MrSpeakers ETHER C Review / Announcement - A New Closed-Back Planar Magnetic Flagship from MrSpeakers

[kejar31]

 
Also, looks like they offered a $50 upgrade for those that purchased the LCD-2 right before the version 2 was released.
https://www.audeze.com/recent-purchase-upgrade
 
just saying....
 

 
But is the Flow not a different product marked at a different price, as opposed to and Audeze upgrade (same product at same price point)?

 

[jfoxvol]

 
Also, looks like they offered a $50 upgrade for those that purchased the LCD-2 right before the version 2 was released.
https://www.audeze.com/recent-purchase-upgrade
 
just saying....
 

I contacted Audeze about a year ago about upgrading my LCD-3 to Fazor.  They stopped offering upgrades at the point and wouldn't let me.  So, I still enjoy my LCD3.  I was a bit disappointed.  Apparently, the interest had waned and they discontinued the offer.  Has that changed?  Sorry to derail the Ether thread further.  That said, I have Ether Cs 1.1 version and am curious about the upgrade path.  I think it's a great offer to existing customers.  As products continue to evolve, they must change.  It's unfortunate for the recent buyers, but they don't announce for obvious business reasons.  Sales would plummet if they said in three months a new model was coming.  Cool of Dan to think of us and offer the path to the Flow.  Kudos.

 

[kejar31]

BTW.. just got my Ether C's today and at first blush WOW.. I have been searching for some time owning the LCD-X's for about 4 months then selling those to pick up some HD800S's neither of which were right for me.. Then these and man atm these are just right! I did bump the bass just a touch (same as Tyll did in his review)... 

 

[VandyMan]

 
Also, looks like they offered a $50 upgrade for those that purchased the LCD-2 right before the version 2 was released.
https://www.audeze.com/recent-purchase-upgrade
 
just saying....
 

 
I bought my LCD 2.1s about a month (maybe two) before the 2.2 and did not qualify for the upgrade. It was not very generous, in that sense. Anyway, offering headphone upgrades is very unusual and not done at all by most manufacturers.

 

[buke9]

Dan has always offered upgrades to his cans. From Mad Dogs to Pro's and then to Alpha Dogs. I remember when I had my Alpha Dogs it said they couldn't be upgraded to Primes and now they can just a little strange because I would have for sure.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Here are my impressions of some alternative pads, If you would like to try them, send me a PM to be on the tour. All you have to do is post impressions, and pay to send them to the next person.
 
Setup
Mac -> Uptone Regen -> Oppo HA-1 -> Liquid Carbon -> Balanced Cable -> Ether C
 
Treble sounded pretty good to me for all the pads. I’m just not the sensitive to it, but I like it.
 
Also note it takes a few minutes to switch pads, so it was really hard for me to do direct comparisons. 
 
Brainwavz Hybrid Memory Foam Earpad - Black PU/Velour
Amazon price: $29.50
Comfort: 8/10. excellent for long listening. Pads do not warm up like the leather ones
Bass: 6/10. Tight, controlled, but not very impactful. Certainly not bad, but not emotional relatively easy to EQ, if desired, but still pretty close to stock
Mid: 6/10. A little recessed relative to the stock MrSpeakers ETHER C angled pads
Soundstage: 7/10. good, but not excellent.
Isolation: 5/10
Ease of pad installation: hard. lots of stretching
32/50
 
Brainwavz Angled Memory Foam Earpad - Black Velour
Amazon price: $26.50
Comfort: 7/10. excellent for long listening. Pads do not warm up like the leather ones. area of the ears is a little smaller than stock. I think because they are a little smaller than the stock pads, there is a little more pressure on a area around the ear.
Bass: 5/10. Tight, controlled, but not very impactful. Certainly not bad, but not emotional. relatively easy to EQ
Mid: 6/10. A little recessed relative to the stock MrSpeakers ETHER C angled pads
Soundstage: 6/10. good, but not excellent. 
Isolation: 4/10
Ease of pad installation: hard. lots of stretching
28/50
 
ZMF Cowhide 
ZMF price: $49.00
Comfort: 5/10. Thick pads, so more clamp. Warms up quickly
Bass: 9/10. The bass might extend lower, but is recessed (not as impactful to me)
Mid: 7/10. A little recessed relative to the stock MrSpeakers ETHER C angled pads, but fuller than the brainwavz’ pads
Soundstage: 9/10. excellent. I think these actually expand the sage  a bit; makes it a bit more 3D. Not sure I like the change.
Isolation: 8/10
Ease of pad installation: moderate
38/50
 
MrSpeakers ETHER C angled 
MrSpeakers price: $79.00
Comfort: 7/10. they are leather, so they do warm up relative to the velour pads
Bass: 7/10. Controlled, tight, still some emotional impact, but not not pounding. I guess that means they don’t extend as low as the ZMFs
Mid: 8/10. best sounding mids
Soundstage: 10/10. excellent. instruments sound like they should, and are in just the right position
Isolation: 7/10
Ease of pad installation: relatively easy
39/50
 
So, what pads do I use? I prefer the Brainwavz Hybrid Memory Foam Earpad with one black tuning pad and a 3db boost from 125 down
 

Brainwavz Hybrid Memory Foam Earpad - Black PU/Velour
 

Brainwavz Hybrid Memory Foam Earpad - Black PU/Velour
 

ZMF - Ether C Stock - Brainwave Angled - Brainwavz Hybrid
 

ZMF - Ether C Stock - Brainwave Angled - Brainwavz Hybrid
 

ZMF Cowhide 
 

ZMF Cowhide 

 

[Vigrith]

@Allanmarcus Very cool write up, always nice to see some love for the Hybrid Brainwavz - though I also own a couple iterations of the ZMFs, all 3 kinds of Kennerton pads, Audezes and a couple other more expensive options myself, the Hybrids are super pleasant to wear, especially during the Summer here in Portugal. I find they sound particularly good with the HE-400S, fitting price tag too for a $300 pair of headphones. 

 

[GumbyDammit223]

  There are some amazingly well-recorded CD's from the 80's and 90's! 
 
And also some incredibly poorly recorded CD's from the last few years. 
 
While it's not the only element of a good recording, the "loudness wars" have really compressed the dynamic range of recordings lately. I just did a random selection of 80's and 90's CD rips on JRMC and they all had DR's of between 11 and 15, while Adele's and Lady Gaga's latest albums have DR's of only 5. Yuck. 

I've been wondering why a lot of my recent CD purchases over the past few years have sounded like s**t to me.  They sound distorted and like crap.  Too bad they don't make a couple different CD offerings - a cheaper one for the teeny boppers who only respond to excessive bass and a more expensive one that has been mastered correctly.  Man, I remember when CDs first came out and the record companies were touting how much more dynamic range CDs had compared to cassettes or even LPs.  They've come full circle thanks to all the sheeple out there.

 

[Allanmarcus]

 

  There are some amazingly well-recorded CD's from the 80's and 90's! 
 
And also some incredibly poorly recorded CD's from the last few years. 
 
While it's not the only element of a good recording, the "loudness wars" have really compressed the dynamic range of recordings lately. I just did a random selection of 80's and 90's CD rips on JRMC and they all had DR's of between 11 and 15, while Adele's and Lady Gaga's latest albums have DR's of only 5. Yuck. 

I've been wondering why a lot of my recent CD purchases over the past few years have sounded like s**t to me.  They sound distorted and like crap.  Too bad they don't make a couple different CD offerings - a cheaper one for the teeny boppers who only respond to excessive bass and a more expensive one that has been mastered correctly.  Man, I remember when CDs first came out and the record companies were touting how much more dynamic range CDs had compared to cassettes or even LPs.  They've come full circle thanks to all the sheeple out there.

From what I understand, many of the boutique on-line audiophile shops like HDTracks and others remaster some of the material. Also, SACDs sometimes are mastered better. It all depends on the artist, label, and seller. Worth checking for your favorite music. My guess is that you will pay for it, though. 

 

[kejar31]

Does anyone EQ their Ether's? I ended up giving them a slight mid bass bump in the region they are a little thin.. I am using Tyll’s EQ settings (found in his review) but only his lower end region. This really helps thicken up the C’s and resolve the somewhat thin sound of these headphones. I am personally using a free parametric eq for Windows called Equalizer APO.. Here are some pics for anyone who might want to try it out, if you do let me know what you think. 
 

 

[x RELIC x]

Spoiler

Does anyone EQ their Ether's? I ended up giving them a slight mid bass bump in the region they are a little thin.. I am using Tyll’s EQ settings (found in his review) but only his lower end region. This really helps thicken up the C’s and resolve the somewhat thin sound of these headphones. I am personally using a free parametric eq for Windows called Equalizer APO.. Here are some pics for anyone who might want to try it out, if you do let me know what you think. 

Those double bumps in the bass frequency response could also be from the NiTinol headband not damping properly on the head measurement system.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/814156/mrspeakers-ether-flow-and-ether-c-flow-inspired-by-electrostatic-headphones#post_12721416

Now, the above linked post is in reference to the new ETHER Flow, but looks similar to the 'problem area' you have posted. I'm not saying that your EQ doesn't, or shouldn't, make it sound better, just that frequency response measurements may not tell the whole story.

 

[Arpiben]

 

Spoiler

 

Those double bumps in the bass frequency response could also be from the NiTinol headband not damping properly on the head measurement system.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/814156/mrspeakers-ether-flow-and-ether-c-flow-inspired-by-electrostatic-headphones#post_12721416

Now, the above linked post is in reference to the new ETHER Flow, but looks similar to the 'problem area' you have posted. I'm not saying that your EQ doesn't, or shouldn't, make it sound better, just that frequency response measurements may not tell the whole story.

Indeed @kejar31 posted the ETHER C curves (not ETHER Flow) .Rgds.

 

[x RELIC x]

Indeed @kejar31
 posted the ETHER C curves (not ETHER Flow) .Rgds. :wink_face:

Um, yes I know. :rolleyes:

Both have a NiTinol headband and I wonder if the measurement artifact (which looks very similar) is the same on both models.

 

[Arpiben]

Um, yes I know.

Both have a NiTinol headband and I wonder if the measurement artifact (which looks very similar) is the same on both models.

My misunderstanding sorry.
I am not expert with those curves but it makes sense since both models have been measured with same 'head' & are sharing same Nitinol headband.
Added to this, I usually do take time finding the proper head adjustement with my ETHER C's
 
Rgds 

 

[kejar31]

Those double bumps in the bass frequency response could also be from the NiTinol headband not damping properly on the head measurement system.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/814156/mrspeakers-ether-flow-and-ether-c-flow-inspired-by-electrostatic-headphones#post_12721416

Now, the above linked post is in reference to the new ETHER Flow, but looks similar to the 'problem area' you have posted. I'm not saying that your EQ doesn't, or shouldn't, make it sound better, just that frequency response measurements may not tell the whole story.

Yeah it was my understanding that the bumps were caused by the headband assembly. I think Dan talks about this in reference to Jude's measurements on the flow..

That said, those bumps are not what I am targeting, its the fact that there should be a slight rise on the response in this range, but there is not.. Take a look at the Ether Flows measurements in the included picture from the same testing rig (Tyll's) and you will see it def has a rise in this area.



As stated I am just implementing the EQ settings Tyll posted in his review and trying to explain why I think they help.. These are not EQ settings I came up with.