I just received the Alara and I haven't had much time with them - only a few hours. In fact, I'm listening out of a laptop directly rather than my high end rig so I wouldn't put too much stock in what I have to say. That said, I thought people might like to see something and I doubt the burn-in will result in a significant shift, though I suppose it could.
Overall, the sound is neutral. I think there is a very slight elevation to the midbass that is pleasant and creates a firm foundation, but it is not excessive and does not bleed into the midrange. The midrange may be slightly forward, but again, I emphasize slight. It's natural and cohesive with the rest of the frequencies. The headphone has reasonably good impact and I would say clarity is very good. I do sense, overall, a slightly warm sound, but this could be the laptop. You'll notice I say slight many times - overall, i think the headphone is largely neutral. Treble is reasonable to my liking, but not sparkly. I would say the headphone's sound is not ethereal or airy - not that it is lacking air ...well maybe a little; it possesses a thick, meaty sound but it is not overly warm or overly thick. If I were looking for a change, I would probably prefer more separation and a little more sharpness and clarity, especially in the upper midrange to treble frequencies - I think this would add a touch more air and separation of instruments.
I appreciate the inclusion of spare pads, so I will certainly not knock them for being the same, but it would have been nice if the spare pads were all leather or a material that alters the sound from the stock pads. The spare pads are identical to the stock pads (surface touching face is not leather, but very soft and nice).
I have experience listening to many of the popular flagships and so the fact that I am pleased with these headphones speaks volumes. Incidentally, I purchased these on my own and my opinion is not influenced by outside forces.
Thus far, I have listened to symphonic metal, rock, and easy listening genres, and some jazz. Seems to be pretty good thus far across genres. More time will tell. To summarize, I might like just a bit more clarity and separation of instruments / air, but these are minor gripes for a headphone considerably cheaper than other flagships. Plus, I tend to prefer neutral to slightly bright rather than neutral to slightly warm. I often find my main system clearer and brighter than the laptop so if I hear differences that invalidate anything I said when switching to may main system tomorrow, I'll update this post.
oh - almost forgot - two more things. I am sensitive to left/right channel imbalances. Fortunately, the channels seem very balanced on my unit. No funny business going on in the sound, so that is good. And last, the headphone seems well built, but I do feel the sliding mechanism was a little loosey-goosey when adjusting the fit of the cups over my ears. To be clear, they stay in place thus far, but the movement was not quite as smooth or deliberate between indentations as I would have liked - small deal, really.
Update - as suspected it does scale up. improved clarity and less warm on better system, but traits described above still apply. this headphone reminds me of the quad era-1, without the bloom and romanticism in the midrange. That's a good thing in my book. At the same time I would say the Alara has a vibrant and somewhat bombastic sound when called for. Also, these headphones do piano exceptionally well....some of the best I have heard. I like how they do trumpets too. In comparison to the Final Audio D8000 similar in some ways though the Alara is not quite as musically engaging or as immersive to me.
