[Hbreton]

Through my marantz amp with the mojo as pre amp, the magni is like honey . I think I finally found the great combo ! no more harsh trebles!
and what a vast scene ! Anyone had a chance to compare them to the the new aeon flow2? Just curiosity...

 

[eric65]

It will be great if each Kennerton HP has it’s own thread like the other brands.

These distinct thread exist for some Kennerton headphones (Vali, Thekk, Thror); you can create others, but they may be less read ...
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kennerton-vali-impressions-discussion-thread.807899/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kennerton-thror.900062/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kennerton-thekk.917880/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ren...in-2019-new-vali-2019-kennerton-thekk.916355/

 

[Frabera]

What about Magni and GH50 ?

 

[eric65]

Hi all.

Here are the FR measurement curves of Kennerton's last two closed-back electrodynamic headphones: the Magni V3 and the Gjallarhorn GH 50: both of these closed-back electrodynamic headphones use a high-tech mylar/graphene 50 mm driver that gives both headphones great speed and definition.
The Gjallarhorn differs from the Magni by a "horn" that would give it even more level and dynamics in the bass.

Note: do not take into account the 6 KHz frequency peak found on all the electrodynamic headphones (including Focal) on this RAA measurement site: it is a measurement artefact ...

Otherwise, you now know the Thror and the Thekk pretty well; maybe a little less the Wodan, which would sound like the Thekk, but with less definition and aeration, according to @fullbass.
Concerning the Thridi compared to the Thekk, it would sound a bit like the Wodan, but with a bit more bass, but also less treble.

I've added some FR comparison curves from the same RAA measurement site; this time concerning these few open Kennerton planar headphones.

Source of these measurements: RAA site : https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/catalog-reports.php?sp_1=1&tp=1#82

 

[eric65]

Good morning, everyone.

Kennerton's last two closed-back electrodynic headphones, the Magni V3 and the Gjallarhorn GH 50 are surely excellent headphones to reproduce with a lot of dynamics, speed and details "modern" and dynamic music, but I think that Kennerton's planar headphones (Thekk, Thror, Thridi and Wodan) are more adapted to reproduce with fidelity and tonal accuracy human voices, and in particular classical lyrical singing.

In order to reproduce human voices, male or female, with a transducer (headphones or loudspeaker), it is necessary to have a very good linearity in the frequency range where the human voice extends, i.e. from the Bass to the Soprano voice, between E1(82 Hz) and C5 ( 1040 Hz), knowing that the highest note of a Soprano can be projected at the extreme limit of the human voice up to F#5(1480 Hz).

These are the fundamental notes (f0) of the human voice; for the higher harmonics of the human voice (fn= nf0), they rarely exceed 2500-3000 Hz, because they must take into account, as well as for the fundamental notes, a tuning / amplification with the resonator of the vocal tract (incorporating the pharynx and the oral cavity) which modulates / filters these frequencies emitted by the vocal cords, both the fundamental notes and the higher harmonics ; this resonator acts according to two resonance modes (modulated by the voice) called R1 and R2.
(Note: you can read more about this by reading these two posts on the French forum at the following links: https://musique-o-casque.com/viewtopic.php?p=6440#p6440 and https://musique-o-casque.com/viewtopic.php?p=6444#p6444 ).

In short, to come back to the frequency response of headphones, in particular Kennerton planar headphones, for the good reproduction of human voices (male and female), both for the fundamental notes f0 (between 80 Hz and 1000 Hz, see 1300-1500 Hz for the most extreme notes in the treble of a Soprano) and also for the harmonics fn = nf0 of these same notes; and also taking into account the anatomical resonators R1 and R2 of the vocal (and buccal) tract, amplifying the sounds coming from the vocal chords, by resonating at certain fundamental frequencies (f0) and at certain multiple harmonic frequencies of these fundamental notes (fn=nf0), and this within a certain frequency limit (less than 1500 Hz for the fundamental and less than 3000 Hz for the highest resonant multiple harmonics with R1 (non classical voices) or R2 (classical voices)).
Well, we can say that headphones faithfully reproduce the frequency band 80 Hz - 1000 Hz (see in the extreme case 1300-1500 Hz for the highest fundamental notes (f0) of a Soprano), and up to 3000 Hz for the multiple harmonic notes (fn= nf0) amplified and resonating on the resonance modes R1 and R2 of the vocal tract, well, these headphones should be sufficient for a good reproduction, both faithful and complete, of human voices.

To remain within the range of Kennerton planar headphones, the Thekk seems to be well enough balanced and accurate (in tone and timbre) to reproduce fairly faithfully, both the fundamental notes of human voices (between 80 Hz and 1000-1200 Hz), but also the higher harmonic notes of these same voices (up to about 2500-3000 Hz).

The Thror is as well, but perhaps suffers from a coquetry (excess of presence) in the lower treble (around 3000 Hz), compared to the Thekk, to reproduce the highest harmonics of human voices.
Female high-pitched voices, with the Thror, seem less natural compared to the Thekk (as if they were modified by a cardboard cone); moreover, subjectively, they seem a bit lacking in fullness in the lower frequencies.

On the contrary, the Wodan, and to a lesser extent the Thridi, suffer from a slight lack of presence in this same low treble (this time around 2000-2500 Hz), still compared to the Thekk.

 

[arielext]

I was looking for a contact at Kennerton but found one in the mean time.
They confirmed that the headphones had broken membranes and we're discussing what to do next.

 

[FAE_tone]

I was looking for a contact at Kennerton but found one in the mean time.
They confirmed that the headphones had broken membranes and we're discussing what to do next.

Indeed, the both of headphones' drivers' membranes are heavily damaged by pressure, crumpled and because of the deformations cannot hold in the cup. At that point those are not much of a headphone but a noise machine - completely unusable and hurts ears. We are sorry you experienced that!

Note, that we do check every unit before shipment, and your unit was fine! This type of damage happens extremely rarely, I recall only 3 cases (and this is the third one!) in last 550+ shipments, it happens because of a sudden pressure change on board of transport aircraft during shipment.

Take a look, this is the received from you Gjallarhorn,

And for comparison, you can see how the Gjallarhorn driver's membrane really should look like,

When we ship you the replacement, we would take a photo of that exact driver we send
Soon we will ship the replacement.
Thank you for your patience!

 

[arielext]

Oh my those membranes hurt my eyes! the centre looks good but that's about it!
Trust me when I say that I'm looking forward for the replacement!

 

[eric65]

Good morning, everyone.

Here are two long YouTube videos about the interview of Valentin Kazanzhi, creator and current CEO of Kennerton and Fischer Audio.

The interview is in russian, but can be subtitled in french or english.





Very enriching interview for those who don't know Valentin and his company; a lot to learn, including some in situ video reports of the company (in addition to the long interview in his office).

I am not at all surprised.


EDIT: I give you the translation (via DeepL Translator) of the small written preamble of these two YouTube videos, made by the reviewer:

"Valentin Kazanzhi, with whom we had a first in-depth interview 9 years ago, speaks very frankly (sometimes too much) about the business, the people who work there, the difficulties and the victories. He started with mass produced headphones for 28 rubles a pair, and now his team produces models for 3000 euros, which are used by audiophiles all over the world. And I am among them, but not an audiophile.

We will visit the warehouse, where valuable wood varieties are stored. We will see how the pads are sewn. We'll listen to a little lecture on warm-up. We will learn how to stabilize the tree. And we will come back to Valentin's stories, which on the one hand inspire and on the other hand make you think about the interest of starting such a non-Russian company in Russia?

If you like music and good sound, if you are interested in all aspects of production organization in Russia, if you simply like people who can tell interesting stories about their company - don't miss watching this interview "

Source: https://vilianov.com/headphones/ist...fischer-audio-v-rasskazah-valentina-kazanzhi/

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

I purchased the Gjallarhorn recently and love it. Beautiful build quality, comfortable and some of the best dynamic headphones I have ever heard. Bass quantity and quality is very good. They are detailed but without any fatiguing upper-midrange bump like with Beyerdynamic T1 and T5p. I also find the Focal Elex somewhat fatiguing over time, but not the Gjallarhorn. It's perfectly neutral for those of us sensitive to brightness. I thought I'd just give up on dynamic headphones but I'm really glad I gave it a try. Big bonus that it's a closed design. I'm enjoying these more than my MrSpeakers Ether CX which was what I typically used for closed listening sessions.

 

[Frabera]

I have the Magni probably the 2nd version and I found them a little bit fatiguing regarding the upper mid range comparing to the Beyer T5P.2 which sounds warmer

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

The fabric between the driver and the ear in the Gjallarhorn is pretty thick compared to other headphones, so that would have an effect on reducing the treble/upper midrange energy. It's much thicker than the Vali, so it may be thicker than the Magni as well.

Could someone refer me to a post or posts in this thread that discuss the differences between the planar magnetic offerings from Kennerton? Between the Thror, Thekk, Odin Thridi, Wodan and Odin? I had read the Thror is a very refined offering, less punchy/fun vs. previous models but more resolving. Do these headphones follow a pretty linear path along these lines?

 

[SnakeRoberts01]

The fabric between the driver and the ear in the Gjallarhorn is pretty thick compared to other headphones, so that would have an effect on reducing the treble/upper midrange energy. It's much thicker than the Vali, so it may be thicker than the Magni as well.

Could someone refer me to a post or posts in this thread that discuss the differences between the planar magnetic offerings from Kennerton? Between the Thror, Thekk, Odin Thridi, Wodan and Odin? I had read the Thror is a very refined offering, less punchy/fun vs. previous models but more resolving. Do these headphones follow a pretty linear path along these lines?

Check out a few posts back from Eric65...he pretty much covers everything you want. Cheers.

 

[eric65]

The fabric between the driver and the ear in the Gjallarhorn is pretty thick compared to other headphones, so that would have an effect on reducing the treble/upper midrange energy. It's much thicker than the Vali, so it may be thicker than the Magni as well.

Could someone refer me to a post or posts in this thread that discuss the differences between the planar magnetic offerings from Kennerton? Between the Thror, Thekk, Odin Thridi, Wodan and Odin? I had read the Thror is a very refined offering, less punchy/fun vs. previous models but more resolving. Do these headphones follow a pretty linear path along these lines?

Hi all.

Indeed, there is a kind of scale that differentiates on one side (on the left of this scale) the fun and punchy side of Kennerton headphones, most often electrodynamic headphones, with on the other side (on the right of this scale) the resolving, finesse and precision, aeration and depth of the sound scene, most often Kennerton planar headphones.

The "middle way" (in this scale) being represented by the Odin mK2 headphones.

The sound resolution of the headphones, by analogy with that of the image (screen), ranges from 720p (e.g. that of the Vali), to 1080p (e.g. that of the Odin mK2) and up to "4K" (that of the Thekk and Thror).

Here is the proposed scale (which can of course be discussed):

Vali ← Vali 2019 (?) ← Gjallarhorn ← Magni V3 ← Magni V2 ← (Odin mk2) → Odin mk3 (Thridi) → Wodan → Thekk → Thror

Note: meaning of the direction of the arrow.
← (more fun and punchy)
→ (more rigorous, neutral, resolving, fine, airy, with a better sound stage)

Choose the Vali or the Gjallarhorn for punch and for fun, but at the expense of neutrality, resolution, finesse, sound stage (recoil, aeration, depth and detail)

Choose Thror, for neutrality, resolution, finesse, sound stage, but at the expense of fun and punch.

In the middle, you have, on the side of the electrodynamic headphones, the Magni V3 and V2 (Note: the Magni V3 being a little more loaded in bass with a little less high-mid-high than the Magni V2);
and on the side of the planar headphones, the Odin mK2 and mk3 (Thridi), as well as the Wodan (Note: the Thridi and the Wodan being a little less resolutive and airy compared to the Thekk and the Thror, but more fun than the Thror, the most rigorous of all these headphones, but not the most endearing and attractive).


EDIT: even if they don't tell everything (like speed, punch and precision (headphones definition)), the FR measurement curves of the different Kennerton headphones, especially if compared to each other (FR comparison), as above (at the top of this page), are instructive enough to give you an idea of the tonal character of each Kennerton headphones.
Just ignore the peak at 6 KHz, and also sometimes the trough at 9 KHz, this is most of the time an artefact of the RAA site's artificial head measurements.

You can access these measurements of the Kennerton headphones, from the RAA site, at the following link.
https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/catalog-reports.php?sp_1=1&tp=1#82

Otherwise, isn't this "special" version of the Kennerton Vali 2019 beautiful?

 

[arielext]

Indeed, the both of headphones' drivers' membranes are heavily damaged by pressure, crumpled and because of the deformations cannot hold in the cup. At that point those are not much of a headphone but a noise machine - completely unusable and hurts ears. We are sorry you experienced that!

Note, that we do check every unit before shipment, and your unit was fine! This type of damage happens extremely rarely, I recall only 3 cases (and this is the third one!) in last 550+ shipments, it happens because of a sudden pressure change on board of transport aircraft during shipment.

Take a look, this is the received from you Gjallarhorn,



And for comparison, you can see how the Gjallarhorn driver's membrane really should look like,


When we ship you the replacement, we would take a photo of that exact driver we send
Soon we will ship the replacement.
Thank you for your patience!

Here is some proper Kennerton driver porn: These should be mine next week: