ENIGMAcoustics Dharma

hifimanrookie said:

Another excellent alternative at much lower pricing if u compare performance..toxic cables silver widow 22awg or the venom. check my little review if ur interested

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Hey where have you been Man! Glad to see your back, how is the high end auto world?

bmichels said:

  I Just received today my HD800S and my DHRAMA for testing against my beloved TH900. I will wait for 3 days of burn-in before first serious feed-back but so far so good.
Sunday I will be at a Friend place to compare the 3 headphones to his HD800 and to a HE1000. All this with a TotalDAC and some TOL Amps.
This will be an interesting WK.
 
 
 

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Definitely give them time to exercise the driver if they are new.  I found right out of the box the bass disappointing compared to the audition pair that was well used.   After a few days of use they are impressive in every way. 

oregonian said:

Definitely give them time to exercise the driver if they are new.  I found right out of the box the bass disappointing compared to the audition pair that was well used.   After a few days of use they are impressive in every way. 

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I Will be able to give them 80 hours break-in before our micro-CanJam sunday. I hope it will be enough ?

Already I find them impressive (more than the HD800s)

bmichels said:

I Will be able to give them 80 hours break-in before our micro-CanJam sunday. I hope it will be enough ?

Already I find them impressive (more than the HD800s)

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Should be plenty.  I too have the HD800's which fed from vintage are awesome sounding with great bass and still love the Dharma more by quite a bit.

Couple of follow up comments -
 
The info on the screw tightening of the electret tweeter referenced earlier is completely correct.  Wei Chang, sales manager for ENIGMAcoustics and I have been emailing for weeks and he confirmed the screws are set where they are by design.  If anyone adjusted them based on my early comments I apologize.  I noticed no sound difference either way.
 
Also, the inlet diameter of the Dharma measured about .350 with my calipers and though the Dharma cable plugs are narrow, even the "larger" plugs should fit.  I have a Norne Vanquish cable that did not fit due to the thick rubber shrink tubing they used.  I trimmed it down about 1/2" and now it fits perfectly. 

Having heard the dharma, I'm actually, unlike many people here thoroughly unimpressed. I thought the dharma would be a stat with bass. That's what I hoped for at least. I'm very familiar with the stax line up, especially loving the flagships and the two new models. The dharma was rather disappointing it sounded shrill, bright and had even less bass body than the staxes. That's what I heard at least.

All these are just my subjective opinions of course, it was heard off a Hugo and the tune amp that was launched for the dharma. Guess it just wasn't my cup of tea

I was given the opportunity to audition the Dharma for a week thanks to @Todd from TTVJ Audio. Here's my short review of the headphone:
 
Testing setup: PC -> Bifrost Multibit -> Airist Audio Heron 5 -> Dharma
 
Disclaimer: my Dharma produced a distinct rattling noise in one driver when I pushed it hard in the subbass department. If this Dharma was defective, I'm not sure if the other aspects of its SQ were wonky as well.
 
Build quality
These headphones well built. The body is mostly comprised of metal or metal-like material that is slightly cold to the touch. The headband is covered with a nice grainy leather, and the protein leather earpads feel soft and supple. The least luxurious part of this headphone is probably the suspension band, which is made of a relatively cheap feeling mesh. This probably was meant to increase breathability, but it takes away from the sleek aesthetic, IMO. On the whole, the build quality is top notch. My one complaint here is the stock cable--it is very long, thick, and inflexible. I would definitely recommend getting an aftermarket cable for these just for improved ergonomics.
 
Comfort
The earpads feature a lipped design, similar to that of the AKG K812. The opening of the earpad is narrower to improve seal, but opens up inside to give more room for your ears. I love this design, as it keeps my ears from touching the drivers or the sides of the earpads. The suspension band design is also superb--it gives as you push the headphone further down your head, which eliminates the need for manually adjusting the gimbal height and makes adjusting the headphone on your head feel very natural. My only issue with comfort on the Dharma is the clamping force. It is just a bit too much, which gets to me during prolonged listening sessions.
 
Sound quality
I would characterize the Dharma as a bright headphone. Its main strength is its forward, detailed, yet unoffensive treble. However, I find the upper mids too forward and aggressive for my tastes, and gets fatiguing really quickly. I also found the bass on the Dharma lacking for my tastes. Here's a little breakdown of my SQ impressions:
 
Treble
As mentioned above, the treble is very detailed, and fast. This can probably be attributed to the Dharma's electrostatic tweeter. On Eric Johnson's Cliffs of Dover, cymbal clashes were rendered almost perfectly to my ears--sparkly but not sharp, with just the right amount of decay. What's amazing about the treble is how it manages to be so detailed and prominent without any sharpness. As heard both the TH900 and HD800, both of which are known for prominent but hot treble, I appreciate this very much.
 
Mids
The mids are the problematic part of these headphones for me. The upper mids (or is it lower treble?) sound very forward and aggressive. As a result, vocals and cymbals can sound shouty at times. I never realized that this would get to me, but it really does. The upper mid-range forwardness makes these headphones very fatiguing to listen to for more than 10 minutes.
 
Bass
I was quite disappointed with the bass on the Dharma. To my ears, it is rolled off with a mid-bass emphasis. To put bass extension to the test, I ran these headphones through 3:27-3:40 of Hans Zimmer's Why So Serious. Compared to my HE-560, the Dharma was lacking in subbass presence on this track. The slight mid-bass emphasis allows the Dharma to do drums pretty well though. On Dire Strait's Money for Nothing, the opening drumroll was rendered with depth and authority. On deep house music, these headphones just do not fly. The upper midrange emphasis, along with the rolled-off bass, makes this genre thoroughly unenjoyable on the Dharma. On Rootkit's Real Love, I keep trying to turn up the headphones to get more bass punch, but the harshness of female vocals stops me from going much further. I would not recommend the Dharmas to a basshead.
 
Overall thoughts
I really wanted to like the Dharma, but unfortunately, I don't. It looks good, is built well, is comfortable, and has fantastic treble that is better than any of the planar or dynamic headphones I've heard. However, I cannot live with the rolled-off bass and overly forward upper mids. As always, YMMV. Thanks again to @Todd for the opportunity to audition these headphones!

Great writeup!  Could you just clarify this statement...  I was not quite sure what you were saying here: As heard both the TH900 and HD800, both of which are known for prominent but hot treble, I appreciate this very much.

stjj89 said:

  I was given the opportunity to audition the Dharma for a week thanks to @Todd from TTVJ Audio. Here's my short review of the headphone:
 
Testing setup: PC -> Bifrost Multibit -> Airist Audio Heron 5 -> Dharma
 
Build quality
These headphones well built. The body is mostly comprised of metal or metal-like material that is slightly cold to the touch. The headband is covered with a nice grainy leather, and the protein leather earpads feel soft and supple. The least luxurious part of this headphone is probably the suspension band, which is made of a relatively cheap feeling mesh. This probably was meant to increase breathability, but it takes away from the sleek aesthetic, IMO. On the whole, the build quality is top notch. My one complaint here is the stock cable--it is very long, thick, and inflexible. I would definitely recommend getting an aftermarket cable for these just for improved ergonomics.
 
Comfort
The earpads feature a lipped design, similar to that of the AKG K812. The opening of the earpad is narrower to improve seal, but opens up inside to give more room for your ears. I love this design, as it keeps my ears from touching the drivers or the sides of the earpads. The suspension band design is also superb--it gives as you push the headphone further down your head, which eliminates the need for manually adjusting the gimbal height and makes adjusting the headphone on your head feel very natural. My only issue with comfort on the Dharma is the clamping force. It is just a bit too much, which gets to me during prolonged listening sessions.
 
Sound quality
I would characterize the Dharma as a bright headphone. Its main strength is its forward, detailed, yet unoffensive treble. However, I find the upper mids too forward and aggressive for my tastes, and gets fatiguing really quickly. I also found the bass on the Dharma lacking for my tastes. Here's a little breakdown of my SQ impressions:
 
Treble
As mentioned above, the treble is very detailed, and fast. This can probably be attributed to the Dharma's electrostatic tweeter. On Eric Johnson's Cliffs of Dover, cymbal clashes were rendered almost perfectly to my ears--sparkly but not sharp, with just the right amount of decay. What's amazing about the treble is how it manages to be so detailed and prominent without any sharpness. As heard both the TH900 and HD800, both of which are known for prominent but hot treble, I appreciate this very much.
 
Mids
The mids are the problematic part of these headphones for me. The upper mids sound very forward and aggressive. As a result, vocals and cymbals can sound shouty at times. I never realized that this would get to me, but it really does. The upper mid-range forwardness makes these headphones very fatiguing to listen to for more than 10 minutes.
 
Bass
I was quite disappointed with the bass on the Dharma. To my ears, it is rolled off with a mid-bass emphasis. To put bass extension to the test, I ran these headphones through 3:27-3:40 of Hans Zimmer's Why So Serious. Compared to my HE-560, the Dharma was lacking in subbass presence on this track. The slight mid-bass emphasis allows the Dharma to do drums pretty well though. On Dire Strait's Money for Nothing, the opening drumroll was rendered with depth and authority. On deep house music, these headphones just do not fly. The upper midrange emphasis, along with the rolled-off bass, makes this genre thoroughly unenjoyable on the Dharma. On Rootkit's Real Love, I keep trying to turn up the headphones to get more bass punch, but the harshness of female vocals stops me from going much further. I would not recommend the Dharmas to a basshead.
 
Overall thoughts
I really wanted to like the Dharma, but unfortunately, I don't. It looks good, is built well, is comfortable, and has fantastic treble that is better than any of the planar or dynamic headphones I've heard. However, I cannot live with the rolled-off bass and overly forward upper mids. As always, YMMV. Thanks again to @Todd for the opportunity to audition these headphones!

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is it possible that the choice of a so pwerful SS amp , and perhaps a lack of synergy between these two, the reason of this bad impressions ? i am very interested in the Dharma...Perhaps a good idea will be to listen to them with another very different and less powerful amp, a tube one or a hybrid... ? your review is very good , well written, i only ask about  other possibilities? anyway i thank you for your honest report...

richard51 said:

is it possible that the choice of a so pwerful SS amp , and perhaps a lack of synergy between these two, the reason of this bad impressions ? i am very interested in the Dharma...Perhaps a good idea will be to listen to them with another very different and less powerful amp, a tube one or a hybrid... ? your review is very good , well written, i only ask about  other possibilities? anyway i thank you for your honest report...

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More power is almost always better...

bazelio said:

More power is almost always better...

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if so... it will be simple to buy one .... But i dont think power in itself made synergy happen...

bazelio said:

More power is almost always better...

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Absolutely.  Out of my Pioneer Spec system (mega power vintage amp) the bass is really heavy and clean.  With the Audeze pads it's almost mind blowing how well they handle power. 
 
Any other owners try pad rolling yet?  Or am I the only nut here?..............wait, don't answer that. 

richard51 said:

if so... it will be simple to buy one .... But i dont think power in itself made synergy happen...:atsmile:

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The way this thread is starting to go is, in my opinion, somewhat emblematic of head-fi itself. Opinions all over the spectrum. Completely conflicting reports over something simple like bass response. Early adopters seemed to have these cans before they were on sale generally. How? Anyhow, I think Tyll's remarks are probably spot on and maybe it isn't coincidental that further critical reviews have followed. Not sure.

bazelio said:

richard51 said:

if so... it will be simple to buy one .... But i dont think power in itself made synergy happen...:atsmile:

Click to expand...

The way this thread is starting to go is, in my opinion, somewhat emblematic of head-fi itself. Opinions all over the spectrum. Completely conflicting reports over something simple like bass response. Early adopters seemed to have these cans before they were on sale generally. How? Anyhow, I think Tyll's remarks are probably spot on and maybe it isn't coincidental that further critical reviews have followed. Not sure.

Click to expand...

Different ears, different judging criteria, different equipment and different listening conditions. My recommendation would be to try and identify other Head-fi'ers who hear and judge in a similar way to you (by reading their impressions on equipment you are familiar with). Those people are going to be a far more reliable source for you than trying to draw a meta-opinion from the populace.

hansotek said:

Different ears, different judging criteria, different equipment and different listening conditions. My recommendation would be to try and identify other Head-fi'ers who hear and judge in a similar way to you (by reading their impressions on equipment you are familiar with). Those people are going to be a far more reliable source for you than trying to draw a meta-opinion from the populace.

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Well of course.  But I was pointing out that the hype train left the station way early on this one, and only now are we seeing things like high distortion numbers, etc...  The two things don't quite align.