[DecentLevi]

It could be anything: headphones or something in them like hair, volume, tube type, tube condition or even bad mastering (original recording). And is the rattle more of a hum, buzz, click, pop, groan, or pulsating low frequencies? If it's still present on another system it's part of the recording. If it's not there with a switch of tubes, it's the tubes. Which section of the song does it occur on and on which channel (R/L?) In this hobby we're a stickler on details so we can pinpoint an exact cause or share something very great, and very specific. The more info. the better, thanks...

 

[hypnos1]

Pretty often, I get a fairly noticeable rattle when playing a track with heavy bass. Does anybody else have this issue? I thought it might be my Focal Utopias but I tried some other headphones and it was still there. Sometimes it doesn't rattle. Could it be the tubes?

Hi triggs.

"Rattle"?....that's a strange one lol! I suspect that if only happening with heavy bass, those low frequencies would most probably be causing vibration in something loose in either a transducer (hp driver) or tube internals. As present in cans other than your Utopias - thank goodness!! - it certainly narrows down to possibly a tube(s). This will be easily confirmed by swapping out 1 at a time 'til the culprit is found, of course. If not a tube, then it looks like you'll need to do a real Sherlock Holmes job alas! ...GOOD LUCK!...CJ

 

[connieflyer]

Of course, if older, then it could be part of the trio, shake, rattle, and roll! Sorry, bad morning, needed nonsense, so imparted no wisdom today.

 

[connieflyer]

Do you hear this rattle when you have the headphones on or off. If on, it would be difficult to detect if external to phones. I had a small piece of solder come loose on a set of phones years ago, that caused a slight rattle on the driver, but the phones were not expensive, changing out the phones is first stop, if not heard then phones. If heard, should be able to home in on rattle on with out phones on. See if it is coming from amp, or a something in the room close by. Good luck

 

[teknorob23]

Hey @teknorob23 ...thanks for your kind words, and those wonderful photos. Hope the EL11s come up to scratch for you...they sounded great when testing in my own system lol . The EL38 powers are pretty well a no-brainer now IMHO...in our amps, at least!!

And I wonder how your Focal Stellias compare to the HD820...did you ever manage to try the Senns? It's tragic you had to give up the Utopias, no?! ...HAPPY LISTENING!...CJ

Sorry CJ, i missed your post, the EL11's are working a treat thank you and as i had to quickly test the stock tubes before exchanging my borrowed Euforia for my brand new one yesterday, i can attest to how much better the ELs sound.
I had initially and wrongly thought the 38s were making the biggest difference having ran them with the PSVANES and having heard such an immediately obvious improvement re width/depth of stage and bass seperation.
Obvs the E11s are still fairly new to my ears and now they're in a new amp with only 24 hours of run-in, but the difference, while more subtle is equally welcome. Theres a definite more liquid feel to the upper mids/treble, smooth but without losing extension or detail.. quite a feet.

I've got two clear evenings coming up over the weekend, so i'm really looking forward to working through the inner to outer reaches of my music collection.

@Scutey has yours arrived yet?

Oh and @hypnos1 sorry i'm skirting around your enquiry as to whether i tried the HD820s, because i dont want offend anyone in this thread, as i might have done in the stellia and elegia threads, by re-expressing my opinion on them here.

But you did ask, sorry in advance... but yes i have demo'd the 820s twice, and third time yesterday (90 mins with the euforia in the mix) and i dont think they're "right". To my ears they're mid/treble section is disjointed and incoherent. They are extended at the very top, then feel slightly recessed in the lower treble and again in the upper mids. The bass goes low but lacks any impact or dynamism, but then at the same time they do sound detailed with a wider than average stage. I'm still finding it hard to square the circle but i'd have to say at £500 i'd give them the benefit of the doubt but £2k i feel like Sennheiser, advertising dependent reviewers and Senn acolytes are conspiring to gaslighting me... I dont think they're finished and its nothing to do with whether or not i like the signature, its just the fact that they dont sound coherent, that or i am going mad and or have 2 tin ears.... both options are viable

And for the record i'm a big fan of the 800s.

The Stellia's on the other hand set a new bench mark for closed backs... Very big talk i know! A lot of similarities to the Utopia, not as wide or quite as resolved especially at the top and bottom, but theres a bit more bass quantity and for my tastes are more naturally toned and way less fatiguing. The level of detail thats coming through across the range is better than anything i've heard... just WOW! and the mids are stand out in this department, guitar music like My Bloody Valentine and Thurston Moore's solo album sounds the best ive ever heard on any type of headphone. The layering and texture is almost there to touch. The best thing about them though is how much room they have in terms of scalability and allowing the other components in my system to really shine through. The Euforia + EL combo sound stunning and i think the Stellia's have got plenty of room to go up further... if of course this is possible . I'd have to spend 10K to get speakers that gave me this much performance, speakers which would then be fighting with my kids and stupid shape of my living room.

You can probably tell i'm a fan, but that said they still cant hold a light in an all comers gunfight with the Meze Empyrean. I spent an hour cleansing myself from the 820s with these via the Euforia yesterday, and gosh if open backs were an option for me, i'd be on these like a shot, credit card in flames and the Stellias wouldn't get a look in!

Sorry that turned into bit of a stream of ranty consciousness/ battle against my dyslexia

 

[mordy]

Of course, if older, then it could be part of the trio, shake, rattle, and roll! Sorry, bad morning, needed nonsense, so imparted no wisdom today.

Hi CF,
I think it was a wise crack lol......

 

[hypnos1]

Sorry CJ, i missed your post, the EL11's are working a treat thank you and as i had to quickly test the stock tubes before exchanging my borrowed Euforia for my brand new one yesterday, i can attest to how much better the ELs sound.
I had initially and wrongly thought the 38s were making the biggest difference having ran them with the PSVANES and having heard such an immediately obvious improvement re width/depth of stage and bass seperation.
Obvs the E11s are still fairly new to my ears and now they're in a new amp with only 24 hours of run-in, but the difference, while more subtle is equally welcome. Theres a definite more liquid feel to the upper mids/treble, smooth but without losing extension or detail.. quite a feet.

I've got two clear evenings coming up over the weekend, so i'm really looking forward to working through the inner to outer reaches of my music collection.

@Scutey has yours arrived yet?

Oh and @hypnos1 sorry i'm skirting around your enquiry as to whether i tried the HD820s, because i dont want offend anyone in this thread, as i might have done in the stellia and elegia threads, by re-expressing my opinion on them here.

But you did ask, sorry in advance... but yes i have demo'd the 820s twice, and third time yesterday (90 mins with the euforia in the mix) and i dont think they're "right". To my ears they're mid/treble section is disjointed and incoherent. They are extended at the very top, then feel slightly recessed in the lower treble and again in the upper mids. The bass goes low but lacks any impact or dynamism, but then at the same time they do sound detailed with a wider than average stage. I'm still finding it hard to square the circle but i'd have to say at £500 i'd give them the benefit of the doubt but £2k i feel like Sennheiser, advertising dependent reviewers and Senn acolytes are conspiring to gaslighting me... I dont think they're finished and its nothing to do with whether or not i like the signature, its just the fact that they dont sound coherent, that or i am going mad and or have 2 tin ears.... both options are viable

And for the record i'm a big fan of the 800s.

The Stellia's on the other hand set a new bench mark for closed backs... Very big talk i know! A lot of similarities to the Utopia, not as wide or quite as resolved especially at the top and bottom, but theres a bit more bass quantity and for my tastes are more naturally toned and way less fatiguing. The level of detail thats coming through across the range is better than anything i've heard... just WOW! and the mids are stand out in this department, guitar music like My Bloody Valentine and Thurston Moore's solo album sounds the best ive ever heard on any type of headphone. The layering and texture is almost there to touch. The best thing about them though is how much room they have in terms of scalability and allowing the other components in my system to really shine through. The Euforia + EL combo sound stunning and i think the Stellia's have got plenty of room to go up further... if of course this is possible . I'd have to spend 10K to get speakers that gave me this much performance, speakers which would then be fighting with my kids and stupid shape of my living room.

You can probably tell i'm a fan, but that said they still cant hold a light in an all comers gunfight with the Meze Empyrean. I spent an hour cleansing myself from the 820s with these via the Euforia yesterday, and gosh if open backs were an option for me, i'd be on these like a shot, credit card in flames and the Stellias wouldn't get a look in!

Sorry that turned into bit of a stream of ranty consciousness/ battle against my dyslexia

Hi trob...glad I'm not the only one who can 'rant' lol!

But first, let me say I'm glad you too are already liking the EL11s with the 38s. And the more different favourite tracks you hear, the more you will discover just what this combo can do, I'm sure .
Now on to that other fascinating topic...headphones! Many thanks for your detailed reply...much appreciated. And never worry about what others may think about your own particular findings/impressions. I'm quite sure your comments would never approach the way OTT level that could rightfully attract derision lol!
Re. the HD820s, I myself always had nagging doubts about them, and when I read reports that no way were they even the equal of the 800s soundwise, the price - as you intimate - is the real killer IMHO (despite the other advantages of being 'closed').

So I stick with the T1s...However...your enthusiastic report on the Meze Empyreans has certainly piqued my interest. Especially as they are obviously driven well by Euforia, despite being very low impedance cans...reinforcing a review of them by someone who was first mightily impressed by them when heard driven by a...EUFORIA!! (so that now makes Meze happy to partner hi-end cans with our amp, along with ZMF and Focal...another nice feather in the cap for Feliks-Audio! ). Anyway, all I need now is to try and find someone who's happy to let me try a pair of Empyreans in my home setup...would love to see how they sound compared to my T1s with 'super' replacement cable...

ps. Methinks you're in for an interesting - nay, exciting weekend. Look forward to your upcoming impressions lol ...CHEERS!...CJ

 

[connieflyer]

trob, thank you for your review of the 820's, very interesting comparison. I have not heard them, but prefer open anyways, so they would be a non starter, especially with what Senn is charging for them. I have the Senn 800 and like them quite well. I see you have tried them as well, do you have any comparison to the Meze Empyreans? From what you are saying this might be an area for to try. Would like to find a dealer for them to have a listen, at that price point, need a lot more info and would like to hear for myself. They do sound very interesting though. Glad you are enjoying the El11, EL 38 combo, it is my favorite of all that I have tried. Happy listening!

 

[Scutey]

@Scutey has yours arrived yet?

Hi trob, yes Euforia arrived today, just as I was going out, another 30 seconds and I would have missed it, phew!. Just past the 2 hour burn in mark, only had about 1 hour listening, far too early to draw any conclusions, need a day or two to get my head around what I'm hearing, however so far so good!

On another note, picked up these about an hour ago off you know where, not seen this EL38 type before, note no ceramic spacers.

 

[teknorob23]

Hi trob, yes Euforia arrived today, just as I was going out, another 30 seconds and I would have missed it, phew!. Just past the 2 hour burn in mark, only had about 1 hour listening, far too early to draw any conclusions, need a day or two to get my head around what I'm hearing, however so far so good!

On another note, picked up these about an hour ago off you know where, not seen this EL38 type before, note no ceramic spacers.

Looking good mines been running for about 30 hours. Sounded a bit dull and closed new out of the box, but had opened up and was pretty close to its predecessor by 24 hours and sounding good now, but i expect things will improve further over the next 100 hours or so. Congrats though and now the really fun bit starts!

 

[teknorob23]

Hi trob...glad I'm not the only one who can 'rant' lol!

But first, let me say I'm glad you too are already liking the EL11s with the 38s. And the more different favourite tracks you hear, the more you will discover just what this combo can do, I'm sure .
Now on to that other fascinating topic...headphones! Many thanks for your detailed reply...much appreciated. And never worry about what others may think about your own particular findings/impressions. I'm quite sure your comments would never approach the way OTT level that could rightfully attract derision lol!
Re. the HD820s, I myself always had nagging doubts about them, and when I read reports that no way were they even the equal of the 800s soundwise, the price - as you intimate - is the real killer IMHO (despite the other advantages of being 'closed').

So I stick with the T1s...However...your enthusiastic report on the Meze Empyreans has certainly piqued my interest. Especially as they are obviously driven well by Euforia, despite being very low impedance cans...reinforcing a review of them by someone who was first mightily impressed by them when heard driven by a...EUFORIA!! (so that now makes Meze happy to partner hi-end cans with our amp, along with ZMF and Focal...another nice feather in the cap for Feliks-Audio! ). Anyway, all I need now is to try and find someone who's happy to let me try a pair of Empyreans in my home setup...would love to see how they sound compared to my T1s with 'super' replacement cable...

ps. Methinks you're in for an interesting - nay, exciting weekend. Look forward to your upcoming impressions lol ...CHEERS!...CJ

My T1's havent had much of look in since the Stellia's arrived, but i still love them and wont be letting them go.. at least not yet, but the empyrean's are on another level as are the LCD4z's (my last dalliance with open backs), which while being best part of £1000 more expensive can't hold a light to the meze either. I'm pretty sure Jack at Audiobarn would arrange for home demo as would the guys at Unilet AKA audio sanctuary. Failing that i think SCV are the distributors for Meze and Focal would get something sorted for you. Be warned though, theres a real risk you'll need to buy them if once youve heard them, i'd be willing to put money on it!!

My New euforia is warming up nicely and as i type i'm listening to Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures 192/24 file and martin hannett's peerless production, full of contradiction is really stretching the EL brother's legs. The recording has an incredible sparseness yet rich, distant and simultaneously intimate. Peter Hook's baselines sound propulsive and layered, 10 perfect bubbles containing 10 equally perfect songs... all this and i havent even had a glass of wine

 

[Scutey]

Looking good mines been running for about 30 hours. Sounded a bit dull and closed new out of the box, but had opened up and was pretty close to its predecessor by 24 hours and sounding good now, but i expect things will improve further over the next 100 hours or so. Congrats though and now the really fun bit starts!

Cheers trob, interesting you said it was a bit dull out of the box, that was exactly my thoughts, my very first impression (admittedly after just 2 minutes!) was my Elise sounded better!, however it's improving already, after just 4 hours, opening up, I would say, compared to Elise the mids are fuller, weightier, more presence, bass is fuller too, and highs are airier, extend more, that was just using TS 5998 and Psvane CV 181 T mkII, anyway, time for the big guns methinks, ie EL11/38 .

I see you've managed to get plenty burn in already on your Euforia, sounds like you're really enjoying it, as you say there's lots of fun to be had especially if you like tube rolling!.

 

[hypnos1]

Aaahhh @Scutey and @teknorob23 ...you're both discovering Euforia's secret methinks - ie. the magical way in which she continues to improve/scale not only with plenty more hours yet on her herself, but with everything else that 'matures' in the system...and not just tubes lol .

Also to be taken into account of course is our hearing. I must admit that to my mind, this aspect of brain function - ie. the time it takes for it to readjust to a different sound presentation, is fast becoming a much more important and relevant factor than is usually appreciated, despite the occasional mention of 'brain burn-in'.

In becoming familiar - and comfortable - with a particular mix of sounds, it seems inclined at first to almost ignore new, unfamiliar ones, unless too obvious to miss lol!...such as bass and treble extremes. The more subtle changes take a good bit longer before being 'recognised' and accepted...the new 'norm', if you like. Only then does true appreciation set in IMHO . For me, this has often taken a very long time indeed, and with anything new to the system...but perhaps tubes especially, of course!

And so folks, once again that wonderful necessity of time comes to the fore - especially with our tube amps lol!! ....HAPPY LISTENING!...CJ

 

[hypnos1]

ps @Scutey ...those EL38s you showed just now are certainly new to me. Never seen any like that before. Should prove very interesting to see just how they compare to the 'pretty' ones lol .

Well folks, it's about time for an update on F-A's upcoming new flagship 2A3-based goliath : Lukasz has just confirmed what I suspected - ie. progress slowed down by unforeseen obstacles, namely implementing the Stax output function within the same chassis. But understandably, they want to iron out any possible conflicts well before introducing to the market...or a prototype for review at least!...sensible IMHO...even if a little frustrating . Something like this all-singing and dancing (probable) masterpiece has simply got to be perfect, given it won't be cheap!!!

And I'm glad they have taken note of my suggestion to use mono crystal UP-OCC wire in this beauty...presumably their testing of it garnered approval ...(and which I never doubted for a moment lol!).

There's also some interesting news of another project soon to be unveiled, but which I can't reveal just at this moment...so stay tuned!! ...CHEERS!...CJ

 

[OctavianH]

There's also some interesting news of another project soon to be unveiled, but which I can't reveal just at this moment...so stay tuned!! ...CHEERS!...CJ

Interesting times here on the thread. You can, at least, tell us if the new project is headphone related, because if not, I would not be very interested in it.