Welcome to the third part of my impressions. Today we deal with headphones. What's Canjam without cans? Let’s start this party with a bang.
Part 1
here.
Part 2
here.
Part 4
here.
Meze Empyrean
What a beautiful headphone. I felt inferior just holding it. The sound signature is neutral-warm, and inescapably, beautifully coloured and refined. The colouration heightens the emotions, sweetens the human voice and instrument timbre, giving me a one-way ticket to Tingletown. It is technically sound too, with great resolution and a spacious presentation. Notes are finely crafted and round, weaving in and out of the soundscape effortlessly, but images with cool precision. You could very well imagine a small string quartet or live band playing in front of you. I could listen to this headphone for a long, long time. Magical.
ZMF Aeolus
An update of the Atticus, which was described as a supercharged HD650/LCD-2. ZMF house sound firmly intact, it’s a musical, lush, organic and non-fatiguing listen. Notes are thick and syrupy easing into one another like making ice cream. Absolutely nothing wrong if this is your thing, but to me it’s overly smooth with fuzzy imaging. I like more treble excitement and bite to the notes.
ZMF Auteur
Ooh, we’re getting there. Auteur has a big, bold and musical sound, sounding immediately more refined and detailed than Aeolus, while maintaining most of the lushness. Here the transients are faster and presentation is airier, although the stage size is deep and not too wide. Do I like it? Yup. Totally worthy of flagship status.
ZMF Verite
Wut there’s a new flagship now? That’s kinda a fast turnover. Verite veers ever closer to neutral, but yet again, house sound intact. Transients and texture are better than ever now, as are the spaciousness and airiness. We’re really getting there now, easily my favourite ZMF can. With each new flagship we get more technicalities without sacrificing musicalty. Perhaps I should get a neutral can elsewhere instead of waiting for new ZMF flagships? But I really love them woods.
Abyss AB-1266 TC
I’ve been trying to save up for one since the original AB-1266 which I heard and loved to bits back in 2016, but Abyss updates this thing so regularly, I might as well wait until they say they’re done. Believe you me, if you ask me what my signature preference is, I’ll just tell you it’s the Abyss AB-1266 TC. For the record I spent half an hour listening here, longer than any other booth.
TC (for total consciousness) combines their trademark bass with real rumble that plunges into the abyss (hence the name), the incredibly textured treble without sounding dry, the crystal-clear yet full and emotional mids, the beautifully expanded soundstage that just mammoths everything else I’ve heard, the air and dynamics that change from feather-light to jackhammer-like impact at the drop of a pin… utter perfection. No other headphone transports me to a venue like this. I listened to unfamiliar tracks and closed my eyes, safe in the knowledge the exhibitor was watching over me. As the band played, I could hear fingernails tapping on piano keys before the actual key is played, fingertips gliding on strings, and as the audience clapped, I felt they were around me. Simply out of this world. The best of the best of the best lol.
Abyss Diana Phi
In all fairness, this was driven from my DAP, because I’ve read reports that it was possible. But if you think a Sony DAP on high gain can drive the Diana Phi, think again. It’s nothing compared to the TC experience, although bearing the same sound signature. The nuances are lost, like the overt physicality and brute power of the TC. Bass was most affected, sounding thuddy and thwacky instead of resounding wallops. Mids are treble are still finely textured, but the overall experience is horribly inadequate compared to the magnificence of the TC. Lesson learnt, drive Diana Phi (or any Diana for that matter) from a full setup.
Focal Stellia
Here it is point blank. I don’t like Utopia. The detailed, dynamic signature is fine, but the claustrophobic soundstage made it sound like tiny arrows lunging towards my skull. Stellia, I’m happy to say, fares better. It is still snappy and dynamic, with a Utopia-like signature but warmer and smoother. Most important, notes have some body to them, not just pins and needles. The bass is well-layered and visceral, and while the detail levels are excellent throughout, upper mids can be shouty. The stage is still smallish, but acceptable for a closed back, and imaging is stellar. This is my favourite Focal can.
Stax SR-L300
Back to estat land. I’ve always wanted to try the whole range. This is like liquid butter. Smooth and analogue all the way through with a natural decay, yet with transients fast enough and a background clean enough befitting an estat headphone. Like a leaner and meaner LCD-2. Mids take centrestage and sounds quite captivating. I like this, but it’s too relaxed and docile to listen for long.
Stax SR-L500
This is as smooth as the L300, but noticeably bassier. There’s a resolution lift as well, so note texture is better heard and felt. It’s more immersive than L300, but the bumped-up bass affects the overall mood and signature.
Stax SR-L700
You already know I love this. In the full context of the L-series, the L700 has the best balance and detail levels. The sound is even more textured and realistic, as well as having fantastic tone and timbre, taking engagement level and musicality to new highs. The analogue signature is not lost, sounding even more effortless. All this lovingly wrapped in a natural, expansive soundstage with accurate imaging. Damn good.
Stax SR-009S
All hail the new king, as they say. They even put the old 009 next to this for comparison’s sake. And true enough, the merciless treble of the 009 is now sweeter and tamer. But don’t be mistaken, the details are still as rich as ever, with micro-detail retrieval on par with the very best. Notes on the whole, are given smoother, rounded edges, losing none of the resolution of the original. Mirroring HD800/HD800S, the 900S is still a technical masterclass, with transparency for days on end, but given a slight feminine touch. It’s still not ok to listen to Eminem with this though (there’s L700 for mainstream), mercy is a currency here.
Head-to-head with the Abyss TC, I prefer 009S’ treble, transients and overall sense of air, while TC takes bass (obviously), soundstage, and dynamics. I would however, try out some Eminem with the TC just for the heck of it.
RAAL-requisite SR1a
The fit is finicky, worse than Abyss lol, and the end result is you look like a TIE fighter. Moreover, I have the sinking feeling I’m wearing this wrong, because all the magic that’s been described about the sound so far, I only hear about half of it. First off, there’s nothing at fault about the signature. It’s balanced, analogue and effortless, just like a good speaker system. As for the presentation, it’s a diffuse and wide-open, with the awesome feeling that sounds are coming from around the room instead of the sides of the ears. But, this magic only happens outside my ears. Centrally, the image is still curiously 50% in-head, with little depth and hazy imaging. It’s odd when put together, to the sides it’s open and holographic, but to the centre it’s in-head, like listening to headphones and speakers playing the same song simultaneously. The exhibitor said I wore it right, increasing my paranoia. Damn.
Verum Audio Verum 1
This is one of the value buys of the show. The Verum 1 has a balanced signature that’s playful and detailed, with very decent headstage too. There’s very little reason not to get this planar headphone that sounds astounding for just SGD500, but can I be honest? For the life of me, I cannot take home something that looks this ugly. Sorry!
Spirit Torino Twin Pulse Ragnar Edition
This brilliant blue, Grado-inspired design is something I fancy, fully designed and built in Italy. So with looks like that, can I expect a refined, perhaps exquisite experience? Not quite. The midbass more or less overpowers everything else in the spectrum, with a slow, slow decay that lingers for hours after the note is played, injecting the signature with wafts of warm, humid air. Mids (when I do get to hear them) and treble were muffled. This wasn’t the musical extravaganza I expected, and looks have once again deceived me. With regret, I ditched the listening session before even the song has ended. True love lost, once more.
Stay tuned for even more impressions another day. I'm not even close to done. Someone buy me coffee?
