Frabera
100+ Head-Fier
Looking forward to read about the Russian against two Amaricans !
Kennerton ODIN, MAGISTER, VALI, Magni, Gjallarhorn, Rögnir, Thridi, Wodan, Thekk, and Thror Discussion.
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John Massaria
Member of the Trade: JM Audio Editions/Headphone Modifications
Send me the GH50 and I will mod it so it beats the bunch - really you pay for shipping back and forth and I will blow your socks off- or do the mod and re-test. Bass port mod and 10 flexable fluffy dots - it's easy to do- and my fav so far of all hp's as u know. Awesome review and comparison can hardly wait to see what you think of the ZMF VC and Heritage and the mod hopefully at some point. Awesome comparison thank you for your hard work!
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I'll tell you a personal experience I had today just to show you how good the Gjallarhorn "JM edition" are: My friend, who is a semi-pro musician and spends a lot of time composing and playing music tested the horns "JM Edition" today. He was very skeptical about high end headphones but as soon as he started listening to various types of music he was completely blown away. I had not ever seen him that way... He literally said these cans are the best thing he's ever experienced in the headphones realm, really unique in the best posible way. Not surprisingly the thing that impressed him the most was how soundtracks sounded on the horns. As I said in my pre-review soundtracks are absolutely incredible with these cans, completely unbeatable. Star Wars soundtrack made him go nuts. In his words, "it was like hearing it in a big theater".
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Made best trade too day. I traded my 1st pair of RAD-0 for Thekk and I'm more then glad I did(don't worry I have my 3rd pair of RADS in hand). The Thekk have the bass the Holographic soundscape that really helps with detail in sound by separating the sounds giving them their on locations. So these are one of my new favs to my collection.
That'll be coming soon! (hopefully)
Truth be told, the bass prowess of the Gjallarhorn is quite remarkable. It's one of the best that I've heard in some time now. Certain aspects of the headphone's sound are questionable, but the lows are not one of them.
Thanks, John. Your work is impressive - your enthusiasm for this headphone was one of the main factors that got me interested in the Gjallarhorn in the first place. I'm not a fan of buying blind, but I'm glad to report that this is one of the rare times where the reward was (totally) worth the risk.
I, too, am eager to pit the Gjallarhorn against the Vérité Closed and the Heritage HP-3. Let's see how that comparison goes.
I'm too enamored with the bass on my Gjallarhorn to consider modding it at the moment. Down the road, I might consider doing that, but for now, I'm very much in love with its sound! That bass presentation is simply addictive!
Thekk is my favorite headphones, probably the best, or at least one of the most popular of the open Kennerton planar headphones.
The closed back Kennerton electrodynamic headphones that seem to be the most appreciated at the moment are the Kennerton Gjallarhorn GH 50 and Gjallarhorn JM Edition depending on the desired bass level, if you read the last pages of this thread whose dynamism and enthusiasm is a pleasure to see!
The strong points (of the Thekk): the holographic precision of its sound scene; its aeration and opening (with a good source and a good tube amp), the sense of detail, without being analytical, the precision, speed and texture of its basses, well balanced, and especially its medium, at the same time, soft, fluid, well textured, carnal, "natural", perfect to reproduce the male and female voices, with emotion and distinction.
Its weak point, the relative lack of sub-bass, under 40 Hz, which makes it not a headphone for bass-heads.
However, the bass level is more than enough to listen to any bass (and bass guitar) above 40 Hz, and is not very sensitive to the clamping force of the pads, excellent.
Another strong point is their versatility: they are open to almost all styles of music, from Metal Symphonic to the Classical genre where they excel.
And then, its wearing comfort, its weight (one of the planar headphones, with 80 mm drivers, the lightest to wear of the market), and the possibility to choose wood cup finishes that are all more beautiful (and original) than the others.
It's the most advanced planar headphones in the Kennerton range, the least specialized, and therefore deserves its popularity.
And it has nothing to envy to many other high-end headphones I have tried: Stax SR- 007 mk2 and 009, Audeze LCD_3F (and also most likely LCD-4), Focal Utopia, Meze Empyrean, Mysphere ...
PS: For memory : https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ken...hror-discussion.732814/page-187#post-15574432
and : http://www.tellementnomade.org/kennerton-thekk-vs-focal-utopia-deuxieme-manche-russie-france/2/
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Is there a Kennerton planar that play sub-bass with the characteristics of the Thekk?
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I am not 100% sure I understand the question since the Thekk is a Kennerton planar but from some reviews I think the Woden wood be somewhat similar.
The graphs I've seen the sub bass is rolled off a bit. So I wondering if the Thror doesn't roll off in the sub bass region. For example the Meze Empyrean does low end better by quantity even the Thekk does midbass better and is more detailed. I'm just finding on some edm tracks the subass is a little weak. By the way the Thekk beats the Empyrean everywhere else.
Hi.
Thror (ECL-01 pads with large perforations (R 1 mm)) has proportionally more sub-bass, compared to the mid-bass, than Thekk and Odin (equipped with the same ECL-01 pads), but lacks level in the mid-bass compared to the midrange.
The optional Kennerton ECL-02 pads (small (R 0.5 mm) perforations) significantly enhance the sub-bass of the Thror (by 6 dB) and the bass (by 2-3 dB), but at the expense of sound aeration and tonal balance (accentuation of the upper-midrange by 2 dB at 3 KHz).
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i'd figure you loose some magic with the driver flexing more. I do feel like buying Thror.
I have the Thror and the Thekk (ECL-01 pads for both) :
It's up to you to see what you prefer : the Thror can be frustrating because of its lack of bass.
Thekk is limited in the lows, only for sub-bass.
Thekk's tone is warmer (and full) than the Thror's; it is more attractive because it is less colorless (more saturated colors) than the Thror's; both headphones are equally detailed with excellent texture in the bass and midrange.
Thekk's midrange is more balanced than the Thror's for the reproduction of male and female voices, fuller, less accentuated on the 3 KHz (high midrange) accent.
I didn't try the ECL-02 pads on these two headphones, but I understand that it was to the detriment of the aeration and tonality (heavier) and thus the magic of these two headphones, whose strong points (compared to the Odin and Thridi) are a better aeration and spatialization, as well as a better overall finesse.
Well I listen to EDM which most likely not be good with Thror if there is a lack of bass. The 3d presentation of the Thekk has me vary happy.
On Hans Zimmer's Live in Prague, although loaded with bass; well, to enjoy the Thror with sufficient bass and dynamics, I have to increase the volume knob of my amp quite strongly, but at the expense of hearing fatigue (high mids and low treble too strong: brass and violins).
With Thekk, on the same recording, the increased of the bass level and the lesser emphasis on the upper mids (compared to the Thror), allows you to listen less loudly, with more pleasure in this kind of music.
Ditto for the Metal Symphonic genre of music with Nightwish .
The speed of Thekk (like that of the Thror) works wonders, both for drums and electric guitar; the texture of the bass is also very well reproduced; when the voice (and its spatialization), it is very well reproduced and even more natural (because fuller and less prominent in the upper mids) with Thekk versus Thror.
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