[Sajid Amit]

This phenomena is as old as headphones. It's the "theory of relativity". If you listened to the HD600/650 for a week (an hour/day) then the veil would disappear and clarity would be fine as it was in the past. It is vaguely reminiscent of a situation in car racing where a driver breaks his arm and is temporarily replaced by a retired ex world champion. But the team manager is frowning because this superstar only performs a little better than a mediocre (but familiar with their chassis) never to be world champ. A racing car is a complex device (so are headphones), the superstar has limited exposure to how it behaves, what works in technique and what doesn't. Because he doesn't know his car that takes the edge of performance (you're not hearing the maximum potential of the device). So an inferior headphone might sound temporarily superior to a superior one. Many people will have lived with their HD600/650 then gone to a hifi shop and heard a HD800 only to get the impression that it's too thin, lacks bass and has a sharp treble, but has detail and wide soundstage and not liked a headphone that they might subsequently have liked had they lived with it rather than a short unreliable exposure. So to undertake the task of comparing a number of headphones is daunting simply because each one has its own unique sonics and independent design as well as the disadvantage of short familiarity. Interesting read for those of us who are unlikely to ever have the experience of these expensive flagships. Anyway that's my unreliable take on why you might not now like the beautifully uniform HD600/650 that you once did. Something that stood out reading your reviews was you mentioned that many models had a 'warm' sound signature. It's amusing to me that these flagships are all striving for sound quality in a very limited range of sound quality but need strong (in some way that I don't actually know how they achieve this) fundamentals relative to harmonics whatever that means, which is related to the dreaded distortion.

Nicely put

 

[Sefelt103]

Nicely put

You mention power amplifiers in some of your reviews. It's something I've seen quite a lot of recently (over in the DT 880 thread), the use of power amplifiers instead of headphone amplifiers to drive low sensitivity planar magnetic and high impedance dynamic driver flagships. With many recent high power headphone amplifiers what's your view on using power amplifiers for the difficult to drive models ?

 

[Sajid Amit]

You mention power amplifiers in some of your reviews. It's something I've seen quite a lot of recently (over in the DT 880 thread), the use of power amplifiers instead of headphone amplifiers to drive low sensitivity planar magnetic and high impedance dynamic driver flagships. With many recent high power headphone amplifiers what's your view on using power amplifiers for the difficult to drive models ?

A different world. I have heard TOTL headphone amps, and many are bested by midlevel Marantz amps, and completely outclassed by TOTL speaker amps.

Speaker amps - the top brands and even the midtier brands - have been around for 30-100 years, so the years of experience they have behind their design, R&D, execution is unmatched by most headphone amp builders - unless you are talking about some Gilmore designs (and some others, of course).

Mid-tier speaker amps are also far more competitively priced, while TOTL headphone amps start getting into ridiculous price territory, for their performance, compared to midtier speaker amps.

Yes, there are risks to driving cans with speaker amps, but you can always be a bit careful with the volume knob.

I have heard considerable improvements in driving difficult to drive cans with speaker amps. These range from the Sundara to the Susvara. I have even heard differences on the ZMF Auteur.

Noise can be an issue if your cans are high impedance and high efficiency. For that you have to look for speaker amps with low noise specs, e.g., Pass Labs XA25, the other low-power Nelson Pass model (First Watt, I think), and of course, Benchmark AHB2, which has ridiculously low noise. The AHB2 drives 300 ohm cans with no noise.

I use a higher power Accuphase e380 and it also works well with high impedance cans (no noise), but the Accuphase is better for low efficiency cans like my planars + my SR1a (which demands a speaker amp).

Hope this helps.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

This phenomena is as old as headphones. It's the "theory of relativity". If you listened to the HD600/650 for a week (an hour/day) then the veil would disappear and clarity would be fine as it was in the past. It is vaguely reminiscent of a situation in car racing where a driver breaks his arm and is temporarily replaced by a retired ex world champion. But the team manager is frowning because this superstar only performs a little better than a mediocre (but familiar with their chassis) never to be world champ. A racing car is a complex device (so are headphones), the superstar has limited exposure to how it behaves, what works in technique and what doesn't. Because he doesn't know his car that takes the edge of performance (you're not hearing the maximum potential of the device). So an inferior headphone might sound temporarily superior to a superior one. Many people will have lived with their HD600/650 then gone to a hifi shop and heard a HD800 only to get the impression that it's too thin, lacks bass and has a sharp treble, but has detail and wide soundstage and not liked a headphone that they might subsequently have liked had they lived with it rather than a short unreliable exposure. So to undertake the task of comparing a number of headphones is daunting simply because each one has its own unique sonics and independent design as well as the disadvantage of short familiarity. Interesting read for those of us who are unlikely to ever have the experience of these expensive flagships. Anyway that's my unreliable take on why you might not now like the beautifully uniform HD600/650 that you once did. Something that stood out reading your reviews was you mentioned that many models had a 'warm' sound signature. It's amusing to me that these flagships are all striving for sound quality in a very limited range of sound quality but need strong (in some way that I don't actually know how they achieve this) fundamentals relative to harmonics whatever that means, which is related to the dreaded distortion.

I have just the opposite happen to me. I own Utopia, ZMF VC, Ananda, HD800S, 650 and 600. I rarely listen to my 650 and 600 anymore, however, when I do break them out, I love the sound and can't believe they sound so good for how much they cost. This is especially true for the HD600. What stands out to me is the cheap build quality relative to other TOTL products. That said, the 650/600 cannot compete technically with my other headphones. Any A/B test proves that, but if I just want to listen to music and not critically evaluate, the 600/650 sound great.

 

[Sefelt103]

Hope this helps.

Yes definitely, I wonder if there's a market for a small modern battery powered headphone amplifier that emulates some Marantz, Pioneer, Sansui analogue receivers from the 1970s using a rotary 3 way dial. Maybe not.

 

[Sefelt103]

I have just the opposite happen to me. I own Utopia, ZMF VC, Ananda, HD800S, 650 and 600. I rarely listen to my 650 and 600 anymore, however, when I do break them out, I love the sound and can't believe they sound so good for how much they cost. This is especially true for the HD600. What stands out to me is the cheap build quality relative to other TOTL products. That said, the 650/600 cannot compete technically with my other headphones. Any A/B test proves that, but if I just want to listen to music and not critically evaluate, the 600/650 sound great.

If you listened to your HD800S only for several days if you then switched to your HD650 you wouldn't find it sounded a bit bass heavy/distorted/thick and dark sounding initially ? If you're swapping between your other headphones then this creates a quandary if my experience/ideas are correct. Your brain/ears might be halfway towards a Utopia when you try a HD600. There are so many interferences that might alter your perception. I've often wondered what happens if someone with multiple headphones listens to 6 different makes and models for 10 minutes each for his hour of headphone music.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

If you listened to your HD800S only for several days if you then switched to your HD650 you wouldn't find it sounded a bit bass heavy/distorted/thick and dark sounding initially ? If you're swapping between your other headphones then this creates a quandary if my experience/ideas are correct. Your brain/ears might be halfway towards a Utopia when you try a HD600. There are so many interferences that might alter your perception. I've often wondered what happens if someone with multiple headphones listens to 6 different makes and models for 10 minutes each for his hour of headphone music.

I completely agree with your thesis that what you listened to immediately before effects what you are hearing now. It's the bright light outside then going inside syndrome. I also agree that short impressions of headphones are not indicative of what your long term perception will be of those headphones. That's why I usually like to take a week listening in all types of conditions before settling in on an opinion of a given headphone. My cleanest pallet for listening to headphones is first thing in the morning. My audio memory resets and I get the truest picture of those headphones. That said, it doesn't matter what I listen to first, my HD600 sounds good to my ear because the tuning is so good.

 

[Sefelt103]

My audio memory resets and I get the truest picture of those headphones. That said, it doesn't matter what I listen to first, my HD600 sounds good to my ear because the tuning is so good.

Surely my point is that a headphone design with all its unique characteristics persists in the ear/brain and that this is what makes evaluation so hazardous. If ones memory of a headphone 'reset' on each waking then if one listened to only a HD600 for a few years then went to a hifi shop your focus on that headphone would not affect the array of different sound signatures you would encounter. My point is they would think the HD600/650 sounded great and perhaps the Clear but the DT1990 was painfully bright and the HD800 had no bass because the HD600 acoustic configuration persisted in their mind. Big soundstages might sound unusual and vocals not great. If ones memory reset then headphone evaluation would surely be much easier. Tyll Hertsons said one developed a 'filter' as one listened more and more to a given headphone. To 'reset' or clear the filter well that's interesting, perhaps not listening to any headphones for a week might do the trick.

 

[protoss]

@Sajid Amit

Great post.

We got to get you STAX now.

 

[Sajid Amit]

@Sajid Amit

Great post.

We got to get you STAX now.

Lol. Thanks. Yes, will try to get a 007 MK1 in sooner or later, for an extended audition and review.

Have had very brief auditions earlier with the MK2 and 009s, but as with any headphone that pushes technical boundaries, I figure they need longer auditions for a proper assessment. I am also told by my Staxophile friends that the MK1 is the way to go, and the 009 BK, although the debates on these topics are the stuff of legends.

 

[Arcamera]

Great review. And I love the bit of time I spent listening to Accuphase gear, and Sonus Faber. Good to see a Meze 99 Classic in the picture too

 

[Sajid Amit]

Great review. And I love the bit of time I spent listening to Accuphase gear, and Sonus Faber. Good to see a Meze 99 Classic in the picture too

Thank you! I have the 99 Classics in for a review. Will be on my channel in two weeks, I hope

 

[Sajid Amit]

Random Reflection: July 25, 2021

So I took a gamble downgrading from the U12t and the A8000 to the relatively lesser-known Thieaudio Monarch. And boy, I have never been happier. At the park today, I walked longer and faster than ever before, fueled by these wonderful IEMs.

And for context, while working from home earlier, I played the Susvara, the Abyss AB1266 Phi TC, and the Raal SR1a for five straight hours, so the Monarch had a lot to live up to. And it did.

In sum, the Thieaudio Monarch is insane value for money. I am in love how hard its bass hits while sounding perfectly natural. I also love its pleasant Harman 2018 target-hitting sound signature. Works with every genre!

A shout out to the awesome fellas at Headphones dot com for hooking me up with the Monarchs.

 

[Sajid Amit]

For friends on this thread, I got a subwoofer today, the KEF Kube 8b, to pair with the Raal SR1a, as is advised by some SR1a users. The integration (sonically) was seamless after a bit of EQ, and the results rather grandiose and exciting. The SR1a has a huge sound with the sub.

This prompted me to do a bit of A/B-ing with the Sus, TC, and the sub-powered Raal SR1a off the PrimaLuna EVO 400. Results as follows.

Disclaimer: This is not intended to be a water-tight and exhaustive list of parameters, but those that came to my mind. And as always, YMMV.

 

[iFi audio]

For friends on this thread, I got a subwoofer today, the KEF Kube 8b, to pair with the Raal SR1a, as is advised by some SR1a users. The integration (sonically) was seamless after a bit of EQ, and the results rather grandiose and exciting. The SR1a has a huge sound with the sub.



This prompted me to do a bit of A/B-ing with the Sus, TC, and the sub-powered Raal SR1a off the PrimaLuna EVO 400. Results as follows.



Disclaimer: This is not intended to be a water-tight and exhaustive list of parameters, but those that came to my mind. And as always, YMMV.

Lovely work! Considering your feedback in the Sus thread, I thought these will be above Abyss though