[power4people]

Listening as I type to my Sines received just 2 days ago.  I decided to try these out for a number of reasons and I am not disappointed so far.  I travel every week within the US with my normal set up of Pono player and Campfire Audio Jupiter IEMs.  Prior to the Jupiters I travelled with UE900s.  Over the past few months I have been struggling with inner ear discomfort on longer flights, pressure, fatigue, with both IEMs.  Never had this problem in the past.  I am hoping that the Sines will be the solution for me.  So far my impressions;
1. Great design - fold flat and small for portability in my backpack, on ear design is much more comfortable than I hoped for.  My wife has a pair of B&W P5 and they blow those away for comfort.
2. Isolation is good.  I expected to hear more leakage being an on ear
3. Sound - I am not a professional reviewer so I will just say they sound great to me.  I love my Jupiters mids and highs.  The sine does not inspire the same love but the sound is very balanced.  Maybe they will open up over time.  The low end is just where I like it.  
4. Travel and comfort - Have not been on the plane with them yet but looking forward to it.  Very comfortable here in my home office.  Seem to be very durable with high quality materials and manufacturing.
 
I am hoping to see a balanced cable from Audeze with Pono compatible double connector.  Would go with custom but the angled design gives me pause.

 

[Maelob]

Just heard Tyll on home theater geeks saying that he just received the Sine.  Thats good news would like to hear what he has to say and also measurements. But from what he briefly said he was really excited about the bass on the sine.  He said they have kicking bass and slam.  And he said it in a positive way.  
 
https://www.twit.tv/shows/home-theater-geeks/episodes/297?autostart=false

 

[losiher]

Audeze Sine coming soon to accompany (replace?) my Sonus Faber Pryma. Does it brings something new?
Does anyone know how they sound directly connected to a AK380, Lotoo Paw Gold or Cowon Plenue 1 (my music players now)?

 

[Focker]

Okay, so these headphones are even better than I expected...as much as I like the PM-3, these are already a clear step up for me. 
 
First of all, Audeze has done the impossible...they have created an on-ear headphone that I actually find comfortable! Last night in my first listening session with them, I was deep into the music on my Deezer app, and before I knew it I was at 90 min of straight listening. No ear discomfort at all. I ended up going for a full 3hr, and even then still felt perfectly comfortable. 
 
Second, the Cipher cable is awesome. It's not that much bulkier than a cable that has the basic mic and +/- buttons that any other cable would have. The driver/app installs immediately and the interface is really cool...those of you who like EQ'ing will like this: 
 

 
 
Third, I need to spend more time with the headphones being plugged into the iphone directly, or better yet into the Oppo HA-2, which I love, but with the Cipher cable I definitley agree that the low end is beautiful. Clean, crisp, and well extended. Imaging is spot on. I don't know that I would use the word "small" for the soundstage, though. I get a nice degree of width from side to side. It's not large by any means, but it doesn't feel unnaturally compressed or closed in. It may sound that way without the benefit of DSP in the Cipher cable, I don't know. But with the Cipher I feel it's relatively spacious side to side, less so front to back.
 
Another thing I like, and again, this may be due to the DSP...still gotta listen more...but whereas a headphone like the PM-3 always reminds me that there are two ear cups sending sound into my brain, these have a little more respect for my personal space and avoid that "shouty" sensation that exists at times. The only other time I experience this is with the crossfeed circuit on the Meier amps. It's sort of like the soundstage falls into space slightly out in front and curves around the sides vs the sound projecting right into your ears/head. So in addition to the physical comfort, I also did not experience any fatigue, which is saying a lot. 
 
I never quite found the interest to pull the trigger on the EL-8, but the early feedback on the SINE really piqued my interest. As much as I like the PM-3, this is a much better headphone to my ears. 
 
I'll update with some feedback comparing the different cables once I get some time to do that. I don't know enough about the DSP in the Cipher to know what sort of impact it's having. I just know I like it  

 

[Beagle]

  Okay, so these headphones are even better than I expected...as much as I like the PM-3, these are already a clear step up for me. 
 

 
Agree. One niggle....although there's not much of a soundstage and yes, everything is fairly clear and distinct, it does get a touch cramped in there. Sort of the nature of the on-ears beast.

 

[Focker]

   
Agree. One niggle....although there's not much of a soundstage and yes, everything is fairly clear and distinct, it does get a touch cramped in there. Sort of the nature of the on-ears beast.

 
Are you using the Cipher? 

 

[egogo]

Has anybody tried to connect Cipher to mac? I'm using lighting adapter for apple pencil, but it doesn't seem to work. I.e. not only it does not show up in sound output device list, but also no new usb devices are found.

 

[shockwaver]

Just received mine.
When compared to PM-3,
-bass is leaner (no bass hump), tighter and cleaner. 
-violins sound distant in some orchestral recordings. Upper mid-range is laid-back, relatively.
-cymbals retain more energy and have longer decay.
-more spaced out
-"much" more air around the instruments.
-vocals sound similarly beautiful and organic. less upfront and more coherent.
 
I had packed PM-3 away but brought it back on my desk because it is way more comfortable. 
Comfort is not sine's strength.

 

[ohotonge]

Just saw audez lcd-4 review in innerfideltiy, some interesting comment on sine.

 

[M-13]

So I hear the more recent EL-8s are much better and free of problems of the past. Any comparisons of the Sine vs. EL-8C, a good recent pair?

 

[Saoshyant]

@Maelob Thanks for pointing out that episode.  Time to listen while I do other things!

 

[Beagle]

   
Are you using the Cipher? 

No

 

[YtseJamer]

  Okay, so these headphones are even better than I expected...as much as I like the PM-3, these are already a clear step up for me. 
 
First of all, Audeze has done the impossible...they have created an on-ear headphone that I actually find comfortable! Last night in my first listening session with them, I was deep into the music on my Deezer app, and before I knew it I was at 90 min of straight listening. No ear discomfort at all. I ended up going for a full 3hr, and even then still felt perfectly comfortable. 
 
Second, the Cipher cable is awesome. It's not that much bulkier than a cable that has the basic mic and +/- buttons that any other cable would have. The driver/app installs immediately and the interface is really cool...those of you who like EQ'ing will like this: 
 

 
 
Third, I need to spend more time with the headphones being plugged into the iphone directly, or better yet into the Oppo HA-2, which I love, but with the Cipher cable I definitley agree that the low end is beautiful. Clean, crisp, and well extended. Imaging is spot on. I don't know that I would use the word "small" for the soundstage, though. I get a nice degree of width from side to side. It's not large by any means, but it doesn't feel unnaturally compressed or closed in. It may sound that way without the benefit of DSP in the Cipher cable, I don't know. But with the Cipher I feel it's relatively spacious side to side, less so front to back.
 
Another thing I like, and again, this may be due to the DSP...still gotta listen more...but whereas a headphone like the PM-3 always reminds me that there are two ear cups sending sound into my brain, these have a little more respect for my personal space and avoid that "shouty" sensation that exists at times. The only other time I experience this is with the crossfeed circuit on the Meier amps. It's sort of like the soundstage falls into space slightly out in front and curves around the sides vs the sound projecting right into your ears/head. So in addition to the physical comfort, I also did not experience any fatigue, which is saying a lot. 
 
I never quite found the interest to pull the trigger on the EL-8, but the early feedback on the SINE really piqued my interest. As much as I like the PM-3, this is a much better headphone to my ears. 
 
I'll update with some feedback comparing the different cables once I get some time to do that. I don't know enough about the DSP in the Cipher to know what sort of impact it's having. I just know I like it  

 
Thanks for sharing.
 
That'd be great if you could compare the SQ with the Cipher cable versus the HA-2.
 
I'm streaming a lot of music these days and I'm hesitating in between the HA-2 or the Cipher cable.

 

[YtseJamer]

My pair of SINE with the TH-X00.
 

 

[zhix78]

I tested the Audeze Sine today.

My current rig is the Chord mojo + AK100ii + Oppo PM3. I wanted to see if the Audeze Sine could be driven easier then the Oppo PM3 (which really needs a good amp to shine, IMHO) so I mainly tested the Audeze Sine directly from the AK100ii WITHOUT the chord mojo. The idea is that if the Audeze Sine could be driven easier, I would get rid of the Chord Mojo and PM3, and go for a MORE portable rig (AK100ii + Audeze Sine instead of AK100ii + Chord Mojo + Oppo PM3)

Physically, the Sine is slightly smaller then the PM3, and clamps to the head more tightly. At the end of my test session (about 20-30mins), the Sine was starting to pinch the temples a little, the PM3 defintely wins in comfortable albeit not as portable as the Sine due to the larger physical size of the PM3. Noise isolation was pretty good on the Sine, perhaps since it clamps more tightly then the PM3s.

[AK100ii + Audeze Sine] My initial impression from my usual test tracks were quite positive, the bass seems to pack more punch then the PM3, soundstage sounds slightly smaller but overall, the Sine seems to sound more lively and exciting then the PM3. Overall, the bass had more kick, and made the sound more exciting then the PM3, at this point I was really to purchase the Sine.

During one of my test tracks (Arnesen magnificat 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym4sH9VaHbU), the upper vocal registers, when the singer were reaching the high notes, there was a very noticeable distortion, it was jarring on the ears and not a smooth warm vocal soaring on the high notes. I repeat that track several times and could duplicate the results. I tried the same track now through the Chord Mojo and distortion disappeared. The PM3 did not have this problem, with or without the Chord Mojo, there was no distortion.

Conclusion is that the Audeze Sine DOES need an amp to reach it's full potential (although of course, the type of player does make a difference, I was using my AK100ii as a benchmark) and somehow it seems that the Oppo PM3 is more forgiving without an amp.
However when an amp is included in the setup, the Audeze Sine packs a more lively and puncher sound albeit a smaller soundstage. The Oppo PM3 while less lively, has a slightly larger soundstage and overall warmer feel.

In the end I did not purchase the Audeze Sine and kept my current "semi-portable" rig (AK100ii + Chord Mojo + Oppo PM3) ... the search for a headphone that can beat the Oppo PM3 without an amp continues !