[Zbell]

Also, would love to know others impressions. I am planning to purchase as my primary work headphones (work from home). I listen to music all day at work, but mostly instrumental (post rock, math rock, jazz, classical, ambient). Running a Jot2 and Mogwai rev2 SET with low z output. Do folks think the E2 might be a good match for that use-case and gear? Coming from an HD820 that I found uncomfortable for long periods and a bit bright in it's presentation for my tastes. I also have an HE6se, so hopefully this won't be too similar. Thanks!

 

[ZappaMan]

Also, would love to know others impressions. I am planning to purchase as my go-to work headphones (work from home). I listen to music all day at work, but mostly instrumental (post rock, math rock, jazz, classical, ambient). Running a Jot2 and Mogwai rev2 SET with low z output. Do folks think the E2 might be a good match for that use-case and gear? Coming from an HD820 that I found uncomfortable for long periods and a bit bright in it's presentation for my tastes. I also have an HE6se, so hopefully this won't be too similar. Thanks!

They’re open headphones so everyone else will also enjoy what you’re listening to.

 

[Zbell]

@ZappaMan Well then the cat's just gonna have to suffer

 

[LCMusicLover]

Hi: I've owned my Ether 2 for almost 5 years now -- still really like it.

Light and very comfortable for me, although folks with 'bigger' heads sometimes complain about the clamping force. Great at night when I'm relaxing/chilling.

I haven't heard the 820, but E2 is definitely darker than HD-800. But they're not like some darker cans where the whole frequency response is rotated. Rather they're just somewhat rolled off at the top. Pretty linear below that. Personally, they're not my favorites for Jazz. I like them for classical and ambient (in most cases). You might miss some of the high frequency info from E2 for post-rock & math-rock.

I actually wore out my first set of stock pads.

 

[ZappaMan]

I have both hd800s and e2, I don’t listen to my hd800s anymore and haven’t for years.

I feel like the hd800s had been adjusting the music to create a wider soundstage, but it felt unnatural to me after using e2 for a while.

E2 has much more emotion for getting down to almost any type of music that I like, like the orb, Radiohead, Neil young.

 

[LCMusicLover]

... E2 has much more emotion for getting down to almost any type of music that I like, like the orb, Radiohead, Neil young.

+1 for Live Rust on E2!

(omg -- that album will be 45 years old in November)

 

[sofastreamer]

from reading they seem to do right what hifiman and audeze arent able to. this is creating a highly resolving planar with good soundstage but without overdoing uppermids (audeze, tho they also have some problems with soundstage in general example lcd5) or rising treble to hilarious levels in order to seem detailed (hifiman).
i wonder why i didnt get into them much earlier? i listen to large classical orchestra as well as ambient and pretty much everything without vocals if that might be important. my favorite planar atm is the Avatone planar but it has a not enough sub bass quantity to my ears.
so before i buy could someone please tell if the soundstage is also tall and where the "viewer" is placed in the concert hall? i like being far away from the stage and absolutely cannot stand beeing placed on the stage or first row. I am also a sucker for soundstage depth and layering, will it deliver above average in this regard?

 

[MattTCG]

from reading they seem to do right what hifiman and audeze arent able to. this is creating a highly resolving planar with good soundstage but without overdoing uppermids (audeze, tho they also have some problems with soundstage in general example lcd5) or rising treble to hilarious levels in order to seem detailed (hifiman).
i wonder why i didnt get into them much earlier? i listen to large classical orchestra as well as ambient and pretty much everything without vocals if that might be important. my favorite planar atm is the Avatone planar but it has a not enough sub bass quantity to my ears.
so before i buy could someone please tell if the soundstage is also tall and where the "viewer" is placed in the concert hall? i like being far away from the stage and absolutely cannot stand beeing placed on the stage or first row. I am also a sucker for soundstage depth and layering, will it deliver above average in this regard?

The e2 does layering quite well. Instruments breathe and maintain their own space nicely. Sound stage depth is going to be average though. It's good but not exceptional.

 

[sofastreamer]

The e2 does layering quite well. Instruments breathe and maintain their own space nicely. Sound stage depth is going to be average though. It's good but not exceptional.

thank you, i guess the hifiman offerings have a deeper stage, right? which would rate higher in this regard besides them?

 

[MattTCG]

thank you, i guess the hifiman offerings have a deeper stage, right? which would rate higher in this regard besides them?

Yes, it's fair to say hifiman usually perform somewhat better on depth of soundstage. The build quality on the hifiman was always to questionable for me to own them long term, while the build quality of the e2 is exceptional and makes me feel comfortable owning them long term.

 

[LCMusicLover]

@MattTCG & @sofastreamer

Here's something I wrote a long time ago (more than five years ago!) when I was still getting to know E2 and still owned Utopia. I might have been feeling good when I wrote it

I agree that HEKv2 (and HEKse to a lesser degree) have a bigger/deeper headstage than E2, but (to my ears, on my system, listening to my favorite tracks...) I hear the E2 stage as more precise, depth-wise. Meaning I can really tell which instruments are 'in back' vs 'up front' or 'in the middle'.

They still get significant headtime for me out of my HEKse/Expanse/Atrium/Auteur/E2 quiver.

 

[VandyMan]

Ether 2 is still fairly competitive in its price range, IMO. At the prices they have been going for used, they are a steal. I've been hanging onto mine hoping for an Ether 3 upgrade w/ AMTS (recall all earlier Ethers had an upgrade path). Now, with the E3, it looks like DCA is going in a different direction, which is understandable.

 

[Zbell]

Well, I finally pulled the trigger and picked up a used pair of Ether 2's. I'm only a couple days in, but this is a special headphone. I knew it was supposed to be comfortable, but shocked at how ridiculously light they are. I know clamp is love/hate, but I've been missing having a pair of headphones that actually stay on my head when headbanging. Pads make a huge difference in sound signature. Very resolving headphones and a great compliment to my Verite Closed. Sounds very nice with a SS amp, but sounds incredible with my SET amp. Stock Vivo cable is fantastic. At under $1k they sell for used these days, I'm not sure if you can find a better headphone. I will try to post more detailed impressions against some of my other gear in the next few weeks, but so far I'm enamored.

 

[eobet]

I actually wore out my first set of stock pads.

I'm starting to wear out mine too. I'm quite surprised that a small series high-end headphone like this use cheap plastic fake leather that deteriorates in just a couple of years (and start shedding micro plastics). I've looked and you can't even buy real-leather pads for these, which is even more disappointing (Voce pads are genuine leather but have smaller openings). (Granted, we got two more pads in the box but they're also plastic ones.)

I've written to DCA to ask about mycelium leather, but received no reply. If anyone is to be a pioneer in this area, it should be them...

 

[Zbell]

I know this is a long-dead thread, but these new-to-me E2's have found a permanent home. Due to limited time, I've only been able to compare them to 1 other set so far, the HE6se V1 (plus my other headphones are closed-back and not planar). Honestly, it's been a blast a/b'ing them and I didn't think 2 planars with such similar styling could sound so different. For the purposes of this comparison, I'm using the suede pads on the E2 and fenestrated sheepskin on the HE6se.

Where the HE6se is bright and sparkly with 3rd-row seats, the E2 is dark and full-bodied with 1st-row seats. While the HE6se is well extended in bass, its impact is dreadfully light compared to the E2, which also has that immaculate planar bass extension. IMO, the suede pads on the E2 bring it pretty close to audiophile bass-head territory, which I love. As we move into the mids, it's amazing how different they are. Vocals on the HE6se and crisp, airy, and represented in my head as a well-defined point in the headstage. On the Ether 2, vocals are much "heavier" and full-bodied and are represented in my head as being much wider - less a point in the headstage and more like a 10-degree slice. Vocal details on the HE6se shift toward the treble, whereas vocal details on the E2 shift toward the bass (if that makes sense). As we get into the treble, the HE6se initially comes off as much more detailed and airy. You can hear the space around the notes and they are plucked like planars be - dangerously close to shrill at times, but almost always controlled and non-sibilant. On the E2, treble is not emphasized - it's a dark headphone regardless of the pad choice. But it's not that the treble doesn't have details - it does, loads of details. It's more that the treble isn't sparkly and you don't hear the space around the notes with the E2. The treble is there, it's beautiful, but it's not emphasized. Overall, the E2 has been my preference on the SET Mogwai Rev2 by far. On SS Jot2 they both sound great but have completely opposite strengths. For my preference, I like the E2 more, but would go to the HE6se if I was craving airy, treble-centric music. HE6se has the wider headstage, but to my ear the E2 is on par in terms of imaging and I love the thicker, more romantic presentation. E2 wins in terms of stage depth and height. E2 is way lighter and more comfortable.

On the matter of pads, suede are the extension pads - the emphasis is on sub-bass, treble has more energy, and overall probably a bit U-shaped but no big peaks that I can hear. The fenestrated pads have a huge emphasis on the mid-bass and the vocals, but the spikes are an issue for me. cymbals and other instruments in that range can sound anemic and the treble extension is bad. I honestly haven't tried the stock pads yet.