LFF's Enigma (new from the maker of the Paradox)

[fogsound]

Thanks all for the discussion here. Helped me decide to pick up some Enigmas, which was one of the best audio decisions I've made. I can't add a better critique than what's already been posted, but here are a few thoughts:
 
- Luis is phenomenal, as others already stated. He is really terrific to work with. 
 
- I didn't immediately like the headband (comfort and function). The top of my (bald) head would feel weird pressure after a while. What I realized was that they were never adjusted evenly (one side was always shorter/longer than the other), which put pressure on a part of my head I wasn't used to. With other headphones I rely on the number of clicks when adjusting. So, I swapped out the headband with an LCD headband, which helped the function (adjustment setting). However, it ended up feeling too loose (like LCDs) so I went back to the Enigma headband and I have to say the comfort is really good. Adjusting each time I put them on is minor at this point.
 
- Of course the soundstage isn't as expansive as open cans (comparing to LCD-X), but I often forget they are closed while listening. To my ears, they sound like PM-2s with with better bass in a relatively light, closed-back headphone - I find that amazing. It has been a while since I listened to the LCD-XC, but I personally found them fatiguing. I can listen to the Enigmas all day.
 
- You can see in pictures that they stick out from the head quite a bit, but I still wasn't prepared for how large they appear when wearing them. They are home cans for me so personally not a problem.
 
Bottom line - The best all around closed-back headphones I've heard so far. Luis is a genius.
 

 

 

 

 

[HemiSam]

Very cool.  They are pretty trippy looking, but that's kind of cool too.  Wouldn't be very interesting if we all had nothing but Senn's or Stax...
 
HS

 

[branislav]

Whats the relationship to the Enigma Dharma d1000 headphones? Is it the same?

 

[409499]

  Whats the relationship to the Enigma Dharma d1000 headphones? Is it the same?

No relationship at all.
 
LFF I believe is based in America and is a one man operation. The drivers are an isodynamic design.
 
The D1000 is made by a Chinese company, I think, and is a dynamic / electrostat hybrid which does not require a specialty amp like other electrostats.
 
Cheers.

 

[Jozurr]

If someone is interested in selling their pair, please send me your offer with details.
 
Thanks!

 

[branislav]

Thank you Robert for the explanation.

 

[Villy]

Trying to pour some life into the thread here, salvage it from getting archived .... naah, I got a pair of Enigmas from another head-fier, been listening to them for some 3-4 hrs today and wanted to share my first impression. Which is, like most everyone else who either own or had a chance to listen to them, I am very impressed.
 
To my ears, my Primes still come up with a tiny bit more details, neutrality and wider stage, just a tiny bit but enough to say that Primes are technically above the Enigmas. To my ears. And with that said, I think I prefer the Enigmas' sound for anything that rocks because it is clearly more exciting to listen to. So much so that it makes the Primes seem kind of 'analytical', and thus better match for jazz and prog, and I suppose classical. The bass on the Enigmas, sub-bass to be exact, is oooh so slamming, in fact in some recording feels even too much and I like bass.
 
And they are pleasure to look at, same exact color as the pics posted by fogsound above. Well done, very well done Luis! I have not heard Zack's Blackwoods or Omnis, so without accounting for those the best closed cans are the Primes and the Enigmas (sorry XCs). And I suppose Ether C tops all closed, suppose, will have a chance to make my mind about that. One thing to pick on the Enigmas (I might need to get in line here as it isn't mentioned for the first time), is the comfort - already made some adjustments and it seems to pay off, hopefully will get that close to the Primes.
 
Final first-impression words - highly recommended for anyone looking in the Audeze's direction, the Enigmas to my ears are more resolving, more balanced and yes they have better bass. And no, they can't win the stage fight, they are closed cans after all, but they win the war by winning all other battles and that's what matters in my book.

 

[jgwtriode]

Very interesting review

  Trying to pour some life into the thread here, salvage it from getting archived .... naah, I got a pair of Enigmas from another head-fier, been listening to them for some 3-4 hrs today and wanted to share my first impression. Which is, like most everyone else who either own or had a chance to listen to them, I am very impressed.
 
To my ears, my Primes still come up with a tiny bit more details, neutrality and wider stage, just a tiny bit but enough to say that Primes are technically above the Enigmas. To my ears. And with that said, I think I prefer the Enigmas' sound for anything that rocks because it is clearly more exciting to listen to. So much so that it makes the Primes seem kind of 'analytical', and thus better match for jazz and prog, and I suppose classical. The bass on the Enigmas, sub-bass to be exact, is oooh so slamming, in fact in some recording feels even too much and I like bass.
 
And they are pleasure to look at, same exact color as the pics posted by fogsound above. Well done, very well done Luis! I have not heard Zack's Blackwoods or Omnis, so without accounting for those the best closed cans are the Primes and the Enigmas (sorry XCs). And I suppose Ether C tops all closed, suppose, will have a chance to make my mind about that. One thing to pick on the Enigmas (I might need to get in line here as it isn't mentioned for the first time), is the comfort - already made some adjustments and it seems to pay off, hopefully will get that close to the Primes.
 
Final first-impression words - highly recommended for anyone looking in the Audeze's direction, the Enigmas to my ears are more resolving, more balanced and yes they have better bass. And no, they can't win the stage fight, they are closed cans after all, but they win the war by winning all other battles and that's what matters in my book.

Very interesting review and thanks by the way for your thoughts.  I agree that Luis has a remarkable ability to tune headphones.  I love the Paradox Slants and now have my second pair.  The first had a driver issue after a couple of years in the right ear.  Luis resolved the issue
to our mutual satisfaction.  My first pair was hardwired with his ofc copper wire and I put on a valabs rhodium plated berylium copper 3.5mm plug after the fact.  My new pair has a more custom paint job and what appear to be switchcraft silver plated copper contact mini xlrs.  I had a custome wire built from Zenwave cable using Eidolic's latest rhodium plated copper.  They are quite a bit better than my originals which I loved.  Would love to hear Enigmas.  From all my reading and perusing and discussion I get the impression they are more detailed and dynamic than Enigmas.  Musical but more neutral...perhaps a bit more illuminated in the high frequencies...and definetly throw
a larger soundstage, at least in width. The custom wire seems to substantially improve this version in all areas and I doubt I would consider.  Again from conversation my understanding is that they will hold their own with the primes but are better balanced and more
musically satisfying.  The Ethers would be fascinating to hear and are potentially more of a competitor relative to Luis Code-X/HE-5 mod.  I lust over getting a used pair of those someday.  Very hard to find.  Anyway enjoy and look forward to any other insights you have.
 
Take care and happy listening,
 
jgwtriode

 

[punit]

I am still lovin' my Enigmas. Have a question - It is supposed to have isodynamic drivers ? Are isodynamic same as planars ? I thought the were different but the link below states both are the same.
 
http://headfonics.com/2011/05/dynamic-vs-orthodynamic-vs-electrostatic-which-is-which/

 

[Villy]

I thought the drivers are planar, I gotta peek under the cushions then. They are a bit easier to drive than the Primes, but then so are other planars.

In regards to the Slants, or the Paradox for that matter, I have not heard either. I went for the Enigmas specifically because reviewers noted emphasized bass and overall level of energy. To my ears it is true, compared to Primes at least. I thought the Slants will overlap with Primes quite a bit, love to hear them, maybe during an upcoming meet.

As for cables, I am a big believer too. And since I can't afford spending big bucks on something I can do myself, I make them myself using the same wire custom shops use. In fact, the cables I used yesterday have solid silver 24awg wire, solid. They are shielded with cotton, mylar, and tinned copper as only the top cables are. And should be, for the money they cost.

Anyhow, if I have a chance to hear the other of Luis's headphones I'll throw in my impression. And try to remember to report later after more time with the Enigmas.

 

[Jozurr]

I have a pair of Enigmas, and having heard most TOTL closed headphones including XC and the Ether C, I honestly think these are the best closed headphones I've heard so far, bar none. There is something extremely engaging about them and you don't want to put them down.
 
Luis indeed does magic with headphones. I own his Code-X as well and I've never heard cleaner treble without sibilance. It's far extended and extremely clean, never ever getting sibilant.
 
I've yet to hear the paradox slants, which I intend to buy at some point.

 

[jgwtriode]

I have a pair of Enigmas, and having heard most TOTL closed headphones including XC and the Ether C, I honestly think these are the best closed headphones I've heard so far, bar none. There is something extremely engaging about them and you don't want to put them down.

Luis indeed does magic with headphones. I own his Code-X as well and I've never heard cleaner treble without sibilance. It's far extended and extremely clean, never ever getting sibilant.

I've yet to hear the paradox slants, which I intend to buy at some point.

ft

Do you prefer them to the Code X?

 

[Jozurr]

ft

Do you prefer them to the Code X?

No the Code X are better. However, theyre open.

 

[Villy]

I want to preface the below with the disclosure that HD800's sound signature is not something that excites me. This I hope will make my point of view, or to be precise hearing clear for those looking for sound impressions. I am a sucker for details and clarity but also for neutral and balanced sound, and for me well defined and truthfully represented lows are essential part of a neutral and balanced sound signature. HD800s and their brethren lack that imho. With that out of the way, here we go with my short but hopefully straight to the point follow-up impression of the Enigmas's sound.
 
 
It's been two weeks or so since I posted my first impression and their sound has evolved so much since then, I can safely say that in my opinion they are without doubt superior to the Primes. To me, this is a tremendous praise. Stage width has expanded to the Primes' level and even further on some recording. Not only that but the instrument separation/placement has become so 3-dimentional, it makes the Primes sound somewhat flat. I would try to describe what I mean - the Primes place very well the instruments around you: in front, behind, an on the sides, but mostly on the same horizontal plane. Where the Enigmas will not only place them accordingly on the horizontal plane, but will further refine the image by also rendering them vertically on different levels, which makes for great holographic image and better instrument separation. I hope that makes some sense, and I'm sure it will when one hears it for her/himself.
 
The lows on the Enigmas are just incredible, I have not heard all the headphones in the world with good lows, but theirs are so deep, clean, yet extremely detailed without being forced, I cannot imagine how would a set of cans with better lows sound. I realize that some might find the Enigmas' lows even a bit too much - to me this is rather a function of the recording; if there is a bass in it they will reproduce it faithfully, and if sub-bass happens to figure prominently in the recording they will slam with vengeance, no ifs and no buts. Ultimately, I believe their sound will go beyond satisfying most everyone's musical preferences because they don't exaggerate any frequency, being in the low, mid or high regions of the spectrum.
 
Detail and clarity is on par with Primes, I can't rate one over the other - great, simply great. The Primes' ability to produce very clear details, rivaling anything under $2K is well documented, so there isn't much to say here.
 
In the the highs and mids areas to me the Enigmas also win over the Primes, hands down - highs are never sibilant and never offending (unless one listens to infamous offenders like say Alanis Morissette's 'You Oughta Know' where sibilance is ingrained in the recording, and still the effect is much subdued). To me the Primes are also not sibilant, but I can see how for some folks their highs might occasionally reach a bit too high. I don't think anyone will complain about Enigmas' highs being too high. Yet they don't lack in detail - highs are rolled off (of course they are, otherwise will be just as offending as the HD800's can be) but they are rolled off with just the right amount so that clarity is not sacrificed.
 
Also, with some ingenuity and at very little cost I improved their comfort so much that I can wear them for hours at the time now, I'll gladly share the details if someone's interested.
 
I'm simply in love with them (if such thing is possible), there isn't more to say really. Except that the Enigmas should be on everyone's shortest under $3K headphones list, even if that list must have one entry. I'm soooo looking forward to comparing them with other TOTL cans during the upcoming NY meet, and do expect them to stand up to any one of them. In fact I will not be surprised at all if I end up rating them 'last cans standing' in my book.
 
So, for those reading this while in search for TOTL neutral headphones, possessing excellent detail and clarity paired with non-offending highs, and remarkable lows - start planing how to acquire a set of Enigmas. This is it! I will never, ever, part with mine. Fabulous work Luis, marvelous really! And looks to match the sound too.

 

[Jozurr]

I find myself reaching for the Enigmas now and again. There's just something about them.
 
So I've been using the Audeze vegan pads on them and the details are very nice. I thought I'd go back to try the alpha pads these came with, and then I heard it. The veil/darkness some people have mentioned when it comes to Enigmas. The Alpha pads make them sound more closed and veiled with slightly less detail. Going back to the vegans, I could feel the sound open up, with a little bit less bass impact. If any of you haven't tried the vegan pads on them, do give them a shot.
 
Now my only complaint with them is the headband clamp. Has anyone tried replacing the headband? The size of the cups fits the Hifiman HE-6 headband perfectly, but the screw holes on the hifiman headband are smaller. I feel like getting an extra headband and drill wider holes and try replacing the headband and see how it goes.