[Hifiearspeakers]

Interesting to hear that it has less impact than LCD 2/3 Fazor. LCD-X from memory has way less upper midrange/lower treble than Ether2, but then again we are talking about Audeze, so who knows what kind of lottery they have with the way their headphones sound. I could see HE-560 potentially sounding more snappy with a snare, because it does have a hump centered around 4khz.

My pair has less kick drum quantity and impact than the Sennheiser 800. How in the hell can anyone describe the Ether 2 as having powerful bass if it is leaner and less impactful than the 800???

 

[TMRaven]

HD800 has a mid-bass hump, plus it extends reasonably low for with little distortion for being an open drynamic. People describing its bass as weak throughout the years has been a misnomer. For actual instruments, its bass is just fine, but given synthetic low notes or upright bass, it will struggle compared to planars.

Still though, when comparing my Ether2 to the Oppo PM3, which does have a mid-bass hump to it, I don't find it all that lacking. A more interesting comparison for you would be to compare it to the HE-560 or LCD2 Fazor, both of which are known to have slightly lean bass.

 

[phthora]

My pair has less kick drum quantity and impact than the Sennheiser 800. How in the hell can anyone describe the Ether 2 as having powerful bass if it is leaner and less impactful than the 800???

For me, it was the LCD-X and how much more I liked it than the E2 that really made me scratch the E2 off my list. How do you think the two compare?

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

HD800 has a mid-bass hump, plus it extends reasonably low for with little distortion for being an open drynamic. People describing its bass as weak throughout the years has been a misnomer. For actual instruments, its bass is just fine, but given synthetic low notes or upright bass, it will struggle compared to planars.

Still though, when comparing my Ether2 to the Oppo PM3, which does have a mid-bass hump to it, I don't find it all that lacking. A more interesting comparison for you would be to compare it to the HE-560 or LCD2 Fazor, both of which are known to have slightly lean bass.

You’re not hearing me. I have never heard another headphone, at any price point, that represents drums in a more dull, muted, anemic way than the Ether 2 I own.

The LCD 2 FAZOR runs circles around the Ether 2 in terms of bass quantity and impact. And I don’t know what your stock of headphones are, but I’ve never heard any Audeze LCD model that I would describe the bass as lean or not impactful.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

For me, it was the LCD-X and how much more I liked it than the E2 that really made me scratch the E2 off my list. How do you think the two compare?

I love everything about the LCD X except for the weight and too rolled-off upper mids/lower treble. I can’t really compare my Ether 2 to it, because I think my pair is defective, and so that wouldn’t be fair.

 

[TMRaven]

I would describe the Fazor'd LCD2 and 3 as a little lean on the bass, definitely not as powerful sounding as the X. Some of that is in part due to the X's lack of upper midrange/lower treble in comparison to the 2/3. Yes, I heard the X as more U-shaped compared to the linear bass/mid and slightly rolled treble of the 2/3. Unfortunately I can't directly compare the Ether2 to any of the Audezes now, but going off of rough memory, I'd say the Ether2's bass compares favorably.

RMA your Ether2.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I would describe the Fazor'd LCD2 and 3 as a little lean on the bass, definitely not as powerful sounding as the X. Some of that is in part due to the X's lack of upper midrange/lower treble in comparison to the 2/3. Yes, I heard the X as more U-shaped compared to the linear bass/mid and slightly rolled treble of the 2/3. Unfortunately I can't directly compare the Ether2 to any of the Audezes now, but going off of rough memory, I'd say the Ether2's bass compares favorably.

RMA your Ether2.

I’ve already emailed Dan about my issue. I’m waiting to hear back.

 

[phthora]

I’ve already emailed Dan about my issue. I’m waiting to hear back.

I hope you share the information you get back from him. I know @CoFire will be interested.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I hope you share the information you get back from him. I know @CoFire will be interested.

I certainly will.

 

[franz12]

I just got more tubes for my Liquid Platinum -- 3 sets in rotation now, stock EH, Gold Lions and Amperex. I've been reading widely varying opinions about E2 and have revisited them. I like them with my solid-state Bryston, but they didn't really stand out vs HEKv2 or even EFO. None of my cans tempted me to stay with the EHs, and since the GLs were in hand ... LOVED them with Utopia and Auteur. E2 not so much. Powerful bass, but un-engaging, distant even. And there we sat while I was lost in my infatuation with LP/GL/Utopia -- first time I ever really loved Utopia.

But then I got my Amperex yesterday, and suddenly I get this headphone, and I think I know what causes the schism. E2 imposes a 3-d headspace and that really interacts with material. I got this first when I was listening to a Loreena McKennitt mix and her music filled that space beautifully. Different, but equally as satisfying space as that displayed by Utopia. Actually probably better depth, but not quite as precise.

But then I listened to some Led Zeppelin, and there it was. Flat and lifeless. On some tracks. On others, they're great. In fact, it even went from 3-d to 2-d and back within the same track. The flat effect is as if they are playing up against a wall 50 feet away. I want to have '...Way down inside, Honey, You NEED me...' screeched at me, not mentioned from across the room.

What seems to be happening is that some mixing effect is flattening the image. It's readily apparent when it happens, but don't ask me to even speculate on what or how. To quote Reese:

But you combine this flatness and distance with Ether's neutral presentation and a bit of rolled off treble vs Utopia, I can hear some of the negative descriptions as well.

It also hurts the bass presentation as the distance reduces bass impact. But on music which doesn't get flattened, the bass is well extended and resolved, even and controlled, and surprisingly textured and 3 dimensional from sub- through mid-bass. An interesting example is 'Albatross' by Fleetwood Mac. There's this weird thump-thump that persists through the whole track. It's almost like an echo or aftertone. The thump on the right is clearly some thing like a tom-tom while the one on the left is ambiguous on Utopia. Could be a drum, or electric bass, or an electric keyboard maybe. On E2, it's clearly a drum, maybe another tom-tom, but pitched a bit differently. So I guess you could say this is one aspect where E2 out-resolves Utopia. To be fair, there's some missing cymbal in Whole Lotta Love and Living Loving Maid from E2.

I guess the distance is the real issue both with the bass and overall presentation. Listening to the same flat tracks from Utopia I heard ... flat. Difference was, it was flat RIGHT IN YOUR FACE.

Anyway, enough of the negatives. E2 feels like a bit of a chameleon. It can seem dramatic or neutral or flat or even a bit fun -- Drops of Jupiter. With the right material, E2 can be a captivating and transparent window right into the heart and soul of the music. I can lay here and be literally transported Beneath a Phrygian Sky

BTW, LP/Amperex/E2 can make female vocalists (Sarah McLachlan, Emmy Lou Harris, Gretchen Peters, Lana Del Ray) sound gorgeous, lyrical, up-lifting, heart-breaking. Or flat ... it depends ... you know ... my ears, your ears ... it's personal

I also like female vocals from E2, despite it being darker than some brighter phones like focal clear. The tone of female vocalists sound smooth and even to my ears. I guess it may be due to rather flat frequency responses in the upper mid/lower treble range. In my some other brighter headphones, they seem to have rather zig-zag FR in that range.

 

[CoFire]

So I realize these are still burning in, but I’m having an issue with these now. I didn’t notice this earlier because my music selections were mainly acoustic, folk, and vocal. But now I got a chance to listen to some Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Pearl Jam, and various classic rock. I’m having an issue with the mid bass and sound of the kick drum. It’s too soft and muted!!! It sounds like it’s overdamped. I’m getting more impact from every other pair of headphones I own, regardless of price point.

This! and I noticed it on the same album. Even on Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven Unplugged, there's a veil over the vocals.

Some of my issues are the treble is rolled off and if linear, is on a downward slope, it is polite yes, won't hurt you because it's many dB below the mids and bass. Feel free to crank it up to find the treble. The signature is L-shaped with the lower part of the L on downward slope. There's something muffled (wooliness) in the upper bass and lower mids which may or may not be responsible for the veil over the vocals. I'll listen more to more precisely muster my opinion, but as far as a $2K headphone should perform, I have headphones I paid far less for that I'd still have a hard time accepting with comparable flaws.

Someone mentioned the treble lies between the HEX V2 and HEK, if the HEK is darker than the HEX V2, this might be possible.

Some may not want to talk amp pairings but I will say, this headphone sounds better out of my Grace m9XX than a Grace m9XX DAC/THX AAA 789 which confuses me. Both these were setup with a SE cable which I think hurt the THX AAA 789. They sounded best from @pthora 's Audio-GD 28.38 which I understand runs a Sabre DAC chipset which in my estimation makes a vast improvement. So either a brighter DAC /AMP pairing is needed or MUCH more power.

In the context of reference sound for mastering, sure, this is a great contender, but also is a HD6XX, 400i, HEX V2, etc, feel free to rattle off a couple more headphones. I agree this headphone may not be suitable for audiophile interested in lively listening as a reviewer commented on my opinion.

Additionally, and this may be the kicker, I don't listen loud, so there are many headphones that I don't find strident that others may have issues with. Not saying I even remotely like bright headphones, I really don't believe I do, but the treble is underwhelming (dull) unless listening at high volumes.

 

[CoFire]

Another person on a different forum wrote this about his pair. This is how I’d describe my pair. Pay special attention to how describes the drums. Then he sends them in to get “fixed”. So the last post are his impressions when he gets them back.

Just saw this, now but had the previous post in draft. This FR looks like this headphone sounds but there are still additional issues.

I love everything about the LCD X except for the weight and too rolled-off upper mids/lower treble. I can’t really compare my Ether 2 to it, because I think my pair is defective, and so that wouldn’t be fair.

I think that's how the E2 sounds. We confirmed this pair with Mr. Speakers and he says, "Your unit is not one that was affected. Regards, Steve" so it's been checked out. My friend burned it in for 100 hours, I have another 100 on it. The LCD-X was far more impressive and had not overdone treble presence than the E2. I wish it had the build of the E2. That thing is drop dead sexy. Some great design work.

Now, I'm not trying to ruffle feathers here, but I'm hearing what I'm hearing, have consulted with friends and they have confirmed this. I wanted a second opinion as I had previously said, I want to like this thing.

I'm gonna give this another listen and compare to other common headphones to put a couple characteristics in context. No time now, it off town.

If you have a pair and you enjoy them, that's awesome! If my friend enjoyed them, I'm sure he'd keep them and if I did, I'd have one on order. I understand people have different tastes, hence impressions, not science on this side of the forum.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

This! and I noticed it on the same album. Even on Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven Unplugged, there's a veil over the vocals.

Some of my issues are the treble is rolled off and if linear, is on a downward slope, it is polite yes, won't hurt you because it's many dB below the mids and bass. Feel free to crank it up to find the treble. The signature is L-shaped with the lower part of the L on downward slope. There's something muffled (wooliness) in the upper bass and lower mids which may or may not be responsible for the veil over the vocals. I'll listen more to more precisely muster my opinion, but as far as a $2K headphone should perform, I have headphones I paid far less for that I'd still have a hard time accepting with comparable flaws.

Someone mentioned the treble lies between the HEX V2 and HEK, if the HEK is darker than the HEX V2, this might be possible.

Some may not want to talk amp pairings but I will say, this headphone sounds better out of my Grace m9XX than a Grace m9XX DAC/THX AAA 789 which confuses me. Both these were setup with a SE cable which I think hurt the THX AAA 789. They sounded best from @pthora 's Audio-GD 28.38 which I understand runs a Sabre DAC chipset which in my estimation makes a vast improvement. So either a brighter DAC /AMP pairing is needed or MUCH more power.

In the context of reference sound for mastering, sure, this is a great contender, but also is a HD6XX, 400i, HEX V2, etc, feel free to rattle off a couple more headphones. I agree this headphone may not be suitable for audiophile interested in lively listening as a reviewer commented on my opinion.

Additionally, and this may be the kicker, I don't listen loud, so there are many headphones that I don't find strident that others may have issues with. Not saying I even remotely like bright headphones, I really don't believe I do, but the treble is underwhelming (dull) unless listening at high volumes.

I was the one who described the treble as between the HEK V2 and HEX V2. The treble on my pair is just fine. My problems are the mids and mid bass. There is a big dip in the mids somewhere and the mid bass is muffled, muted, and has no impact whatsoever. I do believe my pair is defective. I just can’t fathom that this is the way they’re supposed to sound. Others on here keep talking about powerful bass, and Dan, himself, described them that way. Well my pair has awesome sub bass rumble, but the mid bass is in the witness protection program. I, seriously, have never heard another headphone EVER that has less mid bass impact and definition.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Just saw this, now but had the previous post in draft. This FR looks like this headphone sounds but there are still additional issues.



I think that's how the E2 sounds. We confirmed this pair with Mr. Speakers and he says, "Your unit is not one that was affected. Regards, Steve" so it's been checked out. My friend burned it in for 100 hours, I have another 100 on it. The LCD-X was far more impressive and had not overdone treble presence than the E2. I wish it had the build of the E2. That thing is drop dead sexy. Some great design work.

Now, I'm not trying to ruffle feathers here, but I'm hearing what I'm hearing, have consulted with friends and they have confirmed this. I wanted a second opinion as I had previously said, I want to like this thing.

I'm gonna give this another listen and compare to other common headphones to put a couple characteristics in context. No time now, it off town.

If you have a pair and you enjoy them, that's awesome! If my friend enjoyed them, I'm sure he'd keep them and if I did, I'd have one on order. I understand people have different tastes, hence impressions, not science on this side of the forum.

Here’s what’s interesting. Rolled off upper mids or treble should have no effect on the volume, intensity, or impact of the kick drum. For me, I don’t have any issues with the quantity or quality of treble. My problem is that I’ve never heard a headphone, at any price point, that renders mid bass so poorly. Drums sound completely lifeless and dead. Bass drum way more than snare but neither is acceptable. There is simply no rhythm section with my pair. I actually really like the treble on mine.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Here’s what’s interesting. Rolled off upper mids or treble should have no effect on the volume, intensity, or impact of the kick drum. For me, I don’t have any issues with the quantity or quality of treble. My problem is that I’ve never heard a headphone, at any price point, that renders mid bass so poorly. Drums sound completely lifeless and dead. Bass drum way more than snare but neither is acceptable. There is simply no rhythm section with my pair. I actually really like the treble on mine.

Hmmm...just not what I’m hearing. Middle of ‘Whole Lot of Love’ is very dynamic and engaging. It’s one of those songs where I hear the mix going from flat (2-d) to 3-d and back, within the track. Middle is mostly drums and other percussion — very 3-d space and very engaging. Certainly not ‘lifeless and dead’. BTW, aren’t those — lifeless and dead — synonymous?

My ears, your ears!