[Focux]

Yeah I definitely agree with your comment about the HD650’s bass. It’s my biggest issue with them. Once you look past the bass though there a coherence to the HD650 that 99% of headphones can’t match and they have a smooth transition from mids to treble that all headphones seem to lack. I do sometimes hate how the HD650 boots the 5K area it can make them sound edgy at times. The timbre of the HD600 series though is amazing.

I’d say the Verum is like cross between the LCD-2C and the ZMF Aeolus. It has all the elements of planar smoothness but the driver is quick and responsive like a high end dynamic driver. Unlike the 2C the vocal presence and timbre on the Verum is great with amazing musicality.

It’s not as resolving as a well driven Aeolus/Atticus/HD600/650 but it gets close with better bass extension and presence, texture.

One poster said it’s like a fixed and improved LCD-X it has that old school planar sound, smooth and responsive.

How come you are not a Verum owner as per your sig..???

 

[xRaptorxPunisher]

How come you are not a Verum owner as per your sig..???

I’ve placed an order but the wait is about 3 weeks or so.

 

[gtb75]

As someone who owns the HD650 (HD6XX = HD650) as well as open and closed back Ethers I strongly disagree that the HD650 outperforms the Ethers. Either of my Ethers are significantly better than my HD6XX, and it's not like I don't have adequate amplification to drive them. I appreciate the HD6XX, and it will always have a place in my lineup, but it isn't better than my Ethers. Also, bringing up an open headphone like the Verum in a thread for a closed back headphone (Ether CX) is comparing apples and oranges. Having an opinion is fine, but making an irrelevant and inflammatory statement is trolling - and I'm sure a moderator could clarify this.

Getting back to the subject of the Ether CX, I am really happy with how mine have progressed during the break-in process. I have about 160 hours on them at this point and they seem to have leveled off for the most part. My break in routine has been letting them play on my 789 during the day and then doing a short period (~30 minutes) of listening in the evening. That being said, it has been interesting to hear to the daily changes. The soundstage has continued to open up with time and the bass is has filled in nicely. The best way I can describe it is the drivers seem to have more "bounce" to them as time goes on. The highest compliment I can pay them is that they pretty much disappear, both sonically and physically... You forget that you are wearing headphones and just hear the music. They definitely take advantage of better amplification, but there aren't any glaring flaws or omissions I am hearing. No they aren't as spacious or resolving as my open Ether Flows, but they are fantastic for a closed headphone at this price point.

I don't have much listening time with the Aeon family so I can't offer any comparisons there, but in terms of other closed headphones I definitely prefer the Ether CX to my own X00 and my buddy's Elegia. I bought the Ether CX to replace my X00, which was a fun but fatiguing (for longer sessions) headphone with pretty much no soundstage. The Ether CX addressed those deficiencies and got me closer to the sound of my open Ether Flows than I thought would be possible - particularly in a closed headphone and at the price point. Very highly recommended!

 

[xRaptorxPunisher]

As someone who owns the HD650 (HD6XX = HD650) as well as open and closed back Ethers I strongly disagree that the HD650 outperforms the Ethers. Either of my Ethers are significantly better than my HD6XX, and it's not like I don't have adequate amplification to drive them. I appreciate the HD6XX, and it will always have a place in my lineup, but it isn't better than my Ethers. Also, bringing up an open headphone like the Verum in a thread for a closed back headphone (Ether CX) is comparing apples and oranges. Having an opinion is fine, but making an irrelevant and inflammatory statement is trolling - and I'm sure a moderator could clarify this.

Getting back to the subject of the Ether CX, I am really happy with how mine have progressed during the break-in process. I have about 160 hours on them at this point and they seem to have leveled off for the most part. My break in routine has been letting them play on my 789 during the day and then doing a short period (~30 minutes) of listening in the evening. That being said, it has been interesting to hear to the daily changes. The soundstage has continued to open up with time and the bass is has filled in nicely. The best way I can describe it is the drivers seem to have more "bounce" to them as time goes on. The highest compliment I can pay them is that they pretty much disappear, both sonically and physically... You forget that you are wearing headphones and just hear the music. They definitely take advantage of better amplification, but there aren't any glaring flaws or omissions I am hearing. No they aren't as spacious or resolving as my open Ether Flows, but they are fantastic for a closed headphone at this price point.

I don't have much listening time with the Aeon family so I can't offer any comparisons there, but in terms of other closed headphones I definitely prefer the Ether CX to my own X00 and my buddy's Elegia. I bought the Ether CX to replace my X00, which was a fun but fatiguing (for longer sessions) headphone with pretty much no soundstage. The Ether CX addressed those deficiencies and got me closer to the sound of my open Ether Flows than I thought would be possible - particularly in a closed headphone and at the price point. Very highly recommended!

I’d give the Ether Flow the nod on bass, the 650’s bass isn’t great. You gotta bear in mind this is running from gear like the Zana Deux so YMMV.

 

[Maelob]

Yeah I definitely agree with your comment about the HD650’s bass. It’s my biggest issue with them. Once you look past the bass though there a coherence to the HD650 that 99% of headphones can’t match and they have a smooth transition from mids to treble that all headphones seem to lack. I do sometimes hate how the HD650 boots the 5K area it can make them sound edgy at times. The timbre of the HD600 series though is amazing.

I’d say the Verum is like cross between the LCD-2C and the ZMF Aeolus. It has all the elements of planar smoothness but the driver is quick and responsive like a high end dynamic driver. Unlike the 2C the vocal presence and timbre on the Verum is great with amazing musicality.

It’s not as resolving as a well driven Aeolus/Atticus/HD600/650 but it gets close with better bass extension and presence, texture.

One poster said it’s like a fixed and improved LCD-X it has that old school planar sound, smooth and responsive.

See, that is a more articulate way of stating your opinion- instead of “LOL at the price” which is not cool for CX owners. Off course we can all share our opinions but remember to be polite. Just my two cents.

 

[SeEnCreaTive]

Well, mine are about 60 hours in now, and boy do they sound different.

I wasn't really truely a believer in burn in, thinking I don't know sound well enough to hear a difference, but man I was wrong. They sounded almost muffled or tinny (somehow at the same time) at first, but now are brilliant

And take note about the felts "burning in" too. There was a huge sound change after a few days. Im using 2 notch white, not because I like bass, I just listen at rather low volumes. That being said, it's crazy how much volume changes the sound, I can see why Dan included tuning bits.


Comfort wise, there are very good. I wish they had the gimbals that the original Ethers had, although the CXs don't have angled pads, negating the real reason for such a gimbal, it would have been a nice touch. I have a fairly slender Italian head and face, but with high Haida cheek bones, so they fit pretty darn well thankfully. But for those with different shapes or if they want to swap pads it would be helpful. However I'd imagine it's one of the more expensive parts to make l, so I do understand


My left cup seems to be more open sounding in a way than the right. No one but me can hear it, so it may just be my hearing. Placement doesn't seem to change it. I did drop them about 2 feet onto a rug, I can't imagine that would do a single thing. Besides like I said, no one can hear it but me heh.
@mrspeakers did the CXs go through the same driver matching as the original Ethers/Flows?
(Either way, it's the most match headphone I've ever heard. T50rps and 4xx are crazy off.)

They respond rather well to any power source. They don't thin out much on low power device, and can easily pump the volumes I normally listen at. (Unlike t50rps that require its own nuclear power plant).

They are very revealing, you know you're listening to a bad dac or a bad file, however they don't punish you for it. Some cans and speakers are unusable unless you have the right sources. But I will happily plug these into my $200 tablet and watch Netflix or my Modi 2 and Mangi 2 and listen to some Flacs, and have a positive experience with both.

The past 2 days or so they have really started to open up in terms of sound stage. I wouldn't go and say it's massive, but they are closed cans. Imaging is great, and watching movies with them it's seriously good.


These are my first truely high-end set of cans I've owned so I can't compare, and other high end cans may do the same.
They seem like chameleons, they don't do any single genre of sound badly. Movies, metal, classical, electronic you forget you are listening to headphones. With my Open Alphas or 4xx somewhere in the back of my mind I'm always aware of what hardware I'm listening to, and they are better at certain genres then other ones. With the Ethers, that just kind of goes away. Like I said, that may be a characteristic of all high-end cans, but I can't speak for that.

 

[mrspeakers]

Well, mine are about 60 hours in now, and boy do they sound different.

I wasn't really truely a believer in burn in, thinking I don't know sound well enough to hear a difference, but man I was wrong. They sounded almost muffled or tinny (somehow at the same time) at first, but now are brilliant

And take note about the felts "burning in" too. There was a huge sound change after a few days. Im using 2 notch white, not because I like bass, I just listen at rather low volumes. That being said, it's crazy how much volume changes the sound, I can see why Dan included tuning bits.

My left cup seems to be more open sounding in a way than the right. No one but me can hear it, so it may just be my hearing. Placement doesn't seem to change it. I did drop them about 2 feet onto a rug, I can't imagine that would do a single thing. Besides like I said, no one can hear it but me heh.
@mrspeakers did the CXs go through the same driver matching as the original Ethers/Flows?
(Either way, it's the most match headphone I've ever heard. T50rps and 4xx are crazy off.)

These are my first truely high-end set of cans I've owned so I can't compare, and other high end cans may do the same.
They seem like chameleons, they don't do any single genre of sound badly. Movies, metal, classical, electronic you forget you are listening to headphones. With my Open Alphas or 4xx somewhere in the back of my mind I'm always aware of what hardware I'm listening to, and they are better at certain genres then other ones. With the Ethers, that just kind of goes away. Like I said, that may be a characteristic of all high-end cans, but I can't speak for that.

Burn in is due to our V-Planar driver processing and the trace metal reaching stability... It's fun hearing the burn-in, to me. I love the "oh, there it is" moment.

The drivers go through the same matching process, and there should be no L/R difference. A drop onto carpet shouldn't cause a problem. If the phones sound well channel matched I suspect this is not the headphone but it's hard to say from your description.

 

[SeEnCreaTive]

Burn in is due to our V-Planar driver processing and the trace metal reaching stability... It's fun hearing the burn-in, to me. I love the "oh, there it is" moment.

The drivers go through the same matching process, and there should be no L/R difference. A drop onto carpet shouldn't cause a problem. If the phones sound well channel matched I suspect this is not the headphone but it's hard to say from your description.

I have a feeling it's not either, heh it's honestly probably just me. I even have to struggle to hear it.

And it was tooootally a "there it is moment". I'm impressed how suddenly it came about as well, it wasn't exactly a gradual process. However it could have been a combination of the cans and felt at the same time

 

[jsmiller58]

Burn in is due to our V-Planar driver processing and the trace metal reaching stability... It's fun hearing the burn-in, to me. I love the "oh, there it is" moment.

The drivers go through the same matching process, and there should be no L/R difference. A drop onto carpet shouldn't cause a problem. If the phones sound well channel matched I suspect this is not the headphone but it's hard to say from your description.

I have my doubts about burn in, but the way my CX opened up after 100 hours or so of burnin I am willing to suspend disbelief!

 

[mrspeakers]

I have my doubts about burn in, but the way my CX opened up after 100 hours or so of burnin I am willing to suspend disbelief!

I can't tell how many times I've told a burn-in skeptic to just stick with it a bit and see, there's nothing to loose, then gotten the "Oh it actually happened" note...

 

[jsmiller58]

I can't tell how many times I've told a burn-in skeptic to just stick with it a bit and see, there's nothing to loose, then gotten the "Oh it actually happened" note...

Yes, that’s me right there! And there is no question of brain burnin - I ran the headphones listening only at the beginning and end of the period. I am at a loss - in a good way - for words!

 

[louderup]

@mrspeakers Are these the flattest closed back you make? Curious which of your closed backs you'd consider best for mixing. Thanks.

 

[freesole]

For those that have heard these next to the Elegia, what are your thoughts? Very intrigued by these and I love the look of them.

 

[FangJoker]

As someone who owns the HD650 (HD6XX = HD650) as well as open and closed back Ethers I strongly disagree that the HD650 outperforms the Ethers. Either of my Ethers are significantly better than my HD6XX, and it's not like I don't have adequate amplification to drive them. I appreciate the HD6XX, and it will always have a place in my lineup, but it isn't better than my Ethers. Also, bringing up an open headphone like the Verum in a thread for a closed back headphone (Ether CX) is comparing apples and oranges. Having an opinion is fine, but making an irrelevant and inflammatory statement is trolling - and I'm sure a moderator could clarify this.

Getting back to the subject of the Ether CX, I am really happy with how mine have progressed during the break-in process. I have about 160 hours on them at this point and they seem to have leveled off for the most part. My break in routine has been letting them play on my 789 during the day and then doing a short period (~30 minutes) of listening in the evening. That being said, it has been interesting to hear to the daily changes. The soundstage has continued to open up with time and the bass is has filled in nicely. The best way I can describe it is the drivers seem to have more "bounce" to them as time goes on. The highest compliment I can pay them is that they pretty much disappear, both sonically and physically... You forget that you are wearing headphones and just hear the music. They definitely take advantage of better amplification, but there aren't any glaring flaws or omissions I am hearing. No they aren't as spacious or resolving as my open Ether Flows, but they are fantastic for a closed headphone at this price point.

I don't have much listening time with the Aeon family so I can't offer any comparisons there, but in terms of other closed headphones I definitely prefer the Ether CX to my own X00 and my buddy's Elegia. I bought the Ether CX to replace my X00, which was a fun but fatiguing (for longer sessions) headphone with pretty much no soundstage. The Ether CX addressed those deficiencies and got me closer to the sound of my open Ether Flows than I thought would be possible - particularly in a closed headphone and at the price point. Very highly recommended!

I don't know about the Aeon or this Ether CX, but I believe that it blows the HD650 out of the water. The HD650 is the most overrated headphone of all time. It's way too colored, the muddy bass and bass bloat is unacceptable, and it is downright awful with fast tracks. I suppose is you listen to opera or classical, it might be ok as seems ok for slow music

 

[KaizerBeelzebub]

Bought an AFC a week ago and saw the Ether CX on Massdrop, though I like my AFCs a lot my ear tends to touch something inside the cup and makes me feel uncomfortable sometimes (sometimes I forget about it though).
My Question now is if the Ether CX are significantly larger than the AFCs and if the Pads are more easily replaceable?

Thanks in advance.