[haasaaroni]

I guess I'll look into the Clears then. What about the HD800s or Elears?

I used to own the HD800s and found the sound very thin and distant. I was not a fan. Timbre and naturalness were just better on the HD600 IMO.

I haven’t heard the Elear, but I heard it’s a bit boosted in the bass and otherwise pretty neutral. I stayed away because I briefly owned the Elex and found the sound too aggressive for my tastes. There was also a lot of haze in the treble in my unit and it really bothered me. I think it uses the same driver as the Elear just with different pads. I much preferred the Ananda at the time, and also Arya, for their cleaner, more spacious presentation.

The Clears have always impressed me when I’ve heard them, but I’ve somehow never owned a pair to really comment on.

Also after looking at the FR that @Tachyon88 posted above, I take back my comment about the Arya being V-shaped Maybe just slightly elevated treble with recessed upper mids is what I’m hearing.

 

[ezduzit2500]

Well I never tried planars so I might audition some, but what do you mean by "iffy"? What about less sensitive planars like the LCD X? Does it have to do with their power or just how planars sound? 2W even for the Aryas are ear-deafening.

Planars work on a different principle than dynamic drivers. It takes an amp with good current to move the planar's driver diaphragm back and forth thousands of times per second and especially for reproducing bass frequencies well. Think about Magnepan speakers and what quality of power amps are needed to drive them well. Planar speakers (and HPs, similar but to a lesser degree) take more power and especially extra current to really move in a controlled motion. Planars are somewhat low impedance and low sensitivity, and that takes more current than voltage. It's why planars don't sound that well with many tube amps, they have great voltage but can't supply current.

 

[theaudiologist1]

Planars work on a different principle than dynamic drivers. It takes an amp with good current to move the planar's driver diaphragm back and forth thousands of times per second and especially for reproducing bass frequencies well. Think about Magnepan speakers and what quality of power amps are needed to drive them well. Planar speakers (and HPs, similar but to a lesser degree) take more power and especially extra current to really move in a controlled motion. Planars are somewhat low impedance and low sensitivity, and that takes more current than voltage. It's why planars don't sound that well with many tube amps, they have great voltage but can't supply current.

I see, and what about in the case electrostatic headphones like the Staxes? I'm assuming purely voltage since one of the Stax headphones had an impedance of 170,000 Ohms.

 

[ezduzit2500]

I see, and what about in the case electrostatic headphones like the Staxes? I'm assuming purely voltage since one of the Stax headphones had an impedance of 170,000 Ohms.

Whole 'other ball of yarn with those. They require specially designed "energizers" to drive the stat.

 

[phthora]

I see, and what about in the case electrostatic headphones like the Staxes? I'm assuming purely voltage since one of the Stax headphones had an impedance of 170,000 Ohms.

Those require insane voltage because the diaphragm has to be 'energized' with a static charge and then a signal voltage has to be passed through the perforated metal plates on both sides of the diaphragm. Basically, instead of magnets, those headphones use static electricity. Because of that, the normal rules about headphones amps do not apply.

 

[ezduzit2500]

Those require insane voltage because the diaphragm has to be 'energized' with a static charge and then a signal voltage has to be passed through the perforated metal plates on both sides of the diaphragm. Basically, instead of magnets, those headphones use static electricity. Because of that, the normal rules about headphones amps do not apply.

I'd be mighty concerned about electrostatic discharge with a stat HP. I got drilled about ESD when I was in the Marine Corps working around aircraft, fuel, bombs, missiles, n stuff. It'd be a shocking listening experience, haha. Safety First.

 

[phthora]

I'd be mighty concerned about electrostatic discharge with a stat HP. I got drilled about ESD when I was in the Marine Corps working around aircraft, fuel, bombs, missiles, n stuff. It'd be a shocking listening experience, haha. Safety First.

Fair enough. Although, the concern usually is with the amp. Improperly designed amps delivering that much voltage can cause electrical fires. However, even with expertly designed amps, I believe the best advice is still to store your missiles and bombs in a separate room.

 

[Tachyon88]

1.5W? where did you get that. At 470Ohms and 99dB/mW it needs 12mW to reach 110dB.

It does 108dB SPL in the bass region and 112-113 peak SPL everywhere else. It's not too bass-light I think since the bass is punchy. Keep in mind it is in high gain which adds a few more dB. I don't get why you need 115-120dB peak SPL.


My amp was designed for the CL1's which are 89dB/mW and 150Ohms and can drive them to very loud levels with rich bass, and they are more demanding than the Aryas.

The bass is good with bassy music.

I said only Romantic. High dynamic range music, even baroque and rock, get loud. And the loud parts of it do get loud, only the quiet parts are quiet which I think is part of the recording, as even my MSR7's only play them slightly louder.

I would put them on the same level. The Aryas aren't HE-6 tier hard to drive (that is one headphone I admit my amp won't drive). My amp can drive both to 110dB peak SPL. Aryas need 100mW for 110dB.

Thank you. I guess I'll look into the Clears then. What about the HD800s or Elears?

Error on my part, I even made another error with my edit ! I was referring to solderdudes power requirement guide and looked at the wrong table....I'll see myself out.

 

[theaudiologist1]

Whole 'other ball of yarn with those. They require specially designed "energizers" to drive the stat.

Those require insane voltage because the diaphragm has to be 'energized' with a static charge and then a signal voltage has to be passed through the perforated metal plates on both sides of the diaphragm. Basically, instead of magnets, those headphones use static electricity. Because of that, the normal rules about headphones amps do not apply.

Yeah the Stax with 170kOhm had a sensitivity of 100dB/100Vrms. I think that is a lot. It needs a dedicated amp for that?

I used to own the HD800s and found the sound very thin and distant. I was not a fan. Timbre and naturalness were just better on the HD600 IMO.

What about the HD800S?

I haven’t heard the Elear, but I heard it’s a bit boosted in the bass and otherwise pretty neutral. I stayed away because I briefly owned the Elex and found the sound too aggressive for my tastes. There was also a lot of haze in the treble in my unit and it really bothered me. I think it uses the same driver as the Elear just with different pads. I much preferred the Ananda at the time, and also Arya, for their cleaner, more spacious presentation.

The Clears have always impressed me when I’ve heard them, but I’ve somehow never owned a pair to really comment on.

https://www.sonarworks.com/blog/reviews/focal-clear-and-clear-professional-studio-headphone-review/
https://www.sonarworks.com/blog/reviews/focal-elear-studio-headphone-review/#pros

according to these guys the Elears are more neutral than the Clears.

Also after looking at the FR that @Tachyon88 posted above, I take back my comment about the Arya being V-shaped Maybe just slightly elevated treble with recessed upper mids is what I’m hearing.

How neutral is the Arya compared to the R70x/HD600?

 

[theaudiologist1]

Error on my part, I even made another error with my edit ! I was referring to solderdudes power requirement guide and looked at the wrong table....I'll see myself out.

This is weird. In the guide is claims the sensitivity of the R70x is 98dB/mW and other sites claim 99dB/mW. It's confusing.

 

[ezduzit2500]

Yeah the Stax with 170kOhm had a sensitivity of 100dB/100Vrms. I think that is a lot. It needs a dedicated amp for that?

What about the HD800S?

https://www.sonarworks.com/blog/reviews/focal-clear-and-clear-professional-studio-headphone-review/
https://www.sonarworks.com/blog/reviews/focal-elear-studio-headphone-review/#pros

according to these guys the Elears are more neutral than the Clears.

How neutral is the Arya compared to the R70x/HD600?

Yup. Electrostatic headphones require their own specially designed "energizers", they don't use regular HP amps.

 

[theaudiologist1]

Yup. Electrostatic headphones require their own specially designed "energizers", they don't use regular HP amps.

Just curious, how much is 100dB/100V converted to dB/1V or dB/1mW?

 

[haasaaroni]

Yeah the Stax with 170kOhm had a sensitivity of 100dB/100Vrms. I think that is a lot. It needs a dedicated amp for that?

What about the HD800S?

https://www.sonarworks.com/blog/reviews/focal-clear-and-clear-professional-studio-headphone-review/
https://www.sonarworks.com/blog/reviews/focal-elear-studio-headphone-review/#pros

according to these guys the Elears are more neutral than the Clears.

How neutral is the Arya compared to the R70x/HD600?

My previous comments were about the HD800S, haven't heard the HD800. Lol the "S" vs "s" confusion

I haven't heard the Elear, but I felt the Clear (and Clear MG) presents music in a much more natural way than the Elex. That's just my opinion. The sound is more "wet" with the Clear whereas I found the Elex dry and unnaturally forward. That kind of sound appears more neutral (i.e. true to life) to me, whereas some people might consider it more "warm."

Compared with the 600 (haven't heard the R70X), the Arya has deeper sub-bass, less mid-bass emphasis, thinner and more recessed mids (but much more detail), less upper midrange shout, and splashier highs.

 

[ezduzit2500]

Just curious, how much is 100dB/100V converted to dB/1V or dB/1mW?

There is an online calculator that converts loudness (dB) per mW. A milliwatt is 1/1000 of a Watt. That calculator is mainly for dynamic drivers though, and may not quite take into account a planar driver's current requirements. Better to have more power than needed for a planar vs not enough/barely enough power. Learned that when I got a set of HE-4XX and Fostex T50rp mk3's.

 

[theaudiologist1]

There is an online calculator that converts loudness (dB) per mW. A milliwatt is 1/1000 of a Watt. That calculator is mainly for dynamic drivers though, and may not quite take into account a planar driver's current requirements. Better to have more power than needed for a planar vs not enough/barely enough power. Learned that when I got a set of HE-4XX and Fostex T50rp mk3's.

What happened in your case? Your amp didn't have enough power?