[matt8268]

I really enjoyed my time with the Dharma. I had gotten to listen to it at last year’s SoCal meet, where it was my favorite headphone at the show (except perhaps for the Abyss, but it’s almost in a separate category from headphones). Getting to spend more time listening at home was great, and allowed me to form some opinions on how it compares to my current headphones. I listened mostly through my AlgoRhythm Solo and Polaris amp (on low gain and low impedance mode).
 
The top end of the Dharma is stellar. Reminiscent of my Stax 303, but without the need for a dedicated electrostatic amp to drive them. Where they differ greatly from the Stax is in the low end. The Dharma’s low end is powerful, and actually surprisingly similar to my modified Denon D7000 (basically an LA7000 but I bought my own aftermarket cables and deep wood cups). I didn’t do any real critical comparisons, but the bass felt comparable. The width and height of the soundstage also seemed similar to me. Where it differed from the LA7K is that the Dharma’s top and mids are much more airy, and moving immediately back to the LA7K things sounded a bit muffled or less articulated by comparison. There was a price to pay for the increased airiness I felt, though. Because everything was so airy with so much space around it, the placement of voices and instruments was not as exact as with the LA7K. With the Dharma, that instrument is “somewhere in this area”, whereas with the LA7K it’s “exactly here”.
 
I found the Dharma extremely comfortable. I did most of my listening lying down. No head clamp pressure, nice weight (not too heavy). I did have some problems getting the detachable headphone cables unplugged from the Dharma when it was time to pack them back up. Perhaps they require a bit too much force to unplug, or perhaps there is a trick to it that I wasn’t aware of. But I wasn’t quite comfortable with the amount of pressure I had to apply to get them to finally pop out. I remember after last year’s meet there were some complaints that the pre-production Dharma was rubbing people’s neck or shoulders in a way they didn’t like. Either they fixed that for the production model, or I didn’t notice it because I was mostly lying down, but I didn’t have any discomfort.
 
Thanks so much to Todd for this awesome program!

 

[Todd]

HI All,
 
I am closing this program as all who signed up for it have had a chance to audition the Dharma. I had sent out a Cardas Clear Headphone cable with the first pair of headphones I shipped- I sent 2 pair out on the loaner program - and it has disappeared. Please let me know if you have it and please return it to me. Thanks. I really need this cable back!
 
There should be a few more reviews to come here so keep checking back to read them. Thank you to those of you who took the time and fulfilled your part of the deal by writing your reviews. We all appreciate your effort!
 
I hope everyone had fun and gained some experience with another one of the many great headphones that are currently available.
 
Todd

 

[Oregonian]

Todd,
 
Thanks again for the privilege of auditioning the Dharma.    As you know, I liked it so well I bought one from you!  Great headphone! 

 

[Audio Addict]

 
Here is what the missing cable looked like but was single ended.  I really hope the cable is located and returned.  

 

[dpump]

I was the next to last person on the Dharma tour, so I want to post my thoughts. From the time I first saw the Dharma announced I knew I wanted to hear them. Since I'm 66 and have some high frequency hearing loss, I had high hopes that the Dharma would allow me to hear more of the highs that I miss on most single driver phones.                                                                                                             
 
I have Sennheiser HD800's along with a Norne Audio Draug2 cable which does give me plenty of highs but is sometimes a little too much as too much of the high range sticks out. (The Norne cable really is a big improvement over the stock HD800 cable as the stock cable, in my opinion, is the reason so many people hear the HD800 as being too bright and lacking bass. The Norne cable helps to tame the highs which makes the bass sound more balanced.)
 
I have Audeze LCD 3's which recently had to have new Fazor drivers when one of the 4-year old original drivers stopped working. (Thanks to Todd for getting these repaired under warranty!) The Fazor drivers do have a little more high end than the non-Fazor drivers, but still not enough to completely satisfy me. I had Oppo PM2's and they also were lacking in the high end to my old ears.
 
Enter the Dharma. To make the story shorter, I finally have the highs I have been looking for. Another thing I love about the Dharma is the separation of instruments. Instruments and sounds stand apart from each other and it is much easier to follow a particular sound if you choose. Along with this separation I have become more aware of instruments being played in the background and sounds which I haven't heard before. There is a clarity to the Dharma that makes a lot of other phones sound like a blob of sound instead of allowing individual sounds to be easily heard.
 
There have been some comments on the Dharma lacking low bass response. I have played test tones and classical music with low organ notes and have not had a problem with the bass extension. There are times when some of the upper bass notes played on a string or electric bass can sound a little wooly. This is somewhat rare and seems to have improved with use. Not a big deal to me.
 
There have also been comments about the Dharma cable using the Sennheiser HD800 connectors that plug into the phones. These connectors are very hard to remove the first few times and being recessed mean that some aftermarket cables using a different brand of connector than the Sennheiser one won't fit the Dharma. I would recommend that when you do remove the cables you put a cloth between the cable and the phones as the connector is very likely to hit the side of the phones or the frame and can scratch it as you have to exert a lot of force to get the cable to unplug. If you purchase an aftermarket cable for the Dharma make sure the builder knows it is for the Dharma so they can use the proper connector.
 
In summary, after hearing the loaner Dharma I ordered my pair from Todd. So glad he had the loaner tour as I was sure I wanted the Dharma after having a chance to use them on my equipment. I had to wait 3 months for the loaner but it was worth it to be sure of what I was getting. Todd and TTVJ is a class act all the way! 

 

[markm1]

  I was the next to last person on the Dharma tour, so I want to post my thoughts. From the time I first saw the Dharma announced I knew I wanted to hear them. Since I'm 66 and have some high frequency hearing loss, I had high hopes that the Dharma would allow me to hear more of the highs that I miss on most single driver phones.                                                                                                             
 
I have Sennheiser HD800's along with a Norne Audio Draug2 cable which does give me plenty of highs but is sometimes a little too much as too much of the high range sticks out. (The Norne cable really is a big improvement over the stock HD800 cable as the stock cable, in my opinion, is the reason so many people hear the HD800 as being too bright and lacking bass. The Norne cable helps to tame the highs which makes the bass sound more balanced.)
 
I have Audeze LCD 3's which recently had to have new Fazor drivers when one of the 4-year old original drivers stopped working. (Thanks to Todd for getting these repaired under warranty!) The Fazor drivers do have a little more high end than the non-Fazor drivers, but still not enough to completely satisfy me. I had Oppo PM2's and they also were lacking in the high end to my old ears.
 
Enter the Dharma. To make the story shorter, I finally have the highs I have been looking for. Another thing I love about the Dharma is the separation of instruments. Instruments and sounds stand apart from each other and it is much easier to follow a particular sound if you choose. Along with this separation I have become more aware of instruments being played in the background and sounds which I haven't heard before. There is a clarity to the Dharma that makes a lot of other phones sound like a blob of sound instead of allowing individual sounds to be easily heard.
 
There have been some comments on the Dharma lacking low bass response. I have played test tones and classical music with low organ notes and have not had a problem with the bass extension. There are times when some of the upper bass notes played on a string or electric bass can sound a little wooly. This is somewhat rare and seems to have improved with use. Not a big deal to me.
 
There have also been comments about the Dharma cable using the Sennheiser HD800 connectors that plug into the phones. These connectors are very hard to remove the first few times and being recessed mean that some aftermarket cables using a different brand of connector than the Sennheiser one won't fit the Dharma. I would recommend that when you do remove the cables you put a cloth between the cable and the phones as the connector is very likely to hit the side of the phones or the frame and can scratch it as you have to exert a lot of force to get the cable to unplug. If you purchase an aftermarket cable for the Dharma make sure the builder knows it is for the Dharma so they can use the proper connector.
 
In summary, after hearing the loaner Dharma I ordered my pair from Todd. So glad he had the loaner tour as I was sure I wanted the Dharma after having a chance to use them on my equipment. I had to wait 3 months for the loaner but it was worth it to be sure of what I was getting. Todd and TTVJ is a class act all the way! 

Excellent summary! I've been thinking the LCD-3 would probably be a good complimentary second reference headphone for recordings where you want to capture more bass extension.

 

[grizzlybeast]

that sucks... Freakin A man.. Jerks. That's prob why some loaner programs have prerequisites of positive feedback and posts.

 

[Schopenhauer]

Which loaner unit was sent out with the Cardas cable? When I received the unit, only the stock cable was included. I was toward the end of the list.

 

[grizzlybeast]

Me too

 

[BlakeT]

Thanks to Todd for allowing me to demo the Dharma.  I really enjoyed my time with the Dharma.  If it was my one and only headphone forever, that would be fine with me. In order to provide some context, I figured it would make sense to compare the Dharma to my current cans.
 
My current headphone inventory:  HD800, TH900 and W3000ANV (others I've owned over the last couple years.. T90, T1, HE400, HD600).  I also currently own a V-Moda M100 but I really only use that when I'm on a plane.
 
Amplification:  I decided to only use my Cavalli Liquid Carbon for amplifier duties.  I did not use my IHA-1 Dragon for my comparisons.
 
Demo Music:  Yim Hok Man - Poem of Chinese Drum; The Blue Nile - Seven A.M.; Olive - Indulge Me; Vacant - Alley Way; Dead Can Dance - All in Good Time; Dianna Krall - S'Wonderful; Olafur Arnalds - For Now I am Winter (Nils Frahm Rework); Rain Tree Crow - Cries & Whispers; Blade Runner (25th Anniversary Remaster) - Main Titles; Trentemoller - Evil Dub; Tropic of Cancer - Various; Moderat - A New Error.
 
My Findings.......
 
(The following aspects are listed in order of preference from favorite to least favorite)
 
Comfort:  HD800, tie- Dharma/TH900, W3000ANV (the headband system that AT uses simply does not work with my head shape). 
 
Build Quality:  All of them are excellent, so let's say a 4-way tie.
 
Bass:  TH900, HD800, Dharma, W3000ANV
 
Mids:  HD800, W3000ANV, Dharma, TH900
 
Highs:  Tie- Dharma/HD800 (perhaps a very slight edge to the HD800), W3000ANV, TH900
 
Overall: My overall favorite is the HD800.  After that, it is really is hard for me to rank the others.  I like all of them for the unique presentation they provide, so let's say a three-way tie among the Dharma, TH900 and W3000ANV.
 
I did not notice any issues with the transition from highs to mids as a couple people noted, or any weird bass distortion.  I really don't have any complaints.  I thought the Dharma sounded a bit better with the higher gain setting on my Liquid Carbon.
 
The Dharma is a terrific headphone.  If I didn't already own and love the HD800, I would have bought the Dharma from Todd, no question about it.  

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

Nice read Grizz. Answered a lot of my questions I had about the Dharma

 

[grizzlybeast]

  Nice read Grizz. Answered a lot of my questions I had about the Dharma

thnx!