Audeze CRBN Interview, Review, Measurements

[number1sixerfan]

Which dealer?

Just one of the many of hundreds of local dealers I know many of us buy from. Fully acknowledge that the timing can be different based on the distribution channel, i.e. if you bought directly from Audeze, you could possibly get them earlier, or if there are preferred dealers etc. But from what I'm gathering, there's just delays in general.

 

[buzzlulu]

@number1sixerfan
I was referring to the X9000 not the CRBN
For Stax there are only about 6 dealers in the US not hundreds
Thanks

 

[orcawithabat]

I do wonder how this will compare to current Stax offerings as well as their new one (x9000). Always cool to see some estat competition going on

 

[Nomax]

So my final impressions

Audeze heaphones and me - this has not at all been a love story by now. None of their headphone tonalities was really able to impress me over the last ten years. And certainly not their oversized heavy and student-like constructions in the premium price segment for thousands of euros.

Those who know me well, know that I am very strict and my personal bar is just very high in the premium price segment. This is what we may have here:
An electrostatic headphone from Audeze?
For 5000 euros?
Which will maybe sound just as veiled and dull as one of their models from the past?

For me personally, an audiophile tonality must bring a certain degree of illumination (in mids and highs) to be able to uncover what is actually on a recording.
Audeze has simply not managed this in the past, I always had the feeling that there is something missing (which ultimately the measurements have always shown).
But let us come briefly to Stax. What was always missing from their models? Actually in the lower range exactly what Audeze lacked in the upper range. They have too little bass, their transducers simply move too little air mass and generate too little pressure, which evaporates due to their too open design.

But now let us move on to the CRBN:

I do not really like the headband with its adjustment mechanism and the suspension. However, I appreciate these very large ear cups with their new oval shape where each ear easily finds space.
How does the CRBN feel on my head with its 300 grams?
Very pleasant, perhaps a bit less of contact pressure would suit me even better, but this should not be a criticism on my part.
A point of criticism from me, however, is why Audeze still has to attach ear pads with double-sided tape in 2021. This is really a mystery to me ??

On the acoustics and tonality of the CRBN :
Hopefully it is not too muffled and too veiled, also I am curious if it can also deliver bass pressure / volume without it being too much of a good thing on one ("woom woom" sounding).
And HOW the CRBN can - clean and fast, with Air volume, even at higher levels
Let's see Stax duplicate that!(no)
Minutes pass, and I still have the CRBN on my head.
Quite strange and intriguing, this depth of space that I didn't even hear from my HE1 like this.
I think Audeze has done a very very good job here with the new ear pads, which seem to be filled with a rather hard memory foam. I am amazed, still have not taken the headphones off, who would have thought that possible?

The tonal performance of the CRBN I would not describe as open, but as very spatial. This is where many models from the past have met their match.
Tonal openness can be achieved in two ways, either by a somewhat brighter tuning in the 9-12 KHz range or by a very open design, such as Stax 009S/X9000, which is too open and lacks the pressure of the moving air mass. This is not the case with the CRBN.

Can I give this model a thumbs up in what I hear? I give it one.
But more than that, I give Audeze two thumbs up
Because this time they have/had the courage to depart from their old tonality. This one is first different from the Stax headphones and second, it also differs significantly from the models of the past (LCD-4/LCD-3).
And in the twenty minutes I've been writing these lines, I still enjoy listening to the CRBN because it does a lot of things right, though not everything (9-12 kHz).
A little little bit more in this area (my personal preferences)
What my Golden Ear has heard in the last few days from these headphones is much different from what Stax headphones have offered me in the past.

As a person standing between the manufacturers and the community, I wish that Audeze manages to produce these headphones in series without channel imbalances, that the transducers will give pleasure for a long time without failures and that a thorough "four eyes principle" will be applied for final inspection.


Let me say thanks to Audeze, because even if I am very critical, this time there is exceptionally a thumbs up, for the first time also from me.


NOMAX

 

[Trance_Gott]

Hopefully the X9000 can beat the CRBN or is at least on par in the bass department. Maybe the 20% bigger transducer can reach this. Yes this very open design of the 009/s is not good for the bass response too low no real slam even with a Carbon. That is the case why I only have the 007 bass port mod and sold all other E stats. Okay I also have a glory amazing Orpheus clone from chinsettawong which looks very similar to the CRBN and has a lot a lot better soundstage vs Stax, more bass then 009 and the best midrange I ever heared from an e Stat.

 

[Chefguru]

Nomax - for simplicity can you score your review of the the different categories out of 10 vs the HE1/sr009

 

[BTD1]

If someone could help me understand how an e-stat sounds different from a planar I would appreciate it. I have several ToTl headphones and they are all good, but different. Never having heard an e-stat, I'm wondering is the actual sound or timbre of an instrument different on an e-stat? For instance if listening to a well recorded string quartet, would the e-stat, namely, the CRBN, bring something to the actual sound of the instruments that planners and dynamics can't? If the best planar and the best e-stat sound alike then why bother with the e-stat and the need for special amplification. I trying to get at the actual reproduction of the recorded instruments.

 

[branislav]

If someone could help me understand how an e-stat sounds different from a planar I would appreciate it. I have several ToTl headphones and they are all good, but different. Never having heard an e-stat, I'm wondering is the actual sound or timbre of an instrument different on an e-stat? For instance if listening to a well recorded string quartet, would the e-stat, namely, the CRBN, bring something to the actual sound of the instruments that planners and dynamics can't? If the best planar and the best e-stat sound alike then why bother with the e-stat and the need for special amplification. I trying to get at the actual reproduction of the recorded instruments.

This is hard to explain. I've heard just about all the big hitters ( utopia, susvara...) and while in the right set up they can find amazing, I heard e-stat for the first time ever at Canjam (Audeze CRBN) and to me it just sounded like I wasn't just listening to a recording, but I was actually transported there. I don't know if Stax have similar quality, but what I experienced with CRBN I don't remember experiencing with "regular" headphones. It does come down to a personal preferencies and I actually like the fact that there are not that many option as far as e-stats and amps, meaning, the chance for "upgraditis" is much lower. But ultimately only you can tell if you feel that way...of course, different amps and dacs will have an effect on the sound and have to be taken into account....

 

[JLoud]

The best way I can describe e-stats in general: They presents sound like it is floating around you, Planars/Dynamics push it at you. Like shove it in your ears. Very hard to describe, it is just a different experience.

 

[BTD1]

The best way I can describe e-stats in general: They presents sound like it is floating around you, Planars/Dynamics push it at you. Like shove it in your ears. Very hard to describe, it is just a different experience.

Thanks for attempting to put into words something that is undoubtedly hard to describe. I have wondered what the devotion to e-stats was other than being a different technology. If I buy the CRBNs it will be without hearing them first so I am really grateful for all attempts to put e-stats uniqueness into words. Sounds like the CRBNs are magical!

 

[number1sixerfan]

If someone could help me understand how an e-stat sounds different from a planar I would appreciate it. I have several ToTl headphones and they are all good, but different. Never having heard an e-stat, I'm wondering is the actual sound or timbre of an instrument different on an e-stat? For instance if listening to a well recorded string quartet, would the e-stat, namely, the CRBN, bring something to the actual sound of the instruments that planners and dynamics can't? If the best planar and the best e-stat sound alike then why bother with the e-stat and the need for special amplification. I trying to get at the actual reproduction of the recorded instruments.

In addition to what others said I would say that stats tend to have a bit more clarity, detail, air and sparkle.. but generally at the expense of bass. They all also tend to be slightly brighter, although that doesn't seem to be the case with the CRBN or x9000. But when it comes to the ultimate TOTL planars and dynamics, a lot of this does come down to preference. In my opinion, technical ability and performance ceilings are pretty similar across the affordable best of the best (009, TC, Sr1a, Susvara etc.), just depends on what you're looking for.

If you love detail, speed and an airy presentation, it's likely worth going down the stat path at least once.. if you're a basshead or prefer a lot of bass out of all of your headphones, it's probably not worth exploring imo.

(fyi none of this is a reflection on the CRBN, as I've not yet heard them.. and also understand that they seem different than most stats from a timbre perspective)

 

[BTD1]

As a lover of classical music and great singers of the American Songbook standards, it is sounding like I owe it to myself to experience e-stats and the CRBNs seem like they may be a good choice. Now, if only the CRBNs would become available for purchase without waiting for months.

 

[jlbrach]

The best way I can describe e-stats in general: They presents sound like it is floating around you, Planars/Dynamics push it at you. Like shove it in your ears. Very hard to describe, it is just a different experience.

kind of like the sr1a I suppose

 

[Chefguru]

They presents sound like it is floating around you, Planars/Dynamics push it at you.

This ^.
Good estats tend to make it seem as if the music is not actually coming from the driver. Downside to this is that sometimes you actually want that sort of impact in order to make it feel authentic to the music.
They range from sounding like an iron fist in a velvet glove (007/crbn/he1/he60) to a gamma-ray of sparkle (omega/sr009/lambda), with a few in the "middle" surreal-ethereal tuned models (he90/x9000).

Other less helpful descriptions:
Lasers beams vs Bullet guns
Electric car vs Muscle cars
Nail vs Hammer
Imax Vs film projector

 

[branislav]

This ^.
Good estats tend to make it seem as if the music is not actually coming from the driver. Downside to this is that sometimes you actually want that sort of impact in order to make it feel authentic to the music.
They range from sounding like an iron fist in a velvet glove (007/crbn/he1/he60) to a gamma-ray of sparkle (omega/sr009/lambda), with a few in the "middle" surreal-ethereal tuned models (he90/x9000).

Other less helpful descriptions:
Lasers beams vs Bullet guns
Electric car vs Muscle cars
Nail vs Hammer
Imax Vs film projector

I fully agree with the iron fist in a velvet glove and CRBN. It was gentle, yet powerful. Like a V8 car that feels powerful even when going 35 mph. With regular phones I had a need to keep turning up the volume to feel the impact, even with a powerful amp like Nirvana.

PS. Dang, I'm starting to sound like a fanboy. I'm going to stop, I promise.