[mrspeakers]

I have personally upgraded dozens of units and did pre release testing with many people. Until today had not heard anything about fuzziness. I am not doubting or debating those perspectives but they are not the norm. I guess this simply affirms that nothing on headphones is perfect for everyone and YMMV. Nonetheless I am confident this is not going to be the general experience.

 

[sunneebear]

I have personally upgraded dozens of units and did pre release testing with many people. Until today had not heard anything about fuzziness. I am not doubting or debating those perspectives but they are not the norm. I guess this simply affirms that nothing on headphones is perfect for everyone and YMMV. Nonetheless I am confident this is not going to be the general experience.

 
I totally agree with you Dan.  Everyone hears things differently.  My brother and I have been headphone addicts since Sony's first walkman.  We have disagreements about sound back then and we still disagree today.  I hate to say it but usually he is right.  He actually used foam to tune Sony headphone and earphones a long time ago because some Sony's are a tad on the bright side.

 

[Rocco Khan]

Since the cat is out of the bag for the tuning kit, I believe Dan will allow me to post impressions (I'll remove if I jumped the gun, so please don't quote).

While I'm not quite done listening/reviewing to the Ether C 1.1 (have had it for over a week), I can say:

Easily the best headphone I have heard in consistency, musicality, enjoyability, overall technicalities. Never have I heard a headphone so well tuned that I honestly can't find any area of particular strong weakness.

Bass is authoritative, incredibly deep in extension (seriously reminds me of the HE-400 in how low it goes without a lack of meatiness), and far from flabby or loose. It's planar bass at its very best.

Midrange is upfront, full bodied, and cohesive

Treble is ever present and crisp, lending itself to the amazing, AMAZING--

--stellar soundstage and magical imaging properties of the Ether C. To be completely honest, the soundstage and imaging depth impressed me more than any OTHER headphone I have heard to date. Yes, some open dynamic headphones have more soundstage, but lack the depth. The Ether C is like a monster that pulls off everything at once.

I don't know how Dan does it, but he manages to eek out a wonderful sense of space with great width and depth, despite it being closed back. I just simply can't grasp how the Ether C can outdo open headphones in this manner.

Notes:

tuning kit:

There are various levels:

1. No added foams: This keeps the Ether C very well balanced (if just a hint warm), with the best soundstage and imaging I have heard from a closed headphone. No comparison. Not even the TH900 has this spherical imaging. Treble range can get a little sibilant with some sources. Minor, and perhaps it's my slightly dry Creative X7, or the lack of burn in hours (if you believe in that).

2. 1 black foam: Slightly warm, retains the vast majority of the soundscape of the non-foam Ether C. I think it's too subtle, and I suggest just leaving the foam off instead of 1 foam. May be beneficial at reducing a hint of sibilance.

3 2 black foams: Warmer, and I personally feel is the best version of the Ether C 1.1 for my taste. It fills out the lower end and midrange body quite a bit without it sounding blunted or obverly soft. Bass is big and rumbly (don't mistake that for boomy or emphasized), and fantastic. My personal fave for someone who prefers a lean towards warmth, but without collapsing soundstage size too much. Sibilance gone.

3. White foam: Warmest. This was initially fave combination for the Ether C, because it reminded me of something like the old LCD2 I used to own and love. Big, meaty, In your face sound. It shrinks the soundstage a bit, so there are tradeoffs. I'd say if you want a good balance of body and soundstage, go more towards the two black foams instead. Sibilance gone.



These are short impressions, don't wanna give too much away.

So far, I'm in audio heaven with the Ether C, and wish I could afford it, because I'd toss my HE400 away in a heartbeat.. This has been my first taste of PURE audio nirvana ever since the LCD2.

 
I listened to the Ether C at CanJam Singapore extensively last weekend.
 
They were by far the most impressive headphones I heard. For me they were better than many of the other flagships from other manufacturers.
 
I am not sure if the ones I listened to were the 1.1's but I found them quite/very sibilant. I am confused by all the different tuning pads and 1.1 upgrade. How should I be thinking about final sound sig with the different permutations of tuning? I hate sibilance like I hate Anne Hathaway. 

 

[mrspeakers]

Glad you enjoyed them!

At CanJam we were showing 1.1 with no tuning pads installed so that was the brightest they can be without removing the felt.

The tuning pads work to soften the highs, taking them down up to 4db or more. For those who are super sibilance sensitive use 1 white pad to start. The white operates at a slightly lower frequency and will reduce the entire sibilance band.

So the way to think of it is that you can dial down the highs to for your taste, it's super simple, effective and easy to get the tone you want.

 

[Allanmarcus]

There at (at least) 25 different configurations with the Ether C using the 2 white felts behind the pads, the 1.1 foam, and the 3 tuning felts! Maybe we should use this numbering nomenclature

 

		Between pads and drivers
		2 white felts	1 white and 1.1 foam	1 white felt	no felt (not-recommended)	1.1 foam only
inside	no tuning	1 (stock 1.0)	1.1 (stock)	2	3	4
ear	1 black	10	11	12	13	14
pads	1 white	20	21	22	23	24
	2 black	30	31	32	33	34
	2 black and 1 white	40	41	42	43	44

 
For example, I'm using config 11

 

[buke9]

  There at (at least) 25 different configurations with the Ether C using the 2 white felts behind the pads, the 1.1 foam, and the 3 tuning felts! Maybe we should use this numbering nomenclature

 

		Between pads and drivers
		2 white felts	1 white and 1.1 foam	1 white felt	no felt (not-recommended)	1.1 foam only
inside	no tuning	1 (stock 1.0)	1.1 (stock)	2	3	4
ear	1 black	10	11	12	13	14
pads	1 white	20	21	22	23	24
	2 black	30	31	32	33	34
	2 black and 1 white	40	41	42	43	44

 
For example, I'm using config 11

I think you have a little too much time on your hands 

.

 

[sunneebear]

  There at (at least) 25 different configurations with the Ether C using the 2 white felts behind the pads, the 1.1 foam, and the 3 tuning felts! Maybe we should use this numbering nomenclature

 

		Between pads and drivers
		2 white felts	1 white and 1.1 foam	1 white felt	no felt (not-recommended)	1.1 foam only
inside	no tuning	1 (stock 1.0)	1.1 (stock)	2	3	4
ear	1 black	10	11	12	13	14
pads	1 white	20	21	22	23	24
	2 black	30	31	32	33	34
	2 black and 1 white	40	41	42	43	44

 
For example, I'm using config 11

 
I think Dan just lost some potential customers because of your post. 

 

[goldendarko]

  It appears USPS lost all the update kits we shipped on the 19th, if you ordered via USPS on the 18th or 19th we're resending.  Apologies for the delay.

Dang that sucks! Thanks for the update though Dan, much appreciated.

 

[westermac]

For clarification (and convenience in case anyone missed it) you can find Dan's original graph showing the effect of the tuning pads here
 
No doubt the frequency response has changed slightly with the 1.1 upgrade, but I think the properties still apply.

 

[Velomane]

I hate Anne Hathaway. 

I don't understand all this hate for Shakespeare's wife. What has she ever done to deserve this loathing?

 

[Maelob]

I think Dan just lost some potential customers because of your post. 

Funny I was going to ask if somebody figured out all the possible combinations.

 

[x RELIC x]

Thoughts on the 1.1 upgrade foam. IMO, YMMV and all that…

I've been listening to the 1.1 upgrade foam for the last day and I'm never going back to the original 1.0. To me the ETHER C always had great resolution and timing but it always felt like there was something missing, like they had been slightly muffled despite the overall clarity and rather neutral frequency response. Because of this they have been mostly in a corner of my room looking (very) pretty. Well, with the 1.1 foam that muffler (one white felt pad at the driver) has been removed. Now the ETHER C is the headphone I expected when I first purchased it and it can finally replace my LCD-XC.

The largest difference I hear is the way the notes fall off. With 1.0 the notes seemed to abruptly stop and there was less of a natural decay making the overall sound more dry. Now with 1.1 the notes have room to breathe, room to decay, and it makes the music sound much more musical with better timbre. The bass isn't magically elevated and the treble isn't dramatically changed (although clarity is, if that makes sense). What has happened, to my ears, is that it has better focus and the drivers can now be allowed to portray themselves better. This benefits the bass with more texture adding to a sense of impact and benefits the treble with more detail. Extension on both ends feels better and imaging now has more subtle cues needed for better instrument placement. I feel the ETHER drivers are very capable and the 1.1 upgrade foam allows them to show off a little better IMO. Gotta love that unicorn hair woven in.

I initially had settled on one black tuning pad with the 1.0 to try to help with 'musicality', but have since removed the black tuning pad with 1.1. The black tuning pad did indeed make the sound slightly warmer with 1.1 as well and I may just use them again if the mood calls for it, but I'm loving the presentation with no tuning pads on 1.1. Again, highlighting just how easy Dan has made it for users to adjust the ETHER C to their preferences, or source gear.

I'm listening with the X5 coaxial out to the DAC-19 feeding the Liquid Carbon balanced output to the ETHER C... Bliss. I find the ETHER C to be rather revealing of the audio chain so the tuning pads are great for matching synergy as well. Thanks Dan!

Edit: Removal of the ear pads was extremely simple, as was putting them back on.

 

[MattTCG]

^^ This. I couldn't have said it any better. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I have a feeling 1.1 with no tuning pads will be highly favored for those with warmer gear/tube amps, and one black felt for tuning for those with dry rigs.

2 black felts for people like me who love extra warmth/or want all sibilance gone. White felt makes the 1.1 a bit too Audeze LCD2-ish with added body and fluid tonality compared to lesser felt tunings.

Basically, the Ether C will appeal to everyone in some way or another.

 

[goldendarko]

That's an interesting point Mad, as an owner of a tube amp and also a digital amp this should give me plenty of options for pairing.

Even more interesting is the ability to cater the headphones to specific recordings. For example I listened to Bowie's Heroes album this past weekend and found it to be too metal sounding and sibilant with my HA-1 but the white field pad took care of that issue and made it very enjoyable