[musicday]

Thank you Mr.Speakers for your answer, much appreciated.

 

[Makiah S]

  The Ether pads are firmer.

 
 

 
yes.  play at loud but not insane levels.

 
So I've been spending a LOT of time with my HE X tonight, like 7 hours apparently 
 
an while I like the... presentation, I don't like the lack of aggression an distortion in the mids. It really does sound... fuzzy compared to the HE 4, while the sound stage is deeper, wider an a little more spacious, the mid range fuzz kinda kills those improvements imo 
 
so how does the Ether an Ether C compare 

 

[mrspeakers]

I have to say I've been waiting for people to come to that conclusion about the X, I was not a fan when I heard it.  It seemed odd to position an open back as made for portable use, where a closed headphone obviously has a huge advantage.  That sent flags up to begin with that this wasn't a contender for home use, but I agree, the mids are not clear and clean, kind of gritty and edgy. 
 
Both ETHERs have a more transparent mids.  If you are EDM oriented you may prefer the C, if you're more into acoustic and want a warmer tone but less sub bass go open.

 

[inthere]

  So I've been spending a LOT of time with my HE X tonight, like 7 hours apparently 
 
an while I like the... presentation, I don't like the lack of aggression an distortion in the mids. It really does sound... fuzzy compared to the HE 4, while the sound stage is deeper, wider an a little more spacious, the mid range fuzz kinda kills those improvements imo 
 
so how does the Ether an Ether C compare 

 I think you should give it more time to burn in BUT after at least 200 hours of burn in on my Ether C I think I can say there's NO distortion on the mids.........also I really don't get an open backed can with portable features.........Ether C you can sit on a plane at max volume and your neighbor won't hear anything. 

 

[atsq17]

I have the Ether C for 5 days now. Each day spending around 5 - 6 hours listening on average. Last night I did a quick comparison between C and HD800. So far the most obvious difference is in the sub bass. The C can extend really low especially on music with lots of bass detail (e.g. Daft Punk). I can feel the thump in my chest. This headphone resolves sub bass details with authority and grit. 

However, that is the only thing so far I find the Ether C superior over the HD800. The overall staging in HD800 like the width, depth and instrument separation is well defined compared to Ether C. HD800 gives a better perception of a 3D space than the C. IMO micro details are also resolved better by HD800. For music which has a lot of data in the upper treble area (8Khz and above) like some R.E.M. songs the HD800 sounds very clear and appear more detailed than the C.

I notice that reverbs on cymbal crashes is very quick to none existent on C. As if when you hit the cymbal it stops very quicky while in HD800 I can hear the reverb fade in the background naturally. I will do more comparison when the C had more time to burn in my head. 

I used Hugo as the DAC/amp for the comparison.

If you ever want to sell it. PM me.

 

[greenkiwi]

This headphone is not like other headphones because of the v-planar driver processing, it does improve as it burns in and it takes 100-200 hours. By design.

That said, will it ever outdo the soundstage of the open headphone that is generally perceived as having the biggest soundstage? Probably not for most people! But it obviously does other things an open can't. The fact that one can compare it to the soundstage of open TOTL cans at all is what I was shooting for in the design.

Damn it!  I'm not going to be able to resist much longer.  Might have to get myself a pair for my birthday. 
 
And I would say that the review a few posts back probably won't change dramatically, the 800 is great at certain things and the review highlights those things.   And anything that is closed in the same paragraph, let alone sentence, is impressive.

 

[rmoody]

  Damn it!  I'm not going to be able to resist much longer.  Might have to get myself a pair for my birthday. 
 
And I would say that the review a few posts back probably won't change dramatically, the 800 is great at certain things and the review highlights those things.   And anything that is closed in the same paragraph, let alone sentence, is impressive.

Come to the dark side.

 

[Mentis]

Hmmm HD800S or Ether C

 

[Stillhart]

  Hmmm HD800S or Ether C

 
Apples are bright and open, oranges are closed and a bit more "fun".

 

[Mentis]

   
Apples are bright and open, oranges are closed and a bit more "fun".
 

 
Then I might consider getting rid of my AP and HD800 for an Ether C... seems like Ether C is best of both worlds

 

[Maelob]

  I have to say I've been waiting for people to come to that conclusion about the X, I was not a fan when I heard it.  It seemed odd to position an open back as made for portable use, where a closed headphone obviously has a huge advantage.  That sent flags up to begin with that this wasn't a contender for home use, but I agree, the mids are not clear and clean, kind of gritty and edgy. 
 
Both ETHERs have a more transparent mids.  If you are EDM oriented you may prefer the C, if you're more into acoustic and want a warmer tone but less sub bass go open.

Dan we are anxiously waiting on any future Mr. Speakers "portable" model.  I guess i can just only dream!!!! Oppo PM-3 was a good attempt but I think you can do better 

 

 

[inthere]

Dan we are anxiously waiting on any future Mr. Speakers "portable" model.  I guess i can just only dream!!!! Oppo PM-3 was a good attempt but I think you can do better 

 

 
 Ether C is the ultimate portable already

 

[Makiah S]

  I have to say I've been waiting for people to come to that conclusion about the X, I was not a fan when I heard it.  It seemed odd to position an open back as made for portable use, where a closed headphone obviously has a huge advantage.  That sent flags up to begin with that this wasn't a contender for home use, but I agree, the mids are not clear and clean, kind of gritty and edgy. 
 
Both ETHERs have a more transparent mids.  If you are EDM oriented you may prefer the C, if you're more into acoustic and want a warmer tone but less sub bass go open.

well I'll just say this Dan, I'd love to hear the Ether C if you have a preproduction unit that would be awesome. I'm getting the HE X in Febuary again through another tour, of course I'd imagine your as busy as ever! So I ca understand if there's not one avaliable 
 
Though I wouldn't say the mids on the HE X are Edgy, the HE 4 has Edgy Mids, but Gritty or even lumpy is a great way to put it describe the HE X in my book. it has the same texture to my ears as... a Sauce with raw flour has on my tounge, if you guys like to cook you may know that if you throw flour an butter into a hot liquid you'll... get lumps, so you'll have a some what lumpy sauce.. tastes good, has a good mouth feel [kinda] but you just can get past those lumpy bits of flour, they taste good but they take away from the sauce as a whole every time one runs across your tounge
 
an chances are the Ether C would suit me better, I prefer a VERY DRY bass, I like the HE 4 bass, quick, taut, powerful a with very little decay to it 
 
The HE X I have now an the LCD 2 Fazor I tried last year had... a heavy bottom end but it lacked in overall clarity an texture/speed 
 
I out in for some time off in March so I'm hoping to fly out to Can Jam this year, an start to hear the other TOTL headphones out there, still though the Ether C [with a balanced DUM cable] is positioned near the top of my list atm
 
I will say though, that out of my LG V10 the HE X sounds REALLY awesome, when you pair it with a some what low end source the HE X really does wonders, though out of a more transparent source, it starts to be a little lack luster 
 
Oh an I'd imagine that your Ether C is built a little better than the HE X I'm not crazy about the HE X's plastic arms :/ 

 

[greenkiwi]

@Mshenay the Ether C's are out in the wild as full production models... no pro-production needed.

 

[gelocks]

Is there still a wait time for these? Or did production already met the initial demand?
I'm still jumping at the idea of getting them... or not... LOL. Just curious...
 
Is the warranty transferable in case I decide to sell them?