[The1Signature]

Just saw it on indiegogo and wanted to share with you: écoute: the world's only vacuum tube headphones.

WHY VACUM TUBES?
Because they are so expensive, vacuum tubes are typically only used in high-end analog hi-fi systems. This has led to the false belief that there isn't any value in using vacuum tubes when the signal source is anything less than ideal, or worse, digitally compressed.

We have found the opposite to be true—digital signals have MORE to gain from vacuum tube amplification in terms of sound quality simply because there is both, more room, and more need for improvement.

Streamed and wireless audio signals are compressed to reduce the file size leaving your music sounding comparatively lifeless and flat. The characteristic even-order harmonics of a vacuum tube create minute euphonic details that fill out the sound and add warmth to digitally-compressed music. This texture makes your music sound fuller and more realistic—less like it is being reproduced by a piece of audio equipment and more like it is being performed live in front of you.



Though sound quality is subjective, the prevailing belief among audiophiles and musicians is that vacuum tubes surpass transistors in both sound quality and realism because of a combination of factors:

TONE AND TEXTURE: Vacuum tubes introduce pleasing harmonic distortions primarily on the second notes replicating the warmth and richness of live music.

COMPLEX HARMONIC STRUCTURE: Vacuum tubes produce a rich and detailed soundstage, faithfully recreating the intricate timbre of instruments and vocals, revealing subtle nuances often lost in transistor-based systems.

WIDER DYNAMIC RANGE: Captures the expressive nuances of music, comparable to the natural dynamics of live performances.

SOFT CLIPPING: Vacuum tubes exhibit smoother and more gradual clipping that resembles the natural compression and distortion in real-world sound sources, contributing to an authentic reproduction of music.

INCREASE GAIN: Adds clarity to the midrange where our ears are the most sensitive enhancing the tonal quality and organic timbre and delivering a more realistic representation of instruments and vocals—realism you only get from a vacuum tube.


Other headphones use a single off-the-shelf chip to do most, if not all, of the signal processing on a single circuit. écoute headphones are designed differently with individual dedicated components at each step of the signal conversion—a solution normally reserved for high-end rack systems, but almost entirely unheard of in headphones.

This solution allows us to bring together the best component at each stage of the signal path to ensure a superior listening experience.

• Vacuum Tube Pre-Amplifier: Nutube 6P1 Dual-Triode Thermionic Valve

The Nutube has phenomenal linearity with a focus on the second harmonic and a classic "tubey" sound delivering a listening experience with a life-like, full-bodied presence.

• DAC: Realtek ALC4050 32-bit, 384kHz Digital-to-Analog Converter

Known for its spacious soundstage and for delivering realistic and musical tones across the board from a neat and airy treble, through detailed and textured mids, and into deep and lush bass and sub-bass frequencies.

DRIVERS: Custom 40mm Cellulose Fiber

Designed to take advantage of our meticulous signal path with a patented motor drive system that ensures an accurate and linear response to avoid thermal compression artifacts.

• IMPENDENCE: 10 Ohms
• DYNAMIC RANGE: 100db
• WIRELESS: Bluetooth 5.3 supporting apt-X Adaptive, apt-X LL, LDAC, and AAC. Range 10 meters / 33 feet
• ANALOG INPUT: 3.5mm
• HIGH-RESOLUTION DIGITAL AUDIO INPUT: USB-C
• CHARGING: USB-C
• BATTERY LIFE: Approximately 20 hours of listening
• PAIRING: Auto pairing memory of up to two devices.
• ACTIVE NOISE CANCELATION (ANC): Activated by firmware update Spring 2024
• TELEPHONICS: Answer phone calls when paired with your phone. Activated by firmware update Spring 2024
• PREMIUM MATERIAL: All-aluminum body and armature that is as durable as it is beautiful.
• COMFORTABLE REPLACABLE EAR PADS: Cool memory foam that wicks away heat and keeps your ears cool. The over-ear design is more comfortable than on-ear designs and has excellent passive noise cancellation.

 

[froes]

My personal thoughts basing on the given desciptions at kickstarter.com and indigogo.com:

At a given quality level the influence of the parts of a headphone playback route can orded by importance.

1. driver + acoustic headphone construction
2. amplifier, DAC
3. cables

The écoute vacuum tube headphones invert this order.
The amplifier/DAC is located in the headset shell, so cables have nearly no influence if driven digital.
The DAC, amplifier and BT chip may be out of doubt (hopefully).
There are no or contradictory informations about the drivers. They may have 40 mm cellulose OR titan diaphragm.
40 mm aren't the state of the art, but maybe they can be good.

The bluetooth connection supports SBS, AAC, LDAC, ...
This hits my taste as I prefer LDAC since I found a usable solution for LDAC with Windows PC.

Because of the built in DAC/amplifier/battery there is low room in the shells.
The diameter of the cups looks a bit to small for my taste to be really convinient. It can be good for mobile usage.
My Hifiman Ananda BT and Deva Pro could be a bit voluminous then.

The shells are open at the upper and lower side. Can ANC work correctly then?
Btw. ANC is reducing the audio quality. I would avoid it.

There are 6 x 10 perks at relunch at indiegogo.com. These may be the remaining items from the first batch.
It may declare why indigogo.com and kickstarter.com are involved.

The 1st batch may be good or not.
Some people say the quality of the 1st batch is better because it is mainly given to testers and reviewers all over the world and it is made by qualified engeneers.
Another view is that in further batches there are more experiences what stands against the risk that less qualified workers do the assembling.

 

[LoryWiv]

I joined this campaign yesterday when it was briefly reopened. Inclusion of a nutube pre-amp. stage is certainly a novel concept. This may prove gimmick-y or may be a true innovation and an advance. I decided with the flash pricing it was worth finding out for myself. Will evaluate versus my Bathys which is a solid performer but sometimes I feel it lacks that special sauce to level up to a great listening experience.

BTW @The1Signature, it may be worthwhile for delete or update the specs. above as I believe they have changed significantly for the shipping version.

Thanks!

 

[ThEvil0nE]

Nutube ring (high pitch) like hell and can be persistent when vibration is introduced.

 

[educator]

I would love to hear from someone who actually heard these. There is an opportunity to buy these on idiegogo today only so it would really be helpful

 

[LoryWiv]

There are a few positive comments on kickstarter...not much to go on, admittedly. No mention of ringing or microphonics as an issue, thankfully.

 

[Ohmboy]

I would love to hear from someone who actually heard these.

This guy has

 

[LoryWiv]

Thanks. If I have the "loose fit" issue I will try a headband cover and pad which are readily available on amazon. Hopefully won't be needed...

 

[Spiz]

Got my headphones today and they seem fairly similar to my HifiMan Anandas. The bass has a bit more punch and I want to say the highs feel a bit brighter. I didn't notice any ringing when listening to them either. I'll do some more listening to them later and if anyone wants more of an update I'll post again.

 

[LoryWiv]

Got my headphones today and they seem fairly similar to my HifiMan Anandas. The bass has a bit more punch and I want to say the highs feel a bit brighter. I didn't notice any ringing when listening to them either. I'll do some more listening to them later and if anyone wants more of an update I'll post again.

Yes please, I'd appreciate your impressions as you get more head time with them!

 

[Reddart67]

I finally got mine. Initial impressions are they showcase vocals and ambience, and are very low fatiguing. Still running burn in tracks, and dusting off some of my other equipment to do some head to head comparisons later next week.

I also have a small head and have them adjusted all the way down and still could use a bit more adjustment. Amazon add on headband cover on order. If I place them just right on my head, they fit on the ear properly, but a little more pad should get them fitting better. These things seem to be made to fit Rocky from the move Mask.

 

[fisherc6]

I backed the project and just got my headphones last week. I have been puzzling through them trying to work out how I feel about them. My final thoughts are this: the build and design is great, so long as you have a very large head. I don’t have a small head, or a large head, and the things are far too big for my skull. They knock around and slide off and that’s just while sitting. Not even walking around, which is what Bluetooth headphones are for: walking around. They are beautiful. The pads are nice. The green NuTube glow is super cool to look at.

Sound: when they released the FR curve, I couldn’t believe how flat they tuned them - and it was not a compensated curve. They claimed to be trying to go for a modified Harmon curve, but the chart they released is flat as hell, minus, and this is important later, a rise in the 2-4 kHz range. So, no frequency really stands out over another. Fine. Great. A music engineer can use them. NOPE! That rise in 2-4 kHz means they sound shorty as hell. Let me repeat: shorty as hell, ALL OF THE TIME, no matter the music selection. Vocals sound thin and harsh. Midrange instruments: violins, voices, guitars, you name it. Shorty and timbre sucks. Nothing sounds realistic. They sound like $2 ear buds with a little bit of extra bass thrown in for good measure. Do NOT mistake “added” bass to mean they sound balanced. They do not. They shout offensively at you, all of the time.

What I do not know is if it was intentional. I do not know if they messed up the tuning, failed to do market research into what audiophiles like, listened to any of their price point competitors. I do not know where the breakdown happened. I do not know if it is the NuTube resonating wildly from being mounted on the backside of a driver and there was nothing they could do to tune it out, or if they didn’t properly dampen the enclosure. I don’t know. But these things sound horrific.

These are my $.02. I do not recommend buying the écoute, at all.

 

[Nutpi]

I received my ecoute headphone and I gave my review directly to ecoute. The following is what I told them:

Thank you for the ecoute headphone which I had received yesterday.
Your packaging was good. The unit arrived in my hands undamaged. I like the housing case for the unit, it's well built.
The headphone itself is well built. I noticed that I did not need to adjust the length of the headphone when I placed it on my head. But, if some one who has a smaller head, the unit will be loose and will not sit well on the head.
The buttons are easy to navigate and pairing bluetooth to my devices was a piece of cake.
The DAP I was using to pair to ecoute were Astell & Kern SP3000T and iBasso DX320.
The mid-range and high terrible of ecoute were very clear and strong. Lacking is the bass. It does not have strong bass from music coming from both of my devices. That's a little disappointment. The unit sounded real good when I was playing some smooth jazz music but, when I switched to rock and roll, because of the missing strong bass, it was not impressive. Even some of the music by Brain Culbertson that has strong bass did not sound good on the ecoute. Sorry but, I am just giving you my honest opinion so maybe you can improve it for the second generation of ecoute. Otherwise, I am glad that I bought the unit. Thank you.

The following is the reply I received from ecoute:-

Thanks for the reply.

écoute headphones are studio monitors. They render the signal as it is with minimal augmentation. Most consumer headsets are base boosted for drama and because it's what younger consumers who have much more sensitive high frequency hearing like. This leads many to believe that their favorite songs are more bassy than they really are. Mind you there is nothing wrong with liking more bass, but it often comes at the sacrifice of the mid tones which get muddy with more bass. If you like the heavier bass, you can use an equalizer with your headphones. Spotify has one built in as does Apple Music (but Apple's only works in passive mode). There are also many equalizer apps you can use.

Yourt headphones will also burn in a bit with use and the bass should become a little deeper. Youtube has some "Burn In" videos you can play over your headset to speed the process.

Also make sure you have a good seal around your ear, the base needs a closed chamber to be fully realized. We also recommend using the highest quality signal. écoute headphones being audio monitors with a lot of detail reave bad signals and bad recordings as much as they do good ones.

Best regards and happy listening!

Over all, I’m glad I bought the unit on indegogo for the discounted price but if I have to pay $500 or more for the unit, I would not recommend.
If they are going to have a 2nd generation, they will need to make the unit smaller for potential customers with smaller head. And, do something about the bass.

 

[LoryWiv]

I received my ecoute headphone and I gave my review directly to ecoute. The following is what I told them:

Thank you for the ecoute headphone which I had received yesterday.
Your packaging was good. The unit arrived in my hands undamaged. I like the housing case for the unit, it's well built.
The headphone itself is well built. I noticed that I did not need to adjust the length of the headphone when I placed it on my head. But, if some one who has a smaller head, the unit will be loose and will not sit well on the head.
The buttons are easy to navigate and pairing bluetooth to my devices was a piece of cake.
The DAP I was using to pair to ecoute were Astell & Kern SP3000T and iBasso DX320.
The mid-range and high terrible of ecoute were very clear and strong. Lacking is the bass. It does not have strong bass from music coming from both of my devices. That's a little disappointment. The unit sounded real good when I was playing some smooth jazz music but, when I switched to rock and roll, because of the missing strong bass, it was not impressive. Even some of the music by Brain Culbertson that has strong bass did not sound good on the ecoute. Sorry but, I am just giving you my honest opinion so maybe you can improve it for the second generation of ecoute. Otherwise, I am glad that I bought the unit. Thank you.

The following is the reply I received from ecoute:-

Thanks for the reply.

écoute headphones are studio monitors. They render the signal as it is with minimal augmentation. Most consumer headsets are base boosted for drama and because it's what younger consumers who have much more sensitive high frequency hearing like. This leads many to believe that their favorite songs are more bassy than they really are. Mind you there is nothing wrong with liking more bass, but it often comes at the sacrifice of the mid tones which get muddy with more bass. If you like the heavier bass, you can use an equalizer with your headphones. Spotify has one built in as does Apple Music (but Apple's only works in passive mode). There are also many equalizer apps you can use.

Yourt headphones will also burn in a bit with use and the bass should become a little deeper. Youtube has some "Burn In" videos you can play over your headset to speed the process.

Also make sure you have a good seal around your ear, the base needs a closed chamber to be fully realized. We also recommend using the highest quality signal. écoute headphones being audio monitors with a lot of detail reave bad signals and bad recordings as much as they do good ones.

Best regards and happy listening!

Over all, I’m glad I bought the unit on indegogo for the discounted price but if I have to pay $500 or more for the unit, I would not recommend.
If they are going to have a 2nd generation, they will need to make the unit smaller for potential customers with smaller head. And, do something about the bass.

Yes, similar impressions. Would just add that a Geekria headband pad set did wonders for the écoute's fit with my small-ish noggin. Soundwise, the bass is of good quality, definitely not elevated so if you are a basshead look elsewhere. But for my preferred genres (classical, jazz) the overall sound signature is quite nice. Compared to Focal Bathys the treble is better extended with more air, and the other two areas it bests the Bathys are soundstage width and overall musicality (the latter perhaps due to the nutube). Only about 10 hours on the écoute thus far so will update if significant changes with burn-in.

 

[LoryWiv]

In addition to the above comparative comments with Focal Bathys, two other areas in which écoute has room for improvement:

1. The ANC, which works well overall but adds a noticeable bit of background hiss when activated which is not present in Bathys,
2. écoute lacks true multipoint....one has to shut off the connected device to connect to another, rendering it cumbersome to take a call from a connected phone while listening to music from a DAP.

Still, I enjoy the sound signature and perhaps one or both of the above two issues can be improved with a firmware update. Overall, pleased with my écoute and looking forward to what this company will do going forward.