[ZappaMan]

Guys, I’m calling it, you need to spend a little bit of money on the perforated pads. They are really improving my experience. A lot more air around the music, the stage is great.
id describe it like, the back beats are being brought into prominence and the vocals are moved backwards. Not in a bad way. But it’s much more tranceful, as those back beats really are the music...

I also have the suede and I liked those, but the perforated pads are literally so good I felt the need to share.

fir reference, I’ve been listening to mavis staples, talking heads, underworld and now boards of Canada, and it makes me say, the default pads have been holding these ear phones back.
ive been listening to these ear phones solid since may so I know what they sound like.
I’ve also had a small drink but I believe that in no way invalidates my report lol.

 

[SuperRoo]

I agree on your assessment of the perforated pads.

 

[Bob Ley]

Looking for some feedback here. I recently purchased a pair of Ether Flow 1.1's (they were originally purchased in 2016 so they had a lot of "burn-in" out of the way) and was so happy with them I had to know how the Ether 2's sounded. I just received an open box pair yesterday and was excited to try out.
I have to say, compared to the Ether Flow's, they sounded terrible and veiled.
Do they need a lot of burn-in or wonder if it's just a one-off bad pair? In all my experience with different headphones I've had, I can usually tell in the first few minutes if they sound good or not (including Empyrean's, Vertie's, Utopia's, etc.)

Any thoughts?

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

I think it’s pretty simple looking at the frequency response of both: the Ether Flow is the more linearly tuned coconut in the upper-mids/low treble where the Ether 2 takes a nosedive. Incidentally also a critical area for clarity/presence in any headphone’s presentation.

 

[Bob Ley]

I think it’s pretty simple looking at the frequency response of both: the Ether Flow is the more linearly tuned coconut in the upper-mids/low treble where the Ether 2 takes a nosedive. Incidentally also a critical area for clarity/presence in any headphone’s presentation.

Resolve reviews also explained about the variations.

 

[S0MA]

Resolve reviews also explained about the variations.

If open box, what’s the date of manufacture? I doubt it’s one of the way early ones, but I guess it’s possible.

 

[Bob Ley]

If open box, what’s the date of manufacture? I doubt it’s one of the way early ones, but I guess it’s possible.

I'll check. Were the early ones known to be bad?

 

[S0MA]

I'll check. Were the early ones known to be bad?

There were some early ones that had issues, yeah. After speaking with a rep, they let me know that they had gotten just about all of them back, so I think it's unlikely that you fall into that bucket, but it may still be worth looking into.

 

[Middy]

Needs a good 200 hours on it. My 9ld Ethers do sound a lot sharper in the treble compared to the Ethers 2 but the overall sound is a touch darker but more overall detail and a much more enjoyable presentation.
Loved the Ether Flows and still do on my PC rig but if i had to loose them i am glad i have the Ether 2s... id give thrm at least 200 before making a choice..

More than enough bass and treble for my EDM.. other genres just as nice

Good luck

Dave

 

[Bob Ley]

There were some early ones that had issues, yeah. After speaking with a rep, they let me know that they had gotten just about all of them back, so I think it's unlikely that you fall into that bucket, but it may still be worth looking into.

11/2/18 is the manufacture date

 

[mrspeakers]

11/2/18 is the manufacture date

When we switched to the ETHER 2 system and offered all three pads with the headphone our team agreed the default for the ETHER 2s should be the perforated pads due to the enhanced soundstage and very natural tone. It will not be bright on top, still relaxed, but it has more relative upper midrange presence than the stock pads, which are definitely warmer and more midrange forward.

The perforated pads will definitely add energy up top as they reduce midrange energy. Based on your manufacture date that is an early unit and you should feel free to contact info@danclarkaudio.com so can check the production data. You're technically out of warranty but so close we'll cover you if there's a reason for concern when we look at your unit's test results.

Assuming it's OK, for those who want a Harmon-Curve response with more emphasis on the presence region one PEQ setting is needed with the perforated pads; 200Hz, -4dB, Q=1.6 will pretty much nail the Harmon Curve. IMHO the Harmon Curve is best considered an EQ rather than something that's "right," they chose a curve that 50% of listeners felt matched listening to speakers in room, but 25% wanted more bass and 25% want more treble. I personally find the Harmon curve makes vocals sound too lean and I feel using no EQ with the perforated pads sounds more like live acoustic to me, but if the Harmon Curve or you is more your thing and you like a leaner/brighter midrange voicing this PEQ will dial it pretty close with a simple pad swap.

 

[Bob Ley]

When we switched to the ETHER 2 system and offered all three pads with the headphone our team agreed the default for the ETHER 2s should be the perforated pads due to the enhanced soundstage and very natural tone. It will not be bright on top, still relaxed, but it has more relative upper midrange presence than the stock pads, which are definitely warmer and more midrange forward.

The perforated pads will definitely add energy up top as they reduce midrange energy. Based on your manufacture date that is an early unit and you should feel free to contact info@danclarkaudio.com so can check the production data. You're technically out of warranty but so close we'll cover you if there's a reason for concern when we look at your unit's test results.

Assuming it's OK, for those who want a Harmon-Curve response with more emphasis on the presence region one PEQ setting is needed with the perforated pads; 200Hz, -4dB, Q=1.6 will pretty much nail the Harmon Curve. IMHO the Harmon Curve is best considered an EQ rather than something that's "right," they chose a curve that 50% of listeners felt matched listening to speakers in room, but 25% wanted more bass and 25% want more treble. I personally find the Harmon curve makes vocals sound too lean and I feel using no EQ with the perforated pads sounds more like live acoustic to me, but if the Harmon Curve or you is more your thing and you like a leaner/brighter midrange voicing this PEQ will dial it pretty close with a simple pad swap.

Thanks for that. I'll probably just return them. Completely happy with my Ether Flow 1.1's and I don't see how from this experience the Ether 2's can get that same sound.

 

[mrspeakers]

Thanks for that. I'll probably just return them. Completely happy with my Ether Flow 1.1's and I don't see how from this experience the Ether 2's can get that same sound.

Yeah, understood. The 1.1 will definitely be brighter up top and if that's what you seek it may be a better fit, though it's not as smooth. Cheers...

 

[LCMusicLover]

Looking for some feedback here. I recently purchased a pair of Ether Flow 1.1's (they were originally purchased in 2016 so they had a lot of "burn-in" out of the way) and was so happy with them I had to know how the Ether 2's sounded. I just received an open box pair yesterday and was excited to try out.
I have to say, compared to the Ether Flow's, they sounded terrible and veiled.
Do they need a lot of burn-in or wonder if it's just a one-off bad pair? In all my experience with different headphones I've had, I can usually tell in the first few minutes if they sound good or not (including Empyrean's, Vertie's, Utopia's, etc.)

Any thoughts?

For what it's worth, your description of the sound matches what we heard from a user whose E2 were determined to be one of the bad batch (user over on that other forum). And having owned Utopia for 3 years and Empyrean for about 6 months (later sold), I will say that, even right out of the box, my E2s sounded 'good'. Not the same tonality obviously -- definitely a bit of 'last octave' roll-off -- but also not a 'defective' sound.

EFO will sound brighter than E2 with stock pads though. And I found E2 a bit more 'amp-picky' than EFO as well. FWIW, to my ears, E2 are only a bit less bright than EFO 1.1 with all the tuning pads in place.

 

[holytiger]

One of the(if not THE BEST) best headphone system sound currently in existence is Ether 2 + Ha200 combo. Its actually lot better than ha200 with their own planar headphone. I have heard it all. You name it, I probably heard almost all the well known end game headphone amplifiers currently on the market and end game headphones but this combo is by far one of unexpected surprise of my hifi journey to date. And I'm not talking just about Ether2 because this headphone alone of course has its own flaws and missing pieces in the puzzle but Ha200 completes that puzzle. And I have heard other numerous end game headphones with bunch of endgame headphone amps but these two.. man.. I'm floored, it beats almost everything I have heard prior. I'm probably sure nobody heard this combination yet because Ha200 amp is newly released and quite expensive but seriously, simply jaw dropping stuff.