Not to my ears. The midrange is prominent on the Ether 2’s and to me the perforated pads balances out the sound while opening up the treble. The perforated pads let all the frequencies shine.
ETHER 2: Impressions and Discussion
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Xcalibur255
Headphoneus Supremus
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That makes sense. What I should have said was "v-shaped in relation to the stock pads" rather than v-shaped in general.
I agree.
I often wanted slight more treble on original pads and finally got the perforated pads after hearing the perforated pads got standard pads.
The perforated pads sounds more like ordinary headphones to me in both good and bad meaning.
And I don't remember if it was a big cup feeling or tonality but somewhat reminded me of Stax SR-Omega (original) which I have.
However, I preferred the original pads.
The original pads sounds more well balanced to me. (Yeah, "to me".)
Sound has more body without dips, and bass is tighter.
I know maybe it is mid-focused, but the original pads were my preference.
Difference between the original and the perforated was bigger than I thought.
ra990
Headphoneus Supremus
Agree, I also though the original pads sounded the best, but were also the least comfy.
Oddly enough I have yet to try the stock pads. I do like the elevated bass response and treble tuning the perforated pads adds to the Ether 2’s. So I’ll probably stick with them for a while since the Ether 2’s with perforated pads work well in my setup.
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If you want a pad that's closer to the original sonically but offers the more generous ear well, try the suede. It's also super comfy, I love the feel.
Brahmsian
500+ Head-Fier
I modded my HE560 with the Voce pads, which have the biggest earholes I've ever used. They are the most comfortable pads that I have by far. There would seem to be less contact between the pads and my skin since there is so much less surface to the pad. But if the crucial contact area is circumference, then I guess I understand what Dan's saying here. Anyhow, the Voce pads took the 560 to the next level both comfort and sound wise.I'm not going to go into full details, no time, but it's simple. 100% of the pad does not contact on your head, almost universally due to the curve of the skull the primary contact is the circumference around the ear. The larger the circumference the larger the contact area. Think of putting the pad on a ball and assuming the full pad does not compress to make 100% contact. Other than that, take my word for it.
I almost exclusively listen to classical music, and I have found HifiMan headphones well-suited to the genre. But I really want to buy American this time. I was looking at Abyss, but they're just too expensive. Reading this thread, I'm curious about the Ether 2 but was really turned off by some negative YouTube reviews from Joshua Velour and others. It's hard to judge since I find most reviewers either don't listen to classical or classical is just an afterthought to them.
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I don’t comment on negative reviews, everyone has an opinion and they are welcome to their views. But I think the reviewer consensus is quite positive, E2 continues to win awards (3 more this month with another coming on Tuesday), check out out page here to see some reviews from other sources... The only suggestion I have for reviews is to find reviewers who generally agree with your POV aon gear you have both experienced and base your trust on whether their reviews generally align with your taste.
https://www.danclarkaudio.com/press.html
Brahmsian
500+ Head-Fier
One of the things that initially attracted me to the Ether 2 was how light they are. Some people consider it the most comfortable headphones they've worn; others have complained about comfort issues. Someone further back in this thread suggested that it might be due to the fact that the yokes have only one arm so that the cups are only attached at the back. Anyone care to comment on whether that might be the issue?
No, it is extremely comfortable. Especially if you opted for the suede pads, it is also very soft to the skin.
The only cons from the Ether 2 design (and other DCA headphones) is the slider could get loose overtime. This is a simple fix though, as you can just use regular screwdriver to tighten it back.
Brahmsian
500+ Head-Fier
I read just about the entire thread and didn't see a comparison with Arya. My current headphones are the HifiMan HE560 and Koss 95X. If anyone is familiar with those units, I'm wondering how the Ether 2 compares/differs.
Steve Wilcox
100+ Head-Fier
I have both the HE560s and Ether 2s. I like the HE560s very much and for the price you can sometimes pick these up at they can be an amazing bargain. The Ether 2s, though, are really in a different league in pretty much every respect. Both headphones are very strong in the lower base region but the E2s have a greater level of refinement everywhere else.
Whilst the E2s are incredibly light and most users find them extremely comfortable, I'm one of a small number of users who have found the clamp force behind the ears to be a serious issue. I've largely sorted this out now by changing to the faux suade ear pads, twisting these clockwise about an inch and stretching out the nitonol headband (which isn't easy).
Whilst the E2s are incredibly light and most users find them extremely comfortable, I'm one of a small number of users who have found the clamp force behind the ears to be a serious issue. I've largely sorted this out now by changing to the faux suade ear pads, twisting these clockwise about an inch and stretching out the nitonol headband (which isn't easy).
bagwell359
Headphoneus Supremus
E2's beat lots of cans. HE-560? Hell yes. HEX v2? Oh yes, LCD-2 and LCD-3 - yes. Better than Arya. Yes. HE-6se - that's close - at $699 my nod is HE, but at full list, no.
I fully believe that these are well under rated. I think its the opinion of some that the treble is depressed - a bit perhaps, easily fixed with EQ.
The E2 is not as good as the Susvara, HEK se, LCD-4, Emp, 007, and the Voce but its better than almost everything else.
I fully believe that these are well under rated. I think its the opinion of some that the treble is depressed - a bit perhaps, easily fixed with EQ.
The E2 is not as good as the Susvara, HEK se, LCD-4, Emp, 007, and the Voce but its better than almost everything else.
TMRaven
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Yes, more of v-shaped response with perforated. I had bought a set of perforated and velour pads a long time ago for the Ether2, but I never actually experimented with them until a couple months ago. When I first put on the Perforated, I noticed the sound was both warmer and brighter at the same time, which told me that there was most likely a recession in the upper midrange which lead to such a sound. Reminded me more of the Open Aeon in that aspect. I then got out my EARS measuring device to make sure what I was hearing was accurate. The first image is two separate Ether2s, each with different pads, but before anybody brushes the differences off as partly due to headphone variation, I also have the 2nd image, which has both Ether2s with the same pads, and they are virtually indistinguishable.
So long story short, the perforated pads give a 3db attenuation from 1-2khz, and 1-2db attenuation from 500hz-1khz. The perforated pads also give a slight boost to lower-mid treble around 5-7khz as well, by about 2-3db. I prefer the stock pleather pads myself, as I see them as being the most neutral sounding of the 3 pads. The perforated pads don't directly impact the bass of the headphone, but they make the bass more present by attenuating the upper midrange, which is what we as humans are most sensitive to.
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