[Scgorg]

Has anyone tried the Ether (open, non-flow version) for metal? I've gotten a really good deal on it (less than half of MRSP) and kind of want to bite, but i am in no position to audition them. Also, Mrspeakers offer an upgrade for their headphones on their website, so i was wondering how the Ether compares to the Ether flow as far as sound signature and tonality goes.

 

[Hansotek]

Has anyone tried the Ether (open, non-flow version) for metal? I've gotten a really good deal on it (less than half of MRSP) and kind of want to bite, but i am in no position to audition them. Also, Mrspeakers offer an upgrade for their headphones on their website, so i was wondering how the Ether compares to the Ether flow as far as sound signature and tonality goes.

What kind of metal? What amp/DAC will you be using?

 

[Scgorg]

Death, power, symphonic, folk, heavy and metalcore mostly. Will be powered through a Woo WA7 gen 1.

What kind of metal? What amp/DAC will you be using?

 

[shuto77]

First off, welcome to head-fi and sorry about your wallet.

I just came back from covering CanJam SoCal and AXPONA, and for your $400 budget and the music you listen to, I would recommend picking up the PSB M4U 8 or the NAD HP70 (pretty much the same headphone with slightly different fit and aesthetics - I prefer the fit of the M4U 8 slightly). Both are $399.

I know these headphones haven’t been mentioned on this thread before before, so I’ll give you the quick 411 on them. Both headphones were designed by Paul Barton. If you read Innerfidelity, you might already be familiar with him, but Paul (along with Sean Olive from Harman) has been spearheading the research on a target frequency response curve at the National Research Council in Canada. The HP70 and PSB M4U 8 are the fruits of years of work on that front. Both headphones are wireless aptX HD Bluetooth capable (up to 24/96, I believe), and feature a DSP (digital signal processing) correction curve that aligns the frequency response with the target curve. So what does that mean for you? It means they sound freaking great with practically anything and everything you throw at them, that's what!

They also have active noise cancellation - you can listen in passive mode, active mode or active mode with ANC (which sounds the same as active mode, due to the DSP - no sacrifices!), which is obviously nice to have all in one.

I'll have a full review of these in about a month, as I just started the evaluation about a week ago, but these are probably going to be my top recommendation for a sub $500 closed headphone going forward. You don't really hit something better until the AEON.

Not sure how much of this thread you've read, but I take recommendations pretty seriously. I've been listening to Samael, Maiden, Bell Witch, Windir, Burzum, etc. for the past 45 minutes or so just to verify these work with your tunes (and satisfy my own curiosity about how they perform with those subgenres), and they absolutely do! Note to self, I gotta listen to more Samael, they sound friggin great on these!

I wrote a little more about these on page 3 of my AXPONA show report, which you'll find in the latest issue of EtM here: http://enjoythemusic.com/AXPONA_2018/Hanson/

Hey, how've you been?

I'm interested in both the PSB and the NAD, and have been looking forward to how they improved on the HP50.

I'm super picky about comfort. I'm sure neither are as comfortable as the Aeon Flow C, but which is closer? What do you like better about the PSB M4U 8's fit/comfort?

Thanks!

 

[Hansotek]

Hey, how've you been?

I'm interested in both the PSB and the NAD, and have been looking forward to how they improved on the HP50.

I'm super picky about comfort. I'm sure neither are as comfortable as the Aeon Flow C, but which is closer? What do you like better about the PSB M4U 8's fit/comfort?

Thanks!

Good, thanks for asking! Tons of travel with the CanJam SoCal and AXPONA coverage last month. Pumping out 10k words of show coverage between the two had me going a little light on head-fi activity for the last couple weeks, lol!

Both have better comfort than the HP50. I don’t mind the M4U 8 at all. I like the fit of the top band on the M4U 8 slightly better for my head. M4U 8 also has some little cutaways under the rim of the earpad so there is less pressure on the outer part of the ear. I was chatting with AxelCloris and Joe at the end of the show (SoCal) and both of them disagreed with me and felt the NAD HP70 was more comfortable... so I guess it’s subjective. IMO, they are super close.

Both of them have what I would call “average” comfort - they are no ÆONs, but they don’t punish your ears like the HP50. Once they’re on my head though, they sound really good and they are wireless, so it evens out.

 

[Fink24]

Looking currently for a new (or used ) closed headphone at around 500€ - 750€. I listen mostly to black, death, folk and heavy metal (in descending order), but also to (neo)folk.

Since it will be for work, it needs to have long term comfort.
I currently have an AKG K872 and it seals so well, that you get sweaty really fast; it also has too much bass for my taste; the Aeon on the other hand has too little bass for me. Same with the original Ether C. The new Ether C Flow has a good amount, but it is too expensive to leave it at work overnight (With peace of mind at least )


Currently I am thinking about a DT1770 or a TH-610, but I am curious about your opinions. Maybe I totally overlooked something

 

[shuto77]

Good, thanks for asking! Tons of travel with the CanJam SoCal and AXPONA coverage last month. Pumping out 10k words of show coverage between the two had me going a little light on head-fi activity for the last couple weeks, lol!

Both have better comfort than the HP50. I don’t mind the M4U 8 at all. I like the fit of the top band on the M4U 8 slightly better for my head. M4U 8 also has some little cutaways under the rim of the earpad so there is less pressure on the outer part of the ear. I was chatting with AxelCloris and Joe at the end of the show (SoCal) and both of them disagreed with me and felt the NAD HP70 was more comfortable... so I guess it’s subjective. IMO, they are super close.

Both of them have what I would call “average” comfort - they are no ÆONs, but they don’t punish your ears like the HP50. Once they’re on my head though, they sound really good and they are wireless, so it evens out.

I ended up grabbing the HP70s. Due to the magic of Amazon (and my proximity to a large city), they arrived the next day.

Bleutooth mode is really good! I can't believe how far along it's come! My Fiio X7ii has aptX 4.2, and Tidal sounds great.

Wired mode was also good, but I've been enjoying thisw wirelessworld.

I don't have much experience with ANC headphons, so I won't comment on that functionality.

My pair was supposed to be brand new (sold from a third-party audio store), but was definitely opened, and had a couple cosmetic defects, which was super annoying.

I'm probably going to return these and grab the PSBs instead because their earpads are a bit bigger, and will probably be a little more comfortable for me.

It's early, but these definitely seem like keepers, as long as you don't have massive ears.

 

[Fink24]

Looking currently for a new (or used ) closed headphone at around 500€ - 750€. I listen mostly to black, death, folk and heavy metal (in descending order), but also to (neo)folk.

Since it will be for work, it needs to have long term comfort.
I currently have an AKG K872 and it seals so well, that you get sweaty really fast; it also has too much bass for my taste; the Aeon on the other hand has too little bass for me. Same with the original Ether C. The new Ether C Flow has a good amount, but it is too expensive to leave it at work overnight (With peace of mind at least )


Currently I am thinking about a DT1770 or a TH-610, but I am curious about your opinions. Maybe I totally overlooked something

Anyone with an idea? (yes I know I am a bit impatient )

 

[Hansotek]

Anyone with an idea? (yes I know I am a bit impatient )

I haven’t heard the 872, so I don’t know what your upper limit is. I’d probably look at the Atticus or TH610, depending on whether you prefer more emphasis on the subbass or midbass and lower mids.

 

[Fink24]

Yeah, the Atticus crossed my mind too. The thing is just, that a used DT1770 costs only half of a new TH610 (they rarely come up used) and about a third of a used Atticus. Makes me really wonder if it will be worth it for something where you don't fully concentrate on the music anyway.

I think I will go with a 1770 for now and if its not enough I will watch out for a good deal on the Atticus.

 

[Berzeck]

Hello I would like some advice please.
I listen Death, Melodic Death, Black, Symphonic, Power, Thrash in that order
Living on a third world country I never had access to high end headphones (no store here has that kind of gear) so I do not have any idea how it sounds or what would I prefer therefore I have to take some risk.
If possible I would like recommendations around 1000$us and others which you consider the best (no budget limit) that is worth the extra cash. Over ear, open or semi open


Thank you!

 

[Hansotek]

Hello I would like some advice please.
I listen Death, Melodic Death, Black, Symphonic, Power, Thrash in that order
Living on a third world country I never had access to high end headphones (no store here has that kind of gear) so I do not have any idea how it sounds or what would I prefer therefore I have to take some risk.
If possible I would like recommendations around 1000$us and others which you consider the best (no budget limit) that is worth the extra cash. Over ear, open or semi open


Thank you!

Are you going to have an amp?

 

[Berzeck]

Thank you very much for helping me.
I will purchase Marantz SR8012, does it count? otherwise which one would you recommend?

 

[Monsterzero]

Marantz SR8012

Thats a heck of an AVR,but I doubt that it will be a great headphone amp.
My .02 is grab a pair of AKG K240 sextetts and an old 1970s receiver. Grand total investment would be under 400.00usd. To top it I have dropped $2500.00 on a ZMF Atticus and GOTL,which has a several month build time.
The difference between old receivers and modern AVRs like yours is back in the old days the headphones were tapped off of the main amp with a built in resistor to prevent frying headphones and ears. Modern receivers use a cheap separate amp to drive headphones and the results are quite underwhelming.;

 

[Berzeck]

Thats a heck of an AVR,but I doubt that it will be a great headphone amp.
My .02 is grab a pair of AKG K240 sextetts and an old 1970s receiver. Grand total investment would be under 400.00usd. To top it I have dropped $2500.00 on a ZMF Atticus and GOTL,which has a several month build time.
The difference between old receivers and modern AVRs like yours is back in the old days the headphones were tapped off of the main amp with a built in resistor to prevent frying headphones and ears. Modern receivers use a cheap separate amp to drive headphones and the results are quite underwhelming.;

Thank you for the advice, so no matter the receiver I buy (assuming it is modern) I will need to purchase a separate piece of hardware for the headphones? where can I purchase old receiver?