[chesebert]

It's interesting what you're describing, Chesebert. I was struggling with that last piece of refinement that I was looking for in a nice set of 'phones. I am genuinely content with the S version and they are far better than the cans I've had in the past. But they whet my appetite for that 'what could be even better'... but I liked the overall character of the mini S... so that's when I started looking for cable upgrades. The Ninja cable I had was the only one I had. With no relative comparison, I couldn't tell if it was a factor or not. I just knew it was really heavy, like draping a garden hose over myself whenever I wanted to listen. I have a light/flexy single ended cable I can use directly from my phone when I want to get seriously portable... but the DAC sounds a lot better.

Now for the really 'interesting' part ... Tom has built and sent me a new cable to try.. and I must say it pretty much addresses exactly what you're describing. I can turn the volume up a lot higher now because it removes that little grain or glare that exists... and it's not a lot.. but man it's the exact right change. It's a 5% improvement type thing.. but it's like every one of those percent were put in the exact right areas to improve the overall sound. Everything is a little better but that little etch is gone. It ends up being a little sweeter but more detailed. You can hear the harmonics better so the voices and room effects are part of the performance in a more musical and clear way. It's pretty astounding.

Also, they weigh nothing and make the experience of listening to the headphones better.. because I don't have to drape a hose over me, and they're not tugging down on the headphones... which is like another percent improvement on its own. Your brain becomes un-taxed with that burden/minor annoyance... freeing you to enjoy music.

I am pretty sensitive to many things... I have a lot of sensitivity in the ~4-8,k range so my experience with this change is astounding (musically) but to some it may not be so much. But it does take these headphones into a little bit of a true hifi experience for me... and a solid step up from mid-fi.

Which cable is this? interesting observation.

 

[carlman]

Tom said it's Neotech, basically this is what it looks like: https://wp.neotechcable.com/earphone-headphone-cable/
Tom alluded to doing some extensive work voicing this to their headphone's sound.. I've asked for more details in that regard... but all I know is, it took my listening enjoyment from about an 8 to a 9 out of 10. I can now hear the DAC's signature more... so that's something.

 

[chesebert]

I still don't know how to get my hands on these cables

 

[theveterans]

Tom said it's Neotech, basically this is what it looks like: https://wp.neotechcable.com/earphone-headphone-cable/
Tom alluded to doing some extensive work voicing this to their headphone's sound.. I've asked for more details in that regard... but all I know is, it took my listening enjoyment from about an 8 to a 9 out of 10. I can now hear the DAC's signature more... so that's something.

Same cable geometry as the PlusSound Exo UPOCC Copper Litz that I have with my mini C hence the same sentiments with you regarding your impressions

 

[carlman]

Cool, so yet again, I learn that cables matter.
Here's what Tom had to say when I asked for details/offerings:

At the moment we are offering it.
I believe we are currently out of stock, we may have some bstocks available in the future that are currently with a few models.
at the moment i'm sure jeremy at audiophile ninja could build more.

here are the specs for our cable

- NeoTech OCC copper cabling
- Amphenol / Neutrik amp connectors
- Gold plated headphone connectors
- Cardas silver bearing solder
- Hand built cables in the USA


It is under our accessories on our new website. https://etaheadphones.com/collections/accessories

 

[theveterans]

Finally got a chance to A/B the arguably the best sounding TWS headphone against the Mini C on BT.

Here’s my impressions with my iPhone 12 PM on BT AAC LC.

Bathys has a looser bass than Mini C, but thankfully it isn’t bleeding on the mids. ETA’s bass is definitely flatter, more controlled and has better dynamics. The mids are a lot more recessed and lacking energy with the Bathys relative to the Mini C, which provides the necessary bite and grit that gives wow factor to the listener. Also, Bathys is drier sounding compared to the wetter, more euphonic mids timbre from the Mini. Treble is a toss up between the two, but I give Mini a slight edge from having that treble bite without sounding artificial when called upon by the track.

Last but not least, Bathys has lesser macro detail retrieval and lesser microdynamic contrast than the Mini C which to me is paramount to that head bobbing listening experience

Overall, I’m now confident in ranking the Mini C being on par with the Focal Clears OG in technicalities while having better tonality and evenness in the upper mids and treble peakiness

 

[DeviousEnigma]

Hi, I received the ETA mini C on a loaner tour through theAudioLodge our Bay Area local discord. I thought I would write down my thoughts.

Aesthetically:
Everything that's been said has been said. Yeah they look 3D printed but the exterior is pretty smooth and not roughly textured as if it was a bad 3D print. It's not goregous, but it's fine. I don't love it and I don't hate it. It's perfectly functional.

Comfort:
The pads I used were over-ear style which is very appreciated since I don't care for on ear. My ears are rather big and touched both the tops and bottoms of the pads but even so, they just touched. They are quite comfortable and easy to forget they're on your head. The studio style headband is fine. These headphones are super light. They really don't need a suspension strap or any real padding for support. And the band provides just the right amount of clamping.

Sound:
They definitely sound like a closed back, there's no getting around that. This is not a big soundstage experience. But amongst closed backs, they sound good. They have very solid resolution. They're not TOTL resolution, but that would be crazy if they were for this price. That being said, on hand I have a pair of Maxwells and they beat that resolution pretty handily. Moreover, they have a greater sense of balance. They definitely have a warmer tilt than neutral. Part of this is likely because they have a good quantity of bass. The treble feels light tad pulled back. It it actually more my preferred sound signature since the typical treble standard tends to be too high for me.

I wouldn't consider this very "clinical". Badly mastered or compressed music doesn't sound "bad" the same way an HD800 would make it. Even though it has good resolution, I think it fits well in that resolution versus musical balance. I felt that it pulled out a lot within the music but it wasn't so fast and resolving where compressed and poorly recorded music suffered too greatly.

Because of the warmer tilt, I was pulled toward rock and EDM music. The issue I have with them is that when the music gets very busy (too much thick guitar sounds) or if the EDM track gets very very busy with a lot of booming bass, things come off as a wall of sound and congested. It can also sound a little like the bass is running away on some EDM tracks. With rock music, when you have a lot of thick power chords all the while you have maybe a lot of drum cymbals and a guy screaming in the forefront, you lose that separation of instruments. It's a problem for a lot of headphones so it's not unique to these. That being said, for where they land on their price point, I can't really think of any headphone which doesn't have similar issues. All of them aren't TOTL resolving or super airy and out of your head. Most of them don't even present which such good bass and so balanced. I think keeping this more in mind and where they land, they sound great. If anything, now I'm more curious about the O2's as I want to know what this sound would be like in an open back.

I did listen to music with female vocals as well. It was well balanced and not fatiguing. I never got the feeling that these are bright headphones. To me they always seemed warm-neutral with very good bass dynamics and extension.

Also important to mention, these things are easy to drive. I ran them from a Valhalla 2 and even then didn't need to crank the volume at all. They super easy to drive. I also tried running them off an apple dongle and an Oppo HA-2se. I did find that the mini C opened up and was more resolving with the HA-2se. I think there are some gains and scaling provided a little bit of power. But I do not think this would scale significantly which makes it a great mid-fi can. I think this would be an awesome work headphone.

 

[M3NTAL]

The O2 will solve many of your issues. The Mini S is a step up in openness if you like the general sound. O2 is lively - still not a Focal or maybe even a Grado, but about as snappy as the driver can produce. It's designed for timbre first I believe. The tonal balance comes from the voodoo in the design.

 

[carlman]

I agree about the Mini S openness; and improved texture.. I gave up some privacy over the C version to get it... and is worth it for the reduced congestion. In a dead silent room my wife can hear the music. She can't always tell what song it is but she can definitely hear it... and doesn't bother her at all even if she's watching a show on her tablet. At high volume she can identify the song but it still isn't loud enough to bother her. I have not tried the full open version.
The S version is hifi enough for me to hear the personality of DAC's. Also, make sure you use the right kind of cable (see my comments above about Litz)...

 

[monkey4054]

Does anyone have any general idea of the differences between the three current models (Closed, Semi-Open, and O2) Is the O2 a newer and improved fully open version of the Semi-open model? Or is it something completely different?

 

[jinxy245]

If I'm not mistaken the O2 is more of a spiritual successor of the discontinued Mini O. They all have a common DNA so to speak, but read the various reviews for the best breakdown of the differences. They're all amazing to my ears.

 

[M3NTAL]

I have a different three - Gen G., O2, Mini-S. Each brings great timbre and sense of ease. Presentation varies between them and the bass gets thicker as you close the driver off more. O2 being the most vented, so it is the snappiest.

 

[Precogvision]

Hey everyone, I heard a pair of Mini Closed at a HiFiCon meetup and was instantly intrigued by them, so I reached out for a loaner pair from ETA. I haven't been able to put as much time on them as I'd like, but I wanted to share some quick thoughts.

Basically, they have a lot of tuning decisions that align with my preferences as someone who's sole headphone is the HD6XX. The HD6XX's main weaknesses are its lack of extension on the extremes of the frequency spectrum: no bass, no highs, just mids. The Mini Closed definitely rectifies the issue of no bass. It has good extension, although I wish it had a stronger bass shelf. I want to say that the treble extension is also slightly better, although the pads on my HD6XX are pretty worn out.

The interesting thing about the Mini Closed, though, has more to do with its upper-midrange and treble tuning. It has an unconventional flavor of both of them that reminds me a lot of the way the 64 Audio IEMs (some of my favorite IEMs) are tuned. The 3-4kHz region is pulled back and then the treble region has a slight lower-and-upper treble emphasis. This gives it a more colored, yet not unnatural presentation. Ultimately, it doesn't sound like these IEMs but there is definitely a resemblance to the tonal characteristics.

Technicality wise, I'm less impressed with the Mini Closed on second listen. It sounds fine, but not mind-blowingly better than what it costs. It has noticeable blunting to its transients due to the upper-midrange recession and there isn't enough upper-treble to give it a 'bite' to decay. Staging is fairly standard for a headphone, but it sounds decently dynamic due to the bass extension and slight contrast in the upper-midrange and lower-treble.

Overall, the Mini Closed isn't the paradigm shifter that I might've thought it was on first listen, but it is a palatable sounding headphone, which I can't say for a lot of headphones that I've heard. It also has a few characteristics to its tuning that I don't normally hear with headphones that might be enough to set it apart from the pack for some listeners.

 

[theveterans]

Technicality wise, I'm less impressed with the Mini Closed on second listen. It sounds fine, but not mind-blowingly better than what it costs. It has noticeable blunting to its transients due to the upper-midrange recession and there isn't enough upper-treble to give it a 'bite' to decay. Staging is fairly standard for a headphone, but it sounds decently dynamic due to the bass extension and slight contrast in the upper-midrange and lower-treble.

Sounds like you haven't plugged this in on the Woo WA8. That amp pairs incredibly well with the Mini Closed with much tighter grip in the transients across all frequencies, more open, more dynamic in the upper mids with more defined decay in microdynamics than quite a few portable DAP and amps I've tried.

 

[robertom]

Hey everyone, I heard a pair of Mini Closed at a HiFiCon meetup and was instantly intrigued by them, so I reached out for a loaner pair from ETA. I haven't been able to put as much time on them as I'd like, but I wanted to share some quick thoughts.



Basically, they have a lot of tuning decisions that align with my preferences as someone who's sole headphone is the HD6XX. The HD6XX's main weaknesses are its lack of extension on the extremes of the frequency spectrum: no bass, no highs, just mids. The Mini Closed definitely rectifies the issue of no bass. It has good extension, although I wish it had a stronger bass shelf. I want to say that the treble extension is also slightly better, although the pads on my HD6XX are pretty worn out.

The interesting thing about the Mini Closed, though, has more to do with its upper-midrange and treble tuning. It has an unconventional flavor of both of them that reminds me a lot of the way the 64 Audio IEMs (some of my favorite IEMs) are tuned. The 3-4kHz region is pulled back and then the treble region has a slight lower-and-upper treble emphasis. This gives it a more colored, yet not unnatural presentation. Ultimately, it doesn't sound like these IEMs but there is definitely a resemblance to the tonal characteristics.

Technicality wise, I'm less impressed with the Mini Closed on second listen. It sounds fine, but not mind-blowingly better than what it costs. It has noticeable blunting to its transients due to the upper-midrange recession and there isn't enough upper-treble to give it a 'bite' to decay. Staging is fairly standard for a headphone, but it sounds decently dynamic due to the bass extension and slight contrast in the upper-midrange and lower-treble.

Overall, the Mini Closed isn't the paradigm shifter that I might've thought it was on first listen, but it is a palatable sounding headphone, which I can't say for a lot of headphones that I've heard. It also has a few characteristics to its tuning that I don't normally hear with headphones that might be enough to set it apart from the pack for some listeners.

It always surprises me how much individual perception can differ. I have an Eta Mini Closed, and my impression are completely different from yours. I mean, completely. What I hear is a slight emphasis around 1Khz area (not desiderable, but very light and not offending); no lack on 3-4K region from me (for my personal perception and preferences in the pinna gain area), and no emphasis on treble either: treble are simply in the right amount. Transients is where this headphone impressed me the most: they are the hardest hitting and most defined transients of every headphone I have had (dozens, not hundreds, anyway). They even are a bit 'over represented' for my perception.
As a reference of all this, I use my monitoring system (PMC) in my professionally treated room.
For me, they are above all a great tool for mixing, I think they are the headphones that translate best on my speakers in my room.
Of course, I do not mean that my perception is right and yours is wrong, we just hear differently.