[grizzlybeast]

My impressions of this gear are starting to take shape....

thanks for the excellent impressions Jim!
 
I mostly agree. We all hear certain things differently since we play different songs, have certain aspects that we treasure over others, and have different tastes. So its good to hear multiple opinions and for readers to pick out the consistencies.
 
I used to be a midrange head, then a basshead, then a soundstage head and didn't care about treble, now I appreciate all of those aspects except I love it when a headphone has good dynamics and pop(attack). I guess that would make me an attack head? That is something a lot of orthos fail at, yet they most consistently offer better textures and tonal weight. The HE-6 is special in that it can slam and punch like a dynamic with a lot of power but it has the texture and tonal weight as well. price to price I would call the he-6 the better headphone for the buck, but unless you speaker tap it, finding an amp doubles the price. 

 

[Andykong]

Vali can be powered by a good DAP, eh? I've got a lot of those, so this should be fun

If you're interested, we could trade DAPs for a bit Jimkrell. I've heard good things about the Onkyo DAP but have yet to hear it.

All three Kennerton headphones are fairly DAP friendly, even the Odin can be very presentable with a N6+C5, which us very unusual for a flapship Planar. The Vali is 32ohm 100ohm, which is marginally consider as low impedance high sensitivity cans, so if your portable offer good control or if you are playing music that don't require tight control, the Vali should sound very attractive. Given the correct cable, your N5 should have a good chance with the Vali when driven through the 2.5mm phone out.

The important thing that we should look out for is how scalable the Vali is, that is something that I am looking forward to.

 

[grizzlybeast]

Hey guys, 
 
(to the local guys that will be hearing the Cayin Stack)
Since the Cayin gear is not exactly what you signed up for, but you get to hear it none the less, sharing impressions here is not really needed or totally necessary. If you would like to feel free. However, it would be awesome if you could share your impressions in the Cayin thread here. and the amp here. 
 
It just seemed a good idea to have the stack with the vali locally where there is no shipping fees because it pairs well with the Vali. You will hear how the Vali can sound on the wrong gear and what pairings make better sense. 
 
There will be a balanced cable with the Vali sent as well. 
 
 
- After Seattle, the Cayin stack will start a separate tour where shipping can be ground UPS which will only cost 25-30 dollars to ship. Sign up hasn't started yet. 

 

[raybone0566]

Has the Vali shipped to the first participant yet? Thanks

 

[nmatheis]

Has the Vali shipped to the first participant yet? Thanks

Vali + Cayin stack are making their way through the Portland crowd right now. After that, I'll be dropping the whole shebang off in Seattle. After the gear has made the rounds up in Seattle, Vali will be off on its own tour.

 

[grizzlybeast]

Has the Vali shipped to the first participant yet? Thanks

 
 

 

Has the Vali shipped to the first participant yet? Thanks

Vali + Cayin stack are making their way through the Portland crowd right now. After that, I'll be dropping the whole shebang off in Seattle. After the gear has made the rounds up in Seattle, Vali will be off on its own tour.

yes that is how @Jimkrell was able to share his impressions. He has them now.  

 

[raybone0566]

Excellent

 

[grizzlybeast]

Tomorrow @nmatheis will have it.
dun dun dun.................................

 

[nmatheis]

Tomorrow @nmatheis
 will have it.
dun dun dun.................................

Relative headphone noob looking to be blown away \m/ \m/

 

[grizzlybeast]

 

Tomorrow @nmatheis
 will have it.
dun dun dun.................................

Relative headphone noob looking to be blown away \m/ \m/

headphone noob??? 
 
Blown away...???
 
I debunk both sir. The Vali isn't for everyone. Lets see if its for you.

Your tons of experience in iems still crossover to full size. Balance, bass control, speed, depth, dynamics, and resolution apply to both. 

 

[nmatheis]

headphone noob??? 

Blown away...???

I debunk both sir. The Vali isn't for everyone. Lets see if its for you. Your tons of experience in iems still crossover to full size. Balance, bass control, speed, depth, dynamics, and resolution apply to both. 

I'm a humble soul, Lee

Just a guy who loves DAPs & IEM a whole lot and am interested in getting more experience with desktop setups. Luckily, thanks to you, Oregonian, HiFiMAN, Meze, and ZMF I've gained some exposure to some very nice headphones over the past year

 

[Andykong]

I'm a humble soul, Lee

Just a guy who loves DAPs & IEM a whole lot and am interested in getting more experience with desktop setups. Luckily, thanks to you, Oregonian, HiFiMAN, Meze, and ZMF I've gained some exposure to some very nice headphones over the past year

Step 1: Add a few portable-friendly over-ear headphone to your collection, such as the Kennerton Vali.

Step 2: Purchase the iDAC-6/iHA-6 combo to accompany your Cayin DAPs, or use your DAP as digital transport

Step 3: Odin, LCDs, HE6, HD800/T1 ....... are waiting for you.

So don't fight against the natural progress, time to move on.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Just want to say I'm subbed still but keeping away from this thread to steer clear of impressions until I get the phone.

Quite excited to get the interesting looking Audioquest Nighthawks today, a phone that I'm buying strictly on looks. I done 0 reading on it (except specs) and hoping for a nice surprise. Went completely against my buying ritual of read, read, compare/try. Should be fun

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Just want to say I'm subbed still but keeping away from this thread to steer clear of impressions until I get the phone.

Quite excited to get the interesting looking Audioquest Nighthawks today, a phone that I'm buying strictly on looks. I done 0 reading on it (except specs) and hoping for a nice surprise. Went completely against my buying ritual of read, read, compare/try. Should be fun

 
As a Nighthawk fanboy I'm very curious what you think of them.

 

[Stillhart]

Just want to say I'm subbed still but keeping away from this thread to steer clear of impressions until I get the phone.

Quite excited to get the interesting looking Audioquest Nighthawks today, a phone that I'm buying strictly on looks. I done 0 reading on it (except specs) and hoping for a nice surprise. Went completely against my buying ritual of read, read, compare/try. Should be fun

 
 

   
As a Nighthawk fanboy I'm very curious what you think of them.

 
As someone who wants to like the Nighthawk (you should really read about all the tech involved, they're cool as heck) but finds it to be just terrible, I'm also curious what you think.  :-D