[denox]

  Just got the Brainwavz SHEEPSKIN Real Leather normal pads (not angled) today. They are really nice feeling, and soft! I am more likely to use them for my T50RPs but they sort of fit the Sines. You can get it to fit but it's barely in the grooves. I think the spacers would be ideal to go with these to just give you piece of mind that the pads won't fall off or require you to re-adjust all the time.
 
Updated:
That said, I think the soundstage is slightly larger, and the bass is way more impactful and punchy. Significant difference, maybe too much (I'm not a basshead). The mids are a little more recessed and the highs are just a little more sibilant.
 
One thing to note is my volume knob is ~10% more with these on, so you'll need a bit more power to drive.
 
I think the stock pads dont bother me too much after wearing them for a while now with a foam spacer inside. I have probably medium sized ears and they fit inside the pads like over-ears with not much breathing room. Vocals sound better stock. Bass sounds weaker after going back to stock, so the bigger over-ear pads definitely exaggerate the punch quite a bit. Mids/Highs are more foward sounding too with stock and more clear and detailed.
 
The brainwavz pads sound AWESOME with my T50RP mk3s. I am really happy with how they sound and feel on them. They open the soundstage quite a bit and I don't hear any loss in audio quality at all in any range, if not bringing more detail out in the higher frequencies.
 
Anyway, I am keeping the pads on my T50RP Mk3s. For Sines, I am staying with the original pads. Something that's slightly larger but not as big as brainwavz ones could be a good balance for me. Hard to tell without trying of course.
 
 
Here's some photos:
 

 

 

 

Sorry if this had been discussed before, what cable do you have on your sine?

 

[antdroid]

  Sorry if this had been discussed before, what cable do you have on your sine?

I post a link a few pages back, but these are replacement cables for the Denon AH-D7100/AH-D600 headphones:
 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KX5P06G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Maelob]

surprised to hear the volume issues with cipher I consistently listen at below 50%. I guess we all have different volume preferences.

 

[Heartsmart]

Here are some impressions after three days with Sine.
Sorry for my bad English, but I don't want that to stopping me writing.

First of all I must give Audeze my respect for making this headphones. From the first day I heard of them I thought that it was something I wanted to own.

I really like the idea of lightning powered phones. I while ago I purchased Philips fidelio M2L and enjoyed them a lot when I didn't want to bring external dac/amp on the go.



Comfort

My head is not ideal for this headphone. I have a small head with egg form top that give the headband a narrow area to rest on. They are quite heavy for there size. That with the lack of hair give me pain after a short while. This is not a problem with just Sine but with all phones with narrow headband without much padding.

I have made a lot of effort to test a ideal placement on my ears. This hasn't been easy. Maby my small ears contributed to that. I have now find what I think is the best way to wear them with a good seal to bring out the bass. But they then get serious sensitive to movements with the head and even depending of if my mouth is open or not. The sound alters quite a bit depending of these things.

I notice quite a lot of noise when the cable is touching my clothes.

So to conclude Sine is not made for me comfort wise. My Philips fidelio M2L is much more comfortable mostly to its much lesser weight. And they aren't so picky with placement on the ears. But I really want to give Sine more time to get used to because they sound wonderful. Maby test another pad.



Cipher

This is the reason I bought Sine. I wanted to test if Sine would bring a better sound than my Philips Fidelio M2L. And they certainly do. I think M2L sounds really good for the price. I payed more than five times the price of M2L for the Sine.

The sound out of Cipher is wonderful in my opinion. I really love it. One maby negative thing is that the volume could have a little more to give sometimes. But I understand that the limit is set by iOS capability to bring power to the phones. I have noticed when using Mojo with Sine that they want power to sound there best.

The sad thing is that Cipher keep losing contact with iOS mostly when I move around, but sometimes even when I sitting still. This appears with all my iOS units so I think there is something wrong with my Cipher cable.


Build

Fantastic looking headphone. And really stellar build in my opinion. One thing that irritates me is that the stitching on the headband is poor made in a area of one inches. And I think there is a risk that they will brake in that area in the future. And if not its not pretty on a in every other aspect stellar locking headphone. I really think that this should not have passed the quality control. But this is my only complaint on this otherwise excellent construed and build headphone.
I have the feeling that they are fragile and I notice that I baby them more than any other headphone I own. The gliding mechanism is another concern when I think that it should be more firm. The position is to easy to move. And Sine are so picky with placement on the ears that this gets irritating to all the time reposition them. Maby I am nitpicking now, but this is something that is important for my overall experience of using them.


So, I really love and hate this headphone in a way I never experienced before. They are so good but in the same time really hard to live with for me. Because of the Cipher doesn't work as it should for me I have been testing with the regular cable and Mojo and the sound very good together.

My last words is...Audeze you really made something wonderful. But I think there are some areas that could be improved, and I really think you will do that. The question for me is if I can live with the problems I have with it. The strange thing is that I probably will forgive Sine for the problematic things. And this is a big sign on how good the Sine are.

 

[Maelob]

Make sure the connector on the phone is clean of dust and dirt- that could be the reason for bad connection

 

[Heartsmart]

I have testet with three different iOS devices. Cipher loses connection with all of them. I have no problem to connect Mojo with the same devices so my conclusion is that it must be Cipher that is the problem.

The store I bought from are sending me a new one.

Thanks for your advice

 

[Arttt]

My advice to you Heartsmart is start to listen to Sine at low volumes, like 5 volume bars on iPad or iPhone, for a hour or two for a few weeks. At first you will find it unsutisfying and you will want to turn the volume up, but hold on, and keep listening to lower volume.
Find good acoustic records of smooth jazz blues folk music maybe some rock, whatever has instruments of touching real air....

Your ears will a costume to notice music without going to loud volumes to get a kick of it.
Planars very reviling and dynamic, have lots of micro detail ... You can get a taste of music without going over 80db...
I suspect Philips headphones are fun at high volumes and they spoiled your ears....

Also download on your smartphone an app that measure db level. I use Decibel 10th on my iphone6 , simple app but gets the job done.
Place smartphone between headphone cups, start db app and see what level is it. Try to stay between 70-85 db, don't go over 85db... It can cost hearing damage even if sound feels normal...

Planars have clean sound and it easy to get carry away and turn volume higher than you need...

So , try to listen at low volumes from time to time , don't listen to music only at high volumes...

 

[giraz]

@Arttt interesting post.
I downloaded Decibel 10th on my iPhone 6s. I left all default settings.
I played a track from Pink FLoyd's Pulse through Cipher cable and Sine.
The measurement is done through the mic in the Cipher cable, so I put the Cipher module between the two earcups and I gently pushed them together, paying attention not to close the mic hole on the back of the module.
 
At max volume, I got about 80db. Is it normal?
 
I would like others of you to take this simple test.
I really like Audeze Sine, but from the first days I felt volume with Cipher cable to be a little weak for my taste, and at max volume I hear a little of distortion, or at least "imprecision". Nothing about this with standard 3,5mm cable and Fiio X5 II output.
 
Let me know if someone replicate this test.
 
Thankx

 

[Heartsmart]

My advice to you Heartsmart is start to listen to Sine at low volumes, like 5 volume bars on iPad or iPhone, for a hour or two for a few weeks. At first you will find it unsutisfying and you will want to turn the volume up, but hold on, and keep listening to lower volume.
Find good acoustic records of smooth jazz blues folk music maybe some rock, whatever has instruments of touching real air....

Your ears will a costume to notice music without going to loud volumes to get a kick of it.
Planars very reviling and dynamic, have lots of micro detail ... You can get a taste of music without going over 80db...
I suspect Philips headphones are fun at high volumes and they spoiled your ears....

Also download on your smartphone an app that measure db level. I use Decibel 10th on my iphone6 , simple app but gets the job done.
Place smartphone between headphone cups, start db app and see what level is it. Try to stay between 70-85 db, don't go over 85db... It can cost hearing damage even if sound feels normal...

Planars have clean sound and it easy to get carry away and turn volume higher than you need...

So , try to listen at low volumes from time to time , don't listen to music only at high volumes...

Thanks for your advice.

What you are saying make sense to me. Most of the time I use moderate volume level. But sometimes it feels like it needs higher levels to get the best of it. On Philips I tend to go for less volume than with Sine. Maby because Sine got less distortion and the music sound nice even at higher levels.

I will test level when I get the replacement Cipher hopefully in a few days.

 

[Heartsmart]

@Arttt
interesting post.

I downloaded Decibel 10th on my iPhone 6s. I left all default settings.

I played a track from Pink FLoyd's Pulse through Cipher cable and Sine.

The measurement is done through the mic in the Cipher cable, so I put the Cipher module between the two earcups and I gently pushed them together, paying attention not to close the mic hole on the back of the module.

At max volume, I got about 80db. Is it normal?

I would like others of you to take this simple test.
I really like Audeze Sine, but from the first days I felt volume with Cipher cable to be a little weak for my taste, and at max volume I hear a little of distortion, or at least "imprecision". Nothing about this with standard 3,5mm cable and Fiio X5 II output.

Let me know if someone replicate this test.

Thankx

I get about the same result. Using the same meter and method as Arttt.

When holding the pads gently together I can't reach 80. It's mostly about 65-75 depending on the pads position together. But when holding the phone all the way against the fabric in to on of the open pads it can get up to max 95.

My experience is that when I get a good seal the volume gets lower and the measures confirmed that.

This is all but a scientific method but give an idea.

 

[Heartsmart]

@Arttt
interesting post.

I downloaded Decibel 10th on my iPhone 6s. I left all default settings.

I played a track from Pink FLoyd's Pulse through Cipher cable and Sine.

The measurement is done through the mic in the Cipher cable, so I put the Cipher module between the two earcups and I gently pushed them together, paying attention not to close the mic hole on the back of the module.

At max volume, I got about 80db. Is it normal?

I would like others of you to take this simple test.
I really like Audeze Sine, but from the first days I felt volume with Cipher cable to be a little weak for my taste, and at max volume I hear a little of distortion, or at least "imprecision". Nothing about this with standard 3,5mm cable and Fiio X5 II output.

Let me know if someone replicate this test.

Thankx

My cipher is in a good mood right now. I got it to work so I was able to test in another way.

This time putting the iPhone headset microphone part inside one of the pads with the headphones one my head just as I use to when listening.

That gave another result. Peak 100 and 85 in stable measuring. I now used another app from Sweden: 'Buller" means Noise. It's the government who made this app to help people measure noise in there job.


Update

The peak level was from when putting the headphones on my head. Stable measuring was max 80.9 db. Playing max volume with Cipher. Still iPhone headset in in the pad when listening as normal.

 

[Arttt]

I run sine/cipher from iPad Air , played some indie electronic music...
So I placed iPhone6 between headphones cups with Decibel 10th on, using iPhones mic, and not build in mic of cipher.

At 10 volume bars on iPad Air ( witch is like 65% of max volume) Without pushing cups together it's about 80db, if I press cups together to recreate isolation you get when cups pressed against the ear its around 85db. Had to be careful when pressing on cups, if press too hard it will effect air pressure inside the cup and because of thin membrane , sound volume will decrease...

Normal listening volume level is somewhere between 75-85db, it shouldn't be higher than 85db. If you go above 85db , in short time you can permanently damage your hearing.
Look it up on the net, there is measurments on how much db human ear can take and for what period of time without damaging hearing.


But as long as you stay under 85db you will be fine, no matter how long you listen to music or how often...

 

[giraz]

Right, I forgot that the app is calibrated for the iPhone mic, so it is important to use it and not Cipher mic.
I'm going to thest the voluem this way

 

[Heartsmart]

I run sine/cipher from iPad Air , played some indie electronic music...
So I placed iPhone6 between headphones cups with Decibel 10th on, using iPhones mic, and not build in mic of cipher.

At 10 volume bars on iPad Air ( witch is like 65% of max volume) Without pushing cups together it's about 80db, if I press cups together to recreate isolation you get when cups pressed against the ear its around 85db. Had to be careful when pressing on cups, if press too hard it will effect air pressure inside the cup and because of thin membrane , sound volume will decrease...

Normal listening volume level is somewhere between 75-85db, it shouldn't be higher than 85db. If you go above 85db , in short time you can permanently damage your hearing.
Look it up on the net, there is measurments on how much db human ear can take and for what period of time without damaging hearing.


But as long as you stay under 85db you will be fine, no matter how long you listen to music or how often...

You pointing out something really important here. Glad you makes us aware of this. Thank you!

My measures tells me that Ciphers level is ok. It's my eager to crank volume up that's the problem. Cipher can help me preserve my hearing.

 

[Heartsmart]

You pointing out something really important here. Glad you makes us aware of this. Thank you!

My measures tells me that Ciphers level is ok. It's my eager to crank volume up that's the problem. Cipher can help me preserve my hearing.

Sorry if I go of topic. But this problem is just what Ifi audio is addressing with there new product that soon will be on the market. An impedance matcher.