbitchin all the time, lower the music and blah, blah, blah....so I still will keep my Editions which I also love...

Again very comfortable, and very easy listening heapdhones, they are like pillows disapearing on your head just bringing you the musical bliss...

One point I disagree and it is a matter of maybe appreciation is the soundstage, this headphone do has a very big soundstage, very natural I may say, noting constricted, and in that regard I think that sometimes all depends on the material to listen, and what you like on a soundstage, comming from the CD3K, and having heard the R10, and Qualias, and owning the HD600/580 or whatever they are, with the exception of maybe the R10, I do not feel the sounstage on the rest is close to the Chromas (Editions has a different presentation due to the S-Logic crap)...

I will do my best to go to the meeting in NY in November to bring them, if I found someone to team with, as my brother is not going, and I'm not familiar with the area, and driving alone in NY, has always been a little uncomfortable for me...

rgs9200m congratulations on your choice. They look like another winner for Rudi.

One question, are these with a black/white cable combo or pure white cable as shown on RudiStor's page?

Thanks