[tincanear]

Wait, you’re on the west coast, and they’re quarantining a package from San Diego? Or do DC headphones come from somewhere else?

The crazy thing is — if the package might be contaminated, good job protecting the recipient, but what about all the people who handled it in transit?

Or is the idea that it might have been contaminated in transit?

Not sure I understand the risk we’re trying to mitigate here. I guess scientists don’t really know yet.

to clarify, I self-quarantine all mail order items for a few days in a corner of the garage. the virus can be supposedly remain viable on surfaces for a few days.
yes, they shipped from San Diego. most of the early California cases were in the southern half (los angeles area). transit contamination of the box is most likely, given a large number of people are in contact with the package. better to be safe than sorry at this point, a small sacrifice (if you can call it that), compared to other aspects of daily living which are now significantly different.

meanwhile, I can read the posts of other (highly satisfied) users.
stay safe.

 

[LCMusicLover]

to clarify, I self-quarantine all mail order items for a few days in a corner of the garage. the virus can be supposedly remain viable on surfaces for a few days.
yes, they shipped from San Diego. most of the early California cases were in the southern half (los angeles area). transit contamination of the box is most likely, given a large number of people are in contact with the package. better to be safe than sorry at this point, a small sacrifice (if you can call it that), compared to other aspects of daily living which are now significantly different.

meanwhile, I can read the posts of other (highly satisfied) users.
stay safe.

Ah, that makes sense. I thought you were referring to a quarantine by FedEx.

You stay safe as well.

(BTW, interesting interview with some smart doctor on NPR on the way to work today: 'Can CoronaVirus be spread via talking? Short answer -- Yes.' Then a long discussion of 'large droplets, intermediate droplets and Bio Aerosol' and how long they persist. The last is of real concern in enclosed spaces such as patient treatment rooms.)

 

[wangtox]

I have been spraying all of my packages with lysol and letting them sit for 30 minutes before touching. Then unbox from the shipper packaging, get rid of it then wash hands

 

[tincanear]

Ah, that makes sense. I thought you were referring to a quarantine by FedEx.

You stay safe as well.

(BTW, interesting interview with some smart doctor on NPR on the way to work today: 'Can CoronaVirus be spread via talking? Short answer -- Yes.' Then a long discussion of 'large droplets, intermediate droplets and Bio Aerosol' and how long they persist. The last is of real concern in enclosed spaces such as patient treatment rooms.)

the Bio Aerosol thing sounds a bit ominous.

nice collection of cans in your avatar, what's your favorite?

 

[LCMusicLover]

the Bio Aerosol thing sounds a bit ominous.

Agree, biggest argument in favor of all wearing masks, since we can't know who is contagious.

nice collection of cans in your avatar, what's your favorite?

Thank you. And it's an old picture. Empyrean was on the wall for a while, but then was sold off. RAD-0 is up there now, so more cans than hooks

Favorite? Tough call. I've always said my Blackwood Auteur are my 'Goldilocks headphones' and they are the best DeadPhones (headphones for listening to the Grateful Dead).

But I spent all weekend listening to Utopia, portable upstairs from my R6 Pro, and downstairs from Yggy ==> DSHA-3F. Really good!

Meanwhile, I love the RAD-0, and Ether 2 and HEKv2 both have such wonderful (but different) headstages with somewhat different tunings.

Really, the first line in my signature is spot-on. None of my cans get the head-time they deserve. EFO and HE-6se are literally crying in the corner, while HD-6xx laughs and says "Hey you guys, I only get used when he's reading reviews which use me for comparison. I haven't been used for an hour straight in 6 months. So quit yer belly-aching."

If you actually put a gun to my head and said 'You have to pick 1' it would go like this:

OK, Auteur are my favorite, and I love listening to the Dead, so Auteur! But wait, detail from Utopia can't be beat, Utopia! No, c'mon, RAD-0 are the cleanest, and really have great presence without becoming fatiguing, so, RAD-0. But I'd miss the delicacy and staging of the HEK, so HEK! Just hold on now, E2 are the lightest and most comfortable, and by far the best for in-bed listening at night -- so musical yet relaxed! E2 is it! NO WAY! I'm not giving up my Auteur. They're just way too ... Bang ...

 

[ksorota]

Agree, biggest argument in favor of all wearing masks, since we can't know who is contagious.

Thank you. And it's an old picture. Empyrean was on the wall for a while, but then was sold off. RAD-0 is up there now, so more cans than hooks

Favorite? Tough call. I've always said my Blackwood Auteur are my 'Goldilocks headphones' and they are the best DeadPhones (headphones for listening to the Grateful Dead).

But I spent all weekend listening to Utopia, portable upstairs from my R6 Pro, and downstairs from Yggy ==> DSHA-3F. Really good!

Meanwhile, I love the RAD-0, and Ether 2 and HEKv2 both have such wonderful (but different) headstages with somewhat different tunings.

Really, the first line in my signature is spot-on. None of my cans get the head-time they deserve. EFO and HE-6se are literally crying in the corner, while HD-6xx laughs and says "Hey you guys, I only get used when he's reading reviews which use me for comparison. I haven't been used for an hour straight in 6 months. So quit yer belly-aching."

If you actually put a gun to my head and said 'You have to pick 1' it would go like this:

OK, Auteur are my favorite, and I love listening to the Dead, so Autuer! But wait, detail from Utopia can't be beat, Utopia! No, c'mon, RAD-0 are the cleanest, and really have great presence without becoming fatiguing, so, RAD-0. But I'd miss the delicacy and staging of the HEK, so HEK! Just hold on now, E2 are the lightest and most comfortable, and by far the best for in-bed listening at night -- so musical yet relaxed! E2 is it! NO WAY! I'm not giving up my Auteur. They're just way too ... Bang ...

Auteur blackwood are hard to beat!

Still one off my favorites that I owned and wish I never sold them!

 

[GumbyDammit223]

Greetings All:

I took the plunge on Monday to purchase the Ether 2's, thanks to a nice $300 discount on the website. Received them today and am trying them out on my stock Valhalla 2 and stock Bifrost (non multibit). First off, the comfort is PHENOMENAL. And I'm coming from the HD700. I'm worried though. Currently listening to Loreena McKennitt's The Book of Secrets and I'm hearing what to me sounds like low frequency rumbling in the bass punches in the right channel. I swear I can't hear it with the HD700's. Could this be that the Valhalla 2 just doesn't have enough power to adequately drive these headphones? I'm running the amp on high gain (output impedance of 14 ohms) with the volume at 12 o'clock. I can hear the same artifacts on low gain (3.5 ohms) with the volume at 2 o'clock. In both cases, it's loud, but not ear-bleedingly so.

I have a Fulla connected to my computer at work and will do a similar test there tomorrow. I also pulled the trigger on a SPL Phonitor X but that won't get here until next week.

Do you guys think I have an amp problem or a headphone problem? Thanks in advance!

 

[wangtox]

I haven’t had any issues with rumbling and my amp only has max 500mV output @ 32Ohm

 

[mrspeakers]

Greetings All:

I took the plunge on Monday to purchase the Ether 2's, thanks to a nice $300 discount on the website. Received them today and am trying them out on my stock Valhalla 2 and stock Bifrost (non multibit). First off, the comfort is PHENOMENAL. And I'm coming from the HD700. I'm worried though. Currently listening to Loreena McKennitt's The Book of Secrets and I'm hearing what to me sounds like low frequency rumbling in the bass punches in the right channel. I swear I can't hear it with the HD700's. Could this be that the Valhalla 2 just doesn't have enough power to adequately drive these headphones? I'm running the amp on high gain (output impedance of 14 ohms) with the volume at 12 o'clock. I can hear the same artifacts on low gain (3.5 ohms) with the volume at 2 o'clock. In both cases, it's loud, but not ear-bleedingly so.

I have a Fulla connected to my computer at work and will do a similar test there tomorrow. I also pulled the trigger on a SPL Phonitor X but that won't get here until next week.

Do you guys think I have an amp problem or a headphone problem? Thanks in advance!

The Valhalla isn't recommended, OTL amps and 12 ohm headphones aren't usually a great match as OTL designs are typically low current. Any other amp in the Schiit line would be a better fit... We like the Lyre 3 in the midrange of their line and the Hel or the new Fulla.

The new Fulla works well, there was an older version that didn't work with AEON, so your results depend on the version of Fulla.

If you have the new Fulla and the problem persists email us for support.

 

[tincanear]

Greetings All:

I took the plunge on Monday to purchase the Ether 2's, thanks to a nice $300 discount on the website. Received them today and am trying them out on my stock Valhalla 2 and stock Bifrost (non multibit). First off, the comfort is PHENOMENAL. And I'm coming from the HD700. I'm worried though. Currently listening to Loreena McKennitt's The Book of Secrets and I'm hearing what to me sounds like low frequency rumbling in the bass punches in the right channel. I swear I can't hear it with the HD700's. Could this be that the Valhalla 2 just doesn't have enough power to adequately drive these headphones? I'm running the amp on high gain (output impedance of 14 ohms) with the volume at 12 o'clock. I can hear the same artifacts on low gain (3.5 ohms) with the volume at 2 o'clock. In both cases, it's loud, but not ear-bleedingly so.

I have a Fulla connected to my computer at work and will do a similar test there tomorrow. I also pulled the trigger on a SPL Phonitor X but that won't get here until next week.

Do you guys think I have an amp problem or a headphone problem? Thanks in advance!

E2's are about 22 ohms, so not a good match with the Valhalla, it being an OTL all-tube amp. if you want tubes, Lyr3 is tube/ transistor hybrid and a better match, or ASgard 3 or Jotunheim for solid state.

 

[GumbyDammit223]

Well, considering the Valhalla 2 is what I currently have available, I had to use it because there was NO WAY I'd let these hp's sit a week without being touched! I do have a full sized speaker amp I will be trying out this weekend.

Last night as I was running through my Lorenna McKennitt collection, I think the problem started to go away. Other than maybe two songs over three albums, I could hear nothing but goodness! I then switched genres and played some Mylène Farmer and Muse. Very nice! The highs in Mylène's recordings could be listened to without being EQ'd. Overnight I ran a continuous frequency sweep from the Audiophile Hi-Res System Test collection to put some burn-in time on them. I'm currently listening to The Book of Secrets at work through the original Fulla. NO HINT OF A PROBLEM can be heard! It blows my mind that this little Fulla can sound so good! The wait for the Phonitor X is now going to be all the more painful!

 

[Empyah]

The wait for the Phonitor X is now going to be all the more painful!

I do not doubt that your Ether 2 will sound great out of the Phonitor, like it does with my V281.
But trying those with a Wa22 i heard them come to life and open up properly for the first time.
Since you payed about 2200€ for the Phonitor you could have gotten a DNA Starlett or ZMF Pendant for the money.
Nothing compares to good tube amps in my experience.

 

[mrspeakers]

I do not doubt that your Ether 2 will sound great out of the Phonitor, like it does with my V281.
But trying those with a Wa22 i heard them come to life and open up properly for the first time.
Since you payed about 2200€ for the Phonitor you could have gotten a DNA Starlett or ZMF Pendant for the money.
Nothing compares to good tube amps in my experience.

The DNA is a lovely sounding amp, super fast and revealing yet tube sweetness.

I have a WA5 with a glorious tube set in it, it sounds totally transformed compared to the original generic Chinese tubes... Still my favorite amp.

 

[GumbyDammit223]

I do not doubt that your Ether 2 will sound great out of the Phonitor, like it does with my V281.
But trying those with a Wa22 i heard them come to life and open up properly for the first time.
Since you payed about 2200€ for the Phonitor you could have gotten a DNA Starlett or ZMF Pendant for the money.
Nothing compares to good tube amps in my experience.

Pretty! Unfortunately it looks like it would take up a lot more real estate than I have available and doesn't have VU meters (one of the flashing lights that intrigued about the Phonitor). The Phonitor will sit nicely under my Bifrost and Valhalla.

Sound update - currently listening to some Dave Brubeck through the Fulla and mighty nice!

 

[VandyMan]

I have a WA5 with a glorious tube set in it, it sounds totally transformed compared to the original generic Chinese tubes... Still my favorite amp.

I second that. The WA5 and the Ether 2 is an excellent combination.