Assorted
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2007
- Posts
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http://apuresound.com/images/cables/hew9.html
Beautiful pictures taken by [AK]Zip from APureSound himself.
When I first received my ATH-EW9 from another head-fi member, my first thought was my, these earclips are gorgeous. But after my first day with them, I was quite satisfied, except for 2 slightly disturbing things:
- slightly harsh treble, not smooth like my 650s
- relatively thin soundstage that really shows the "3 blobs"
I did try to fiddle with the fit (alot), but the two things above were still bothering me. Also the stock cable was curly, thin, and J-cord.
I contacted APureSound, and he said he would gladly recable them for me. It only took him a few days to do the recable job, and it's on the way here now.
Impression:
So what exactly did the cable do? The physical feel of the cable itself is very sturdy, maybe even a little stiff since its new. Already it feels much more heavy duty than the original stock cable, while maintaining its portability. I am also so much more glad now that it's the hassle free Y-cord
To address the first point, the slightly harshness in the high frequencies has literally transformed; it is much more smooth, as such the sibilance in the recitatives from my Karl Richter/Bach-Chor and Orch St. John's Passion album is much less irritating. The chamber violins sing with air, and the viola solos deliver the higher notes with much more balance.
The soundstage has also been improved: when I listen to the Air: Weit ade... from the Bach Cantata album with the Amor Atis Orch., the voice bass is no longer restricted to the "center channel" or the space above my headstage, it flows much wider and closer to the violin and harpsichord, creating a sense of unity in the musical texture. The chorus opening does not "stack" on top of the center bass, rather more distinctly occupy its own space on the stands; this is improvement in both soundstage and instrument separation.
Other sonic improvement I have noticed was added musical weight. Before the celli/bassi section of most orchestral music was more timid, giving the real spotlight to the violins and melodic violas, and even much more to the woodwinds. Now when I listen to some Corelli Concerti grossi by the English Concert, the celli/bassi are more pronounced, clearly marking the sense counterpoint in the music, something the original stock cable had a struggle doing. Unaccompanied Cello Suites by Bach played on any instrument sounds less nasal, correctly producing right attenuation in the lower strings, making pieces like the D minor gigue more intriguing and engaged. In Wolf-Ferrari's Serenade in E-flat on the last movement Scherzo, I have found much greater bass impact. The notes retain shape and in full quantity as if divine wind has carried it across to my ears, which previously had dispersed much too quickly.
In general, the greatest improvement I have witnessed is 1) "quality" treble, 2) less restricting soundstage and 3) musical weight.
My evaluation maybe flawed since this is based on several weeks old musical memory, variable fit which I may have mastered right now but haven't before the recable, or simply placebo. Nevertheless, it did a good-- no, great job of improving my listening satisfaction, which is all that matters in the end. Great thanks to Alex from APureSound!
Beautiful pictures taken by [AK]Zip from APureSound himself.
When I first received my ATH-EW9 from another head-fi member, my first thought was my, these earclips are gorgeous. But after my first day with them, I was quite satisfied, except for 2 slightly disturbing things:
- slightly harsh treble, not smooth like my 650s
- relatively thin soundstage that really shows the "3 blobs"
I did try to fiddle with the fit (alot), but the two things above were still bothering me. Also the stock cable was curly, thin, and J-cord.
I contacted APureSound, and he said he would gladly recable them for me. It only took him a few days to do the recable job, and it's on the way here now.
Impression:
So what exactly did the cable do? The physical feel of the cable itself is very sturdy, maybe even a little stiff since its new. Already it feels much more heavy duty than the original stock cable, while maintaining its portability. I am also so much more glad now that it's the hassle free Y-cord
To address the first point, the slightly harshness in the high frequencies has literally transformed; it is much more smooth, as such the sibilance in the recitatives from my Karl Richter/Bach-Chor and Orch St. John's Passion album is much less irritating. The chamber violins sing with air, and the viola solos deliver the higher notes with much more balance.
The soundstage has also been improved: when I listen to the Air: Weit ade... from the Bach Cantata album with the Amor Atis Orch., the voice bass is no longer restricted to the "center channel" or the space above my headstage, it flows much wider and closer to the violin and harpsichord, creating a sense of unity in the musical texture. The chorus opening does not "stack" on top of the center bass, rather more distinctly occupy its own space on the stands; this is improvement in both soundstage and instrument separation.
Other sonic improvement I have noticed was added musical weight. Before the celli/bassi section of most orchestral music was more timid, giving the real spotlight to the violins and melodic violas, and even much more to the woodwinds. Now when I listen to some Corelli Concerti grossi by the English Concert, the celli/bassi are more pronounced, clearly marking the sense counterpoint in the music, something the original stock cable had a struggle doing. Unaccompanied Cello Suites by Bach played on any instrument sounds less nasal, correctly producing right attenuation in the lower strings, making pieces like the D minor gigue more intriguing and engaged. In Wolf-Ferrari's Serenade in E-flat on the last movement Scherzo, I have found much greater bass impact. The notes retain shape and in full quantity as if divine wind has carried it across to my ears, which previously had dispersed much too quickly.
In general, the greatest improvement I have witnessed is 1) "quality" treble, 2) less restricting soundstage and 3) musical weight.
My evaluation maybe flawed since this is based on several weeks old musical memory, variable fit which I may have mastered right now but haven't before the recable, or simply placebo. Nevertheless, it did a good-- no, great job of improving my listening satisfaction, which is all that matters in the end. Great thanks to Alex from APureSound!
