[lumdicks]

mScaler/TT2 ==> Ether 2 impressions posted here.

tl;dr In summary, mTT2 ==> E2 is the best I've heard these cans -- wonderful headstage; truly an immersive musical space.

I have the same feeling with my TT2 stack and Ether Flow Open 1.1.

 

[Marshall95]

Hello all, does the E2 sound great straight out of a high end DAP?

 

[Slim1970]

Hello all, does the E2 sound great straight out of a high end DAP?

The Ether 2 needs some power to sound its best. The DAP will need to output a good amount of power to get the most out of them. Just being high end won’t cut it.

 

[Marshall95]

The Ether 2 needs some power to sound its best. The DAP will need to output a good amount of power to get the most out of them. Just being high end won’t cut it.

I see, any portable amps you recommend?

 

[LCMusicLover]

Hello all, does the E2 sound great straight out of a high end DAP?

The Ether 2 needs some power to sound its best...

Actually, I suspect the biggest deficiency with many portable sources will be current capacity. E2 impedance is 16 Ohms so they are current-hungry.

That said, I suspect there are DAPs out there which can get the job done. Tonight I'll try them with my Plenue II Mk 2 and Hiby R6 Pro, both of which are probably 'powerful enough' though I'll have to see whether they work well (provide sufficient current).

I see, any portable amps you recommend?

Broken record here, but I really like my Romi Audio BX2+. It does a great job driving my Ether 2 and my Heddphones (which are my two 'hardest to drive' headphones).

 

[LCMusicLover]

…Tonight I'll try them with my Plenue II Mk 2 and Hiby R6 Pro …

Plenue II Mk2 was marginal — 110 out of 140 is ‘loud, listenable’. Also E2 are not very dynamic — not ‘bad’, but also not great, and to my ears, not where a $2k headphone should be, definitely behind their performance from my desktop system.

R6 Pro does significantly better job — on high gain, 50 out of 100 is ‘loud listenable’ and 60/100 would be damaging. More than just volume, E2 are dynamic with powerful bass and excellent planar speed from R6 pro. Note that R6 Pro and R6 2020 share the same amp specs.

 

[Beatreg]

Hey guys, I'm currently using a RME ADI2 and SP200 for the Ether 2s and am finally looking to upgrade my amp to match my other gear. I've currently narrowed it down to the GS-X mini and the Soloist 3XP. COuld anyone give some comparisons between these amps and how they pair with the Ether 2s?

 

[barbz127]

For what its worth sparkos aries is a great amp with the ether 2 - my absolute favorite

 

[Beatreg]

It does look like a grat amp but I'm looking for something with balanced outs as well

 

[OctavianH]

New kid in town. I discover these, only 12 hours at the moment but I quite enjoy these over a tube amp feed by TT2 in DAC mode.

Can I transfer my warranty? I bought these over Classifieds from here.

I am listening mostly to metal, from heavy metal to black metal, and my personal preference are the stock pads. I was wondering what happens if these get damaged, because all retailers sell suede or perforated, not quite sure how can I obtain a new pair of stock pads if needed (preferably with the peelable kit included).

Another question would be, how many have used the Forza AudioWorks Noir Hybrid. I use this one for all my headphones, and I would like to try it for Ether 2. At the moment I found only 1 comment in the whole thread.

 

[LCMusicLover]

I had a long session last night listening to latest iteration of my chain (Allo Digione ==> mTT2 ==> LP (w/ Brimar CV-4034s) | DSHA-3F) driving my Ether 2 w/ stock pads.

And the sound is really great. I tend to listen to my E2s at bed time -- they are a relaxing listen, perfect for 'winding down'. But that can be a bit of 'faint praise' and tends to confirm the biggest complaint some have voiced about them: 'Not dynamic'

From this chain, any hint of 'Not dynamic' just disappears. Across genres E2 shines with great balance throughout the frequency spectrum, super precise, 3-d imaging, and excellent speed and impact. Bass is as wonderful as ever (well-extended, very accurate and detailed, with great timbre), but mids and treble climb up to the pinnacle they were perhaps somewhat below from previous systems.

I've made a bunch of changes lately: replaced my NUC PC as a source with the Allo Digione, purchased a mScaler/TT2 stack, had my LP cap-modded and got 12au7 adapters for the LP so I could run other tubes. And there's really no way to separate the effect of all these changes, but the mTT2 stack seems to have made the biggest difference.

Just as I described in a Utopia post, there are very small differences between LP and DSHA-3F driving E2. Probably a bit greater impact on imaging/headstage, and possibly a bit less on tonality (vs effect on Utopia). But honestly, very small differences.

I really wish there was a way to directly compare TT2 straight from XLRs vs driving other amps, but it can't really be done -- requires changing TT2 config and moving cables, and of course, volume matching.

 

[Steve Wilcox]

New kid in town. I discover these, only 12 hours at the moment but I quite enjoy these over a tube amp feed by TT2 in DAC mode.



Can I transfer my warranty? I bought these over Classifieds from here.

I am listening mostly to metal, from heavy metal to black metal, and my personal preference are the stock pads. I was wondering what happens if these get damaged, because all retailers sell suede or perforated, not quite sure how can I obtain a new pair of stock pads if needed (preferably with the peelable kit included).

Another question would be, how many have used the Forza AudioWorks Noir Hybrid. I use this one for all my headphones, and I would like to try it for Ether 2. At the moment I found only 1 comment in the whole thread.

I'm listening to my Ether 2s via the Noir Hybrid as I write. I bought it as I needed something a little longer than the stock Vivo cable, for use in my living room, not as an upgrade. It's a nice cable and at least as good as the Vivo. I haven't done much direct a to b testing as I've used the Vivo on a different setup.

Incidentally, the right channel on the Vivo recently packed in. It was working fine one moment and completely dead the next.

 

[bagwell359]

Or I could just pick up my HEKse or Utopia or Blackwood Auteur

Seriously, I’ve picked my cans ‘cuz I like how they sound, I value the differences and I prefer to hear the builder’s voice. I mean, what would be the point of owning 5 great sets of cans and tweaking them to all sound the same.

Really, the point is that I love the Ether 2 for what they are.

No way all 5 cans can be made to sound the same - more alike perhaps, but never the same.

I'm a big fans of HFM cans but several of them have big dips around 1750 Hz. I could spend another $4-5K and get the sound I would like - but I don't have the dough - so I use mods and EQ to get closer to what I want. Besides anyone that studies HFM cans since they started can see that they spent great effort on the drivers, but left things like headbands, pads, pads, and QC very far back. That's a designers choice or a profit hungry ownership that doesn't want to spend effort on "frills"? So do you do you insist that it is all some fairyland where designers always get their way?

I made a 2nd career out of improving room acoustics - should I have lived with bare walls, floors and huge uncovered windows instead because it was the way I found it?

I think the E2 may be the cheapest really good can available. But like all speakers and cans its not perfect. I'd rather listen to its treble than all but about 30 cans, but the E2 isn't perfect and where it needs help is the treble - IMO despite what Dan intended. The Voce is better, why didn't the E2 match it? Oh, right IRL there are limitations.

 

[milkdudd]

Broken record here, but I really like my Romi Audio BX2+. It does a great job driving my Ether 2 and my Heddphones (which are my two 'hardest to drive' headphones).

I purchased a pre-owned Ether 2 today online. I'm glad to hear you like it with the BX2+ because that's one of the two amps I intend to use. The other is a Violectric V281 which I plan to mainly use. Anyone know if this will be a good match? Many have said the V281 works with almost anything because it has a lot of power. I'll be using the stock cable (four pin XLR) with the V281. I'll need another cable or an adapter to run it balanced with the Romi amp. Thanks in advance for any opinions

 

[LCMusicLover]

I purchased a pre-owned Ether 2 today online. I'm glad to hear you like it with the BX2+ because that's one of the two amps I intend to use. The other is a Violectric V281 which I plan to mainly use. Anyone know if this will be a good match? Many have said the V281 works with almost anything because it has a lot of power. I'll be using the stock cable (four pin XLR) with the V281. I'll need another cable or an adapter to run it balanced with the Romi amp. Thanks in advance for any opinions

I had a V280 when I first purchased my E2 I thought the pairing was very good.

Really, the only deficiency I've heard from E2 out of any chain is the lack of dynamics which I heard when E2 was driven from my Liquid Platinum with some of the Amperex tubes I tried with it (and from my Cowon Plenue II mk2). But in general, I haven't felt like E2 was particularly 'amp-sensitive' (the way my Auteur are for example). Actually, I might call them the 'least amp-sensitive' of all my cans, as long as there's enough power and current to drive them. V281 will certainly provide that.

I guess the only possible concern might be that bit of warmth from the V281 pushing the E2's sig in a direction you don't prefer, although I imagine a small amount of EQ could make that problem go away (all wild-ass speculation).