[Bkido]

Have you heard the single-sided version as well? If so, I would really love to hear your thoughts on how they compare. I recently got to very briefly demo the single-sided and loved it. But knowing the double-sided is coming has prevented me from pulling the trigger...

I've also heard the single sided briefly at a private meet. Overall they have a very similar tonality. The double sided just seems a bit more technical and airy in the top end with a bit less warmth. Also powering the single sided was a bit more challenging to get its full performance since it's a few db less sensitive. We ended up pairing it with a Soncoz SGP1 power amp fed with a Ferrum Oor as pre which really seemed to bring them alive. Other lower power/gain headphone amps often maxed out before reaching good listening levels (Questyle CMA15, Topping DX9, DCS Lina for example - tested with my DS pair ).
So overall I'd recommend the double sided to people that wanna use them on high power headphone amps and are wanting to trade some warmth for some more technical performance. For single sided a speaker amp might be the way to go or a very high voltage headphone amp. I've tried the Violectric HPA V550 for example, which has plenty of gain for both. Topping A70 Pro worked as well but I'm not the biggest fan of the Topping sound overall.
Since the driver is so unusual in being low sensitivity paired with high impedance (my DS pair is 155 Ohm for example) it has a very unusual requirement concerning voltage and current and it's very hard to predict how an amp will handle this load without trying it out. But once you find the right pairing they reward you with a sound that rivals or beats headphones that cost thousands more imo. They might not beat other flagships in specific characteristics but for me they deliver some of the most balanced sound I've yet heard in a headphone. They kinda just get out of the way and just let you enjoy the music to the fullest without missing anything.


Btw. my absolute favorite amp I've tried with my DS pair was the Mass Kobo 465. But that is a 17k$ headphone amp unfortunately
But it shows that they have plenty of potential to scale with the source equipment used.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I didn’t realize the double-sided version was out in the wild already. I look forward to more impressions of it and how it pairs with different amps. I have a Cayin iHA-6, which on paper should be powerful enough for either version, but the synergy is unknown at this point.

@Bkido Have you had a chance to try the Mass Kobo 394 MK II? That’s a solid-state amp I’ve been very interested in hearing. The 465 is too expensive for me to even consider!

 

[Bkido]

I didn’t realize the double-sided version was out in the wild already. I look forward to more impressions of it and how it pairs with different amps. I have a Cayin iHA-6, which on paper should be powerful enough for either version, but the synergy is unknown at this point.

@Bkido Have you had a chance to try the Mass Kobo 394 MK II? That’s a solid-state amp I’ve been very interested in hearing. The 465 is too expensive for me to even consider!

I've also listened to the 394 MKII. Also a nice and powerful amp. It seemed a bit warmer in direct comparison to the 465. But a really nice amp from the limited time I've had with it.

 

[Knee Deep In Epoxy]

The only way to judge these (or any other) headphones is by listening to them. FWIW, when I demo-ed them in Chicago they sounded great. I look forward to giving them a much longer listen at home in my chain, where I’ll be able to test them on a wide variety of amps, compare them to the Susvara, Caldera, and others; and mostly just get to the know these headphones for what they are. Specs and looks are nice info, but I’m mostly interested in enjoying my music

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts (if you would be so kind )...

 

[goldwerger]

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts (if you would be so kind )...

Will definitely share!
Should be getting the double sided today (so excited), and the single sided tbd to compare them. Will write a detailed review for this one next 2-3 weeks or so but may drop quick first impressions here.

 

[goldwerger]

The eagle has landed, double-sided (cable is not stock but upgrade from Skedra)

Looking forward to much listening this week.

single-sided to follow to compare..

 

[TommehHiFi]

The eagel has landed, double-sided (cable is not stock but upgrade from Skedra)

Looking forward to much listening this week.

single-sided to follow to compare..

looking forward to how you think they compare to Susvara and Caldera as well.

 

[draytonklammer]

looking forward to how you think they compare to Susvara and Caldera as well.

Seconding this.

 

[goldwerger]

Plan is to spend 1-2 weeks listening to them, testing them across multiple amps (which will have a big impact here), then compare them to single sided (soon as Ryan can send to me, hopefully shortly), then compare to Caldera (which I just loaned to another community member), Susvara, and LCD-4 (and, if applicable, another non planar headphone TBD). I do hope to write a full out review on these headphones, they are really interesting and deserve a deep dive. Give me 2-3 weeks at least for that.

meantime, will drop early imrpessions here, ongoing!

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I wonder how the Tungsten would do with the new Mjolnir 3. Anybody happen to have this amp and a Tungsten (or possible one of each on the way)?

 

[dude120]

The eagel has landed, double-sided (cable is not stock but upgrade from Skedra)

Looking forward to much listening this week.

single-sided to follow to compare..

What kind of finish/wood is that on your pair of tungsten?

 

[goldwerger]

What kind of finish/wood is that on your pair of tungsten?

What you see on right now on them is the copper grill.

I also have three sets of wooden grills on standby - padauk, cedar, and mahogany - which I will try later on (both for esthetics, but also to see whether/what impact there is on the sound):

 

[nwavesailor]

NICE! I wasn't aware that there was wood grill options.

 

[goldwerger]

NICE! I wasn't aware that there was wood grill options.

They are a little more gentle, so you should be comfortable you would be handling your headphone delicately. The metal grills are supposed to be more resilient in case you put some pressure on them. That said, the average audiophile will likely put their headphones on delicately and should be fine

 

[nwavesailor]

They are a little more gentle, so you should be comfortable you would be handling your headphone delicately. The metal grills are supposed to be more resilient in case you put some pressure on them. That said, the average audiophile will likely put their headphones on delicately and should be fine

Thanks
I'm pretty careful with how I take care of all my audio gear. It will be interesting to see how (or if) the various wood densities change the sound compared to the stock grills.