Hi everyone,
I have now been listening for over two months to my new Klipsch HP-3 amped by their Heritage Headphone Amplifier... which were purchased in part guided by the awesome community on this forum. So I've come to thank you and leave a few notes.
Until now my heaphone experience has been Sennheiser RS180 (for music, movies and gaming), Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 over-ear (outdoors), AKG 240 Studio (for recording), no HPamps, and my DACs were Asus Xonar DX internal soundcard and a Focusrite Scarlett Solo 2nd gen.
So due to lack of references and the fact I am new to high end audio, plus I didn't get to reach to visit the local Hi-Fi club before corona, I can't give more than humble subjective notes on my experience with the lovely Klipsch HP-3 backed by their Heritage Headphone Amplifier.
Craftsmanship
For me this product is beautiful. From the wooden box with drawers, to the wooden frames with the leather pads and band, plus the metallic textured details and even the stand. And with the amp following the same line as well. True craftsmanship and care.
Fit and clamp
Coming from RS180 as daily drives, which are incredibly lightweight and comfortable, it took me a few days to get used to the HP-3, as they are heavier, clamp significantly more (though you can adjust this by just exercising the metal band).
Some of you may have noticed that I've added Dakoni Nuggets to the band. This is because although the headphones were comfortable enough for me for a few good hours of listening... I really had to try to see if they could be even better. And they are. Credit for this tip goes to Zeos at Z Reviews on YouTube. Also it was partly from his review of the HP-3 that I went in
so I have him to thank for that ^^
Source
Using Spotify Premium from my PC. I know there are better sources... but I am Spotify fan. At least for now.
DAC+AMP
I picked this amp because of reviews, same brand, same look/feel/craftsmanship, had an optical in which I link to my Asus Xonar DX SPDIF pass-through (which is great because I can send the signal to both HP-3 and RS180 at the same time for almost seamless transitions
), it was versatile enough if in the future I want to source from elsewhere... and it had Line Out for my new R-41M which are used mainly for movies/series when accompanied.
Also... the volume knob. Placed very close to my mouse mat... soft as melted butter...
Cables
Source to Amp: 2.5m ViaBlue H-FLEX optical cable from Xonar DX's SPDIF passthrough
Amp to HP-3: At first I used the cables that came with the HP-3, which are unbalanced... but I had already ordered a custom balanced cable from CustomCans (UK based). To be honest I have tried to understand the difference between balanced and unbalanced... and I still need to work more on my understanding. However, while I was hearing the HP-3 using Klipsch's default cables... if I would hit my desk (moving my leg... or dropping my arm... which happens... oftenish)... I would get a very very annoying cut in sound. However... like magic... once I got the balanced cable... that disappeared. Gone. Did I just stumble upon why balanced is better? Is it that obvious? It wasn't obvious reading about it.... maybe I'm missing something?
Purpose and use
I use the HP-3 all day long as I listen to music while working and most other at the computer tasks, except for gaming where I fall back to the RS180 + Xonar DX because dolby 7.1 blablabla out of topic. Movies I'm still not sure, haven't seen/heard enough to judge.
Finally... the sound
Saved the best for last going in without references and without trying... it was a risky blind bet. But from reviews both in this forum and on YouTube... I was quite confident I wouldn't be disappointed. There were some complaints about too much V-shaping, which I can now attest to that it is certainly there, at least when comparing to RS180, but as long as the mids are clear they don't need to be amped up for most of the music that I listen to.
So I have now listened for about two months, 4-12 hours almost every day, and have been surfing through my favorite albums as well as experiencing new music (like Nelson Faria on Spotify). The headphones blow my mind every time I hear something that I love and haven't heard yet on them. I find myself taking pauses from whatever I'm doing just to listen... which I didn't do before.
Excel at:
- All kinds of Rock and Metal: from Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Dire Straits, Joe Satriani, to LinkinPark and Rammstein (haven't yet tried heavier metal)
- Western and classical guitar, such as Paco de Lucia, Estas Tonne and Tommy Emmanuel
- "Epic" like soundtracks from movies and trailer music (e.g. Two Steps from Hell)
- Jazz and Bossa Nova: Nelson Faria, Brazilian bossa nova classics
- Electronic: must admit I haven't listen yet much to Electronic on them, but what I have so far also sounded amazing without being too bassy
What I think they lack: classical music. From Shubert's Ave Maria, to Dmitri Shostakovich's Waltz No. 2, to Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concert No. 2... the V-shaped sound gives too much emphasis to instruments that should not be emphasized... and the main instruments (e.g. main piano) fade a bit too much. Let me know if you have experienced this with other headphones... and if the solution is to get a pre-amp with EQ... or... in the future... another pair of headphones for that. I do love classic music.
Soundstage: these headphones are known for good soundstage and I can attest to that. There are certain songs I can hear "distant sounds 5-10 cm away" from my ears if that makes sense. The area of sound is very large but also very well distributed.
Imaging: without having fair references I can only say that it's amazing the detail of sound positioning and distribution. I've made a humble comparison to the RS180 which now sound as light as they weight, everything between my ears, very clear mids for sure, no V shenanigans there.
Conclusion
Price for value: I can't judge if they are worth the money for others. But I am one satisfied Klipsch customer ^^
On V-sound: for music that has gentle lows, and focuses on mid-highs, such as acoustic guitar backed by only a few background instruments, the V-sound works amazing. It warms what could otherwise be a very cold track. Many songs on this Spotify playlist (spotifylaylist:37i9dQZF1DX0jgyAiPl8Af) fit that exactly. Plus the imaging on the guitars is lovely.
Overall: beautiful headphones and amp that I look forward to listen to throughout hopefully decades. Their sound is warm and cosy while I feel that they still very much respect the original intention. They just... amp it up and open it up or something.
Bonus detail...
If I block the vents with my palms, the bass drops and the soundstage dies... I would have thought the bass would go up since usually closed cans are bassier... but for my surprise... nope. Those vents really do something for the sound :O
Cheers everyone!
morunas
I have now been listening for over two months to my new Klipsch HP-3 amped by their Heritage Headphone Amplifier... which were purchased in part guided by the awesome community on this forum. So I've come to thank you and leave a few notes.
Until now my heaphone experience has been Sennheiser RS180 (for music, movies and gaming), Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 over-ear (outdoors), AKG 240 Studio (for recording), no HPamps, and my DACs were Asus Xonar DX internal soundcard and a Focusrite Scarlett Solo 2nd gen.
So due to lack of references and the fact I am new to high end audio, plus I didn't get to reach to visit the local Hi-Fi club before corona, I can't give more than humble subjective notes on my experience with the lovely Klipsch HP-3 backed by their Heritage Headphone Amplifier.
Craftsmanship
For me this product is beautiful. From the wooden box with drawers, to the wooden frames with the leather pads and band, plus the metallic textured details and even the stand. And with the amp following the same line as well. True craftsmanship and care.
Fit and clamp
Coming from RS180 as daily drives, which are incredibly lightweight and comfortable, it took me a few days to get used to the HP-3, as they are heavier, clamp significantly more (though you can adjust this by just exercising the metal band).
Some of you may have noticed that I've added Dakoni Nuggets to the band. This is because although the headphones were comfortable enough for me for a few good hours of listening... I really had to try to see if they could be even better. And they are. Credit for this tip goes to Zeos at Z Reviews on YouTube. Also it was partly from his review of the HP-3 that I went in
so I have him to thank for that ^^Source
Using Spotify Premium from my PC. I know there are better sources... but I am Spotify fan. At least for now.
DAC+AMP
I picked this amp because of reviews, same brand, same look/feel/craftsmanship, had an optical in which I link to my Asus Xonar DX SPDIF pass-through (which is great because I can send the signal to both HP-3 and RS180 at the same time for almost seamless transitions
), it was versatile enough if in the future I want to source from elsewhere... and it had Line Out for my new R-41M which are used mainly for movies/series when accompanied.Also... the volume knob. Placed very close to my mouse mat... soft as melted butter...
Cables
Source to Amp: 2.5m ViaBlue H-FLEX optical cable from Xonar DX's SPDIF passthrough
Amp to HP-3: At first I used the cables that came with the HP-3, which are unbalanced... but I had already ordered a custom balanced cable from CustomCans (UK based). To be honest I have tried to understand the difference between balanced and unbalanced... and I still need to work more on my understanding. However, while I was hearing the HP-3 using Klipsch's default cables... if I would hit my desk (moving my leg... or dropping my arm... which happens... oftenish)... I would get a very very annoying cut in sound. However... like magic... once I got the balanced cable... that disappeared. Gone. Did I just stumble upon why balanced is better? Is it that obvious? It wasn't obvious reading about it.... maybe I'm missing something?
Purpose and use
I use the HP-3 all day long as I listen to music while working and most other at the computer tasks, except for gaming where I fall back to the RS180 + Xonar DX because dolby 7.1 blablabla out of topic. Movies I'm still not sure, haven't seen/heard enough to judge.
Finally... the sound
Saved the best for last
going in without references and without trying... it was a risky blind bet. But from reviews both in this forum and on YouTube... I was quite confident I wouldn't be disappointed. There were some complaints about too much V-shaping, which I can now attest to that it is certainly there, at least when comparing to RS180, but as long as the mids are clear they don't need to be amped up for most of the music that I listen to.So I have now listened for about two months, 4-12 hours almost every day, and have been surfing through my favorite albums as well as experiencing new music (like Nelson Faria on Spotify). The headphones blow my mind every time I hear something that I love and haven't heard yet on them. I find myself taking pauses from whatever I'm doing just to listen... which I didn't do before.
Excel at:
- All kinds of Rock and Metal: from Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Dire Straits, Joe Satriani, to LinkinPark and Rammstein (haven't yet tried heavier metal)
- Western and classical guitar, such as Paco de Lucia, Estas Tonne and Tommy Emmanuel
- "Epic" like soundtracks from movies and trailer music (e.g. Two Steps from Hell)
- Jazz and Bossa Nova: Nelson Faria, Brazilian bossa nova classics
- Electronic: must admit I haven't listen yet much to Electronic on them, but what I have so far also sounded amazing without being too bassy
What I think they lack: classical music. From Shubert's Ave Maria, to Dmitri Shostakovich's Waltz No. 2, to Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concert No. 2... the V-shaped sound gives too much emphasis to instruments that should not be emphasized... and the main instruments (e.g. main piano) fade a bit too much. Let me know if you have experienced this with other headphones... and if the solution is to get a pre-amp with EQ... or... in the future... another pair of headphones for that. I do love classic music.
Soundstage: these headphones are known for good soundstage and I can attest to that. There are certain songs I can hear "distant sounds 5-10 cm away" from my ears if that makes sense. The area of sound is very large but also very well distributed.
Imaging: without having fair references I can only say that it's amazing the detail of sound positioning and distribution. I've made a humble comparison to the RS180 which now sound as light as they weight, everything between my ears, very clear mids for sure, no V shenanigans there.
Conclusion
Price for value: I can't judge if they are worth the money for others. But I am one satisfied Klipsch customer ^^
On V-sound: for music that has gentle lows, and focuses on mid-highs, such as acoustic guitar backed by only a few background instruments, the V-sound works amazing. It warms what could otherwise be a very cold track. Many songs on this Spotify playlist (spotify
laylist:37i9dQZF1DX0jgyAiPl8Af) fit that exactly. Plus the imaging on the guitars is lovely.Overall: beautiful headphones and amp that I look forward to listen to throughout hopefully decades. Their sound is warm and cosy while I feel that they still very much respect the original intention. They just... amp it up and open it up or something.
Bonus detail...
If I block the vents with my palms, the bass drops and the soundstage dies... I would have thought the bass would go up since usually closed cans are bassier... but for my surprise... nope. Those vents really do something for the sound :O
Cheers everyone!
morunas
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