MrSpeakers ETHER Flow and ETHER C Flow -- Inspired by Electrostatic Headphones

[musicday]

Are the circular leather pads available to order yet?Will be nice to have another option especially with more room around the ear.

 

[kejar31]

Are the circular leather pads available to order yet?Will be nice to have another option especially with more room around the ear.

I feel the same and am also looking forward to ordering the new pads, although I believe Mrspeakers said they would be available in mid Jan.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Today I auditioned the C Flow for the first time.
AB against T5p 2.gen and MDR-Z1R they are the most enjoyable of the bunch to my ears.
Very impressed by the Beyerdynamics as well (half the price of the Ether) and felt let down by the Sony (too dark, bass was too intrusive and sounded somehow congested).
Very superficial impressions after a quick listen

How long did you actually listen to the Z1R?

 

[stuart1927]

So ....heres a thing!
 
I got my ether flows a week or so ago and had been playing with my DNA stratus headphone amp. As you would expect, great sound, .......wonderful sound. Then I played around today...I have a Doge 6210 headphone amp that I love (see previous posts). Holy ****.....the combination of the ether flows and the little Doge 6210 headphone amp is off the chart!
 
Full disclosure, I have maxed out this (<$400) headphone amp with some pretty nice Nos tubes....telefunken 1960's vintage that are worth more than the amp, but my god, this is a nice sounding rig.
 
I was listening to Vaughan Williams 5th symphony conducted by Bryden Thompson, and my oh my, was this special!
 
It's a geat recording by Chandos, but with the flows connected to the doge, it is elevated. I have a lot of respect for Doge Audio products (I own most of them)....but their little headphone amp is a gem. Check it out.  It looks a bit like a lunch box, but the sonics on this thing are incredible.
 
I think it is the audio bargain of the century.....and with the flows........unbelievable performance.
 
 
sbb

 

[musicday]

Let us see some photos of your amplifier and headphones.

 

[Frozen Rat]

Today I auditioned the C Flow for the first time.
AB against T5p 2.gen and MDR-Z1R they are the most enjoyable of the bunch to my ears.
Very impressed by the Beyerdynamics as well (half the price of the Ether) and felt let down by the Sony (too dark, bass was too intrusive and sounded somehow congested).
Very superficial impressions after a quick listen

I also own the Beyer T5p.2 and just bought the Ether C Flows about an hour ago. The Beyer works great off of anything: even the crappiest low-powered players can power it to loud levels and it handles anything and sounds decent all the way up to incredible (with a good amp). I also got an Audeze Sine but it's not in the same league as the T5p.2. I'll be comparing the ECFlows to the T5p.2 when I get that headphone and burn it in. The Beyer is really the perfect portable HP, even the size isn't really an issue. You can walk around with it and forget it and no one takes even a second look at it. I think the Ether C Flows are perfect for my home rig as a really high end HP to zone out to.
 
I debated between the C and the opens for over a week and decided the isolation is more important than the airy quality I'd be giving up.

 

[stuart1927]

Let us see some photos of your amplifier and headphones.

OK then!

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[Frozen Rat]

 
how does the t5p gen2 compare against the c flow?
I once had interest in getting this for portable listening, not anymore though..

Do it. You can find the T5p.2 for $500 if you look around—that's Audeze Sine price levels and it's much better. It's super sensitive with low OHMs. It will sound good on anything. It plays much louder than the Sine and responds to amping and scales nicely. It's very portable: light, nice fit, decent isolation, decent leakage, looks cool and is durable. 

 

[emptymt]

 
Do it. You can find the T5p.2 for $500 if you look around—that's Audeze Sine price levels and it's much better. It's super sensitive with low OHMs. It will sound good on anything. It plays much louder than the Sine and responds to amping and scales nicely. It's very portable: light, nice fit, decent isolation, decent leakage, looks cool and is durable. 

well, i have a meze99 classic for portable duties right now, at home I have the Ether flow, and sometimes I'm too lazy to wear big headphone on the road, I just use earbud.
I'm in Australia, so currency exchange hits hard even on discounted price, based on my use case and behavior, it's not worth spending more money on portable headphone for now.

 

[stuart1927]

Impressions: After approx. 60hrs, flows are opening up nicely! These are the best headphones I've heard by quite a margin. I still love my HD800's for classical music, but the flows hold their own in this genre, and best the senns for pop, jazz and rock. Hell......as things burn in, they might even exceed the senns for classical.....I thought that was impossible!

 

[doraymon]

How long did you actually listen to the Z1R?

To be honest not for long, say 10-15 minutes.
But the dark sound signature was so clear when A/B ing with the C Flow and T5p that I gave up listening to them.
Does this surprise you?

 

[stuart1927]

Ok....I've had the ether flows for approx 1 week and maybe 60-70 hrs playtime.
 
In a word......superb!
 
I listen to predominently jazz, classical and rock. Ether flows really present the music as recorded.....no flavourining, or colouring. They are sublimely accurate and revealing.....this is what I want. I have the Sennheiser Hd800's and love these headphones also.
 
These two headphone have more similarities than differences. Where the Senns provide a marginally wider soundstage and sense or airiness, the Ether flows match (95%) but manage to provide a slightly  enhanced bass heft and intimacy......it's not immediately apparent, but it is there. It gives an overall better balance to the music IMHO.
 
In the final analysis, the Ether flows just preset a better overall balance to a wider range of musical genres.
 
Will I give up the Sennheiser 800's, ....No! But I will use both headphones as a reference, and suspect the ether flows will become my go-to headphones.
 
 
 
sbb

 

[Frozen Rat]

  well, i have a meze99 classic for portable duties right now, at home I have the Ether flow, and sometimes I'm too lazy to wear big headphone on the road, I just use earbud.
I'm in Australia, so currency exchange hits hard even on discounted price, based on my use case and behavior, it's not worth spending more money on portable headphone for now.

You're more disciplined than I. I have two headphone options for any situation I might encounter. I'm turning into something I dread: a collector.

 

[Sonic Defender]

....
Does this surprise you?

Not really, I take it you tend to prefer headphones that lean more toward bright sounding as opposed to dark?

 

[emptymt]

  Ok....I've had the ether flows for approx 1 week and maybe 60-70 hrs playtime.
 
In a word......superb!
 
I listen to predominently jazz, classical and rock. Ether flows really present the music as recorded.....no flavourining, or colouring. They are sublimely accurate and revealing.....this is what I want. I have the Sennheiser Hd800's and love these headphones also.
 
These two headphone have more similarities than differences. Where the Senns provide a marginally wider soundstage and sense or airiness, the Ether flows match (95%) but manage to provide a slightly  enhanced bass heft and intimacy......it's not immediately apparent, but it is there. It gives an overall better balance to the music IMHO.
 
In the final analysis, the Ether flows just preset a better overall balance to a wider range of musical genres.
 
Will I give up the Sennheiser 800's, ....No! But I will use both headphones as a reference, and suspect the ether flows will become my go-to headphones.
 
 
 
sbb

It is indeed excellent for rock, I listen to metal mostly and it performs very well on it as well.