This was going to be a review, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how inexperienced I am. The focus will be my thoughts on the Mr.Speakers Ether CXs, however as the title says, this is more of an exercise. Chronicling my adventures with my first set of truely high-end cans.
Prelude:
My Dad and his brother have always been into high-end audio. Entering stereo competitions along with my cousin, with a CRX with a crazy system they made in it.
I inherited a very nice Luxman source stack with KEF 104/2 towers from my uncle. Being a gamer, headphones were a natural progression for me. Starting with a pair of open back Sony's I bought for $35 and a $27 Asus soundcard, that was the gateway heh.
My first decent set would be T50rps premoded, so of course the Mr. Speakers Alphas were my dream cans. I was part of a tech club and was fascinated by the cups being 3d printed, trying to understand the intricacies of why the design was the way it was. That inspired me to make a really basic set of wave guides along with ZGLISZCZ (who did a much better job than me by a long long shot, which some say inspired the Mr.Speaker Flow variants) Then came the Primes. (Of course I printed my own Open Alphas and definitely looked into pleating my drivers, reeeaalllyy difficult). Ether Cs were naturally my dream headphone.
When the Ether CX dropped. My wallet cried. I didn't have an excuse not to, and well, here we are.
Unboxing(?):
I never intended to make a review so I don't have pictures of the unboxing. It was a plain cardboard box, with the cans in the bag, and the documents, not much to it in the least.
Build:
The first thing you will notice on the outside of the cans, is the signature (can I call it signature now?) The 2 wire Nitol headband, with a leather suspension band marked with Massdrop and the model. I'm a big fan of Nitol and I think this is a perfect solution for use in this application. I am not, however a fan of the style of suspension. The leather strap friction mounted to the Nitol wires. I know it's fairly common for headphones, but I find for me, it can be a fine balance of cup positioning and my head tensioning the headband. This totally works for most people, but I am strange and not one of them.
The cups are the normal Ether C cups in all their glory. Gorgeous carbon fiber which perfectly fit into metal surrounds, terminating in the very good Rosewill connectors. Mine did come with a small scuff, so if that bothers you, it's there, but I couldn't care less. They will get many more in my hands heh.
The CXs do differ from the original C's in 2 aspects. The first is the gimbals. They lack horizontal rotation. The flexibility of the Nitol wires do help tremendously, but it is something of note. I would have preferred the full Ether gimbals, but I do also understand how expensive they would be. I would guess besides the magnets, they are probably the most expensive single piece, if they had to be CNC machined that is. The lack of rotation on the horizontal axis is also mitigated by the second change; the pads are flat instead of angled. I'd love to know the science behind why flat vs angled, could it have been a cost cutting? I have no preference whatsoever, I'd imagine others don't either. They are typical high end comfy pads. Quality foam and materials. (lamb skin like other mr.speakers?)
Accessories:
The cable is a very versatile attire, however It was clearly another point that a bit of cost was cut, being a bit heavy and very stiff. The braided outside feels alright, and durable. The versatility comes in with the terminations. The main cable comes with an XLR, and included is an XLR to 3.5mm stereo jack that has a ¼” stereo screwed on. Very good on them to have that many options included, however the XLR connector is really awkward and heavy, definitely getting in the way sometimes. Combined with the stiff cable, it tends to be a strange flexy pool noodle with a weight on it. People with larger desks may not have an issue, but with my specific set up it is a bit tedious. The XLR connector hangs front my Modi 2u just low enough to lightly rest on my keyboard tray (yes I still rock a keyboard tray) onto my mouse pad. With no option to remove the XLR it can get a bit frustrating especially when using it in more mobile applications, having a relatively massive weight dangling off your device.
In the box are also tuning pads, these are filters you put on the ear side to change the sound to your taste or listening volumes(more on this later).
There is also a velour bag included, it's simple and cheap, but definitely does the job. It seems to make a good cleaning cloth when the cups get fingerprint-y
Sound:
This is where my lack of experience really shows, but still, I'll take a good whack at it. I'm not a very good writer, so intended thoughts may be different from words written.
Burn-in:
I was never really a believer in burn in, neither of my 2 T50rps, or my pair of He-4xx saw any sound changes. However the Ethers came to major changes even to my inexperienced ears. The first time I plugged them in I was immediately extremely disappointed. These cans that have been my dream for a few years, sounded worse then my Open Alphas. More detail, but somehow sounded tinny and muffled at the same time.
60 hours was bit of a magic point. The sound started to fill in like it should. Bass gaining much more impact and depth, not sounding choked anymore. The best part is detail still remained, the driver's sounding fast and accurate now just with bass. I was still disappointed with soundstage. But around the 100 hour mark is when things started to open up. Sound stage slowly became wider and wider. Not long after the sound of the drivers started to just fall away. They didn't sound like speakers attached to your head blaring music into your ear holes, instead the sound became whole…. If that makes any sense.
Dan explains the reason why Mr.Speaker cans specifically respond to burn in much more then others. It has to do with the pleated diaphragms that's fairly unique to Mr.Speakers (in terms of headphones that is). The movement wearing in the folds to allow easier extensions
A note, the tuning felts also “burn in” taking a few days to actually achieve their sounds.
Highs:
The highs to my ears are wonderful. They are fairly affected by the tuning felts I find. I'll dig into that later. The highs are fast and accurate, but don't sound hot. While the highs are there and balanced, to my ears they don't have that top end sparkle some people like. The Ether CXs do a very good job of sounding very detailed without hot highs, which is perfect for me, Giving you the texture of cymbals, for example, without being fatiguing.
Mids:
The mids do loose a bit of detail compared to the rest of the range. (Still extremely detailed of course) They do however, sound extremely natural. They don't offer emphasis on any particular sound or frequency, smoothly rolling from sound to sound. This to me is my guess why they tend to respond well to any genre. Somewhere in the back of my mind I'm always aware of what set of headphones I'm listening to, being conscious of what kind of music those particular cans play well, with the mids on these CXs that just goes away. I've never had that experience before. I guess the name “Ether” is pretty fitting.
Bass:
The bass is a bit dependent on what tuning filter you have in. Using the stock foams, the bass is very balanced. I use the 2-notch white (the most bassy), the bass comes up. This is where my lack of experience really shows. To me, this is the best bass I've ever heard. Even the AKG 7xx can't hold a candle. It is detailed and very tight, allowing a meaty, deep, and clean texture to come through. You can physically feel the low notes, even more so than my modded Yamaha Yh100s which are known to be a dark set of cans. This may be a common feature of all high end cans, especially with how people talk about the Hifiman He-1000 bass, but like I said, this is my first set of high-end cans, so this was an eye opening experience for me.
Tuning pads:
In a nutshell they dictate how warm the headphones are. Simply take out one, and add the other, or even mix and match. They do have a “burn in” time, with the sound changing a bit after a few days of use. So it can take a while to test all of them. I use the 2-notch white, not because I'm a “bass head” (the felts are quite a subtle difference in reality), but because I listen at lower volumes. Similar how some amps have a “loudness” knob, the cans have felts. Due to how our hearing changes depending on volume. The 2-notch white balances out the lows for my listing volume (which is much lower than cans are typically measured at), however I do lose a bit of the high end sparkle. Which is fine for me.
Soundstage:
Not much to say on soundstage, it's big, but they are still a closed set of headphones. So it won't be knocking your socks off, but it's still impressive given the isolation these provide
Instrument seperation:
Instrument seperation is good, not the best I've heard, but you'll still be hard pressed to match it. Vocals are defined from saxophones, without the bass and drums bleeding into the voices. All remaining separate and well textured. In gaming when there are a million sounds going off combined with Discord chat running things sometimes get lost in translation. Don't get me wrong, this is a difficult challenge for headphones to tackle, and these still faired better then 99% of all cans I listened to (more on the 1% later). This may change still over time, I'm comfortable the burn in has settled, but I am noticing extremely small things here and there.
Imaging:
This one is a strange one for me. I'm going to have a hard time articulating my thoughts. However I'll use some examples to try and get to the point that I mean.
At first I was very disappointed. Things in video games seemed to be coming from different places than I'm seeing on the screen. I soon realized this differed from game to game. That was my first hint.
I then tried some movies, I first tried Ant Man and the Wasp, oh boy that was a good experience. I could pin point exactly where the sound was coming from, corisponding with things on and off screen. I was blown away. I've never been so transported into an experience before.
So this got me thinking. My guess is because of how accurate the imaging is. It can reveal proper high budget mastered movies, from the inaccuracies of some video games. This is a sign, in my mind, of how good the imaging actually is. Being able to discern the quality source content just by placement alone. My only comparison I can draw would be to an extremely cheap gaming headset my Dad bought for himself. Loose flabby bass with muddy mids and offensive highs, but the soundstage is massive, with a huge holographic area, but comparing it to my Ether CXs, the cheap set seems hollow and vague. The Ethers don't.
Sources:
I don't have many to play with, but I will say the sound of the headphones doesn't change much source to source. Don't get me wrong, you can absolutely hear a difference, there's no way my $200 tablet will keep up with my Schiit stack, but the headphones I find aren't affected as much by not having enough power. Volume may end up low for some people, but dynamics still remain good regardless. Not like my T50RPs which need a personal powerplant to run, and really come alive hooked up to a real amp. They are of course a very capable set of cans, so source is very important, but they don't loose body with being underpowered.
Sound overall/Sound conclusion:
I feel that I should have done a better job articulating in the seperate categories, but I'll bundle in a conclusion and over sound impression into one.
I never knew what a “natural” headphone meant. That quickly changed with the Ether CXs. They don't emphasize anything, they don't have a “signature sound” (moot point, as you know an Ether from an AKG for example), they don't sparkle the highs, or earthquake the lows. This might be a feature of all high-end cans but this is the only time I myself have experienced this sort of sound. They play well with any type of music. Electronic, Rock, Classical, the headphones just get out of the way. They are very detailed and revealing, but importantly without punishing you for having a bad source or file. My KEFs for example, playing a lossless through my iPod classic, you very quickly realize how awful the Classic's onboard sound is. To the point where you'd rather turn it off then listen, it's that bad, and my 2.0 system can easily show that. Playing my iPod through a headphone amp to my Ethers, I am fully aware that the iPod sounds terrible, but I also don't have a problem continuing to listen. It's always a positive experience no matter the source. Of course they scale well with high end sources. They give a strong value proposition. Offering the the full blown Ether C non-flow sound (even more refined to boot) at half the price. You do miss out on some things, like the gimbals, and a nicer cable, but for those that want a high end set of cans for good value, it's a strong contender.
Comparisons:
He-4xx
These are heavily compared online from what I've seen, and I own a pair so it seems like a good(?) Comparison to make. They are in completely different price brackets.
The He-4xx are a very pleasing can, buttery smooth, rich, and they have a certain sweet sound to them that's hard to describe, very very laid back. If you just want a good time relaxing to some music, these should be at the top of your list, however putting the Ether CXs on, you immediately notice the bass rolloff the 4xxs have, and how loose the 4xx bass is. Even though the 4xx is warm, the extension isnt quite there. The Ethers still maintain a beautiful smooth sweet sound, but with significantly better detail, much much tighter bass, that reaches lower and hits harder. My 4xxs have a slight channel imbalance that is hard to notice but is there, the Ethers of course are perfect. There is one thing the 4XXs are better at though, which is what I was alluding to earlier. That 1% of cans that can handle different sounds and voices playing at the same time. The He-4xx seperation is amazing. Clearly playing each sound at the same time, they are truely exceptional at this. But the Ethers really are better in every single other way by a good margin at that (even in soundstage to my ears). And with having a gaming rig 7 inches from my head, it's nice to have a closed set, even if it is a full Noctua build. They are much more expensive, over 4 times in fact, but are they 4 times better? Of course not, I'd say twice for sure, but you don't get a high end set of cans expecting a equal liner increase in performance as you did with price. If you are looking into the Ethers I'm sure you already know about the dimishing returns.
T50rps (my stock MK3 and MK2 Open Alphas):
I'm comparing these because I can heh.
T50rps are midrange monsters, giving vocals amazing texture and detail. They are also just very good at micro details through the whole range, with reasonably tight bass. But t50rps have never been known for their highs, and most mods revolve around improving the bass. They have an early rolloff, and many look to extend that. They don't have very good seperation or soundstage, and are very natorious for having badly matched drivers and taking a ton of power. The Ethers are just better. Bass, soundstage, efficiency. The Fotex can show some better detail in very few and very specific cases, but really is just overshadowed by the Ether CXsnin every way. The t50rps have slowly lost their crown over the past few years for value, with Massdrop and Monoprice releasing some very strong cans for a good price.
AKG 7xx
My Father has a pair of 7xx, it's been a while but from what I remember the 7xx is a warm set, with some very decent tight bass. Ether CX is definitely better. I'll have to borrow them, and maybe I'll update this when I do.
I might post some photos later, I mean, my Ether CXs don't exactly look different then any others heh
I've never built an amp before, I have no experience. Thanks for the reply Dan! This will be my first headphone from you and I am really looking forward to hearing it!!
? anyway thank you for the reply.
