[BlakeT]

Ok kiddies, following SoCal Can Jam this weekend, this thread will flow over with numerous reviews of the Dharma.  Right?

 

[LarsP]

I surely hope so as this is one of three headphones on my radar (the Ether and HE-1000 are the other two).

 

[BlakeT]

Wei just confirmed the final production version of the Dharma will debut at 2015 Munich Highend (May 14-17).

 

[JeffA]

Any idea when these will actually be available for purchase?

 

[mangler]

There's a nice preview of the Dharma in Jude's latest can jam preview video, somewhere around the 33min mark:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/741136/canjam-socal-2015-march-28-29-2015-only-3-days-away/1065#post_11442629

 

[BlakeT]

Any idea when these will actually be available for purchase?

 
Around the end of May.

 

[alpha80]

   
True.  But I got to hear a heavily-modded OPPO PM-2 by FFRESPONCE that was measurably ruler flat to nearly 20kHz and it had some of the best, most beautifully shimmering treble I have ever heard from a headphone.
 
So there's definitely something to having a headphone (or speaker) that can go at least one octave lower and higher than what is considered the audible range to cover all of the musical harmonics that naturally occur above and below the fundamental notes or sounds.
 
So by that definition, a headphone that is ruler flat from around 10Hz-40Kz would be ideal, which pretty well matches the FR limits of a 96/24 recording.

I have very high hopes that the Dharma, or the new Sennheiser flagship, cover these needs of the market.

 

[Sound Eq]

really interested

 

[mangler]

Trager posted this in the canjam thread (post 61):


"The Enigma Dharma cans absolutely caught me by surprise. I wish I'd had a chance to try them with the same amp and source that I was using for the Audeze LCD-XC, because that was the closest comparison I could make. The Dharmas had a really impressive low end, with good extension and definition, and a lovely fast high end that worked well even with some demanding material that wasn't recorded to the best fidelity. I was starting to run late, so I didn't A/B the Dharmas against the HD-800, but it said something to me that Enigma was comfortable putting them up against a couple of very well regarded cans. (And yes, I know that it made more sense in terms of promoting their Athena amp, but I'm really tempted to go tomorrow and listen to the same tracks on the HD-800, Dharmas, and... bugger, I can't remember the other cans they had there right now!)"

Pretty sure I'll be getting these

 

[sealykojac]

If they can give my LCD 3's a run for their money while being lighter and more comfortable then I'll probably be on board as well. Now ENIGMAcoustics needs to just offer Head-Fi members a discount and early pre-order program 

..

 

[JeffA]

I spent some time with the Dharma at Canjam this morning. I would guess that Enigma considers the HD-800 to be the target. They had the Sennheiser right their on the table for quick A/B comparisons. The headphone appears to be well built. Comfortable, with a solid but not excessive fit on the head. Appearance is nice but not flashy. The cable connectors are HD-800, which means HD-800 owners can use their fancy HD-800 cables interchangeably. This is an open headphone at a show, so sound quality judgments must come with the usual caveats, but I can say with confidence that it will be a competitor. Big soundstage. Excellent frequency extension, especially at the top without being edgy. Very spacious, airy sound. Excellent imaging. I would definitely love some more time in my home system with the Dharma to really compare against the HD-800. Price is said to be $1,200, and they told me the phone would be formally introduced at the Munich show in May and would be readily available immediately thereafter. 
 
Unfortunately for Enigma, I think the Dharma is being overshadowed at the show by the buzz about the HE-1000 and the ubiquitous presence of the Mr. Speakers Ether. 

 

[Moratorius]

I spent a little time with the Dharma at CanJam.  I felt the bass was pretty impressive; it was full across the the board.  However, I felt the treble was a little lacking in detail.. cymbals didn't have the silky sparkle that I love in my TH900s.  Of course, I didn't have a ton of head time with it (and in show environment), so take with a grain of salt.
 

 

 

 
They're definitely looking forward to getting these in production though!

 

[Insidious Meme]

Spent some time with the Dharma yesterday, and the big issue was the fit of the headband. The lady said that this was a demo model, and that they were working on a different headband than the one that was in the show.

 

[Zashoomin]

The sound of the headphone is equal to the production model, but the build is not.  If you had a problem with fit or finish that will be changed.  The biggest gripe I had with the headphone is I hate those stupid hd800 connectors.   Not only because they are a massive pain in my rear end when I make cables, but also because they are so fragile and the pins over time become loose.  

 

[chowmein83]

The following is my comparison between the HE-1000, the Ether, and the Dharma, with some references to the HD800, that I posted in another thread. I'm only keeping in the stuff about the Dharma from that other post, because to be honest the focus of that post was on the HE-1000 and the Ether.
 
To begin with, I'm coming from currently owning a Hifiman HE-400i.
 
The Dharma was hooked up to Enigma Acoustics' new headphone amp, which was fed from the headphone out of an iPad (or any source you wished to plug in, which in my case since I don't own a hi-res DAP I plugged in a HTC One M7).
 
The HE-1000 sounds a bit brighter than the Ether in my opinion. While I thought that the HE-1000 could get harsh at times with the Schiit combo (something I attribute more to the Schiit combo than the HE-1000 itself, after having heard the HE-1000 paired with Hifiman's other amps), I never really felt that way with the Ether paired with the Ragnarok/Yggdrasil combo. As for the Dharma, I would probably say that it's a bit warmer than the Ether, though I'm not too sure on this because as I said earlier I couldn't demo the Dharma at the Schiit table. However, having been able to compare the Dharma to the HD800 with both hooked up to the Enigma Acoustics headphone amp being fed by the headphone out of a HTC One M7, I can definitely say that the Dharma is definitely warmer than the HD800.
 
Overall technical ability. The Dharma also didn't seem to be a slouch here - I thought the electrostatic part of the headphone which handles the higher frequencies did a good job of keeping up with complex music and making things sound real (it has airiness, etc.). However, I did like the HD800 (and Ether) more than the Dharma here in terms of technical ability - there's something special about the HD800 and Ether here that I feel the Dharma couldn't quite replicate.
 
Soundstage. The Dharma's soundstage - well, it definitely has depth, and the width I would say is about the Ether, but for some reason I didn't enjoy its soundstage presentation as much as the Ether. I'm not sure why. Also, while I can't call the Dharma's soundstage small (and thus I also didn't think that the Ether's soundstage is small), I did feel that the HD800 still had the bigger (and more enjoyable to me) soundstage.
 
Bass. The Dharma has lots of bass, at least as much as the HE-1000 if not more. Unfortunately, I felt like that the Dharma's bass is not as well-controlled as the HE-1000 or the Ether's (as in, it sounds a bit bloated compared to those two headphones), and neither does it extend as low as the bass on the HE-1000 and the Ether. Heck, I didn't feel the Dharma's bass was as well-controlled as the HD800's bass (and no, I'm not saying this due to the HD800 supposedly having a lighter bass compared to other headphones, I really did feel that the Dharma's bass was a bit out of control compared to the HD800, which actually had quite a bit of bass when paired with some of the setups at CanJam, including with the Engima Acoustics amp), which I did listen to on the same Enigma Acoustics amp hooked up to an HTC One M7. I felt that the electrostatic part of the Dharma was executed better compared to the dynamic driver part of the Dharma. However, I will note that I did not listen to the Dharma on an optimal source, so take my impressions with a grain of salt.
 
Overall, the Dharma was a bit of a disappointment to me - while one definitely couldn't call it bad, I felt like it lacked a bit compared to the Ether and the Dharma. In my opinion, its good as it is, but it's lacking that last extra bit to become a truly great headphone, which I think the Ether and HD800 are.
 
As for my personal ranking, I'd say: Dharma < HE-560=HD800=Ether < HE-1000. (Although out of the three-way tie, for some reason I find myself drawn a bit more to the HD800 and the Ether)
 
Some more impressions specifically about the Dharma (since this is the Dharma impressions thread):
 
While I thought the integration between the electrostatic and dynamic parts was seamless, I was disappointed that the highs and mids seemed to be better than the lows. Maybe I've just been spoiled by planar bass (or maybe not, because I find with the right amps the HD800 has some really good bass too).
 
The Dharma is currently set to be priced at about $1190. I think this seems to be a good price for it, as I feel that its good but doesn't seem to reach the heights of the HD800 and the Ether.
 
As for comfort, the Dharma is ok. As in, yes it's comfortable, but it's not extremely comfortable like the Ether or even as comfortable as the pretty comfortable newer Hifimans. The headband does its job in distributing the weight, and the earpads are comfy enough. It did seem a bit heavy to me though when I wore it.