[nmatheis]

 
Have you had a chance to give them a listen yet?

Soon, my man.  Soon...
 
Just wrapping up my time with the Aune B1 and VE Zen.  I also just got a nice surprise package from Vince with the SoundMagic E80 in it, which I need to return fairly quickly so he can take them to a meet!

 

[nmatheis]

Whew, I've got several pieces of gear out of my lab and can devote some good head time for these beauties.  Is just in time, too since I'm getting the Final Audio Heaven VII in next Mon/Tue.  That's right @hakushondaimao, your turn with the H-VII is coming up soon. That is, if Canadian Custom and/or Post don't sit on them forever...
 
Anyhow, I've got these on my ears now.  iPhone 5s -> Calyx PaT -> ESS RLM-713.  Listening to a sweet electronic album from Kidkanevil & Daisuke Tanabe called Kidsuke.  It's a nice tester for me for non-vocal electronic music, as it's got a lot going on - deep, impactful bass, midrange bells and a few unintelligible vocals, and lots of sparkly, tingling bells moving around headspace up top.  It's similar to Bjork's Biophilia but without Bjork's amazing voice.  
 
With this setup and music, I'm quite enjoying the ESS!  The bass is well-extended, has good impact and has a bit of mid-bass bias but nothing too egregious (could be a bit cleaner, though if it were more linear).  Mids keep the midrange bells and mattering of vocals from falling into the background, and the highs are clear with a bit of sparkle but nothing over the top. 
 
I'll admit that this is a change from my initial impressions, where I listened to the ESS out of my Fiio X5 and found them overly warm.  Who knows, maybe my ears weren't cooperative before, maybe my impressions will change as I listen to more music with the ESS, maybe there's poor synergy with the Fiio X5 for me.  Part of it could've been expectation bias from the "Sound as clear as light" branding on the cups.  I was honestly expecting something bright more along the lines of my AKG K553.  That's definitely not the case, and  actually quite glad!  I find it pretty easy for those K553 to slip into piercing treble territory...
 
Back to the ESS... ok, we've established that I think the sound is pretty good upon my initial re-listen.  How about the comfort and build?  Let's get this out on the table right now - I absolutely hate on-ear headphones.  I'm a glasses wearer, and have found that basically every pair of on-ear headphones I wear smashes the arms of my glasses into my head, causing pain to build up quickly.  Doesn't help much if I take off my glasses, either.  Guess I'm really sensitive to clamping force with on-ears.  
 
All that said, the ergonomics with these on-ears is a godsend.  They're really quite surprisingly light for a wood cup headphone,finding a fit with the self-adjusting headband is quick and easy, clamping force holds them in place very well, and I can wear them with or without glasses and have absolutely no pain.  Awesome job!
 
I got these as a loaner, so I'm not sure if they come with a shorter cable.  The one I got the ESS travel pouch is pretty long.  Luckily, the cable is detachable, so you can always pick up a shorter cable and try out boutique cables if the mood strikes you.
 
Isolation isn't too bad.  I'm listening to these mid-morning in my backyard, so it's pretty quiet around here.  I'll try to challenge them a bit more later on, but honestly they're not intended for active wear - more of a home use headphone in my opinion. 
 
That's it for now, folks.  I'll keep using these over the next few days and update the thread with more thoughts on them.
 
 

 

 

[hakushondaimao]

 

Spoiler: Spock-matheis' impressions

Whew, I've got several pieces of gear out of my lab and can devote some good head time for these beauties.  Is just in time, too since I'm getting the Final Audio Heaven VII in next Mon/Tue.  That's right @hakushondaimao, your turn with the H-VII is coming up soon. That is, if Canadian Custom and/or Post don't sit on them forever...
 
Anyhow, I've got these on my ears now.  iPhone 5s -> Calyx PaT -> ESS RLM-713.  Listening to a sweet electronic album from Kidkanevil & Daisuke Tanabe called Kidsuke.  It's a nice tester for me for non-vocal electronic music, as it's got a lot going on - deep, impactful bass, midrange bells and a few unintelligible vocals, and lots of sparkly, tingling bells moving around headspace up top.  It's similar to Bjork's Biophilia but without Bjork's amazing voice.  
 
With this setup and music, I'm quite enjoying the ESS!  The bass is well-extended, has good impact and has a bit of mid-bass bias but nothing too egregious (could be a bit cleaner, though if it were more linear).  Mids keep the midrange bells and mattering of vocals from falling into the background, and the highs are clear with a bit of sparkle but nothing over the top. 
 
I'll admit that this is a change from my initial impressions, where I listened to the ESS out of my Fiio X5 and found them overly warm.  Who knows, maybe my ears weren't cooperative before, maybe my impressions will change as I listen to more music with the ESS, maybe there's poor synergy with the Fiio X5 for me.  Part of it could've been expectation bias from the "Sound as clear as light" branding on the cups.  I was honestly expecting something bright more along the lines of my AKG K553.  That's definitely not the case, and  actually quite glad!  I find it pretty easy for those K553 to slip into piercing treble territory...
 
Back to the ESS... ok, we've established that I think the sound is pretty good upon my initial re-listen.  How about the comfort and build?  Let's get this out on the table right now - I absolutely hate on-ear headphones.  I'm a glasses wearer, and have found that basically every pair of on-ear headphones I wear smashes the arms of my glasses into my head, causing pain to build up quickly.  Doesn't help much if I take off my glasses, either.  Guess I'm really sensitive to clamping force with on-ears.  
 
All that said, the ergonomics with these on-ears is a godsend.  They're really quite surprisingly light for a wood cup headphone,finding a fit with the self-adjusting headband is quick and easy, clamping force holds them in place very well, and I can wear them with or without glasses and have absolutely no pain.  Awesome job!
 
I got these as a loaner, so I'm not sure if they come with a shorter cable.  The one I got the ESS travel pouch is pretty long.  Luckily, the cable is detachable, so you can always pick up a shorter cable and try out boutique cables if the mood strikes you.
 
Isolation isn't too bad.  I'm listening to these mid-morning in my backyard, so it's pretty quiet around here.  I'll try to challenge them a bit more later on, but honestly they're not intended for active wear - more of a home use headphone in my opinion. 
 
That's it for now, folks.  I'll keep using these over the next few days and update the thread with more thoughts on them.

 
 

 

 
Glad to hear you like them so far. Sounds like our impressions are pretty similar.
 
Looking forward to more as you try them with other genres.

 

[nmatheis]

Glad to hear you like them so far. Sounds like our impressions are pretty similar.

Looking forward to more as you try them with other genres.

Glad our impressions line up well. I did read your review, but it's been quite awhile so I don't think I was too colored by reading it over.

Off to fix my MacBook Pro. Living on the edge with the beta operating system just bit me hard. Getting a kernel panic almost immediately at boot :eek:

 

[ESL-1]

I don't know the accumulated hours of use are on this pair but I found that mine really morphed into better detail and balance as I passed the 100 hour mark and continued to improve through to 200 hours.

Obviously from someone who believes that break in works on certain components, both mechanical and electronic.

Enjoy,

 

[nmatheis]

How much you put on them hakushondaimao?

I'll commence bonfire burnin procedure tonight :wink_face:

 

[hakushondaimao]

How much you put on them @hakushondaimao?

I'll commence bonfire burnin procedure tonight

I easily had 50-70 hours on them. Gave about 10 hours of random play at medium high volume initially, and then just listened as normal. Didn't notice much change, but go ahead and put them in the burnarator for a couple of days and see if anything happens...

 

[nmatheis]

Will do, chief

 

[nmatheis]

Just posted a quick review of the ESS RLM-713.  Thanks again for the listen!
 
LINK

 

[Allanmarcus]

Drats! I was in the ess room at RMAF and forgot to ask about these

BTW they are on mass drop for 199

 

[DavidK35]

Since ESS have brought out new models they are selling the ESS RLM-713 Headphones now for $99.
Snagged a pair, what a bargain.

 

[fortunate son]

Since ESS have brought out new models they are selling the ESS RLM-713 Headphones now for $99.
Snagged a pair, what a bargain.

Okay for action movies (explosions, car crashes and the like) due to their fat bass but not recommended for serious music like classical music where much greater midrange clarity and accurate timbre are needed to make the music sound like the "real thing".

 

[Cho Worsh]

A bit of a mini review of my experience with the RLM-713. I got a set from Grant Fidelity at their introductory price of $249 shipped several weeks ago. I did initially think they had an AMT driver due to some of the original reports so that was the attraction for me to order a pair and give them a whirl. I received them quickly from Grant and was very impressed with the fit an finish and overall look of the phones. Eye of the beholder but to my eye they are one of the nicest looking headphones I have come across in the last few years, handsome would be a good adjective to describe them in my opinion. They are light and quite comfortable and would be able to be worn for long listening sessions with no problem. I did find out fairly soon after that they do not have an AMT driver.

On to the listening I found them out of the box to have a very impressive bottom end coupled with a clean and clear midrange through high frequency. The bass was punchy and went down deeply but at this stage was a bit too much of a good thing as it tended to over shadow and overwhelm the rest of the frequency range. As a believer in mechanical devices (speakers, headphone drivers, etc.) tending to need some time to break inI was looking forward to what the final results would be after a decent amount of play and burn in time was logged. I have a few particular recordings that I find helpful in this regard due to their full range and significant range of instrumentation that I use for this, Kiko by Los Lobos being a favorite. I would also intersperse some pink noise sessions. To make the long story short I found that changes began within the first day or so but that it really began to show the potential as I hit 50 hours and continued as I hit and passed the 100 hour mark. At this point the bass showed better detail and the already clean and detailed midrange and high frequency had come forward and out of the shadow of the solid bottom end. For a closed design they have a nice bit of of space and the soundstage was now more accurate and natural sounding. They do a great job with most rock that I tried and the bass is still extremely impressive for such a moderately priced headphone. Jazz and classical also faired well but this headphone thrives on hard driving music. An added and interesting benefit is that a little tape can allow to customize the sound further to fit your tastes. On the top of each ear cup are four small ports. By covering one to all of these with some light non marring tape you can alter the bass response. Covering all four on each cup cut back the bass output and fullness the most with each variation of how many ports covered or left open allowing you to fine tune the results, very cool. A significant modification available at no cost and no real change to the phone and easily done in moments. I experimented to find two of ports out of four covered on each cup was my preference. So easy to do you could actually change this on the fly according to the sonic presentation of different recordings, very cool.

Isolation is good and they are sensitive and not needing much power to get the results. I tried them on the group of different amps I had on hand and got good results with most all with the TEAC HA-501 and Ray Samuels Emmerline HR-2 taking top honors. The Aune B1 and Fostex HP-V1 doing well on the portable front.

I would also like to add the fact that dealing with Grant Fidelity was a pure joy and they were always quick to respond to any questions and we had some very good and informed communication throughout. I recommend them very highly should they carry the product you are looking for. Vist their website to check a very interesting and eclectic mix of quality product from high fi bargains like the ESS and Aune B1 portable to value oriented higher end gear.

In summation I think the ESS RLM-713 deserves strong consideration at it's MSRP of $349 and is a real deal at the $249 introductory special promo.

Now discontinued, but NOS and used they go for around $100

Being an on ear design they are not the most comfortable headphone, but, if you are into DIY and willing to go to the trouble to re-wire them to be balanced and install a 3.5mm female receptacle on the right ear cup to allow use of dual lead headphone cables, they can be made to sound quite good, especially with a tube amp.