I heard them from a sound demo here:
And I think it sounds really good.
But sound demos aren't really a good indicator because in real life it will always sound different (especially if you are using your own, different equipment).
So can someone here who owns them say how accurate or not accurate the sound demo is?
Edit: Refreshing how everyone is ignoring my question.
Hi, I will do it soon.
I normally receive the VENUS Friday December 1st (and the PARA on December 11th).
While waiting to receive these two planar headphones, I had fun listening to your demo on my PC with these 3 headphones (of fairly similar sensitivity)
The Kennerton Thror SN THR 001 (the 1st in the series)
The Sennheiser HD-400 Pro (the alter ego of an HD-560S, perhaps with ee little more bass for my copy of the HD-400 Pro than the HD-560S)
The Sennheiser HD-58X "Jubilee"
In this demo, my headphones preference is as follows:
HD-58X > HD-400 Pro > Thror.
The most beautiful, most natural, most sensual voice is that delivered by the HD-58X.
The HD-400 Pro (aka HD-560S) gives a slightly clearer voice and with a little more focus on the high harmonics, you can hear the sibilants more; high percussion (cymbals) are more present than with the HD-58X. The accompanying bass is clearly present with these two Sennheiser headphones.
The Thror is much more mid-centric and has an emphasis on the singer's voice (between 600 and 1000 Hz), which I find less pleasant to hear than with the other two headphones Sennheiser ; voice is clearly less natural; the voice is quite thin, as if distorted by this accent, as if passing through a cardboard cone. The bass is less present than with the two Sennheiser headphones. The treble is less present than with the HD-400 Pro.
The resolutions of these three headphones, as far as one can judge from such a demo, on a PC, are similar.
The finesse in the treble is greater with the HD-58X and the Thror than with the HD-400 Pro (aka HD-560S), the less fine of these three headphones, but the HD-400 Pro is also the most dynamic of the three headphones, with the widest soundstage.
Hi
@Ginryuu
Rather than using your demo (in compressed YouTube quality) on my PC's sound card, which is far from being powerful amplification, especially with the VENUS (a headphone requiring power), I preferred to listen to my own demos on audio CDs, with my main Hi-Fi system (in attached photo).
You will notice the clockwise position of the volume potentiometer of the Viva 2A3 amp: "9 o'clock" position, for listening to this CD at a comfortable SPL listening level.
This audio system (high-end CD drive and high-end dac Audiomat + high-end Viva 2A3 tube amp (2 x 3 W)) is more efficient than my PC and allows me to compare all my headphones in the best possible conditions.
I am translating here, from French into English, part of my 2 posts written last night on the French HCFR forum (original text of these 2 posts in the attached link):
https://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/post181279368.html#p181279368
https://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/post181279482.html#p181279482
Well, not having (anymore) an e-stat amp, I find this VENUS planar damn good; just listened to it alone, at the beginning of the evening, for pleasure, currently listening to the CD Flamingo by Stéphane Grappelli and Michel Petrucciani (Jazz).
A recording that is not forgiving in the treble, because the violin can quickly become squeaky (I remember my ex Triangle speakers, with this CD...).
Undoubtedly, when listening to this CD, on the VENUS, we have a sound of great finesse, with elegance; I find the treble (of the violin and percussion) very fine, and for (my old) ear, not intrusive; they remind me of the fine treble of my old Stax headphones (007 and 009).
The bass is quite light (but there isn't much of it in this recording), but sufficiently present, going very low; They are extremely agile.
Otherwise, you will see the retained cable (with its adapter) for the VENUS (white cable in litz wire); I don't know if it is better than the other cable (the black one) also delivered with the VENUS, but it is the most beautiful (it matches the headset perfectly); On the other hand, I had to move my sofa at least 50 cm closer to the amplifier (and the TV) to be able to use this fairly short cable (1 m 20 or 1 m 30?), without extension, in a slumped position in my favorite sofa.
Ultimately, I regret purchasing the luxury extension cable (1.5 m) (silver-plated OCC "cryo" copper), because, believe me or not, it gives me the impression of "degreasing" the bass. , a little too much for my taste; the sound is more consistent without this extension.
The headphone that i own that is closest to the VENUS (not for aesthetics, nor its price), but for "its class" is the Kennerton Thror, the former top of the range open planar headphone from Kennerton, with its high-end planar driver of 80 mm diameter, carbon fiber driver frame to reduce the weight of the headphone, 10 microns thick membrane (twice as thin as that of a Kennerton planar Heartland (open) or a Rognir (closed)).
So I compared the VENUS to the Thror, but also a bit to the Sennheiser HD-58X (an open dynamic headphone: 42 mm driver).
For the record, the size of the VENUS planar driver is gigantic (100 mm in diameter); the membrane is 2 microns thick, of the same order as that of the Stax SR-009 high-end e-stat headphones, and the VENUS has, for each driver 2 x 9 profiled Neodymium magnets, just like the Susvara, by the way.
So, Kennerton Thror or Moondrop VENUS? (without taking into account the price difference between these two planar headphones).
As for aesthetics, everyone will judge.
For comfort, as already written on the previous page, I confirm the better wearing comfort of the VENUS versus Thror, despite its weight (on the scale) greater than the Thror.
Indeed, on the head, the weight of the VENUS is much better distributed on the top of the skull and is forgotten (no hot spots), while the Thror, with its narrower and harder suspension headband (less padded) remembers much more to your scalp. In addition, the VENUS pads are softer than those of the Thror, themselves also less firm than those of the first Odin, real bricks.
As for sound, I just listened to a lot of voices this evening (female and male); well,
the VENUS midrange is fabulous, extremely precise in its presentation (vocals well focused in the center, not diffuse, with the accompaniment instruments well detached, lateralized on the edges); voices as well detailed and nuanced, and with a fluidity (a detachment on a dark background, as was sometimes said of electrostatic headphones), which I actually only find with my old electrostatic headphones (007 and 009)...
... with the difference that the tone of the VENUS is much fairer (and pleasant to hear) than for example my ex Stax SR-009 headphones (with this distortion of the high-midrange at 1.5 KHz of the 009, making the 009 aggressive female voices); as for 007, well the muffling in the upper midrange and treble also spoiled the voices tonally, even if they were very fine and fluid.
It's simple, the VENUS is for me the best headphones I've heard (with perhaps also the Susvara) for vocal reproduction; the HD-58X isn't bad either, tonally speaking, but well a step below the VENUS in terms of precision, resolution, focus, nuances, and fluidity. It is significantly less fine and precise than the VENUS.
As for the Thror, to come back to it, well, with the voice of Bernard Lavilliers ("Les mains d'or"), it sounds clearly flatter (in the bad sense of the word) than the VENUS: it is centered on the medium, cut from its extensions downwards (lack of bass) and upwards, in the treble (for the upper harmonics of the voices which are shortened, hence this "flat" sound); in addition, its tone is wobbly with distortion of the voice, as if it had passed through a cardboard cone making the voices less natural than with the VENUS (and the HD 58X). The focus of the voice is also less good (more diffuse) with the Thror versus VENUS; the details and sound nuances are less and the fluidity (dark background) is also less than with the VENUS.
You will have understood, to choose between a Thror and a VENUS, even if we ignore the aesthetics of the two headphones (and their prices), well, I choose the VENUS (and also the HD-58X).
Between a VENUS and a Stax SR-009 (not equalized) or a 007 (also not equalized), even if very well amplified, I also choose the VENUS.
Between a VENUS and a Susvara, if I am offered a Viva 845, well, from hearsay and experience (I have already listened to the Susvara in very good conditions, great headphones), I will keep both ( the VENUS + Viva 2A3 and the Susvara + Viva 845).
One last remark for tonight.
I understand that several reviewers had the impression that the bass of the VENUS could be perceived as quite light, as possibly lacking in weight and growl; it apparently is, and this also ties in with the perception, sometimes, of a lack of bass with the Stax SR-009.
I think the bass level (as measured) of the VENUS (and the 009) is there (on paper), and goes down very low, with a good SPL level; but by a curious artifice, starting with the absence of physical transmission of vibrations to the body, and also by a lesser harmonic coloring of these "very pure" basses, they are perceived as of a lower level than with others headphones (although measured at the same SPL level in the bass), perhaps more colorful in terms of harmonic distortions in the low frequencies.
More than equalization, the addition of a subwoofer (very well tuned) would be the only viable solution to give a visceral bass, with these headphones, so that they are perceived with more weight and growl , as with large speakers.