[mrspeakers]

In the "for what it's worth" category, I find I am enjoying Voce the most with the white filters. YMMV.

I like that tuning a lot myself...

 

[Ableza]

The down-side of Voce during a pandemic: I work from my home office and have for the past 12 years or so. My headphone rig is at my desk. Voce has been a huge upgrade in my music enjoyment and is my musical work-companion. But now, during the stay-at-home order of the pandemic, my wife is here all day as well. She has started complaining that she "can hear my music" since Voce is an open-back design. So I have gone back to my Ether-C headphones (also excellent, but Voce is better) so I do not disturb her. Ah, the sacrifices we make in the name of public safety.

 

[mrspeakers]

The down-side of Voce during a pandemic: I work from my home office and have for the past 12 years or so. My headphone rig is at my desk. Voce has been a huge upgrade in my music enjoyment and is my musical work-companion. But now, during the stay-at-home order of the pandemic, my wife is here all day as well. She has started complaining that she "can hear my music" since Voce is an open-back design. So I have gone back to my Ether-C headphones (also excellent, but Voce is better) so I do not disturb her. Ah, the sacrifices we make in the name of public safety.

Ironically sharing a home office with my wife when my only headphone was an original LCD2 was what resulted in me starting MrSpeakers... Been there, did that!

 

[headinclouds]

Picking up on what Dan said about the source;

One thing to consider is upgrading the source from "laptop." I used to think my MacBook was a good solution, until I heard a proper server as the front end. I now use a custom Mojo Audio unit with linear power supplies and a Femto clock on the USB output, using RAM resident Linux. The SQ is instantly and obviously better than my Mac ever was, which was a total surprise, since this goes against everything they taught us about digital in engineering.

This evokes old memories about the importance of the source. We may be overlooking that a computer is not an audio front end in the same way a good CD player or turntable is. I have been moving slowly towards streaming music at a decent quality, and trusting the advice of a well-known head-fi friend, I recently took delivery of a 432EVO streamer which is a fine piece of kit from Belgium. I was hoping and expecting it would make a difference and as Dan said in his case the sound was instantly and obviously better. This has allowed all the other parts (DAC, LTA10e, Voce and speakers) to show what they are capable of, with a considerable uplift in the musical results.

Apart from the sound quality there were several other features that made me choose the 432EVO; it rips and stores all my CDs and also has an unusual 432 tuning add-on which allows experimentation and adjustment of replay pitch. I am controlling it with an Android Squeezer app. but might get seduced by Roon.

I've added a picture of my audio system with Voce. (the video side of things is now separated).
The amp is driving speakers too.

 

[saidentary]

I have been listening with the Voce and the new to come out, Linear Tube Audio, Z10e (brand new and current model). The Z10e uses EL84 tubes in the power section with 12AU7 and 12AT7 or the excellent 7062.

The sound of the Voce, with well recorded music, for me, get to the heart of what sound can be. I listen to a lot of live music. Hearing timbre that truly represents the sound, making it identifiable as to source, isn't always easy and is often glossed over. Either things are hyper presented, as Dan notes in his HiFi definition, or the individual sounds that make up the whole, are not discernible and grounded in reality. That is one reason, among many others, I enjoy the natural sounds from the sources, as a gauge, rather than listening to a lot of recorded music and making up my mind from that. My wife plays flute, I used to play sax and violin and currently play harmonica so the enjoyment of the "sound', is what I am always after.

The Voce, I am finding, is able to reach this pinnacle. The layering, imaging, when it is there, air that carries the notes, timbre, and breath of life are there. I have to say that the finalized Z10e goes a long ways in giving the Voce what they need and both are world class. One thing that does stick out, as I normally prefer live performances that are well recorded, for their acoustical properties, is the combination here, is able to make studio recording so much more enjoyable. There is a drive and momentum to the beat that gets you there, both on well recorded live and studio recording, rather than "wishing" you were there.

Jamato: I have profound respect for your opinion, as you know, so this is a significant endorsement.

Thanks to those who were able to share their experience. I have ordered a Z10e, along with a pair of VOCE headphones, from Linear Tube Audio. I'm looking forward to their arrival in a few weeks. Not to diminish Justin's BHSE in any way; I hope to own one some day. The Z10e simply suits my needs better right now. I'm planning to have some fun by experimenting with alternate tubes. Thanks again!

Wrong Species: So do you have any follow-up impressions?

 

[bagwell359]

I like the 1.1, really like the E2, love the Voce. The Voce was designed and made by a person/team that really understands unamplified music.

T.T. - started with a Dual 1019 - when I got to the VPI TNT Jr/Souther/Koetsu Rosewood Sig/Ono - the fidelity was extreme so was the cost.

15 IPS tape - excellent fidelity, ridiculous storage issues, tape degrades

CD player - pretty decent, hard to get good sounding CD's until almost Y2K. I maintain one for SACD playback.

CD transport + DAC: better, much better possible, cost can get high

Win/foobar: contention for resources cloud sound constantly, lots of settings to learn.

Linux (numerous versions): contention not an issue with some, sound still not brilliant, support iffy.

dedicated servers: much better isolation from env, RAID/NAS and Roon. Very nice. Many outfits small, cost: can mount up big time.

and the cost/performance winner is:

LCD v40 (used mint: $200)/TIDAL hi-res ($20/mo)/UAPP (~$6)/Toneboosters Parametric EQ (~$5)

Biggest downside is the library - lots of audiophile labels missing, very strong on current music

Bit perfect hi-res (if available, if not use the very good TB EQ).

I'd bet anyone reading this has a good+ DAC, so that's sunk cost. Cable for LG will cost under $20.

Storage is almost nill. I do retain about 60 CD/SACD for things I can't get from TIDAL.

No CD transport, no fussy PC, No big buck RAID, No AC power issues from the LG. And of course no fear that I'll crunch the cantilever on a $5495 cartridge every time I use it.

 

[greenkiwi]

The down-side of Voce during a pandemic: I work from my home office and have for the past 12 years or so. My headphone rig is at my desk. Voce has been a huge upgrade in my music enjoyment and is my musical work-companion. But now, during the stay-at-home order of the pandemic, my wife is here all day as well. She has started complaining that she "can hear my music" since Voce is an open-back design. So I have gone back to my Ether-C headphones (also excellent, but Voce is better) so I do not disturb her. Ah, the sacrifices we make in the name of public safety.

Maybe she could wear the Ether C's and you can continue to listen to the Voce

 

[mrspeakers]

The down-side of Voce during a pandemic: I work from my home office and have for the past 12 years or so. My headphone rig is at my desk. Voce has been a huge upgrade in my music enjoyment and is my musical work-companion. But now, during the stay-at-home order of the pandemic, my wife is here all day as well. She has started complaining that she "can hear my music" since Voce is an open-back design. So I have gone back to my Ether-C headphones (also excellent, but Voce is better) so I do not disturb her. Ah, the sacrifices we make in the name of public safety.

Maybe she could wear the Ether C's and you can continue to listen to the Voce

Ironically sharing a home office with my wife using my first high-end open headphone, the LCD2 v2, was the cause of my starting the business to make closed headphones. Karma!

 

[dawktah2]

It almost has the best midrange except that the vocal could be strangely dissected and diffused into different pieces coming from various places, which could be fun for instrumental separation but definitely odd for vocal separation. It sounds like headphone version of my favorite Weststone w80 , which is neutral and warm without sharp highs and thunderous bass. When playing the sound track of the movie Interstellar, the bass sound a muffled through voce with sudden weird drop of volume for deep deep bass. It could almost be my favorite headphone but with flaws.

This is the headphone to relax and chilled, different from most fatiguing flagships. In terms of transparency and clarity, they are not the forte of VOCE. Actually even L300 Limited does much better job in these aspects.

All in all, I love VOCE and its worm and mid accentuated colorization except for the diffused and dissected vocal in some tracks, which is the biggest issue for me.

That's an interesting observation with Interstellar which I listen to a lot and I plan on getting VOCE. I can put "Mountains" and "No Time for Caution" on repeat play all day.

Maybe @mrspeakers can answer if this is a power issue? What amp energizer are you using?

I am trying to determine if I can power the Woo WEE with my Hugo TT2 using the balanced output to get me by until I can get the 3ES.

 

[Ableza]

FYI, I have not experienced the sort of "diffused" vocals you seem to be describing with my Voce. I susepct this is either a subjective perception experience you are having or if it is being caused by your equipment, it is unlikely to be from Voce.

 

[mrspeakers]

The amp I’m using could drive loud speaker which contains 12 W output wattage.

12W is not actually relevant. Amps that support multiple types of output device either have different circuits for each output or pull the signal from different places appropriate to the load. A loudspeaker output of 12W would be into an 8 ohm load, and would swing around 10V. While planar and dynamic headphones would work just fine off the same circuit as the loudspeakers and your assessment would be relevant, the electrostatic can not run on a low voltage high current output circuit, it needs the exact opposite of high voltage low current and while the outputs can sometimes be derived from a common circuit in tubeamps you can draw no conclusion about power on one from to high voltage on the other.

The electrostatic Output must deliver hundreds of volts to drive a purely capacitive load with megaohm levels of impedance, so almost no current at all but huge voltage is required. The key question for a stat amplifier is how many volts it swings into a capacitive load, a Blue Hawaii swings 1500V peak to peak, for example. Lesser amps might do 400-800V and will have a harder time driving the VOCE to high volumes Because it is less efficient than smaller stat headphones, that is the physics of stat stator design.

So the question for uyour amp maker is simply how much voltage will it swing at full bandwidth into a 120 pico-farad load (that is a measure of capacitance). I know nothing of this amp but the published specs provide no data at all about the output for electrostats except the bias voltage, which is actually adjustable, be sure your bias is at 580, if it’s lower you will definitely be running out of power.

 

[bearFNF]

That's an interesting observation with Interstellar which I listen to a lot and I plan on getting VOCE. I can put "Mountains" and "No Time for Caution" on repeat play all day.

Maybe @mrspeakers can answer if this is a power issue? What amp energizer are you using?

I am trying to determine if I can power the Woo WEE with my Hugo TT2 using the balanced output to get me by until I can get the 3ES.

I used my WEE with my Decware Taboo MKIII (~2W) a little under powered and a Topping T32 (15W) and it did OK.
Not ideal but enough to get me by while waiting for my BHSE and LL2SS. This was with my SR009 and Lambda NB. Never tried this set-up with the VOCE.

Just remember the warning (page 8 of the WEE manual):
"DO NOT Switch to the speaker output (“SPK”) when there are no speakers connected to the WEE. Failure to do so could damage your speaker amplifier."

 

[dawktah2]

The electrostatic Output must deliver hundreds of volts...The key question for a stat amplifier is how many volts it swings into a capacitive load, a Blue Hawaii swings 1500V peak to peak, for example. Lesser amps might do 400-800V and will have a harder time driving the VOCE.

Dan thanks for this. But why when I read this did the first thought pop into my head was, should you really have these on your head?

I used my WEE with my Decware Taboo MKIII (~2W) a little under powered and a Topping T32 (15W) and it did OK.
Not ideal but enough to get me by while waiting for my BHSE and LL2SS. This was with my SR009 and Lambda NB. Never tried this set-up with the VOCE.

Just remember the warning (page 8 of the WEE manual):
"DO NOT Switch to the speaker output (“SPK”) when there are no speakers connected to the WEE. Failure to do so could damage your speaker amplifier."

Thanks!

Is there any mention of the voltage needed as per Dan?

 

[bearFNF]

Dan thanks for this. But why when I read this did the first thought pop into my head was, should you really have these on your head?



Thanks!

Is there any mention of the voltage needed as per Dan?

Nothing in the manual other than the wattage amp needed (>= 3 watts) and the AC power input needed (AC 110/220 - 240V, 50/60 Hz, selectable).
But this thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/wee-new-product-from-woo-audio.504471/page-5#post-6890609 is all about the WEE and they discuss (disagree) about the topic for a while. I will let you sort though it and see if it answers your question.

 

[headinclouds]

It almost has the best midrange except that the vocal could be strangely dissected and diffused into different pieces coming from various places, which could be fun for instrumental separation but definitely odd for vocal separation. ..... When playing the sound track of the movie Interstellar, the bass sound a muffled through voce with sudden weird drop of volume for deep deep bass. It could almost be my favorite headphone but with flaws.

This is the headphone to relax and chilled, different from most fatiguing flagships.. In terms of transparency and clarity, they are not the forte of VOCE. Actually even L300 Limited does much better job in these aspects.

All in all, I love VOCE and its worm and mid accentuated colorization except for the diffused and dissected vocal in some tracks, which is the biggest issue for me.

Overall you love the Voce but make a number of observations which are very different to my experience. It sounds like a problem with equipment or recording. I have just listened on my system using the Voce, to some well recorded vocal tracks of a good singer and band. The perception was of a totally believable performer, a real person located in front of a band. I cannot seriously find fault with this reproduction and enjoyed it very much.

It is only my opinion. My judgement is based on having heard many real singers and live musicians in many locations, and used many fine headphones and amplifiers including HD800, Staxes including the 007 of several flavours, the L700, 009 and several versions of almost every ES amplifier designed by KG.