GOT EM. Amazon was trying to tell me they'd be here on Wednesday but I knew better. I know there's a whole thread devoted to these and how they sound with a billion reviews, so nobody needs to hear my two cents but I just thought I'd post my first impressions.. So far, it seems that everything everybody is saying is exactly true, EXCEPT: Arrgh I really wish they had a little less low end, then they'd be pretty much perfect. Granted I've only been listening for a couple hours, and I have seen people say the exactly same thing about the initial listen and then grew to love them, so we will see. I actually switched to the red tips that came with, they're a little more comfortable and have a wider bore, but not noticing much of a sound difference. The mids and highs are great, really great control and feel, and the soundstage is just dandy, bigger than the Heir's, which are maybe a little more detailed. The low end on the Heir's is definitely faster and more accurate, but it's got 2 BA's taking care of the bass so no surprise there I guess. Anyway, very basic reactions to some of the stuff I listened to
Certain stuff sounds phenomenal through these, like really nice recordings that are a little on the lean side:
Steve Winwood's "Back in the High Life"
No Doubt's "Tragic Kingdom"
Rickie Lee Jones "Chuck E.'s in Love" (one of my favorite recordings)
Paul Simon "50 Ways"
Reel Big Fish "Turn the Radio Off"
Propagandhi "Today's Empires Tomorrow's Ashes"
"Perfectly" balanced recordings (to my ears, and my usual go-to's) are a little heavy handed, maybe even a little wooly:
Dire Straits "Sultans of Swing"
Phil Collins' "Behind the Lines"
Spin Doctor's "Jimmy Olsen's Blues,"
Kid Dynamite "Shorter Faster Louder"
Goldfinger "Stomping Ground"
And then there's the stuff that's a little (or sometimes a lot) rich, which I also love but on these they become...not unlistenable, but definitely too bloated for me:
Blondie, "The Tide is High," "Heart of Glass" (Not crazy, but just much more than I'm used to)
Caetano Veloso "Nao Enche"
Peter Wolf "Sleepless"
Third Eye Blind "Semi Charmed Life"
The Horrible Crowes "Elsie"
Norah Jones "Daybreaks"
On the other hand, Paco De Lucia's Chambao was sublime, and totally made my night. (Most of) Santana's Supernatural surprised me by having tons of low end in just the right places, didn't bother the rest of the mix at all and sounded great. Somehow James Taylor's live album (the '93 one) sounds just right on everything I've ever heard it on. Stevie Wonder's "Do I Do" sounded great too, but I can't listen to that track objectively because it's just so much fun. And they're great for Motown, really brings out those James Jamerson & co lines
So who knows. It's tough, they really do sound good. A little low end cut up to 125hz does wonders, but I like a "one size fits all" approach so I don't really use EQ. All I know is that I'll be listening to them for the next (insert large number) of hours/days straight until I can sort my feelings out. They're super classy, very sturdy looking and yes, you forget the cable exists, it's very good.
