[rockytopwiz]

Finally arrived boys!!! First impressions to come!

I was just thinking about you and how it is Friday.

Looking forward to it!!

 

[LCMusicLover]

Ether2s are great with the Liquid Platinum and Gold Lions. Exceptional depth and richness.

Personally I wasn't thrilled with E2/LP pairing with stock tubes or Gold Lions. I just got a pair of Amperex PQ 6922 -- wow! I'll post some more detailed impressions as soon as I get more time in with them. Probably after the weekend. First impressions though:

- More energy at the top end
- Powerful bass, but not muddy
- Great headstage ... wide, open, airy, precise

Still waiting for my NOS Siemens to come in (from Ukraine). Hopefully 4 pair of tubes will satisfy me for a while.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Very early first impressions are good. The sub bass lays a great foundation, but the mid bass sounds a little lean to my ears.

The mid bass sounds much less impactful than the HEX V2. I know the HEX V2 bass is definitely above neutral, but it’s still very good and I’ve gotten used to it, so it’s going to take more time for my ears to adjust to a leaner bass tuning.

Vocals are front and center and not pushed back. There seems to be an upper mid/lower treble dip. It’s noticeable but not as pronounced as the Audeze house sound.

The treble sounds damn near perfect for my preferences. I’d say it falls somewhere in between the HEX V2 and HEK V2. I hear great detail but no harshness or sibilance whatsoever. Honestly, it’s level may be on par with the HEX V2, and it just sounds slightly brighter or more clear because the Ether 2 has better resolution. I’m not sure yet but it’s smooth and detailed and I love it so far.

Here’s my treble scale, if the Sennheiser 800 is a 10/10 for being too harsh with too much energy.

Sennheiser 800 10/10
Sennheiser 800S 8/10
HEK V2 7/10
HEX V2 5/10
Ether 2 5/10

Once again, even though the HEX V2 and Ether 2 have the same smoothness rating, the Ether 2 definitely sounds more resolving.

The comfort for my average size head is superb. I have plenty of headroom and my ears fit completely inside the earpads without touching anything. I guess head size must be a huge factor, because after reading about several people on here complaining about clamping force, I was pretty worried. But to me, the clamping force is perfect. These are definitely among the top 3 most comfortable headphones I’ve ever worn. And they are feather light to boot.

The soundstage has been the most surprising aspect of these for me so far. I would describe it as adaptable. It’s wide and vast when the recording is made that way, it’s medium if the recording is medium and it’s intimate if the recording is intimate. I dig it.

When I owned the 800S, I found myself only wanting to listen to large, grand music because that’s what the 800S does so well. It spreads out the music across a massive canvas. The problem with that is that I found myself avoiding listening to small acoustic ensembles and intimate folk and vocal pieces because it tries to spread out the sound even when you really can’t. I mean, when all you have to work with is one singer and an acoustic guitar, the sound shouldn’t sound like it’s coming from all around you and far away.

I love the way the HEK V2 presents the midrange. So even though it also has a pretty large and wide soundstage, I preferred more intimate pieces with it, like acoustic and vocal tracks.

But the Ether 2 soundstage makes me think it will be a jack of all trades. I don’t know how else to describe it right now, other than it seems to be elastic. So far, I like listening to everything with it. Maybe it is the most realistic soundstage of the three. Time will tell.

My only criticism right now is that I feel like any headphone that costs over $1500 should come standard with at least two cables and two sets of earpads. I also wish Mr. Speakers had a better earpad attachment system. I’m just not a fan of glue or adhesives (Audeze is also guilty of this). I think the day can’t come too soon when all manufacturers use some variant of a magnetically attaching system (kudos to Ultrasone and Meze here).

And one more thing, these require more power than you would think based on their specs.

More to come later!

 

[rockytopwiz]

Very early first impressions are very good. The sub bass lays a great foundation, while the mid bass sounds very neutral to my ears.

The mid bass sounds faster and less full than the HEX V2. I know the HEX V2 bass is definitely above neutral, but it’s still very good and I’ve gotten used to it, so it’s going to take more time for my ears to adjust to a more neutral bass tuning.

The mids sound very good and vocals are front and center and not pushed back. There seems to be an upper mid/lower treble dip that is tastefully done. It’s noticeable but nowhere near as pronounced as the Audeze signature.

The treble sounds damn near perfect for my preferences. I’d say it falls somewhere in between the HEX V2 and HEK V2. I hear great detail but no harshness or sibilance whatsoever. Honestly, it’s level may be on par with the HEX V2, and it just sounds slightly brighter or more clear because the Ether 2 has better resolution. I’m not sure yet but it’s smooth and detailed and I love it so far.

Here’s my treble scale, if the Sennheiser 800 is a 10/10 for being too harsh with too much energy.

Sennheiser 800 10/10
Sennheiser 800S 8/10
HEK V2 7/10
HEX V2 5/10
Ether 2 5/10

Once again, even though the HEX V2 and Ether 2 have the same smoothness rating, the Ether 2 definitely sounds more resolving.

The comfort for my average size head is superb. I have plenty of headroom and my ears fit completely inside the earpads without touching anything. I guess head size must be a huge factor, because after reading about several people on here complaining about clamping force, I was pretty worried. But to me, the clamping force is perfect. These are definitely among the top 3 most comfortable headphones I’ve ever worn. And they are feather light to boot.

The soundstage has been the most surprising aspect of these for me so far. I would describe it as adaptable. It’s wide and vast when the recording is made that way, it’s medium if the recording is medium and it’s intimate if the recording is intimate. I dig it.

When I owned the 800S, I found myself only wanting to listen to large, grand music because that’s what the 800S does so well. It spreads out the music across a massive canvas. The problem with that is that I found myself avoiding listening to small acoustic ensembles and intimate folk and vocal pieces because it tries to spread out the sound even when you really can’t. I mean, when all you have to work with is one singer and an acoustic guitar, the sound shouldn’t sound like it’s coming from all around you and far away.

I love the way the HEK V2 presents the midrange. So even though it also has a pretty large and wide soundstage, I preferred more intimate pieces with it, like acoustic and vocal tracks.

But the Ether 2 soundstage makes me think it will be a jack of all trades. I don’t know how else to describe it right now, other than it seems to be elastic. So far, I like listening to everything with it. Maybe it is the most realistic soundstage of the three. Time will tell.

My only criticism right now is that I feel like any headphone that costs over $1500 should come standard with at least two cables and two sets of earpads. I also wish Mr. Speakers had a better earpad attachment system. I’m just not a fan of glue or adhesives (Audeze is also guilty of this). I think the day can’t come too soon when all manufacturers use some variant of a magnetically attaching system (kudos to Ultrasone and Meze here).

And one more thing, these require more power than you would think based on their specs.

More to come later!

Your the man, thank you for the early impressions. This is right along the lines of what I was hoping you would say.

I'm not jealous at all......no really, I'm not.

I hope your honeymoon period lasts forever compadre.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

Very early first impressions are very good. The sub bass lays a great foundation, while the mid bass sounds very neutral to my ears.

The mid bass sounds faster and less full than the HEX V2. I know the HEX V2 bass is definitely above neutral, but it’s still very good and I’ve gotten used to it, so it’s going to take more time for my ears to adjust to a more neutral bass tuning.

The mids sound very good and vocals are front and center and not pushed back. There seems to be an upper mid/lower treble dip that is tastefully done. It’s noticeable but nowhere near as pronounced as the Audeze signature.

The treble sounds damn near perfect for my preferences. I’d say it falls somewhere in between the HEX V2 and HEK V2. I hear great detail but no harshness or sibilance whatsoever. Honestly, it’s level may be on par with the HEX V2, and it just sounds slightly brighter or more clear because the Ether 2 has better resolution. I’m not sure yet but it’s smooth and detailed and I love it so far.

Here’s my treble scale, if the Sennheiser 800 is a 10/10 for being too harsh with too much energy.

Sennheiser 800 10/10
Sennheiser 800S 8/10
HEK V2 7/10
HEX V2 5/10
Ether 2 5/10

Once again, even though the HEX V2 and Ether 2 have the same smoothness rating, the Ether 2 definitely sounds more resolving.

The comfort for my average size head is superb. I have plenty of headroom and my ears fit completely inside the earpads without touching anything. I guess head size must be a huge factor, because after reading about several people on here complaining about clamping force, I was pretty worried. But to me, the clamping force is perfect. These are definitely among the top 3 most comfortable headphones I’ve ever worn. And they are feather light to boot.

The soundstage has been the most surprising aspect of these for me so far. I would describe it as adaptable. It’s wide and vast when the recording is made that way, it’s medium if the recording is medium and it’s intimate if the recording is intimate. I dig it.

When I owned the 800S, I found myself only wanting to listen to large, grand music because that’s what the 800S does so well. It spreads out the music across a massive canvas. The problem with that is that I found myself avoiding listening to small acoustic ensembles and intimate folk and vocal pieces because it tries to spread out the sound even when you really can’t. I mean, when all you have to work with is one singer and an acoustic guitar, the sound shouldn’t sound like it’s coming from all around you and far away.

I love the way the HEK V2 presents the midrange. So even though it also has a pretty large and wide soundstage, I preferred more intimate pieces with it, like acoustic and vocal tracks.

But the Ether 2 soundstage makes me think it will be a jack of all trades. I don’t know how else to describe it right now, other than it seems to be elastic. So far, I like listening to everything with it. Maybe it is the most realistic soundstage of the three. Time will tell.

My only criticism right now is that I feel like any headphone that costs over $1500 should come standard with at least two cables and two sets of earpads. I also wish Mr. Speakers had a better earpad attachment system. I’m just not a fan of glue or adhesives (Audeze is also guilty of this). I think the day can’t come too soon when all manufacturers use some variant of a magnetically attaching system (kudos to Ultrasone and Meze here).

And one more thing, these require more power than you would think based on their specs.

More to come later!

Sounds great so far!.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I’ve never heard any other Mr. Speakers headphones before. These are my first and I’m impressed. They must have very low distortion because that, plus their no-harshness treble, has allowed me to listen to my music with louder volumes than I’ve ever done before without making me cringe.

 

[supervisor]

their no-harshness treble, has allowed me to listen to my music with louder volumes than I’ve ever done before without making me cringe.

this is why is love them !!!

 

[phthora]

I got the chance to demo the Ether 2 yesterday and spent a couple hours with them. In that time, I compared them several planar and dynamic cans, the most relevant being to my own LCD-X, @CoFire 's HEXV2, another person's Focal Clear. In the process, I had a really hard time getting into the Ether 2. A few things sounded off to me, and these impressions were largely echoed by others at our meet-up.

For my part, my overall impression is that, while I have a generally favorable view of them, the Ether 2 does not warrant the price. This is a headphone that had been on my shortlist to buy in the near future based on the reviews and impressions that I had read. After the demo, I was simply not impressed for the price. If I could snap these up in the future for a grand (not holding my breath), I would probably do so. Instead, my next buy is going to be the Clears.

Here are my more detailed impressions. Sub-bass was nicely extended and well-textured. I would say it's a bit leaner than something overtly bassy, but compared well in linearity and detail to the sub-bass on the HE560. One of the issues that I had with the Ether 2 is that this quality does not extend to the bass, and mid-bass. These sounded woolly and indistinct compared to others areas of the frequency spectrum. Impact was fairly soft here, with bass notes having less definition than the HEXV2 or LCD-X, for example. Bass was a bit smoothed over and round to my ears. This provided warmth, but the lack of detail made the bass not sound coherent with the rest of the FR. Mids were nicely detailed and had great imaging and layering, but there seems to be a dip in the upper mids of lower treble that dulls the vocals and made them sound a bit hollow. Nothing drastic, but the male tenor voices especially sounded odd and a little unnatural. Compared to the Auteur especially, the mids took on a sort of metallic sound. I wasn't able to pin down what exactly was causing this, and may not be expressing what I was hearing very well. Treble had lots of detail, but there was some unnatural shimmer going on around 8-9k (guessing, not measuring). Cymbals were very splashy and forward, but also could get a bit glaring. Others reported treble roll-off in the very high end, but I can't say that I noticed or was bothered by this. I found the treble a little polite, but mostly very well rendered. Overall, I found the sound uneven. I can live with the slightly odd vocals, but the blurry bass and splashy treble spots make hard for me to consider at 2k.

Now, there were, of course, many outstanding aspects of the headphone, but others have gone into depth on these already. For the record though, here's where I think the E2 shines. Separation and detail, except for in the bass, was excellent. Layering and depth of soundstage were also excellent. Soundstage width was fine, I'm not very concerned with that aspect of sound though. Imaging and dynamics were very good. I liked these a bit better with acoustic music than with more electronic or amplified music, as I found that busy tracks tended to made the weaknesses of this headphone stand out more (as with most headphones, I would imagine).

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I got the chance to demo the Ether 2 yesterday and spent a couple hours with them. In that time, I compared them several planar and dynamic cans, the most relevant being to my own LCD-X, @CoFire 's HEXV2, another person's Focal Clear. In the process, I had a really hard time getting into the Ether 2. A few things sounded off to me, and these impressions were largely echoed by others at our meet-up.

For my part, my overall impression is that, while I have a generally favorable view of them, the Ether 2 does not warrant the price. This is a headphone that had been on my shortlist to buy in the near future based on the reviews and impressions that I had read. After the demo, I was simply not impressed for the price. If I could snap these up in the future for a grand (not holding my breath), I would probably do so. Instead, my next buy is going to be the Clears.

Here are my more detailed impressions. Sub-bass was nicely extended and well-textured. I would say it's a bit leaner than something overtly bassy, but compared well in linearity and detail to the sub-bass on the HE560. One of the issues that I had with the Ether 2 is that this quality does not extend to the bass, and mid-bass. These sounded woolly and indistinct compared to others areas of the frequency spectrum. Impact was fairly soft here, with bass notes having less definition than the HEXV2 or LCD-X, for example. Bass was a bit smoothed over and round to my ears. This provided warmth, but the lack of detail made the bass not sound coherent with the rest of the FR. Mids were nicely detailed and had great imaging and layering, but there seems to be a dip in the upper mids of lower treble that dulls the vocals and made them sound a bit hollow. Nothing drastic, but the male tenor voices especially sounded odd and a little unnatural. Compared to the Auteur especially, the mids took on a sort of metallic sound. I wasn't able to pin down what exactly was causing this, and may not be expressing what I was hearing very well. Treble had lots of detail, but there was some unnatural shimmer going on around 8-9k (guessing, not measuring). Cymbals were very splashy and forward, but also could get a bit glaring. Others reported treble roll-off in the very high end, but I can't say that I noticed or was bothered by this. I found the treble a little polite, but mostly very well rendered. Overall, I found the sound uneven. I can live with the slightly odd vocals, but the blurry bass and splashy treble spots make hard for me to consider at 2k.

Now, there were, of course, many outstanding aspects of the headphone, but others have gone into depth on these already. For the record though, here's where I think the E2 shines. Separation and detail, except for in the bass, was excellent. Layering and depth of soundstage were also excellent. Soundstage width was fine, I'm not very concerned with that aspect of sound though. Imaging and dynamics were very good. I liked these a bit better with acoustic music than with more electronic or amplified music, as I found that busy tracks tended to made the weaknesses of this headphone stand out more (as with most headphones, I would imagine).

Very interesting. It’s like we’ve heard two completely different headphones. The bass on my Ether 2 sounds tight and distinct. I wouldn’t mind about 2 db’s more mid bass, but I’m fine with it just the way it is also. I hear nothing even remotely harsh or offensive in the treble. The treble sounds detailed and very smooth to me. It might be my favorite aspect of the Ether 2 right now.
I think it takes time to adjust to the sound signature of a different headphone. My HEX V2 has more bass than these and the LCD X has more bass than the HEX V2. So I’m sure the Ether 2 would sound thin after getting used to the X. And I’m sure the X would sound thick after being used to the Ether 2.

 

[lentoviolento]

is 750mw enough in your opinion to get the best out of it?

 

[phthora]

Very interesting. It’s like we’ve heard two completely different headphones. The bass on my Ether 2 sounds tight and distinct. I wouldn’t mind about 2 db’s more mid bass, but I’m fine with it just the way it is also. I hear nothing even remotely harsh or offensive in the treble. The treble sounds detailed and very smooth to me. It might be my favorite aspect of the Ether 2 right now.
I think it takes time to adjust to the sound signature of a different headphone. My HEX V2 has more bass than these and the LCD X has more bass than the HEX V2. So I’m sure the Ether 2 would sound thin after getting used to the X. And I’m sure the X would sound thick after being used to the Ether 2.

The person to whom these E2s belong has expressed some concern about them having a manufacturing or mechanical issue and, after hearing them compared to the reviews, I have to wonder the same. The bass sounded like it was being piped in from another headphone. It made hard rock and metal songs somewhat unclear. The treble I wouldn't call harsh or offensive necessarily, just sort of too loud and unnatural sounding, a bit warbly perhaps. My frame of reference might be coloring my impressions, but I was comparing the E2 mostly with the HEXv2 and Clear, which sounded very close to the level of warm/bright as the E2, with the E2 seeming the warmest of the three to me. I was also demoing the HEXv2 and Clear for the first time, so not a tremendous amount of time with them, but I ended up loving both of them immediately.

Lastly, all these impressions are relative to other headphones in the same general price/quality bracket. I can definitely see a lot the technical merits of the driver, for me it's mostly a tuning/tonality issue that I'm struggling with.

is 750mw enough in your opinion to get the best out of it?

No. These definitely got better with more power. We were running the E2 through the Audio-gd 28.38 which puts out 9W per channel into 32 ohm (if I making sense of the Audio-gd website correctly) and on high gain. They perform better with more power available and are harder to drive well than their specs would suggest.

 

[lentoviolento]

The person to whom these E2s belong has expressed some concern about them having a manufacturing or mechanical issue and, after hearing them compared to the reviews, I have to wonder the same. The bass sounded like it was being piped in from another headphone. It made hard rock and metal songs somewhat unclear. The treble I wouldn't call harsh or offensive necessarily, just sort of too loud and unnatural sounding, a bit warbly perhaps. My frame of reference might be coloring my impressions, but I was comparing the E2 mostly with the HEXv2 and Clear, which sounded very close to the level of warm/bright as the E2, with the E2 seeming the warmest of the three to me. I was also demoing the HEXv2 and Clear for the first time, so not a tremendous amount of time with them, but I ended up loving both of them immediately.

Lastly, all these impressions are relative to other headphones in the same general price/quality bracket. I can definitely see a lot the technical merits of the driver, for me it's mostly a tuning/tonality issue that I'm struggling with.



No. These definitely got better with more power. We were running the E2 through the Audio-gd 28.38 which puts out 9W per channel into 32 ohm (if I making sense of the Audio-gd website correctly) and on high gain. They perform better with more power available and are harder to drive well than their specs would suggest.

that is what i thought thanks

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

I’ve never heard any other Mr. Speakers headphones before. These are my first and I’m impressed. They must have very low distortion because that, plus their no-harshness treble, has allowed me to listen to my music with louder volumes than I’ve ever done before without making me cringe.

Now that is what I like hearing! Loud volumes and zero harshness!

 

[franz12]

I got the chance to demo the Ether 2 yesterday and spent a couple hours with them. In that time, I compared them several planar and dynamic cans, the most relevant being to my own LCD-X, @CoFire 's HEXV2, another person's Focal Clear. In the process, I had a really hard time getting into the Ether 2. A few things sounded off to me, and these impressions were largely echoed by others at our meet-up.

For my part, my overall impression is that, while I have a generally favorable view of them, the Ether 2 does not warrant the price. This is a headphone that had been on my shortlist to buy in the near future based on the reviews and impressions that I had read. After the demo, I was simply not impressed for the price. If I could snap these up in the future for a grand (not holding my breath), I would probably do so. Instead, my next buy is going to be the Clears.

Here are my more detailed impressions. Sub-bass was nicely extended and well-textured. I would say it's a bit leaner than something overtly bassy, but compared well in linearity and detail to the sub-bass on the HE560. One of the issues that I had with the Ether 2 is that this quality does not extend to the bass, and mid-bass. These sounded woolly and indistinct compared to others areas of the frequency spectrum. Impact was fairly soft here, with bass notes having less definition than the HEXV2 or LCD-X, for example. Bass was a bit smoothed over and round to my ears. This provided warmth, but the lack of detail made the bass not sound coherent with the rest of the FR. Mids were nicely detailed and had great imaging and layering, but there seems to be a dip in the upper mids of lower treble that dulls the vocals and made them sound a bit hollow. Nothing drastic, but the male tenor voices especially sounded odd and a little unnatural. Compared to the Auteur especially, the mids took on a sort of metallic sound. I wasn't able to pin down what exactly was causing this, and may not be expressing what I was hearing very well. Treble had lots of detail, but there was some unnatural shimmer going on around 8-9k (guessing, not measuring). Cymbals were very splashy and forward, but also could get a bit glaring. Others reported treble roll-off in the very high end, but I can't say that I noticed or was bothered by this. I found the treble a little polite, but mostly very well rendered. Overall, I found the sound uneven. I can live with the slightly odd vocals, but the blurry bass and splashy treble spots make hard for me to consider at 2k.

Now, there were, of course, many outstanding aspects of the headphone, but others have gone into depth on these already. For the record though, here's where I think the E2 shines. Separation and detail, except for in the bass, was excellent. Layering and depth of soundstage were also excellent. Soundstage width was fine, I'm not very concerned with that aspect of sound though. Imaging and dynamics were very good. I liked these a bit better with acoustic music than with more electronic or amplified music, as I found that busy tracks tended to made the weaknesses of this headphone stand out more (as with most headphones, I would imagine).

I own both Clear and Ether 2. I think the review done by @Deezel177 is quite spot on and accurate description of how E2 sounds like. Ether 2 may not be for everyone, but it is the smoothest sounding headphone I've heard up to date, while not being sounding dull. Enjoy.

 

[ken6217]

Everyone has their likes and dislikes. I had the Ether 2 and sent them back. To me they do not sound as good as my Ether Flow Open.