[Tyll Hertsens]

They were run in pretty good, Aaron, at least 100 Hrs.

 

[Oregonian]

  I wonder if Tyll's unit had any time on it. 
 
Observations are apples and oranges when it is new, right out of the box compared to having some time on them.

 
Agree 100%.  My new Dharma was so different sounding from the audition pair it was disappointing.  A few days of playing and the sound returned to what I expected.  I've never experienced such a stark difference before! 

 

[immtbiker]

  They were run in pretty good, Aaron, at least 100 Hrs.

Thanks Tyll!

 

[zambz]

I was rather impressed with these when I heard them, but to be completely honest, the upper treble sounded too sharp and a bit artificial for my taste.  I don't necessarily love what that tweeter is doing personally.
 
By comparison, the Audeze range sounded perfectly balanced and crisp right up to the very top treble octave, yet they still remained very natural which is something that I don't believe the Dharma does.  Unfortunately, I found the Audeze way too painful and uncomfortable during my demo so I decided against buying them for now.  This also includes the EL-8 which clamped very hard on my head.
 
The folks at the store and one of the other customers seemed extremely impressed with the Dharma, as we know this is all subjective and a matter of taste.  I did personally prefer it over the HD800 in terms of tonal balance, but neither was remotely close to the Audeze balance imho.

 

[David Pritchard]

Certainly the listener response is variable and subjective, but I would not describe the Enigmacoustic's  high frequencies as sharp. Comparing these headphones to the Sennheiser 800, I hear less high frequency energy, more detail, and better darkness between instruments. The soundstage is less expansive with the Enigmacoustics and it is heavier on the head. For me the Enigmacoustics are comfortable and the Sennheisers very comfortable.
 
I find the Audeze to be too uncomfortable except to do sample listening. Both the Enigmacoustic and Sennheiser 800 are also comfortable while listening with your head on a pillow. 
 
David Pritchard

 

[zambz]

  Certainly the listener response is variable and subjective, but I would not describe the Enigmacoustic's  high frequencies as sharp. Comparing these headphones to the Sennheiser 800, I hear less high frequency energy, more detail, and better darkness between instruments. The soundstage is less expansive with the Enigmacoustics and it is heavier on the head. For me the Enigmacoustics are comfortable and the Sennheisers very comfortable.
 
I find the Audeze to be too uncomfortable except to do sample listening. Both the Enigmacoustic and Sennheiser 800 are also comfortable while listening with your head on a pillow. 
 
David Pritchard

 
I completely agree regarding the comfort with Audeze headphones, they hurt my head after about 5 minutes of wearing them.  It's not only the weight with Audeze but also the clamping force, which imho is too much.  Both the Dharma and HD800 were much better in the comfort department

 

[zzzmonster]

I was rather impressed with these when I heard them, but to be completely honest, the upper treble sounded too sharp and a bit artificial for my taste.  I don't necessarily love what that tweeter is doing personally.


 


By comparison, the Audeze range sounded perfectly balanced and crisp right up to the very top treble octave, yet they still remained very natural which is something that I don't believe the Dharma does.  Unfortunately, I found the Audeze way too painful and uncomfortable during my demo so I decided against buying them for now.  This also includes the EL-8 which clamped very hard on my head.


 


The folks at the store and one of the other customers seemed extremely impressed with the Dharma, as we know this is all subjective and a matter of taste.  I did personally prefer it over the HD800 in terms of tonal balance, but neither was remotely close to the Audeze balance imho.

 


This treble sharpness - I think you are the 1st one that point it out - and I wholeheartedly agree - could not understand why no 1 point it out earlier - can hear it in prog rock music, the sharpness to me sound similar to beyer T1 and T1.2.

However a lot of headphones have this sharpness

 

[zambz]

 

  I was rather impressed with these when I heard them, but to be completely honest, the upper treble sounded too sharp and a bit artificial for my taste.  I don't necessarily love what that tweeter is doing personally.
   
  By comparison, the Audeze range sounded perfectly balanced and crisp right up to the very top treble octave, yet they still remained very natural which is something that I don't believe the Dharma does.  Unfortunately, I found the Audeze way too painful and uncomfortable during my demo so I decided against buying them for now.  This also includes the EL-8 which clamped very hard on my head.
   
  The folks at the store and one of the other customers seemed extremely impressed with the Dharma, as we know this is all subjective and a matter of taste.  I did personally prefer it over the HD800 in terms of tonal balance, but neither was remotely close to the Audeze balance imho.

 


This treble sharpness - I think you are the 1st one that point it out - and I wholeheartedly agree - could not understand why no 1 point it out earlier - can hear it in prog rock music, the sharpness to me sound similar to beyer T1 and T1.2.

However a lot of headphones have this sharpness

 
Yeah, though to be honest, I think many high-end headphones (AKG K812 & Sennheiser HD800) have this emphasis in the lower treble (say around 6 - 8 kHz) while it felt the Dharma had the emphasis at around 13 - 14 kHz.  The Dharma was much smoother in the lower treble but this upper treble boost actually lead to similar fatigue when I tried it, but overall, I did prefer that sort of emphasis over the lower treble, hence why I preferred the Dharma over the HD800 when I tried it
 
I would love to hear the Dharma without the extra tweeter, I think it would actually sound a lot better.

 

[Fennario]

Finally opened them up and started the burn... the waiting from purchase to now has been excruciating, particularly given my initial impressions vs. Tyll's review.  Only about 7 hours so far of playtime but had to put them on for a listen.  As before, caveats are my limited range (cuts at 15k) and lack of comparative experience.  Was looking for something which matched the sound from my LS50's.  
 
Something which was immediately noticeable is the difference between the Peachtree and Firefly demo system.  Find the volume at 1-3 o'clock for medium loud vs 9-10 on the firefly.  My knowledge falls off here re: what the best pairing would be.  Peachtree is rated 1170mw @ 32ohms, 182mw @300ohm.
 
Given recent reading, thought I'd try and torture myself with Field Marshall Montgomery Field Band and was smiling from ear to ear.  Drums, drone and pipes reverberating through my head without sharpness or fatigue.  Lower end is also nice and tight - don't notice the measured <100hz distortion but then again am not attuned to picking it up.  One issue noticed so far is that earpad pressure is a little tight on the back of my jawbone - hoping it eases up a bit over time.  Also, seems to like thicker and/or live recordings at this point in time... but then again so do I.
 
Looking forward to hearing how they open up and evolve over time.  The buyers remorse has also subsided now that I've had a chance to reacquaint myself as to why I chose them initially.

 

[Oregonian]

Well, you knew someone would do this................so figured it may as well be me.  Love the Dharma but I'm a modder at heart and had a pair of new Audeze lambskin pads laying around so.......
 
Fit is decent - the ring it fits in is a bit smaller than typical but they are fine.  If I decide to stay with the Audeze pads I'd likely use the double stick tape.   Comfort stock is to me very good..............with the Audeze pads it's heavenly.  Sound - definitely seems like more bass is present (which the Dharma already does well) and being a basshead is a good thing for me.  Oh, and that's a Norne Audio Vanquish cable from my HD800 as well.  Love the 4' length and how soft and flexible it is. 
 
More impressions to come - only had them on for three songs before the wife woke up - headphones while she's in the room is taboo. 

 

 

 

[David Pritchard]

What a fantastic mod! Congratulations on a very nice execution and good looking .
Have you had a chance to compare your Enigmacoustics headphones (stock) with the original cable, Sennheiser 800 cable , and your Norse cable?
 
I am really enjoying my Enigmacoustic headphones. The comfort, build quality, and of course the sonics are allowing me to enjoy the full range of recorded music- whether it be rock, jazz, or classical. I am spending less and less time analyzing the headphone and more time just enjoying music.

 

[hifimanrookie]

You need to take a look at Norne,definitely competative with anything DHC makes with better pricing.

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

 

[Stillhart]

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

 
Toxic has a price premium when you're purchasing from across the pond, unfortunately.

 

[Oregonian]

  What a fantastic mod! Congratulations on a very nice execution and good looking .
Have you had a chance to compare your Enigmacoustics headphones (stock) with the original cable, Sennheiser 800 cable , and your Norse cable?
 
I am really enjoying my Enigmacoustic headphones. The comfort, build quality, and of course the sonics are allowing me to enjoy the full range of recorded music- whether it be rock, jazz, or classical. I am spending less and less time analyzing the headphone and more time just enjoying music.

 
The cable I can't hear any differences between the Norne and Dharma stock cable (don't have the HD800 cable any longer).  I only got the Norne cable for the ergonomics and it's super flexible.
 
The Audeze pads make this headphone a bass beast.  Incredible how a pad change can impact bass this much but I'm blown away.  I haven't had enough time to really decide if anything else changed for the worse or better yet but I'm sure happy with the comfort and the BASS.  Stock pads are plenty comfy as you know but these are just off the charts. 

 

[bmichels]

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.