Audio Chain:
Amarra Luxe - Bifrost 2 - Rupert Neve Headphone Amplifier - Avantone Planar.
(I am 99% sure I am underpowering these quite a bit so I am taking my own impressions with a grain of salt.)
Comfort:
Great! It isn't too heavy for me and the headband is nice and wide with a great suspension relief mechanism like the Nighthawk.
The pads are just big enough for my ears and they are not touching the drivers. Pads are soft and not too stiff either. I think these are very comfortable considering the weight.
Edit: A slight hotspot appeared after about 1 hour of wearing, went away after I adjusted the position of the headband.
Build Quality:
Not too sure yet. They feel sturdy enough when I hold them, yet I would not want to drop these or manhandle them in general because of the weight.
They look like they come were designed by IKEA though, minimal but extremely generic.
Sound Impressions:
Ok, so the positives first:
Nothing offensive to the sound signature or overall response, quite neutral, can't detect any unnatural sound aspects.
The tone is agreeable and so is the timbre. It is very smooth sounding and quite lush, there is absolutely no sibilance and the treble area is extremely well behaved if not too relaxed.
It's got good separation and good imaging stability. I hear a nice phantom center.
Here are the negatives:
The sound is quite muffled to me. What is worse is the dynamics, which are quite neutered. It is too laid back and sleepy from my perspective.
All of this contributes to lackluster detail retrieval and clarity. It does not give me the planar clarity that I typically associate with planar tech.)
There is very little depth or Z-axis differentiation to the sound placement. Everything sort of exist on the same plane.
The soundstage is quite narrow and very rarely extends outside the cups.
As it is now, I hear potential but I am not blown away.
I'm withholding final judgment though.
I need:
More powerful amplification.
New pads. (Deep leather pads)
Sealing of pads.
Burn-in.
Mental burn-in.