MrSpeakers Ether Impressions Thread
May 6, 2015 at 12:27 AM Post #691 of 2,843
Yeah, that's a good approach.  I'm really looking forward to more reliable reviews of the Ether.  It's not that there haven't been any.  But we all have our favorite pro reviewers and posters who we feel we can depend on.  More of those people will be giving detailed reviews in the not-too-distant future.  
 
And I also look forward to seeing measurements.  They're definitely not the last "word" in describing a headphone, but I tend to find them very useful indicators.
 
May 6, 2015 at 2:43 AM Post #692 of 2,843
That reminds me of the guy at the last meet I went to who pulled out a set of IEM's with a 1/4" plug on them and plugged them into my Crack.  No music, he was just checking the quality of my build with his "noise checkers".  At least I passed...


Somewhat funny but should be a valid and useful test. Can someone recommemd a pair of cheap IEMs with sensitivity over 100db? Or some sort of minispeaker that could be used for such tests?
 
May 6, 2015 at 3:18 AM Post #693 of 2,843
 
That reminds me of the guy at the last meet I went to who pulled out a set of IEM's with a 1/4" plug on them and plugged them into my Crack.  No music, he was just checking the quality of my build with his "noise checkers".  At least I passed...


Somewhat funny but should be a valid and useful test. Can someone recommemd a pair of cheap IEMs with sensitivity over 100db? Or some sort of minispeaker that could be used for such tests?


I gather indirectly that the Ultrasones are insanely sensitive.
 
May 6, 2015 at 5:02 AM Post #694 of 2,843

I have no problem with any of Darkos reviews and this one was no exception. I read that the Ether is very good and have a sound sig more like the T1 than the LCD 3, but not that it sounds like the T1.

To me his description of the Ether as a cool GT and a Duracell bunny vs a LCD 3 Guinness says so much more than all the words that I and many others normally use to describe the sound character of a gear. His recommendation about maybe best paired with a warmer amp together with the notion of one’s willingness to fully hear all the micro details in long time listening is very informative, as is the “Knock out” label.        

 
May 6, 2015 at 11:32 AM Post #695 of 2,843
I gather indirectly that the Ultrasones are insanely sensitive.


thanks but those also cost $500+ :) I just want a cheapo test device .. like a small PC speaker (you know, the kind who produced beeps inside old PCs) with huge sensitivity .. just plug it into the amp and test the noise floor.
Otherwise, my ~125dB Westone UM3 would be perfect .. just don't wanna 'fry' those accidentally.

Prolly not the best thread to ask but who knows.
 
May 6, 2015 at 11:53 AM Post #696 of 2,843
 
I gather indirectly that the Ultrasones are insanely sensitive.

 
 
thanks but those also cost $500+
smily_headphones1.gif
I just want a cheapo test device .. like a small PC speaker (you know, the kind who produced beeps inside old PCs) with huge sensitivity .. just plug it into the amp and test the noise floor.
Otherwise, my ~125dB Westone UM3 would be perfect .. just don't wanna 'fry' those accidentally.

Prolly not the best thread to ask but who knows.


The HFI models are pretty cheap inexpensive.  Plus, you really won't care if you blow them up by accident, or on purpose.  Oops, said that out loud, didn't I....
 
May 6, 2015 at 1:11 PM Post #697 of 2,843
The HFI models are pretty cheap inexpensive.  Plus, you really won't care if you blow them up by accident, or on purpose.  Oops, said that out loud, didn't I....


The usone hfi-15 is ~$70 for 96db. I'm looking for something like $20-30 and >110db.
And definitely no IEMs. If some funny guy decides to press play, the 125db westones will destroy my ears... those things go to ear splitting levels even on a sansa clip.
 
May 7, 2015 at 12:12 AM Post #698 of 2,843
  If I may ask do you consider the Ether an upgrade to your LCD2's thanks..

 No not really my lcd2 v2 with the cable pro reverie upgrade cable is really a great sounding headphone. My only quibble is that they are so heavy and clamp so much that after a couple or three cds they just get uncomfortable to wear. The ether was much lighter and seemed less fatiguing to wear. Of course I only had them on briefly . I do think that while they both are planar type phones . They do sound a little different. The lcd2 with the stock cable sounds a bit warmer . The ether did not sound as warm but I did hear them with the dum cable upgrade. From what I have read the ethers are more efficient and may be easier to drive.
   With the higher sensitivity I might get more use out of my ray samuels raptor amp which has not seen much use for the last year . The raptor did not seem to work with my lcd2 v2 that well. Impressions are that the ether seems to work better with tube amps. I really did not like them with the ragnarok that I heard at the axpona show .
 
May 8, 2015 at 6:17 PM Post #700 of 2,843
People have been requesting frequency response plots.  We held off as we didn't want to publish until we went to full production, so thanks for the patience.     
 
Measurements are done with our in-house designed coupler using a calibrated AC150 mic.  In addition to the magnitude response you see the 2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion.  This roughly equates to THD below 0.2% from 100-7KHz.  Measurements are quite consistent across units, and we plan to driver match to optimize each set.   
 
 

 
EDIT: This is a "pads off" measurement so we can match drivers.  The "dip" at ~5.5KHz and 11KHz is a null point in the test fixture.  This null point does not setup "on the head" due to the complex geometry of the ears.
 
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May 8, 2015 at 6:52 PM Post #702 of 2,843
Are the measurements compensated?
 
May 8, 2015 at 6:59 PM Post #703 of 2,843
Can't wait to get it. The pre-order was made. Now to only wait.
 

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