" Good morning, everyone.
Today, I'm going to share with you my listening impressions on a product from the latest generation of Kennerton headphones, you know that brand made in St Petersburg, Russia that you are now familiar with.
Well this headphone is the Thekk; here is the Thekk, well, we'll listen to it together.
Here is this Thekk, with the new headband that Kennerton is putting in place on his headphones; a new system of suspension on the head, by elastic, very simple, but much more efficient (practical) than what Kennerton proposed before.
So afterwards, the aesthetics are similar to the Thror or Odin, although there are some differences, even in the machining of the wooden cups; see here, for example, with the junction of the pads there (for the cups), there is no thickness at all; it's very thin; whereas if you take the Thor, you see there's an extra thickness of wood here ; so there are small differences that make the wooden cups (of Thekk) thinner in fact.
The grid, also here, which protects the external side of the drivers (of the Thekk), is quite different (from the Thror).
The internal damping system (of the Thekk) is a little bit different from the Thror's as well.
And then the pads too; so, pads like this, externally seem to be the same (as those of the Thror), but in fact, the perforations (of the Thekk) are of a larger diameter than the perforations you can find on the Thror's pads and even the pads of the New Odin.
So, all these are small differences, which will make this Thekk sound different from other Kennerton headphones, even though it has the same drivers as the Thror: we have a honeycomb structure membrane and the frame between which the membrane is stretched is made of carbon fiber, just like on the Thror.
In terms of weight, this Thekk is very very light: 350 g against 480 g for the Thror.
The impedance is the same, 35 Ohm; so of course, for both: we have the same drivers; and the sensitivity is the same, at 100 dB / 1 mW.
Here is the system I used for this presentation of the Thekk; so as a source, and to stream Qobuz directly connected to the Internet, the Fidelio network/dac player from Liedson, then I chose the Viva 2A3 amplifier, and as a reference the Kennerton Thror headphones.
After nearly 200 recordings of Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons, here is the work of the red-haired priest reworked by Max Richter, and performed on the violin by Fenela Hamfrey. So as long as we accept this great difference that takes us away from the original writing, well, this album is a real treat. Here, the first part of the Winter, on the album Winter One. (music)
I listened to this music with a maximum peak level of 75 dB at 2'50.
So I perceive the first violin better centered with the Thekk than with the Thror. At the same time, this violin is a bit less biting, a bit less a bit less prickly with the Thekk as well; it's actually more elegant, more graceful, more subtle. The Thekk's treble is a little more open; I can hear it well on the introductory harpsichord.
And then something bothers me with the Thror, in fact; a little coloration in the upper midds; a kind of cardboard sound, a bit like the upper midds of the violin, well, it goes through a little cardboard cone; uh, I hadn't perceived this little coloration (of the Thror), but direct comparison with the Thekk allows me to identify it.
Continuing with the Thekk, I hear a freer sound and freed of some small resonances that I perceive in the low register with the Thror.
Well, so nothing really annoying, the comparison with a reference, here with the Thror, just makes me right, once again, that it proves its relevance.
Continuing with the Thekk, I hear a freer sound and freed of some small resonances that I perceive in the low register with the Thror.
Well, so nothing really annoying, the comparison with a reference, here with the Thror, just makes me right, once again, that it proves its relevance. But it's true that without a direct comparison, I can listen to the Thror, and I don't think that these resonances (of the Thror) are really disturbing.
In fact, in analogy with the photo, I'd say that the Thekk makes a more precise focusing on the orchestra, and that with it, the violin stands out better from the ensemble; whereas it blends more with the mass with the Thror.
An album of gypsy jazz, called GIPSY VIOLIN, and I chose the track l'Ora du Berger.
I listened to this music with a maximum peak level of 72 dB at 0'30. (music)
The violin is here centered slightly to the left, and I can see this clearly with the two headphones; but here again, it is more precisely drawn in space, for me reproduced by the Thekk. The violin, again, is more velvety, with the Thekk as well.
In fact, the direct comparison makes me hear that the Thror's treble is a bit rougher, precisely compared to the delicacy of the Thekk's, and that it's also a bit less open. I also have a better notion of rhythm with the Thekk.
So it's not a question of dynamic range, which would be less extended with the Thror; no, no, the Thror is just as dynamic as the Thekk.
This better perception of rhythm (with Thekk), I think, is due to the fact that Thekk better separates each note, each desk, and gives me a better overall reading of the whole; a better representation, in fact, of each musician's playing. I can then more easily follow the rhythm that each performer instills in his or her own instrument. For example, the double bass pizzicati are more frank with the Thekk, and the double bass is always more incisive; I can perceive the plucking of its strings more acutely.
So here are some little things that contribute, for me, to a better perception of the rhythm, quite simply (with the Thekk).
Another thing, the double bass goes a bit lower as well, and it's a bit less round with the Thekk.
On the other hand, the overall opening is the same on both headphones.
A completely splendid song from Dana Winner's album PUUR.
So PUUR means pure in Dutch; so, you see, it's easy Dutch. This song has been performed many times by various artists; we all know it; but never, in my opinion, has it been sublimated as much as by Dana Winner. In fact, well by her involvement and the quality of her singing, she immerses me in the deeply charged, deeply charged with meaning of this magnificent text. "One Moment in Time". (music)
So, I listened to this music with a maximum peak level of 81 dB at 4'35.
The first piano notes, at the very beginning, are a little less scathing with the Thekk; let's say I feel a better balance with it. The Thror gives the piano a nice sparkle, though, but I'm actually wondering if it's not a bit too much.
The voice is softer, more precise and better centered, too, by the Thekk.
So yes, it's not the strong point of the orthodynamic headphones, with their very large emissive membrane, to center the sources well, and I can see it here, with the Thror; but the Thekk still draws the contours better.
Dana Winner's voice, well, it's also freer (with the Thekk), as if free of a little veil, a kind of very light filter that takes away a bit of her presence when she's sung by the Thror, with which, by the way, she seems a bit pinched to me in fact.
Ah, and yes, the Thekk here gives me more pleasure anyway; it's neat. With it, my mind focuses on the intensity of the text carried by the beautiful melody, itself raised by the lyricism of Dana Winner; so, it's very personal, but the whole thing moves me deeply (with the Thekk), while listening to the Thror, well, I realize that I'm not diving but rather trying to understand why and to identify what's hindering my immersion. Thekk makes the work occupy the time and space that are mine at the precise moment of listening; nothing more and nothing less; I am just and simply, with it, touched.
Bob Marley and his album LEGEND.
From this album which has been remastered in high resolution 24 bit 96 KHz, I chose track 12 " Redemption Song ".
I listened to this music with a maximum peak level of 68 dB at 0'40. (music)
Here, I prefer the Thekk as well, but then definitely the Thekk.
And yes, it introduces me to Bob Marley, the musicians who accompany him (on the album), the stage on which they all perform, all in a clear and intelligible way.
The Thror disappoints me a little bit here, unfortunately, because I lose with it this beautiful painting with these characters well integrated in the atmosphere of the concert. I also lose with him a little bit of hindsight. The Thror, always, produces some resonances, as we saw, by the way, listening to Vivaldi's Winter of the Four Seasons ... and these resonances come to blur, alter the clarity and precision of the message, simply because they are superimposed on it.
The reading is cleaner and definitely more credible with the Thekk, even if, it must be said, listened to alone, the Thror would fully satisfy me, I'm sure of it.
Well, it's true that with this Thekk, we're still far from the first generation of Kennerton headphones that arrived on the French market in June 2015, with the Odin; Odin that here, the very first, the very first Odin manufactured by Kennerton; it was therefore in 2015; it was then posted on their website to present the brand, to present the product, and it doesn't even have a serial number.
So, it's true that over time the brand's engineers have evolved the products towards more rightness, more precision, and also to reduce the weight; so the new generation which is composed of the Magni, the new Odin and the Thekk, benefits from the new suspension system with this soft and less rigid headband than the one we have here (the one of the Odin) and that you all know well now.
The Thekk also benefits from the weight reduction, that's it; like the Thror in terms of weight, it's much lighter, but it has the added advantage of combining the light weight with this new headband.
So, it's true, if I consider its price which is lower than the Thror's, if I consider its comfort, clearly improved, its weight reduced, and then what it gives me to listen to; well for me, it's clear and I don't hesitate to classify it, and to say that it's the most beautiful realization, so far, of the Kennerton brand.
So of course, as you all know, I've been the importer of the Kennerton brand in France for more than 5 years now, and rest assured that in this type of video, I try to avoid as much as possible, of course, the conflict of interest, and that what you hear from me, well, in this video, justly, is the sincere transmission of my feelings.
Thank you.
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