JM Audio Editions XTC Headphones

[rlawry]

I've been waiting for this https://www.jmaudioeditions.com/product-page/jm-audio-xtc-carbon-universe placed my order and paid so fast can't miss out on this limited edition masterpiece

Wow! Those things are both retro and futuristic at the same time and probably an advancement in SQ as well. JM doesn't seem to rest much these days.

 

[UberHaxorMarty]

Wow! Those things are both retro and futuristic at the same time and probably an advancement in SQ as well. JM doesn't seem to rest much these days.

I'm a sucker for carbon. Audeze just received my CRBN this week and is upgrading them to the CRBN², and JM releases a carbon headphone the same week

 

[Patswalker]

Family portrait.

 

[Audiophile03]

Family portrait.

Gorgeous collection you have! I've been tempted to add the NRG to the JM stable...

 

[subguy812]

Laid back NRG afternoon..

 

[AnamCeoil]

Laid back NRG afternoon..

Beautiful sight. How do you like them compared to your XTCs or others?

 

[subguy812]

Beautiful sight. How do you like them compared to your XTCs or others?

Funny you ask...I am sharing time today....give me minute to collect my thoughts. I love my 2.5 as well.

 

[AnamCeoil]

Funny you ask...I am sharing time today....give me minute to collect my thoughts. I love my 2.5 as well.

Oh hell, my jealousy knows no bounds right now Congratulations on some beautiful headphones!

 

[subguy812]

Thank you...team, please forgive me. I would like nothing more to write some comparisons. I am not in a good headspace at the moment, shaking off bad news I received yesterday.

 

[AnamCeoil]

Thank you...team, please forgive me. I would like nothing more to write some comparisons. I am not in a good headspace at the moment, shaking off bad news I received yesterday.

Very sorry to hear- hope you are doing ok. May music help healing as much as it can

 

[Patswalker]

Beautiful sight. How do you like them compared to your XTCs or others?

I can pop in here an share my expeince until our frined can pop in later. @subguy812 pop in whenever you're up to it. We got you, whatever you need.

What I like about the NRG and the 2.5 is that they sound like close backs. One of the things that bothers me with a lot of modern closed backs is when people do some dampening or internal sound shaping that tries to make them sound like open backs. Most of the time to me it effects the tone and presentation of music in ways that distract me. There are a small group of closed back headphones that do not do this and seem to lean into the traits that come with closed backs and strengthen those. This is what I like in a closed back. If I want a pair of headphones that do not sound like closed backs, I buy open backs. Problem solved. The whole "these do not sound like closed backs" phrase I see a lot on many threads about many headphones is silly. Am I listening to closed backs? Yes? Then they do sound like closed backs, they jost don;t sound like any other close backs that person has heard up to that point.

The way the closed back sonic presentation that John does is amazing. To me, both the 2.5 and NRG are very detailed and present the sound in a wonderfully intimate 360 soundscape that looses zero dynamics with dampening, which means both of them are incredibly wonderful at low volume. There is zero false resonances, there is natural close back rsonance in both which creates a fantastic presentation for orchesteral music, acoustic music, and music made from groups and bands. Electronic and rap is great too but on these I particlausely like music played on instruments.

The difference so far for me is that the NRG having the biowool driver goes down deeper in the lower mids and bass and has levels of texture down there that the 2.5 does not. There still are great details in the upper mids and very realistic highs but the strength of the biowool driver and how John uses them is in the lows and lower mids. I found the same characteristics in the biowool XTC2 vs the berrylium XTC2.

Now the 2.5 with the berrylium driver does in the upper mids and highs what the NRG with the biowool does in the lower mids and the lows. The XTC2.5 is much more detailed in the upper mids and highs. This can create the feeling of enhanced soundstage to some people. Lows and lower mids are still great and well detailed but to me the 2.5 is what I want to pick up when I am sitting to critically analize the music. I have had the NRG for a few weeks now and just got the XTC2.5 and the difference was obvious. I will say though that I am still burning in my 2.5 so I will report back when I am done with that.

When I forst got the NRG I thought I was dissapointed with the soundstage presentaion. I felt like it souded great because John tuned it with his focus on tonal accuracy and detail so it loved it, that was until I watched movies and played games with it. When there was a source that had sounds programmed in that were meant to be heard from ALL the positions including above, below, and all around I heard them from those places in ways that no other headphone has done. So I would say that thus far the NRG present music and presents the entire sonic presentaion in a way that is probaly the most accurate and natural that I have heard in any closed back. In first person games I have played many times before I heard sounds presented in ways that I had never heard up to that point. This is not in comparison to the XTC2.5. I just got a pair of 2.5 from a Head-fier that only had 50 hours use and it is right now burning in so I cannot accurately compare the NRG with the 2.5 until the mental and physical burn in is done in a few weeks. So in that assessment I just shared, I am only describing my expeirnce with the NRG.

XTC2: All three of my XTC2 models have amazing wide deep sound stages, amazing clarity, super realistic tonal accuracy, and texture. Where the texture is focused to me is depending on the driver.

Biowool 32 ohm Tight Bass Warm Yet Detailed - This is what I reach for when I want a fully wild deep soundstage experince feeling like I am wrapped in a warm thick balnket of texture and detail. Wolderful deep soundstage lots of bass and lower mid texture with good detais and accurate highs. Very responsive to what I am listening on. Can be transcendant on devices with amps not only high amounts of power but also lots of drive. Still to date, these on my Schiit Yggi OG + AudioGD HE9LE sound better than anything I have heard with any other headphones I have heard on any other combo. Still sounds very good on many many devices. Only okay on dongles.

Berryllium 64 ohm Wolfhawk - The most intimate and tonally rich of the 3 XTC2 models I have. These are what I listen to when I want to cycle through many devices. These respond to changes in the chain but not as much as the other two XTC2 models. These are more balanced in where the tonal accuracy is. Not that the other two XTC2 models are off balnace, its that these have equal amount of tonal accuracy and detail in the bass, the mids, and the highs. This is probably where I would start someone who has never heard JM audio headphones. These sound amazing amazing on my Woo Audio WA6 on the 8ohm-100ohm setting. They also sound incredible on many other devices, including things from that crazy setup I listen to my Biowools on all the way to a great dongle. These are sort of the ol' reliable pair.

Berryllium 300 ohm Bliss Tuning Tight Bass yet Detailed - These are insanity. CRAZY soundstage. These I had built to work specifically well on OTL tube amps, especially my Woo Audio WA2 and good lord do they deliver. These seem a tad more V shaped than the 64 ohm Berrylium and the Biowool but not in an exreme way. What John excells at is creating tonal accuracy with his headphones so on a pair like these where I say V shaped, there still is a very wonderful realistic tonal representation of the entire spectrum of the mids bit a slight emphais on the highs and lows. It's as if someone took what the 64 ohm sounded like and spread it across a wide deep soundstage. What this does to me is spreads the behavior of the 64 ohm across a much wider spectrum which creates more space between it all but also can on certain devices thin out parts ONLY when comapring to he 64 ohm. I am not saying these are lacking in any way. I'm talking about the physiucal presentation of the soundscape. These are not at all what I would call intimate like the 64 ohm. These are vast and deep. Shocker, these are mind blowing on the Woo Audio WA2. The thing about these though is that they respond way more to difference changes in the chain than the other two. These are not the swiss army knife. These also sound incredible on literally everything I plug them into but do very much need clean music. They will tell you what you need to imporve in your chain.

 

[AnamCeoil]

I can pop in here an share my expeince until our frined can pop in later. @subguy812 pop in whenever you're up to it. We got you, whatever you need.

What I like about the NRG and the 2.5 is that they sound like close backs. One of the things that bothers me with a lot of modern closed backs is when people do some dampening or internal sound shaping that tries to make them sound like open backs. Most of the time to me it effects the tone and presentation of music in ways that distract me. There are a small group of closed back headphones that do not do this and seem to lean into the traits that come with closed backs and strengthen those. This is what I like in a closed back. If I want a pair of headphones that do not sound like closed backs, I buy open backs. Problem solved. The whole "these do not sound like closed backs" phrase I see a lot on many threads about many headphones is silly. Am I listening to closed backs? Yes? Then they do sound like closed backs, they jost don;t sound like any other close backs that person has heard up to that point.

The way the closed back sonic presentation that John does is amazing. To me, both the 2.5 and NRG are very detailed and present the sound in a wonderfully intimate 360 soundscape that looses zero dynamics with dampening, which means both of them are incredibly wonderful at low volume. There is zero false resonances, there is natural close back rsonance in both which creates a fantastic presentation for orchesteral music, acoustic music, and music made from groups and bands. Electronic and rap is great too but on these I particlausely like music played on instruments.

The difference so far for me is that the NRG having the biowool driver goes down deeper in the lower mids and bass and has levels of texture down there that the 2.5 does not. There still are great details in the upper mids and very realistic highs but the strength of the biowool driver and how John uses them is in the lows and lower mids. I found the same characteristics in the biowool XTC2 vs the berrylium XTC2.

Now the 2.5 with the berrylium driver does in the upper mids and highs what the NRG with the biowool does in the lower mids and the lows. The XTC2.5 is much more detailed in the upper mids and highs. This can create the feeling of enhanced soundstage to some people. Lows and lower mids are still great and well detailed but to me the 2.5 is what I want to pick up when I am sitting to critically analize the music. I have had the NRG for a few weeks now and just got the XTC2.5 and the difference was obvious. I will say though that I am still burning in my 2.5 so I will report back when I am done with that.

When I forst got the NRG I thought I was dissapointed with the soundstage presentaion. I felt like it souded great because John tuned it with his focus on tonal accuracy and detail so it loved it, that was until I watched movies and played games with it. When there was a source that had sounds programmed in that were meant to be heard from ALL the positions including above, below, and all around I heard them from those places in ways that no other headphone has done. So I would say that thus far the NRG present music and presents the entire sonic presentaion in a way that is probaly the most accurate and natural that I have heard in any closed back. In first person games I have played many times before I heard sounds presented in ways that I had never heard up to that point. This is not in comparison to the XTC2.5. I just got a pair of 2.5 from a Head-fier that only had 50 hours use and it is right now burning in so I cannot accurately compare the NRG with the 2.5 until the mental and physical burn in is done in a few weeks. So in that assessment I just shared, I am only describing my expeirnce with the NRG.

XTC2: All three of my XTC2 models have amazing wide deep sound stages, amazing clarity, super realistic tonal accuracy, and texture. Where the texture is focused to me is depending on the driver.

Biowool 32 ohm Tight Bass Warm Yet Detailed - This is what I reach for when I want a fully wild deep soundstage experince feeling like I am wrapped in a warm thick balnket of texture and detail. Wolderful deep soundstage lots of bass and lower mid texture with good detais and accurate highs. Very responsive to what I am listening on. Can be transcendant on devices with amps not only high amounts of power but also lots of drive. Still to date, these on my Schiit Yggi OG + AudioGD HE9LE sound better than anything I have heard with any other headphones I have heard on any other combo. Still sounds very good on many many devices. Only okay on dongles.

Berryllium 64 ohm Wolfhawk - The most intimate and tonally rich of the 3 XTC2 models I have. These are what I listen to when I want to cycle through many devices. These respond to changes in the chain but not as much as the other two XTC2 models. These are more balanced in where the tonal accuracy is. Not that the other two XTC2 models are off balnace, its that these have equal amount of tonal accuracy and detail in the bass, the mids, and the highs. This is probably where I would start someone who has never heard JM audio headphones. These sound amazing amazing on my Woo Audio WA6 on the 8ohm-100ohm setting. They also sound incredible on many other devices, including things from that crazy setup I listen to my Biowools on all the way to a great dongle. These are sort of the ol' reliable pair.

Berryllium 300 ohm Bliss Tuning Tight Bass yet Detailed - These are insanity. CRAZY soundstage. These I had built to work specifically well on OTL tube amps, especially my Woo Audio WA2 and good lord do they deliver. These seem a tad more V shaped than the 64 ohm Berrylium and the Biowool but not in an exreme way. What John excells at is creating tonal accuracy with his headphones so on a pair like these where I say V shaped, there still is a very wonderful realistic tonal representation of the entire spectrum of the mids bit a slight emphais on the highs and lows. It's as if someone took what the 64 ohm sounded like and spread it across a wide deep soundstage. What this does to me is spreads the behavior of the 64 ohm across a much wider spectrum which creates more space between it all but also can on certain devices thin out parts ONLY when comapring to he 64 ohm. I am not saying these are lacking in any way. I'm talking about the physiucal presentation of the soundscape. These are not at all what I would call intimate like the 64 ohm. These are vast and deep. Shocker, these are mind blowing on the Woo Audio WA2. The thing about these though is that they respond way more to difference changes in the chain than the other two. These are not the swiss army knife. These also sound incredible on literally everything I plug them into but do very much need clean music. They will tell you what you need to imporve in your chain.

Oh my word, that is an absolutely spectacular insight into the differences, and your comparison if the XTC2s are especially helpful to orientate the sound profile of each.

Fully agree about the joy of having closed backs that do that well; I first used then for necessity due to living situation, but I really like a good closed back as a complement to open.

I have the XTC2 Biowool 32 warm yet detailed, but I find that I gravitate more to the regular XTC Beryllium for some reason -something about that driver just hits different - but I can't wait to get ears on an XTC 1.5 which I have coming soon - excited ti hear a JMA closed back...and your insights have me lining up future purchases I think - that 300 ohm sounds like s peach, and the NRG too sounds intriguing.... thanks a million for sharing!

 

[Patswalker]

Oh my word, that is an absolutely spectacular insight into the differences, and your comparison if the XTC2s are especially helpful to orientate the sound profile of each.

Fully agree about the joy of having closed backs that do that well; I first used then for necessity due to living situation, but I really like a good closed back as a complement to open.

I have the XTC2 Biowool 32 warm yet detailed, but I find that I gravitate more to the regular XTC Beryllium for some reason -something about that driver just hits different - but I can't wait to get ears on an XTC 1.5 which I have coming soon - excited ti hear a JMA closed back...and your insights have me lining up future purchases I think - that 300 ohm sounds like s peach, and the NRG too sounds intriguing.... thanks a million for sharing!

No prob. I want to be super clear though that these are just my experiences. There’s a high probability that other people have different experiences with the headphones and hear different things. I’m far from a professional reviewer, I’m just happen to be in the middle of doing a big compare/contrast between them all so I figured I’d pop in.

 

[AnamCeoil]

No prob. I want to be super clear though that these are just my experiences. There’s a high probability that other people have different experiences with the headphones and hear different things. I’m far from a professional reviewer, I’m just happen to be in the middle of doing a big compare/contrast between them all so I figured I’d pop in.

Absolutely, it's a very subjective game, but these descriptions are very helpful and detailed and give me a great reference. Many thanks and enjoy the comparisons

 

[TheEman]

Hey everyone. I stumbled on this company yesterday and am slowly making my way through this lengthy thread, so bear with me.

I've been listening to open-back planar magnetic headphones since I got my LCD-2 in 2013, and the one thing that's always bothered me about almost all open-back flagship planar magnetic headphones...sub-bass suffers, even with systems exhibiting excellent synergy with the headphones. I think this is, in part, a deliberate tuning choice in order to ensure a lack of bleed into the higher frequencies and thus make the headphones sound more "detailed". But, at some point, "planar bass" has a certain tonality and impact that can come across, to me, as a bit dull.

I've been spending a lot of time with my Susvara. And I mostly love it. The tonality, resolution, and lack of fatigue in the treble region are all miles ahead of other headphones I've heard. But I can't fully enjoy some tracks due to the sub-bass deficiency of Susvara relative to the 2018 AE OE Harman target. EDM, for example, just isn't as enjoyable as it should be, and rock, pop, and metal from the 70s and 80s needs some help in the bass to prevent some of those mixes from sounding too lean. I am now firmly of the belief that headphones need a sub-bass shelf in their default tuning. Sure, I can EQ, but this alters the balanced tuning of Susvara too drastically. And EQ-ing on a per-track or per-album basis is very tedious and should not be necessary.

So...I am basically looking for a Susvara with deep, impactful sub-bass that doesn't bleed into the upper-bass and mids.

Therefore, in my search to experience better quality, lush, impactful sub-bass and bass, I am ready to move to a dynamic driver after 10+ years with planar headphones.

Given all this, what are your recommendations for a JM Audio headphone? I am not opposed to moving to a closed-back design if the presentation is similarly airy and the sub-bass is richer and deeper than the open-back design. I am also unsure about beryllium vs. nano biowool and what impedance I should choose if I went with the XTC2. I have a LAiV Harmony HP2A headphone amp, which has been great for Susvara.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this, and I appreciate all your suggestions!