[paradoxper]

I think some context is necessary to avoid hysteria.

From what I recall, of the 2nd batch, Joseph69 was the one whom didn't find the HEDD "up to par."
Now, in the "3rd batch" we're hearing some further chirps.

I don't think we can discount simple subjective evaluation -- regardless of quadel's use of language.

As tonereef found them to be less-than his STAX and LCD3, I, to the contrary, found the HEDD to impressively perform up-to-the-task of any headphone. With its own superlative characteristics.

So breathe, we're not all hearing it the same, such is the beauty of the subjective experience.

 

[mixman]

I also think there is the possibility we are dealing with a small company that is new to headphones and thus has and will have more unit to unit variances, than some tradition manufacturers. They just may not have the consistency of manufacturing the HEDD down yet.

Of course, yes there will be the subjective thing too, but I am finding it strange that many here who are seasoned listeners, are not even aggreeing on the most basic concepts of what these headphones sound like, doscounting the fact of whether you like that sound our not.

 

[tonereef]

Hmmm, yes, seem to be quite some different descriptions of the heddphone.
I understand tonereefs side, the subjective and what he is looking for in a headphone, also his ears are not that good and the amp pairing could not be optimal, but at the end, some of the descriptions describe simply another headphone - not the one I've heard myself (I heard 3 different ones) and others described now for over 120 pages or on other websites or reviews.
Since I thouroughly heard the heddphone couple of times back almost 2 months ago and also finished my lengthy review of it, with almost all the high-end/enthusiast/flagships (except the verite, abyss, final audio and audio technica) , some things are way off.

Discarding als subjectivity, bias etc. when listening to them and writing, there is no veil and muddy, transients are well done and hella fast, no smearing whatsoever.
About transducer resolution and perceived detail, I tried to explain my understanding of it here https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hed...-amt-technology.906270/page-110#post-15542105
Paired with an optimal amp/dac the transducer resolution of the heddphone is at least on par with an lcd-4, Utopia/Stellia or HD 800S.
And since the sound signature and tonality is not dark or uneven, there is even slightly up to a bit more perceived detail in the higher frequencies.
Kinda does not make sense to me an older and inexpensive model got more resolution and perceived detail as the newest and expensive flagship of Audeze.
Especially in classic music, this got excellent perceived detail, an LCD-4 can't give. Same with texture

tonereef, no
I quoted what you have written before "The 009s are probably closer, though to my ears they're a bit lacking energy in the lower mids/upper bass .."
I listened and wrote about the Sr-009S.
Oh, I was using this website reference https://www.headphonezone.in/blogs/audiophile-guide/mid-range-high-range-frequencies
Then the mid-mids it be!

" but the perceived distance to the music seems sometimes to be related to the the kind of music "
Yes, I meant that. Different transducers, especially different tuning of the frequency response leads to this.
It's the amp pairing or your ears at this stage I guess. I simply describe and compare the heddphone to all the others flagships and other headphones I listened and wrote about, not just one specific; so maybe I forgot to explain this


Is also quite the opposite of what I heard. The dynamics are above lcd-3/4 and other planars I heard.
Especially when listened to the hifiman ananda, Arya and HE1000SE, I noticed that the hifimans are really behind when it comes to dynamics.
A 1500 € focal clear is doing better with dynamics than the HE1000SE. Listening to complex music with lots of quiet and loud elements, voiced and electic guitars, it was one of the first things I noticed. I had to volume up gradually listening to the hifimans; due to this there just was constant fatigue to my ears.

I'd be interested in what power you all think is required to drive these phones properly. I've seen figures in the 1-3 watt range. My amps are both within that range, so I doubt they are the problem. I'm concerned that I may have a sub-par unit - they were probably part of a batch that headphones.com would have received in February.

Jaaibananzu, can you provide a link to your review of the HEDDs?

The Audeze 3Fs are supposed to have somewhat more resolution than the original 3s, but somewhat less than the 4s. Not huge differences.

I haven't heard the 009S - would like to though.

I still don't understand what you're describing about the HEDDs' soundstaging:
About the perceived ambient detail and soundstage: Yes, it is kinda paradoxical, I would call it intriguing, the ability of the heddphone to present a tone (sound) far away and closer to the head - and everything in between-, at the same time in an remarkable way.
Could you give an example or two of how this works with different kinds of music?

 

[JLoud]

I currently have the Audeze LCD4, had the LCD3F. The HEDDphone, I have one from the first batch, is on par with the LCD4. To me it clearly has more detail retrieval than the LCD3F. I also think the difference between the 3 and 4 is not small. My chain is a iMac running lossless files to a Schiit Yggdrasil to a HeadAmp GSX mk2. The HEDDphone has more perceived detail in the treble while the LCD4 has a sweeter, fuller midrange and more impactful bass region. IMO.

 

[JLoud]

I had and sold the Utopia. I liked it but preferred my Abyss TC. The HEDDphone is very close to the Utopia and TC. Not equal but not too far off either in regards to detail. Also very fast. Again just a hair slower, maybe. Really just a matter of taste in my opinion. There are days I miss the Utopia, but the HEDDphone mostly scratches that itch.

 

[heliosphann]

I'd be interested in what power you all think is required to drive these phones properly. I've seen figures in the 1-3 watt range. My amps are both within that range, so I doubt they are the problem. I'm concerned that I may have a sub-par unit - they were probably part of a batch that headphones.com would have received in February.

Jaaibananzu, can you provide a link to your review of the HEDDs?

The Audeze 3Fs are supposed to have somewhat more resolution than the original 3s, but somewhat less than the 4s. Not huge differences.

I haven't heard the 009S - would like to though.

I still don't understand what you're describing about the HEDDs' soundstaging:
About the perceived ambient detail and soundstage: Yes, it is kinda paradoxical, I would call it intriguing, the ability of the heddphone to present a tone (sound) far away and closer to the head - and everything in between-, at the same time in an remarkable way.
Could you give an example or two of how this works with different kinds of music?

I think they need some pretty hefty power. I tried them on my DNA Stratus and they sounded very tame and lackluster. Didn't sound anywhere near as good as on my Cavalli Liquid Gold.

 

[MacedonianHero]

I think they need some pretty hefty power. I tried them on my DNA Stratus and they sounded very tame and lackluster. Didn't sound anywhere near as good as on my Cavalli Liquid Gold.

And the DNA Stratus isn't anything to sneeze at...it is a beauty of an amplifier, but agreed, these headphones really need a great solid state amp with plenty on tap (think more than 2W at least) to sound their best.

 

[JLoud]

I agree on the power requirements. Not really about volume, more an issue of control and speed. I really like them on my Woo WA5, but they sound faster and more detailed on the HeadAmp GSX mk2.

 

[joseph69]

I stand by my evaluation. My pair of HEDDphones probably is defective, since I can't reasonably discount all the many very positive evaluations that have accumulated from this site and many very good reviews.

I have to agree with this from what I (and others) heard with the pair I had, or I wouldn't have returned them.

From what I recall, of the 2nd batch, Joseph69 was the one whom didn't find the HEDD "up to par."

Yes, I believe I was the first to find them not "up to par"

And the DNA Stratus isn't anything to sneeze at...it is a beauty of an amplifier, but agreed, these headphones really need a great solid state amp with plenty on tap (think more than 2W at least) to sound their best.

I agree on the power requirements. Not really about volume, more an issue of control and speed. I really like them on my Woo WA5, but they sound faster and more detailed on the HeadAmp GSX mk2.

I paired mine with my GS-X Mk2 in both, SE & XLR and still didn't hear what others were hearing, neither did the others.
Some thought they sounded a better on the WA33, though, but at this point I couldn't care less because they've already disappointed me and I was done, again, unfortunately.

 

[Tekunda]

I must admit that I have become a bit unsettled by what I read about the presumed Heddphone's unit to unit varience in sound quality, so much so that I am not sure if I should not cancel my order at this point in time and rather wait until this issue has cleared up more.

 

[Aethelred]

Just bear in mind that this company is producing also studio monitors and I assume there are no huge differences between the particular units. Some minute differences might be due to the transducer technology but so is the case with almost all speakers. I have no idea why some of us hear the last batch had a different sound.

 

[jaaibananzu]

I assume that your model tonereef is 100 % fine or close to it, so no worry^^
You simply look for just a different headphone, have some different preconditions (ears, psychoacoustics) and a likely a not optimal amplifier/dac chain for the heddphone.
The others: Don't know; you haven't given such detailed and helpful information as tonereef, so I assume a variance in production of batch 2 (april).
So what is preferable are many more comments about this, be it positive/negative, so we can do some deductive/inductive reasoning

https://headphone.guru/audeze-lcd-3f/
I've read this lcd-3F review from back 2015 and the reviewer made it very clear how mediocre the lcd-3F can sound with a amplifier A and how good with an amplifier B.
As far as I can tell, the same goes for the heddphone; people here with way more expertise than me explained me some things pretty clearly and by reading through hundreds of comments here and other sites, it is the same. It is simply not just the power, but also things like the integrated power supply and many other things.
Stax also has some solid state electrostatic headphone amplifiers, but also some new hybrid-dc tube ones. They're all top notch, but sound differently.

No, haven't uploaded it yet, will maybe do so in some weeks. There is simply a lack of people owning them and a lack of comments, reviews from the big reviewers and websites.
At this point hardly anyone would read it
Have listened to 3 different heddphone models as said (the batch with the shorter headband), back in early march when I finished the review.
They sounded the same, just the amplifiers made a noticeably (not huge, but very easy noticeably) difference in many of the sound characteristics. With the heddphone, some luxury integrated speaker-focused amplifier in the 15k+ € price range was the worst. The ones from beyerdynamic right after it, then some Violectric, from sennheiser, lake people, chord mojo, iFi Audio and the last, the spl phonitor X was the best
The things about transdurcer resolution and perceived detail, transparency etc. were very best with the ones from chord, iFi and the spl. Though the chord lacked dynamics; I guess not enough power.

Could you give an example or two of how this works with different kinds of music?

Not in detail, but "Different transducers, especially different tuning of the frequency response leads to this."
Also the transient response (attack, decay, sustain, release) for example: Reducing the attack and increasing the sustain will make the decay of the tone also longer, which leads to the ear (brain) to perceive the sound as further away.
I also wrote something about the sustain and release, which helps with echoing of the sound, how wide the sound stage is peceived and some comparisons with the focals or sennheiser for example.
There was also a helpful communication about sound stage depth for example starting from #1407
I call it fake-depth, though it can be nice to have plenty of it
At the end, it is a new and different tranducer - so things sound quite differently; just the same as with dynamic and planar headphones.

There are basically some things I haven't read or watched in the reviews yet, what makes these unique in sound and a very well done overall balance.
There is quite a lack of information in some reviews. Resolve reviews made a good video-review, nice to watch, very entertaining; but only a few things were described, but also not in depth.
The PinchaAudio review from youtbe was better in my opinion. The one from steve guttenberg is him basically talking about music; not a real helpful review describing the sound characteristics.
@Ultrainferno The one from headfonia is very well writen. But it is 2 sites describing the box, comfort etc.
His description on the third site "sound Classics – Bass, mids treble" is so sparse, In my opinion he could just left it. If he would have left out the title of the review "HEDD Audio HEDDphone Review" and all the pictures, I honestly would not know what headphone he is reviewing. It could be Stellia - really, I don't know, it is so generic.The rest is about the amplifiers, which is very helpful. So in my opinion a very well written review, nice to read, but looks more like targeting the "mainstream"-reader for me.

I have no idea why some of us hear the last batch had a different sound.

This is yet still an assumption; not a causality. Need more comments about this.
What I know for sure, a difference makes the subjective part, the listener and his equipment.

 

[Bucketron]

I just got the Apr batch. All I can say is HEDDphone is a power hungry monster. It is even hungrier than my HE6SE.
Currently I am using Conductor 3X with SE output because I have no balance cable yet. As you may know 3X has SE 3.5mW output and I still have to set at high gain.
I am waiting my balance cable from Toxic. Will report back later how it goes later as 3X balance output is 7.5mW.
With the mega ton power output from 3X, it drives HEDDphone very very well. My god!!

 

[Uebelkraehe]

I'm running it with the C3 Reference and it's an extremely enjoyable pairing. Lots of slam, control, speed and detail without becoming fatiguing.

 

[Bucketron]

I'm running it with the C3 Reference and it's an extremely enjoyable pairing. Lots of slam, control, speed and detail without becoming fatiguing.

Totally agree~!!