[donthuang]

Seems the center dome takes more part than 812's ,and bigger bass port. Different corrugations around the ring part.

Interesting, so why focus on low THD marketing language? This would makes the measurement gangs got goods on this headphone.

 

[plakat]

I was once interested in the NDH30 and compared its frequency response with the common Sennheiser 6xx models, no serious differences. As far as I know, NDH30 (also NDH20) is produced in China, why not in Europe by Neumann self? Of course, it is currently difficult to get by without suppliers from China, be it the neodymium for the powerful magnets.
I also know that Apple has production in China.

While I don’t think manufacturing in China necessarily leads to somehow inferior quality (Apple showing that this is not the case most definitely), I still prefer locally built products… for one I want to support local businesses, but I also don’t want things to be shipped around the world. Excellent headphones built in Vienna is just what I want therefore

The Neumann headphones always looked like an afterthought to me, with monitor speakers being their focus. So I never cared much about those models. That I did not fancy their looks didn’t help either…

 

[Nomax]

Is there a thread for Full Score one? I could not find it in search. Pls. move if there is one.

I arrived home from CanJam SoCal and The Composer + Full Score one arrived shortly. I set up the amp on my work desk and gave it a brief listen with Diana MR which I am very familiar with. Right out of the box Full Score one sounded impressive. Plenty of power to drive Diana MR to its full performance potentials, volume know was a little past 12 o'clock. The DAC is $400 Woo Audio PHANTOM DAC cable (XLR) so nothing fancy.

initial impressions: incredible soundstage imagining, great clarity, no hint of harshness, thunder bass and well defined. The build quality is exceptional. All-metal and volume knob is silky smooth. The amp has some weight so it doesn't move when you push in the headphone jack. I love that is has no wireless features or EQs to mess with. It's simple to set up and start enjoying your music.

I also tested with Sennheiser IE900 in-ear headphones, no noise. Same sound traits as what I heard from Diana MR. Music comes through very engaging. Does not sound dry or analytical, many solid state does.

For further testing / review with The Composer headphones, I will use McIntosh D150 DAC. stay subscribed!

It seems as if the Austrian Santa Claus has already been with you
Have fun with it

NOMAX

PS.lol

 

[qazxsw80]

Oratory1990 about the Composer
(https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory199...eadphone_amp_austrianaudio_the_composer_full/ )


I heard a prototype about a year ago, and I heard the final version at Canjam last weekend.
It was designed by a new engineer who didn‘t work on the previous Austrian Audio headphones - he used to work at the same company I work at up until last year. I can vouch for his competence.
I‘ll be getting a unit to measure soon. As you know I generally don‘t do reviews but I‘ll say this - you should be checking this one out for yourself. It‘s unlike their previous ones.

NOMAX

Yes, you have to hear it yourself to believe it

PS.lol

It is a peculiar message, actually. It seems that despite all those hundreds of years of experience in designing audio products that those guys at Austrian Audio brag about, they still hired a guy from outside the company to develop a pair of headphones for them, probably because they were not happy with their previous headphones they had developed themselves.
I wonder where that guy Oratory1990 works, that is for which company the person who developed the Composer had worked for. Unless he worked for Beyerdynamic, Senneheiser or Focal, he probably has no experience in developing other headphones, since it is the only European brands that develop their own headphones.
More than that, it seems the headphones were developed in about 1,5 years. Quite fast, to be honest. For example. according to Tyll Hertsens, it took quite a bit more than 4 years to create the Sennheiser HD800:

I had the good fortune of a factory visit to Sennheiser's campus in Wennebostel, Germany sometime in 2005--four years before the HD 800 made its appearance at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, the HD 800 was already heavily under development.

 

[Nomax]

It is a peculiar message, actually. It seems that despite all those hundreds of years of experience in designing audio products that those guys at Austrian Audio brag about, they still hired a guy from outside the company to develop a pair of headphones for them, probably because they were not happy with their previous headphones they had developed themselves.
I wonder where that guy Oratory1990 works, that is for which company the person who developed the Composer had worked for.

But you already know that not one alone develops a Headphone/transducer
And AA is always looking for new young talents to join the team

NOMAX

PS.Many people already know that where

 

[qazxsw80]

But you already know that not one alone develops a Headphone/transducer
And AA is always looking for new young talents to join the team

NOMAX

PS.Many people already know that where

As far as I know, the driver itself is usually developed by one person ( or at least he is mostly in charge) and he is also responsible for the final tuning of the headphones.
There are a few other people who are responsible for the design of the headphones, that is the aesthetics and the comfort (headband construction, pads, etc.).
I don't doubt that many people know who that guy is and where he worked, but I guess they won't tell, since it is bad marketing telling everyone that a person from a certain competitor developed the headphones for them, unless he is famous, like Axel Grell.

 

[GREQ]

I'm confused....
I thought higher end drivers were meant to be symmetrical.
I don't understand the purpose of the AA logo in the central rear vent. Surely that adds uneven backwave pressure? (and maybe some other turbulence/distortions?)

Or does the assymetrical design of the AA logo compensate for the assymetrical outer rear venting?

I'll probably never get an answer to these questions, but it feels like a step back from Focal, Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic's top tier drivers.
Even AKG's legendary flagship drivers of the past (K501, K701 etc) were mostly symmetrical.

In the end, I know the most important thing is how it sounds, and I'm not a purist about this kind of design phylosophy... just very curious.
I do also own some fabulous sounding headphones with assymetrical drivers, so I am aware it's not the only ingredient in the whole headphone pie.

 

[RuslanG]

...it took quite a bit more than 4 years to create the Sennheiser HD800:

K812 a bit more: 5-year research and development program, as said Kent Iverson, Director of Marketing and Product Development, AKG

 

[plakat]

As far as I know, the driver itself is usually developed by one person ( or at least he is mostly in charge) and he is also responsible for the final tuning of the headphones.
There are a few other people who are responsible for the design of the headphones, that is the aesthetics and the comfort (headband construction, pads, etc.).
I don't doubt that many people know who that guy is and where he worked, but I guess they won't tell, since it is bad marketing telling everyone that a person from a certain competitor developed the headphones for them, unless he is famous, like Axel Grell.

I don't quite get what you're trying to say here... Even if we assume the guy who was mainly in charge of the driver design did work somewhere else before -- what exactly does that mean?
Axel Grell has made a name for himself, and in consequence named his new company after himself. Dan Clark as well. They also thereby reference their past achievements. Which Austrian Audio does as well.

 

[plakat]

I'm confused....
I thought higher end drivers were meant to be symmetrical.
I don't understand the purpose of the AA logo in the central rear vent. Surely that adds uneven backwave pressure? (and maybe some other turbulence/distortions?)

Or does the assymetrical design of the AA logo compensate for the assymetrical outer rear venting?

I'll probably never get an answer to these questions, but it feels like a step back from Focal, Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic's top tier drivers.
Even AKG's legendary flagship drivers of the past (K501, K701 etc) were mostly symmetrical.

In the end, I know the most important thing is how it sounds, and I'm not a purist about this kind of design phylosophy... just very curious.
I do also own some fabulous sounding headphones with assymetrical drivers, so I am aware it's not the only ingredient in the whole headphone pie.

Interesting observation for sure... but I guess they did not slap on that logo after the driver was finished, so I guess they had considered any effects that might have.

Only tangentially related, but I always had strange feelings with the different patterns on some Meze drivers.

 

[plakat]

K812 a bit more: 5-year research and development program, as said Kent Iverson, Director of Marketing and Product Development, AKG

And both HD800 and K812 were new driver designs, while I understand the Composer driver as a refinement/extension of the X driver concept developed for the X55/60/65

 

[donthuang]

I'm confused....
I thought higher end drivers were meant to be symmetrical.
I don't understand the purpose of the AA logo in the central rear vent. Surely that adds uneven backwave pressure? (and maybe some other turbulence/distortions?)

Or does the assymetrical design of the AA logo compensate for the assymetrical outer rear venting?

It seems a simply design reduce airflow noise and backwave guider/smoother.

 

[qazxsw80]

I don't quite get what you're trying to say here... Even if we assume the guy who was mainly in charge of the driver design did work somewhere else before -- what exactly does that mean?
Axel Grell has made a name for himself, and in consequence named his new company after himself. Dan Clark as well. They also thereby reference their past achievements. Which Austrian Audio does as well.

I'm not trying to say anything except what I said - it is an interesting fact that guys from Austrian Audio hired a person from a competitor to develop headphones for them (or at least a major part of it). That's it. And naturally, of course, it is interesting to know on what else he worked on, isn't it? Since he was hired, probably he is quite good and experienced (and since there is positive feedback, he probably did a good job). At least he is considered better by the management than those worked on other Austrian Audio headphones, or there would be no point in hiring him in the first place.

 

[dpeterfy32]

K812 a bit more: 5-year research and development program, as said Kent Iverson, Director of Marketing and Product Development, AKG

the only problem is the k812 was never on the map globally in the headphone market

 

[plakat]

I'm not trying to say anything except what I said

So... nothing of substance. OK, I get it.