Some quick 2015 SoCal CanJam headphone impressions:
HiFiMan HE1000 - Heard one pair of these and was mildly impressed. Mids and highs sounded really good and the bass went down very low but for whatever reason, the bass sounded very 'fluttery' and lacked any visceral power. Also the soundstage was really wide but had little depth. There has been talk that one of the HE1000's was 'bad' and maybe that's the one I heard.
ENIGMAcoustics Dharma - These were still in prototype form but sounded very good. Not quite the HD 800 killer (yet), which were available to audition side-by-side with the Dharmas. I couldn't detect the x-over point between their tweeter and bass drivers, so they were very well integrated and their FR was pretty neutral. Looking forward to hearing the final version of these.
MrSpeakers Ether - This was the most chameleon-like of all the headphones I heard, which is a very good thing. The Ethers were everywhere so I was able to hear them on a few different setups and they sounded very different on each one, ranging from 'pretty good' to 'excellent'. They were very light but their clamping force wasn't quite strong enough for my somewhat narrow head so their fit wasn't the greatest for me, but it wasn't a dealbreaker either. Compared to the Audeze LCD series (which they compete directly with), the Ethers SQ was extremely competitive and even superior in some respects, but their comfort was significantly better. Just based on comfort alone, I would take the Ether's over any of the LCD's. Great job, Dan!
Audeze EL-8 Open-Back - Not that impressed. While not bad, I was really hoping to be blown away by these and I just wasn't. Great fit and looks, but the sound of one of the earcups would sporadically cut out whenever I would turn my head. Upon inspection, I noticed that the connectors sit flush on the earcup instead of being recessed, so this might be a pretty serious design flaw for some people. Their SQ reminded me of a slightly more V-shaped HD 650. Good but not great.
Audioquest NightHawk - Ouch. These sounded very wrong to me. Diffuse, dark and muddy. Amazingly, some people seemed to like them but I am definitely not one of them. Its a real shame because they look nice, fit nice and are super comfortable. Unless some drastic SQ changes are made before their release (unlikely), I don't see these doing too well.
Sony MDR-Z7 - Good but not great. Very warm and laid back sounding with a somewhat back-of-the-hall soundstage. Treble was noticeably recessed. Not my cup of tea but I can see how these could appeal to a listener looking for a nice looking, well designed, really comfortable, mellow sounding headphone.
Sony MDR-R10 (Bass Light version) - One of the Headphone Holy Grails. I finally got to hear one of these unicorns and was pretty impressed. These sound like an open back headphone even though they are obviously not. Extremely high resolution with an impressively wide and deep soundstage, their upper treble was on the hot side for me. But their most glaring flaw was the complete lack of any bass below 70Hz or so. Nice, but not for me. Although I am now very curious to hear the Bass Heavy version!
HiFiMan HE-560 - Now this is more like it! An overall excellent headphone with terrific bass quality and quantity. This is a headphone that I could happily live with.
OPPO PM-3 - Sounded very good but probably not that much better than any of the other really good $400 dynamic driver headphones out there (B&W P7, B&O H6, M&D MH40). I was hoping for a new level of SQ in the $400 category but I don't think these are quite it.
Focal Spirit One S/ Pro/ Classic - I'm lumping these 3 headphones together because as I went to audition the Pro's, its earpads were surprisingly too small to go around my ears (and I have completely average sized ears), so they ended up resting halfway on top of my ears almost like an on-ear headphone would (and I hate on-ear headphones). So obviously, this was a total dealbreaker for me and I didn't even bother listening to them. Just FYI.
Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 - Sounded almost exactly like the original Momentums but now they have larger earcups and are even more comfortable. Comfort was great. SQ, not so much. Too warm and soft sounding for me. Love the look of them, though.
AudioTechnica ATH-MSR7 - Wow! These really impressed me. While they don't have the deepest bass, their mids and treble are excellent and sound more refined than the M50's. These compete directly with the better $300-400 headphones on the market and they are a fantastic value at $250.
OPPO PM-2 - Saved the best for last (IMHO)!
I have been on a quest to find an open-back headphone that is at least as good in overall SQ as my HD 650's but that also has the sub-bass power of my ATH-M50's, all for a reasonable price.
I know I was asking for a lot, and for a long time, I was afraid that they might not exist. Every good sounding headphone I tried sounded great at low-to-medium SPLs, but they were all brought to their knees whenever I played back tracks with clean, powerful bass at high SPLs. The bass would either begin to audibly modulate the midrange frequencies or cause the driver to reach its excursion limits and begin to physically (and very audibly) distort.
The only headphones that have passed this test (that I've tried so far, and I've tried most of them) are the HD 800, but they are $1500, and aren't really an option right now.
So it put a huge smile on my face when I was able to play the first track of The Dark Knight OST (which at 3:27 contains significant amounts of subsonic bass) and as I turned the volume up louder and louder, I heard absolutely zero audible distortion while the bass was literally flapping my earlobes! Plus their fit, finish, comfort and styling are all top notch.
The PM-2 will definitely be my next reference headphone purchase!
