[holytiger]

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

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.

 

[jeffri]

Personally, I heard the Ether 2 out of 4.4mm on Sony DMP-Z1 and that blows my mind. Though it's ridiculously expensive that I can't consider buying.

 

[Slim1970]

I'll be joining the club later today when my Ether 2's are scheduled to arrive. I'm looking forward to giving them a proper go.

 

[bagwell359]

These get some negative comments about the upper mids and treble being too recessive. Well, these have a great bass - better than any HFM available. Mids also excellent. With some EQ help the treble technicals come back. I think the dynamics are still a bit recessed. Anyhow these seem somewhat on the branch that the HEX v2 and LCD-4 sit on. These are better than the HEX v2 right out of the box and after corrections. E2 not quite as suave as the LCD-4 but is much more comfortable and transparent.

Used E2's last I checked were around $1250, that's less than the Arya, which is a little wild in the upper mids, and not built as well. The E2 is not the equal of the Susvara, HEK se, Abyss Phi, and Emp. I'd rather an E2 than a Utopia. Yeah the Voce and a $5+ amp is better too. But the E2 is cheaper than all of them, and used for folks that don't love Beyers and have/willing to use a digital parametric EQ - here is a deal. Don't need a 100 wpc amp either. An amp that drives a HE-500 well should be plenty.

 

[Slim1970]

These get some negative comments about the upper mids and treble being too recessive. Well, these have a great bass - better than any HFM available. Mids also excellent. With some EQ help the treble technicals come back. I think the dynamics are still a bit recessed. Anyhow these seem somewhat on the branch that the HEX v2 and LCD-4 sit on. These are better than the HEX v2 right out of the box and after corrections. E2 not quite as suave as the LCD-4 but is much more comfortable and transparent.

Used E2's last I checked were around $1250, that's less than the Arya, which is a little wild in the upper mids, and not built as well. The E2 is not the equal of the Susvara, HEK se, Abyss Phi, and Emp. I'd rather an E2 than a Utopia. Yeah the Voce and a $5+ amp is better too. But the E2 is cheaper than all of them, and used for folks that don't love Beyers and have/willing to use a digital parametric EQ - here is a deal. Don't need a 100 wpc amp either. An amp that drives a HE-500 well should be plenty.

Those all positives as I see it. I don’t think the problem in upper mid/lower treble is as prominent as some Audeze headphones. This is from my brief time with them.

My initial take away was that they need some power to sound good. I want to give them a go in my setup to see what they can do.

 

[GumbyDammit223]

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.

*snip*

@mrspeakers Dan, am I reading this and your website correctly?

From the Ether 2 product page:
" Dan Clark Audio's ETHER 2 System packages our acclaimed ETHER 2 headphone with 3 different ear pads which can be swapped anytime to extract 3 unique voicings from one headphone. This lets you customize your listening experience based on music, preference, or just because! " [emphasis added by me]

Are you now providing all three sets of pads when you purchase the E2? I purchased mine earlier this year and only received the (what was then) stock pair of pads.

 

[mrspeakers]

@mrspeakers Dan, am I reading this and your website correctly?

From the Ether 2 product page:
" Dan Clark Audio's ETHER 2 System packages our acclaimed ETHER 2 headphone with 3 different ear pads which can be swapped anytime to extract 3 unique voicings from one headphone. This lets you customize your listening experience based on music, preference, or just because! " [emphasis added by me]

Are you now providing all three sets of pads when you purchase the E2? I purchased mine earlier this year and only received the (what was then) stock pair of pads.

Yes, and there was also a price increase when we added the pads...

 

[bagwell359]

Those all positives as I see it. I don’t think the problem in upper mid/lower treble is as prominent as some Audeze headphones. This is from my brief time with them.

My initial take away was that they need some power to sound good. I want to give them a go in my setup to see what they can do.

I agree the LCD-2 and LCD-3 really are missing those areas and yes the E2 is better in that way. To me, the E2 is maybe the best planar for the price. The past few days I've been listening to the creme - Susvara, HEXse, Emp - the first two well better than the E2. Emp somewhat better. Utopia not. E2 better than Arya or HE6se. On the used market its even a better deal.

Sure you need an amp for it, but if you can drive a HE-500 on the amp, it'll work fine for an E2.

 

[Slim1970]

I agree the LCD-2 and LCD-3 really are missing those areas and yes the E2 is better in that way. To me, the E2 is maybe the best planar for the price. The past few days I've been listening to the creme - Susvara, HEXse, Emp - the first two well better than the E2. Emp somewhat better. Utopia not. E2 better than Arya or HE6se. On the used market its even a better deal.

Sure you need an amp for it, but if you can drive a HE-500 on the amp, it'll work fine for an E2.

The E2 definitely has some competition for playtime even in my collection. I have no doubt that they deserve to be in the discussion when considering to purchase a TOTL headphone. The Susvara’s and to some extent the HEKse’s are two of the best headphones I’ve heard. The Empyrean’s, in my opinion, gets the nod for being one of the best all around headphones for music listening I’ve heard. It has an easy to enjoy tonality that sounds great with everything. The Z1R’s might be even better.

This is the category where I hope the E2’s fall. I want them to be a great all around headphone. I think they have the tone, speed, dynamics, and clarity to do so. We shall see how they stack up soon...

 

[ZappaMan]

The E2 definitely has some competition for playtime even in my collection. I have no doubt that they deserve to be in the discussion when considering to purchase a TOTL headphone. The Susvara’s and to some extent the HEKse’s are two of the best headphones I’ve heard. The Empyrean’s, in my opinion, gets the nod for being one of the best all around headphones for music listening I’ve heard. It has an easy to enjoy tonality that sounds great with everything. The Z1R’s might be even better.

This is the category where I hope the E2’s fall. I want them to be a great all around headphone. I think they have the tone, speed, dynamics, and clarity to do so. We shall see how they stack up soon...

Could you say how the Susvara’s and the e2 are different ? As they’re out of my price range but maybe would aspire to get a pair at some point, but are they that much better than e2, if so how plz?

 

[Slim1970]

My Ether 2’s arrived a little while ago. They are equipped with the suede pads, for now, as this is the way I bought them from the seller. So many questions about this headphone and its sound. I’m excited to finally get a listen to them. Now I need to figure out what amp I like them on the most. I thought I’d give them a go on my TT2/HMS combo first, didn’t like it. They sounded under powered and subdued. For whatever reason the TT2 is struggling to drive the Ether 2’s.

So I moved on to my Liquid Platinum. The Ether 2’s sounded much better on the LP. There was plenty of power and drive, but overall clarity is not the best. The Ether 2’s with the suede pads seem to be blocking to much of the high end frequencies. I’m wondering if the stock or perforated pads would bring back clarity and top end extension and be a better pairing with the LP? I‘ll try it later once I get a feel for the Ether 2’s sound.

Next I plugged the Ether 2’s directly into my RME ADI-2 Pro. They still lack clarity but the dynamics improved dramatically. It’s definitely the effects of the pads. So I created a PEQ compensation curve to boost the upper frequencies. Now we’re talking. The bass and slam of the Ether 2’s is on full display. It’s deep, impactful with very good definition. The mids are addicting, lush and full sounding rivaling that of my LCD-4z’s. With EQ applied, the treble is rendered beautifully with excellent clarity and extension with the suede pads. The PEQ curve I created really balances out the sound of the Ether 2’s to suit my taste.

I’m really liking the sound of the Ether 2’s with the suede pads. The tone and musicality of the Ether 2’s with these pads attached is outstanding. They are exactly what I hoped them to be and more, excellent all around headphones for just about any music genre. The Ether 2’s are warm but detailed, smooth but dynamic, clear and clean sounding. All of questions and doubts about this headphone have been put to bed. I wonder what took me so long to try these out. They definitely fit into my collection along side my LCD-4z’s, Quad Era-1’s, Z1R’s as my warm signature headphones.

 

[Slim1970]

Could you say how the Susvara’s and the e2 are different ? As they’re out of my price range but maybe would aspire to get a pair at some point, but are they that much better than e2, if so how plz?

The Susvara’s are more open sounding, more holographic/3D. The sound comes from everywhere and imaging is very precise. They have estat like speed, with superb macro and micro dynamics. They are extended on both ends with an airy treble. I do think the E2’s have more bass, but it’s not as layered as the bass on the Susvara’s. You can clearly differentiate the bass tones on the Susvara’s. It almost makes the E2’s bass seem like one note. The midrange on the E2’s is fantastic but is not as nuanced or involved as the midrange on the Susvara’s. A properly driven Susvara puts you right in the middle of the music with its natural sound. The Susvara’s really are the next level in sound. But that isn’t going to stop me from enjoying my newly acquired E2’s. The E2’s offer TOTL performance with a different sound.

 

[ZappaMan]

My Ether 2’s arrived a little while ago. They are equipped with the suede pads, for now, as this is the way I bought them from the seller. So many questions about this headphone and its sound. I’m excited to finally get a listen to them. Now I need to figure out what amp I like them on the most. I thought I’d give them a go on my TT2/HMS combo first, didn’t like it. They sounded under powered and subdued. For whatever reason the TT2 is struggling to drive the Ether 2’s.

So I moved on to my Liquid Platinum. The Ether 2’s sounded much better on the LP. There was plenty of power and drive, but overall clarity is not the best. The Ether 2’s with the suede pads seem to be blocking to much of the high end frequencies. I’m wondering if the stock or perforated pads would bring back clarity and top end extension and be a better pairing with the LP? I‘ll try it later once I get a feel for the Ether 2’s sound.

Next I plugged the Ether 2’s directly into my RME ADI-2 Pro. They still lack clarity but the dynamics improved dramatically. It’s definitely the effects of the pads. So I created a PEQ compensation curve to boost the upper frequencies. Now we’re talking. The bass and slam of the Ether 2’s is on full display. It’s deep, impactful with very good definition. The mids are addicting, lush and full sounding rivaling that of my LCD-4z’s. With EQ applied, the treble is rendered beautifully with excellent clarity and extension with the suede pads. The PEQ curve I created really balances out the sound of the Ether 2’s to suit my taste.

I’m really liking the sound of the Ether 2’s with the suede pads. The tone and musicality of the Ether 2’s with these pads attached is outstanding. They are exactly what I hoped them to be and more, excellent all around headphones for just about any music genre. The Ether 2’s are warm but detailed, smooth but dynamic, clear and clean sounding. All of questions and doubts about this headphone have been put to bed. I wonder what took me so long to try these out. They definitely fit into my collection along side my LCD-4z’s, Quad Era-1’s, Z1R’s as my warm signature headphones.

I’m also using tt2/hms, what volume and options were you using ? I find volume -20 to -15 high, depending on the underlying volume of the recording is pretty good.

 

[Slim1970]

I’m also using tt2/hms, what volume and options were you using ? I find volume -20 to -15 high, depending on the underlying volume of the recording is pretty good.

For the Ether 2's, I stopped at Zero +2. I still wasn't getting the output I normally get with other headphones. Maybe the 16 Ohms load is not compatible. It's the only thing I can think of for these headphones to sound so bad on the TT2/HMS combo

 

[ZappaMan]

For the Ether 2's, I stopped at Zero +2. I still wasn't getting the output I normally get with other headphones. Maybe the 16 Ohms load is not compatible. It's the only thing I can think of for these headphones to sound so bad on the TT2/HMS combo

You can listen at zero + 2 ? That must be insanely loud
Did you try high and low gain ?