Erzetich Charybdis

[TheMiddleSky]

Just did first listening session, not too long and no burn in yet (BLAZ recommends another 12 hours). Some quick summary notes. Forgive me if its all over the place, this is very quick first impressions. Ill do more after burn in.

- More comfortable than i expect at 720grams. Pads are soft and comfortable
- Well built yet have some sharp edges, the rods adjustment are very stiff.
- Stock cable is ok.
- Sound stage is huge!! Sounds big all around, maybe bigger than hd800s, although hd800s feels more deep sometimes due to the recessed vocals.
- Bass is deep and punchy, very engaging
- Due to the immersively huge soundstage, sometimes you tend to listen louder and louder, and this one just keeps giving and giving. Also very easy to drive, quite alot easier than the ZMF caldera.
- Very quick decay yet does not sound dry. (i have toobs in the chain though). Ill try on pure SS soon.
- Notes have smooth attack, not as much dynamics in the mids and treble like the hd800s and caldera. Somehow the notes feel rounded a little like the ZMF atriums.
- Sounds good for all genres, this is a very versatile set. Even bad recordings sounds good like the caldera, unlike the hd800s.
- Treble are well done! No harshness and very enjoyable and airy.
- Detail retrieval and resolution are top notch, does not feel lacking in any way.
- Im an EQ guy, this one does not seem to need any EQ. Only Caldera, susvara and the charybdis i feel no EQ is needed.

The headphone looks rock solid! Thanks for the little comparisons with Caldera.

Hi all, new to Head-Fi,

I have the Erzetich Charybdis for some weeks now (Serial number 7!!) and I find it a wonderful headphone. In my setup, it is driven by the Enleum Amp-23R connected to a Hegel Mohican CD player with the Chordmusic RCA interconnect cable (Chord Company). I use the 'silver' headphone cable from Meze. Huge soundstage, very 'musical' sound, a lot of detail, never fatiguing, but, yes, heavy (although certainly not uncomfortable). When I compare the Charybdis with my Meze Elite, there is more detail in the sound, and the soundstage is wider. The Elite stays with me, but, for the moment, I am only listening to the Charybdis ... Highly recommended! Ordered directly from Erzetich and delivered within a week. Also had a good email conversation with Blaz Erzetic, founder of Erzetich audio.

Thanks for the comparison with Elite. Interesting that Erzetich manage to produce even wider stage than Elite. The 740gr weight could become the problem for me though (regardless how good the weight distribution).

Hopefully someday I able to try it on my head. Looks like type of sound that should match my preference.

 

[PeterV2560]

It really is a lovely headphone.
I barely listen to music with the Elite at the moment ...
Best, Peter

 

[nieveulv]

The headphone looks rock solid! Thanks for the little comparisons with Caldera.



Thanks for the comparison with Elite. Interesting that Erzetich manage to produce even wider stage than Elite. The 740gr weight could become the problem for me though (regardless how good the weight distribution).

Hopefully someday I able to try it on my head. Looks like type of sound that should match my preference.

Ill bring over some time. Its really not that heavy, for me the lcd xc is really heavy!

 

[trollchu]

How's it fare with tubes?

 

[PeterV2560]

Would like know how these sound with the Feliks Envy ...

 

[ThanatosVI]

Would like know how these sound with the Feliks Envy ...

Everything sounds awesome on the Envy.
These probably as well

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Ill bring over some time. Its really not that heavy, for me the lcd xc is really heavy!

How's the cable pairing?

 

[PeterV2560]

I use the Meze Silver Upgrade cable. Very nice sound. But this was to be expected. Some good reviews of this cable ... Get's rid of harshness in the treble and opens up the soundstage even more + the resolution ...

 

[Pashmeister]

I’m waiting for mine to arrive end of this month. I’m hoping that comfort will not be too bad, because I’m always keeping my eye out for sensitive TOTL headphones that join the stable with Susvara. Currently for me, that is Meze Elite. When the Charybdis arrives, I’ll find out if I should still keep the Elites.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I’m waiting for mine to arrive end of this month. I’m hoping that comfort will not be too bad, because I’m always keeping my eye out for sensitive TOTL headphones that join the stable with Susvara. Currently for me, that is Meze Elite. When the Charybdis arrives, I’ll find out if I should still keep the Elites.

They don't come close to the Elite in comfort.
Unfortunately they didn't have free music selection, so it’s hard to say something about the sound.

With the music they had available at the high end, they didn't wow me, nor was the comfort impressive (also not bad tho)

 

[some dude]

Just did first listening session, not too long and no burn in yet (BLAZ recommends another 12 hours). Some quick summary notes. Forgive me if its all over the place, this is very quick first impressions. Ill do more after burn in.

- More comfortable than i expect at 720grams. Pads are soft and comfortable
- Well built yet have some sharp edges, the rods adjustment are very stiff.
- Stock cable is ok.
- Sound stage is huge!! Sounds big all around, maybe bigger than hd800s, although hd800s feels more deep sometimes due to the recessed vocals.
- Bass is deep and punchy, very engaging
- Due to the immersively huge soundstage, sometimes you tend to listen louder and louder, and this one just keeps giving and giving. Also very easy to drive, quite alot easier than the ZMF caldera.
- Very quick decay yet does not sound dry. (i have toobs in the chain though). Ill try on pure SS soon.
- Notes have smooth attack, not as much dynamics in the mids and treble like the hd800s and caldera. Somehow the notes feel rounded a little like the ZMF atriums.
- Sounds good for all genres, this is a very versatile set. Even bad recordings sounds good like the caldera, unlike the hd800s.
- Treble are well done! No harshness and very enjoyable and airy.
- Detail retrieval and resolution are top notch, does not feel lacking in any way.
- Im an EQ guy, this one does not seem to need any EQ. Only Caldera, susvara and the charybdis i feel no EQ is needed.

I’m kinda in the market for one of these or a caldera. If you could only keep one which would you choose?

Weight isn’t really an issue for me since I will pretty much exclusively listen to them in bed. I typically prefer a more intense and engaging experience rather than laid back. I’m not usually one to seek out true neutral, I like powerful bass and possibly even a little bit of sparkle on the treble. Which one would you describe as more intense?

My only other set of cans is a VC that I plan to permanently keep at work once I get a nice set of open back planars to keep at home.

 

[nieveulv]

How's the cable pairing

Awesomeee

They don't come close to the Elite in comfort.
Unfortunately they didn't have free music selection, so it’s hard to say something about the sound.

With the music they had available at the high end, they didn't wow me, nor was the comfort impressive (also not bad tho)

Its comfortable for a 720grams headphone, but it cant compare to hd800s and elite and adx5000..

I’m kinda in the market for one of these or a caldera. If you could only keep one which would you choose?

Weight isn’t really an issue for me since I will pretty much exclusively listen to them in bed. I typically prefer a more intense and engaging experience rather than laid back. I’m not usually one to seek out true neutral, I like powerful bass and possibly even a little bit of sparkle on the treble. Which one would you describe as more intense?

My only other set of cans is a VC that I plan to permanently keep at work once I get a nice set of open back planars to keep at home.

Difficult to answer. For my preference tracks i prefer the charybdis due to the soundstage. Both of these have powerful bass (the caldera a little more) and sparkle treble ( the charybdis more). The caldera is slighly more intense and attack, the charybdis more grandeur and big.


Caldera is with code 23 cable

Charybdis is with stock cable

 

[Pashmeister]

It’s the big soundstage that really attracts me right now. I was an AB1266 owner and whilst I enjoyed it, I only tolerated the comfort. My best guess is the Charybdis comfort is much better than the TC. I also needed a pair of easy-to-drive planars so I replaced the TC with Elites and kept the Susvara.

Does the Charybdis seem like a pair of easy-to-drive AB1266 TC? Or would it sound closer to the Susvara?

I will be driving these off Tubes but I do have nice SS too (Burson GT with upgraded Op-amps). I assume they will sing even better with 300b tubes, if there’s a large soundstage then there’s plenty of room for the tube magic to glow and enhance the instrumentation and layering.

I’m just excited and anxious because once more I’ve bought something blindly but my gut is telling me it’s what I’ve been waiting for. It’s still gonna be about 1-2 weeks before these arrive and I’ve got that much time to get paranoid about my purchase

 

[nieveulv]

It’s the big soundstage that really attracts me right now. I was an AB1266 owner and whilst I enjoyed it, I only tolerated the comfort. My best guess is the Charybdis comfort is much better than the TC. I also needed a pair of easy-to-drive planars so I replaced the TC with Elites and kept the Susvara.

Does the Charybdis seem like a pair of easy-to-drive AB1266 TC? Or would it sound closer to the Susvara?

I will be driving these off Tubes but I do have nice SS too (Burson GT with upgraded Op-amps). I assume they will sing even better with 300b tubes, if there’s a large soundstage then there’s plenty of room for the tube magic to glow and enhance the instrumentation and layering.

I’m just excited and anxious because once more I’ve bought something blindly but my gut is telling me it’s what I’ve been waiting for. It’s still gonna be about 1-2 weeks before these arrive and I’ve got that much time to get paranoid about my purchase

I Only heard the diana tc and never the 1266tc. The charybdis is bassier and slams harder than the susvara with a bigger soundstage. But the susvara have a punchier mid range (guitar crunch). I dont see much similarities with the susvsra besides both having high resolution and sounds good. Maybe the treble responds are similar.

Weirdly though, the charybdis have a in between frequency response of both 1266 and susvara. Kinda like a combination of the tc and susvara (in fr and even in looks). hope to try the 1266 tc someday

 

[Pashmeister]

Yeah I have a feeling that Charybdis might be competing against the 1266TC directly in terms of looks (both huge, robust, industrial and polarizing), sound (out-of-your-head soundstage), and resolution. On paper and on Sandu’s review it seems Charybdis is an improvement over 1266 over many things.