Hi all. A little bit of off-topic from the Rögnir praising.
Here are my recent (subjective) impressions of the Thekk vs Wodan (and also vs HD 800S) comparison at a local store. Both Kennerton headphones had stock ECL-01 earpads.
In terms of wearing comfort, the headphones are almost identical (very good) except that the new Wodan I've listened seemed 40-50 grams heavier than the Thekk,
so let's move directly to the sound.
Wodan has more "entertaining" sound: more present high frequencies (up to 7-8 kHz) and more prominent lower-bass.
I think, Wodan probably has more chances to be liked based on the first impression if the listener is used to slightly U-shaped frequency response.
Thekk features more enveloping, warm, but also, at times, "sparkling" sound (quite present frequencies above 10 kHz).
Wodan engages the listener more strongly, while Thekk rather allows you to contemplate the music from the side, while giving a sense of a more "complex" sound.
If, for the Thekk, apply some EQ and raise frequencies around 30-40 Hz and 4-8 kHz, one can make it more engaging too so it's not exclusive to Wodan.
The piano of Wodan is more sonorous and dedicated, it has more "bells",
and if there is also an orchestra in the composition, the piano is easier to follow because the piano part is well underlined.
Thekk has a more "fleshy" piano, the sound seems richer in overtones,
but there's less ringing, more humming, in a good way - it's easier to imagine the sound of a wooden deck,
than with Wodan, where the focus shifts to the hammering of the metal strings.
When playing the digital piano, Thekk allows to make the sound less electronic and adds more of a "woody" natural feel to it.
The vocals were pleasant to me with both headphones, only they sounded a bit farther away from the listener with Thekk.
Brushes and cymbals and other "sibilant" instruments are, oddly enough, more pronounced with Thekk than with Wodan
(although, if Thekk has apparently a 10+ kHz boost, it's understandable), so from rather comfortable Thekk' sound picture
there can sometimes stand out some "ts-s-s" sounds, but you can't call them harsh unless you overdo it in your composition.
In terms of the ability to sound "off the head" both pairs of headphones seemed to be comparable, as well as in terms of the soundstage (especially in depth).
Even though they write that Thekk has a bigger scene, I did not get this impression while listening to them during 2 hours.
But, of course, any closed headphones are quite far away from both of these models from Kennerton in terms of the "width and scale" of the sound.
Among the open ones the confident leader in the comparison is the Sennheiser HD 800S, which I also compared to the Thekk head-to-head,
and which has an even greater soundstage, better imaging, but the sound is less full-bodied, more "thin" and unobtrusive,
because most of the songs are perceived hovering somewhere in the distance, rather than coming mostly into your ears.
I hope these adds something to the whole picture of what these two somewhat similar flagship headphones are all about.
).
