Auribus Sierra; the elusive “HD600 with subbass”?

[Kammerat Rebekka]

I have seen this headphone mentioned a couple of times in various threads here but haven’t come across a dedicated thread as of yet, so figured I’d start one.
Auribus is a small company that has made two headphones as of yet (to my knowledge) - the first one called Everest that effectively is a planar take on the old school Sennheiser tuning. It looks rather like a much cheaper MM-500; flat bass extension with natural mids and a somewhat subdued but still very nicely tuned treble.
The Sierra is what I’d call the dynamic driver take on the HD600 and judging by the measurements it truly does look like a worthwhile contender - moreso than any other supposed HD600/650 killer I’ve come across over my years in the coconut hobby.
I have ordered one and am eagerly awaiting it’s arrival.
I will of course write my findings in this thread but thought I’d invite some early US adopters of the headphone to bring some impressions

https://auribusacoustics.com/products/sierra-open-monitor

The above frequency response was made by Super* Review. Here is his take on the Sierra:

 

[568812]

But, but, but ... isn't that $900? That's twice as much as most Sennheiser 6 series. Not quite a fair comparison

 

[Lindholdt]

Grats @Kammerat Rebekka
When is your set scheduled to arrive?

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

But, but, but ... isn't that $900? That's twice as much as most Sennheisers, 660S2 excluded.

It is but then again most supposed HD600/650 killers are a lot more. See Focal/ZMF/DCA for proof
This is a mad hobby where we pay through the teeth for small incremental upgrades. That’s the honest truth.
The closest you can get to ‘an HD600 with subbass’ at the moment is via a DCA E3…which is closedback, weighs a whole lot more, is highly susceptible to frequency response changes in the uppermids depending on how you wear it and costs twice as much.
It is what it is

@Lindholdt I’m not sure yet tbh. With a little luck it will ship inside the next couple of days

 

[irv003]

I like it with multibit1 + piety.

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

The Sierra has landed!
Way too dark here for some pics but I figure I’ll snap some the coming days.
I’m only two albums deep but I’m already falling big time for this can.
I had a sneaking suspicion that the headphone would turn out to be more semi-closed than open based off the frequency response that shows not only the bass reaching down the pits of Mordor but also being lifted slightly…and yet much to my surprise it’s actually a proper openback. Score!
Sennheiser mids and seductively deep bass seems about right but we’re still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship. I foresee and hope for a long love affair.
First impressions are wonderful.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

The Sierra has landed!
Way too dark here for some pics but I figure I’ll snap some the coming days.
I’m only two albums deep but I’m already falling big time for this can.
I had a sneaking suspicion that the headphone would turn out to be more semi-closed than open based off the frequency response that shows not only the bass reaching down the pits of Mordor but also being lifted slightly…and yet much to my surprise it’s actually a proper openback. Score!
Sennheiser mids and seductively deep bass seems about right but we’re still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship. I foresee and hope for a long love affair.
First impressions are wonderful.

The frequency response seems like it could be a little bright or shouty. Please let us know if that is the case. The Composer is usually described as neutral/bright, but I found it to just be bright. I actually think the 800S is less bright.

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

Quite the listening session I had yesterday with this thing - infatuated me in a way that I had to check this morning if I was only dreaming.
Nope. This genuinely seems like a worthy upgrade to folks who love the classic Sennheiser sound but lack a bit of umpph from the basement notes.
It is not shouty unless one feels the classic Sennies are shouty…and well I know quite a few people that mostly frequent the high end of headphones; a place infamous for being midrange shy. Probably started with the Audeze LCD-2 and then went from there.
The sound is natural and yes feels like it has a tad more treble energy compared to an HD600, but it’s not something that’s instantly noticeable. The treble is of great quality and doesn’t in any way feel out of place or indeed sticking out. I have also auditioned the Composer, which I feel is kinda rough in the low treble. I don’t hear any of that but more something that integrates very well with the added warmth from the bass.
Other thoughts: it’s well-made but not exactly German engineering…which doesn’t really matter once I throw it on my head. Comfort is awesome..once I figured out that I need to wear it like a Sennheiser aka the headband needs to be way back on my noggin.
Power requirements are weird in that it’s a 20 ohm dynamic driver headphone yet needs juice like a planar. I’m ca in between the Sundara and HE500 on the volume pot.
I am seriously considering selling off all of my Sennies

Here’s a link to the start of my journey with the Sierra, complete with sensational anecdotes and an overall feeling of wonderful surprise: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/for...e-you-listening-with-now.881631/post-18365956

 

[TinyBlackPixel]

Quite the listening session I had yesterday with this thing - infatuated me in a way that I had to check this morning if I was only dreaming.
Nope. This genuinely seems like a worthy upgrade to folks who love the classic Sennheiser sound but lack a bit of umpph from the basement notes.
It is not shouty unless one feels the classic Sennies are shouty…and well I know quite a few people that mostly frequent the high end of headphones; a place infamous for being midrange shy. Probably started with the Audeze LCD-2 and then went from there.
The sound is natural and yes feels like it has a tad more treble energy compared to an HD600, but it’s not something that’s instantly noticeable. The treble is of great quality and doesn’t in any way feel out of place or indeed sticking out. I have also auditioned the Composer, which I feel is kinda rough in the low treble. I don’t hear any of that but more something that integrates very well with the added warmth from the bass.
Other thoughts: it’s well-made but not exactly German engineering…which doesn’t really matter once I throw it on my head. Comfort is awesome..once I figured out that I need to wear it like a Sennheiser aka the headband needs to be way back on my noggin.
Power requirements are weird in that it’s a 20 ohm dynamic driver headphone yet needs juice like a planar. I’m ca in between the Sundara and HE500 on the volume pot.
I am seriously considering selling off all of my Sennies

Here’s a link to the start of my journey with the Sierra, complete with sensational anecdotes and an overall feeling of wonderful surprise: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/for...e-you-listening-with-now.881631/post-18365956

Question have you noticed any issues with cup swivels? As in has there been times where the cups would swivel a little too easily on your head?

 

[gonintendo]

has anyone measured the impedance curve on these or cracked them open to see if there are passive electronic filters?

 

[TMRaven]

I thought the Elex was already heralded as the super HD600. The objectives of the Sierra does look nice though. I'm not too sure about that emphatic 5khz region.

 

[RMesser9]

From what I am reading, the sound signature is pretty much what I have been looking for. I've been daily driving the HD 600 for more than four years, and there are definitely times I wish there's subbass. I am still hesitant to buy them, however, mainly because of the price.

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

Question have you noticed any issues with cup swivels? As in has there been times where the cups would swivel a little too easily on your head?

No. In fact they were fairly tight when I first got them. Still breaking them in, but the fit is very good now.

 

[TinyBlackPixel]

From what I am reading, the sound signature is pretty much what I have been looking for. I've been daily driving the HD 600 for more than four years, and there are definitely times I wish there's subbass. I am still hesitant to buy them, however, mainly because of the price.

I'm actually quite surprised. Mine feel loose on my head even though I don't believe I have a super small head

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Do these have a decent soundstage?