[Noodlz]

Same thoughts as you guys above! Placed an order and super excited to hear these!

 

[yeahx]

So this is like a race to review for a "deal"? Nice. Good luck guys! 

 

[Selta]

I, too, ordered these and will be posting a write-up about them.

 

[Selta]

Well, I have tracking information for mine. So far, it doesn't work on the tracking website, but if theirs is anything like USPS/UPS/FedEx, it'll be a bit before it works. Hopefully they're only a couple of weeks or so out.

 

[Levaix]

Mine actually left New York on its way to Illinois over the weekend. Actually quite a bit faster than I was expecting after reading about shipments from Russia.

FYI, once the package leaves Russia you can track it with the USPS website.

 

[Tamirci]

Will be expecting your impressions regarding this beauty...
 
...as an ex owner  
 
I had bought it, used it but didn't quite liked it.

 

[Levaix]

Ahhh! It's coming today!

Now I bet no one will be home to sign for it. :/

 

[Noodlz]

ah u lucky dog lol. mine is still in NY

 

[Levaix]

Got 'em! Doing some initial listening now. They're pretty different from what I'm used to, so I'll hold off on the comments for now...

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

Got my Magister, first impression is very good, balanced, very detailed, great extension on both ends, and a natural timbre. It's hard to fault on a technical level, actually I can't fault the sound at all as far as closed headphones go. These are straight up better than the Beyerdynamic T5P and Astell AKT5P.

 

[Selta]

Mine appear to be between Russia and the US. Since Thursday they've shown that they left Russia en route to US. Hopefully only another week or so at this point.

 

[Noodlz]

Suweet. Finally got these in! Will be writing a proper review after they burn in. So far they sound pretty good. One note though, did anyone else have trouble with their heavy cable? Luckily they shipped a light cable as well, because my heavy cable has contact issues on the right side (if i nudge it a bit or move my head around lightly they'd lose sound... also experiencing some loss in sonic qualities when compared to the lighter cables). Kinda makes me a bit unhappy =T

 

[Noodlz]

Ok here goes my review. Been listening to these for the last 10 hours or so.
 
Box Opening:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
The outer paper box is alright looking, nothing special really. But the carrying case is a nice touch The envelops with the seals are a nice touch.
 
Onto the construction of the headphones. Everything looks very solid & hand crafted throughout. Everything feels solid and tight, and the headband is nice and clicky, not too loose not too tight. The pads with the lambskin leather, foam & stitching is a bit uneven but you can see that its literally hand crafted and some care went in to making them.
 
The thick cable is pretty serious looking. heavy and weighting. (However as i'll come to find out later, these are actually faulty). It's very nice that they gave a thinner cable as well. (Turns out i needed these, otherwise i would have been a very unhappy camper). Also to note the included 1/4 adapter doesn’t fit the thicker cable. 
 
The cups are beaautiful. The ironwood (another name for bogwood. which i think sounds far nicer) even nicer in person. Very happy with the way these look =)
 
overall nice presentation~
 
 
—————
Comfort:
at first: wearing them: very stout clamping force. will have to wait to see if it can be loosened up
 
After about 15 minutes; form fits very well and clamping force no longer becomes a problem
 
 
—————
 
Testing Gear:
Wyre4Sound µDAC HD > Kenwood KR770 as preamp > MIT AVT3 RCA cables > Asgard 1
 
with tube amp:
W4S µDAC HD > KR770 > Indeed G2 w/ Phillips 7308 CCa tubes
 
—————
 
Preface: The heavy cables were faulty..they sounded nice…when it worked. the contacts for the right channel would go in and out. Kinda unacceptable for a $900 retail pair of headphones. Luckily the longer cable sounded fine and didn’t have contact issues. Notes below are of when it was working. had to keep my head very still...
 
Initial Listening: (no burn in) - with heavy cables
 
    - Very nice, clean, nice instrument separation / resolution & clarity. soundstage is ok considering that it’s a closed back. voices & mids seem pretty crisp, if not a bit thin. bass is very impactful, tight and clear. highs are pushed back a little but not muddled. Overall a pretty balanced sound. 
    - Negatives so far seems to be the soundstage is a bit on the small side, mids are a little clinical sounding, clear but not very musical. (initially i had thought this was a burn in issue. but it's probably due to the faulty cable)
 
    - positives seems to be the overall clarity& instrument separation, even with the small soundstage (it doesn’t sound congested at all. Bass is VERY nice. very tight, clear and impactful. Might be the best bass i’ve heard from a closed back so far in terms of the quality. 
 
 
Listening: no burn in - light longer cables
    - Seems like with lighter thinner longer cables the mids are much nicer, livelier, fuller, and soundstage is a little bigger. The earlier thoughts on the mids lacking may have to do with the faulty cable.
    - with these cables working, everything seems to be much more opened up, & forward sounding. upon further listening. Vocals are much nicer now. Clear, crisp, yet musical. there was probably phasing issues because of the loose / bad contacts in the heavy cables. Still sounds like there can be improvements though. 
 
 
Initial overall impressions
- Very impressive clarity / balance / separation. Especially the bass! Does phenomenal with modern recordings. Hearing some micro details i’ve not heard previously! Very excellent with modern hiphop / R&B
 
 
Further Listening: Burned in, light cable (heavy cables not functioning correctly..) @ around the 6 hour mark
- Bass response has improved (even more articulate, more mass, slightly more impact). drums are also sounding more and more realistic (accurate sounding timber)
- some micro detail sparkles are more refined as well. The timber of pianos & guitars are very very nice now
- However now the mids sound slightly recessed with the bass / lower mids elevated. Female vocals especially. I mean they’re still very clear & musical, but theres a bit of a a “veil” now. I’m hoping the mids will improve with longer burn in and become more engaging.
- Overall the biggest thing to note is how fast and nice the decay is, especially in the bass, but really all across the board. Which is how everything sounds clear without anything being sharp or sibilant
 
 
**at this point i realized that although everything was articulate it needed some organicness / color to make the music come to life. I then proceeded to put in my tube amp . (Indeed G2 + Phillips 7308 CCa)   Oh man. Now everything has come to life~! The mids are now very much alive! 
 
 
 
 
Synesthesia Notes (You can choose to ignore this as i may sound like a crazy person…)
- The sound signature of these headphones would like a very nice beautiful polished marble statue. Not ivory nor ebony, but something in between. It’s like a human statue with decorative carvings, where the edges are thin but not razor sharp, very clear and distinct features with a flowly but solid cape / cloth. Its almost lifelike, all the little details are there and very clear, never smeared, but yet still chiseled in stone. 
 
- As a comparison, i hear the LCD 2s as creamy chocolaty with some caramel in its textures, DT880 as airy fine silver strings that flow
 
— As mentioned earlier. When pairing this with a Solid state it was like a marble statue. With a tube amp its like the statue just came to life~ Where there was stone & cool there is now flesh & color & warmth. I highly recommend pairing this with a tube amp.
 
 
 
 
Genres- does well with modern pop / hiphop / R&B / EDM recordings
    **These sound AMAZING with hip hop. Bass is VERY VERY NICE. Blows the Denon D2000 (lawton modded) out of the water. From my memory, better than the TH900s too. The bass is tight, impactful, articulate, but not thin, it actually has plenty of mass without being boomy. 
    ** Another note, this is spectacular with EDM because of the bass mass & fast articulation with minimal decay. Makes for a very clean & full listening
 
Unlike most bashed phones, these have very clear instrument separation, lots of micro detail and the vocals are crisp, fast and musical. The balance just sound “right” with modern recordings.
 
 
Overall Thoughts @ 10 hour mark
These are VERY nice headphones to have. Best closed back headphones i have heard. hands down. Amazing articulation, fast decay, everything is nice polished for all of the frequencies. Everything sounds clear without being overly airy / thin / bright / sharp. Not too dark or warm either. Everything has mass but isn’t bloated. It’s just right. With standard amp these are awesome for EDM / Hiphop / R&B & modern recordings in general. But still good for other genres (rock, blues etc..) 
 
My only beef with it is that its kind of neutral to a fault, a bit “lifeless” when paired with a solid state amp. (this may be because of my personal preference for warmer, lusher, more liquid sounds). The solution though is to pair it with a nice tube amp and it’s Pure Bliss~ Every thing comes to life! 
 
Minus the small issue i have with one of cables (the heavy one) being faulty, this pair is definitely worth the price at MSRP. 
 
Highly recommended!

 

[Levaix]

I don't know if I agree with the bass being all that. Still getting used to these, but the bass definitely isn't a highlight so far,

 

[Selta]

Looks like mine have cleared NYC customs. Now, they just have to trek across the US. Would be nice to have them this week, otherwise they'll sit for a bit over a week before I can do anything with them .