[Bastianpp]

These were playing music all through CanJam London, Indulgence show and at dealers... so they were 100% fully run in.

My pair of ether too , but it get only the 100 hrs it that.

 

[Alcophone]

Mine needed about 200h as well, maybe 10h less, but it is truly needed to sound as clean as they eventually do.

 

[nigel801]

Anyone here who transitioned from Ether C Flow to Sony Z1R and could share their experience if they are happy or regret their decision!

 

[Stereolab42]

Thanks. I meant the two sliding "stops" that prevent the headband from sliding up the wire. Two little hex screws on each side. I want to adjust this down so the headband doesn't raise higher thus lowering the cups. I have some hex key sets but the smallest in these are too big.

You need the 0.050" hex tool, which is the smallest sold at the hardware store I visited. You can then back-out the two hex bolts by a few turns on each stop, move the stop, and retighten. They take a death-grip on the memory wires and absolutely will not budge once tightened! (Turn slowly, the bolts are put in with red Loctite and you may snap the thin hex tool if you aren't careful. I found no need to replace the Loctite.) This solved my years-long problems with the headbands constantly sliding upward on multiple pairs of ETHERs.. you can never tighten the big Philips screw enough to prevent that, and by trying you can easily strip the (inexplicably) plastic screwhole.

 

[doraymon]

Anyone here who transitioned from Ether C Flow to Sony Z1R and could share their experience if they are happy or regret their decision!

I own the C Flow but did a long test A/B with the Z1R before buying.
The Ether have a much more balanced tonality with no emphasis on any frequency while the Z1R is definitely too dark to my ears.
The bass of the Sony felt way too exaggerated and sounded muddy, not very defined.
With the C Flow you give up a little bit of quantity in the bass but you gain much more in quality.
My 0.02.

 

[nigel801]

I own the C Flow but did a long test A/B with the Z1R before buying.
The Ether have a much more balanced tonality with no emphasis on any frequency while the Z1R is definitely too dark to my ears.
The bass of the Sony felt way too exaggerated and sounded muddy, not very defined.
With the C Flow you give up a little bit of quantity in the bass but you gain much more in quality.
My 0.02.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[cute]

Has anyone else tried ZMF earpads on their Ether Flow. Some have larger ear openings than the stock pads. Zach has various options, microsuede, perforated lambskin, lambskin. I have a few different models and I really like the ZMF Universe pads. I sold my ZMF Ori Perforated Lambskin, only to find out the buyer put them on his Ether Flow and liked them better than any of the Mr Speakers pads. They bring the mids more forward in the presence ares, bass about the same, and way more comfortable, bigger soundstage too. The perforated pads need a little EQ in the treble, but that is the only negative I can hear.

 

[jean-luc]

very interesting feedback,i'm wonder if the ori lamnskin earpad Sound Nice for ether c flows.

 

[kellte2]

You need the 0.050" hex tool, which is the smallest sold at the hardware store I visited. You can then back-out the two hex bolts by a few turns on each stop, move the stop, and retighten. They take a death-grip on the memory wires and absolutely will not budge once tightened! (Turn slowly, the bolts are put in with red Loctite and you may snap the thin hex tool if you aren't careful. I found no need to replace the Loctite.) This solved my years-long problems with the headbands constantly sliding upward on multiple pairs of ETHERs.. you can never tighten the big Philips screw enough to prevent that, and by trying you can easily strip the (inexplicably) plastic screwhole.

I attempted something like this, but the tiny hex head screw driver couldn’t back out the screws without bending, so I left it alone. If there were a way to more easily adjust the permanent bars, I’d be all for it, as I have a little too much slippage for my taste on the sliders and have already ruined a set at launch by overtightening the screw. The vinyl female end can be easily stripped!

 

[Stereolab42]

I attempted something like this, but the tiny hex head screw driver couldn’t back out the screws without bending, so I left it alone. If there were a way to more easily adjust the permanent bars, I’d be all for it, as I have a little too much slippage for my taste on the sliders and have already ruined a set at launch by overtightening the screw. The vinyl female end can be easily stripped!

I used the L-shaped hex "screwdrivers" instead of an actual screwdriver, gives you more leverage. If that fails you can probably apply heat with a heatgun or small blowtorch to help break down the Loctite, if you're feeling brave.

 

[franz12]

Can any owner of the C flow share eq setting? After spending sometime with bass heavy phones like aeon open flow and focal clear, I am seeking to increase bass response on my C flow, which I never felt needed before.

 

[doraymon]

Can any owner of the C flow share eq setting? After spending sometime with bass heavy phones like aeon open flow and focal clear, I am seeking to increase bass response on my C flow, which I never felt needed before.

Interesting that you mention this.
I own both the C Flow and Clear and I find the bass on the MrSpeakers muddy and imprecise compared to the Clear.
I’m not EQing but if I’d ever do that I would probably reduce a bit of bass on the C Flow rather than adding.
Another possibility is that what I’m hearing wrong on the C Flow is not the tonality or bass quantity but simply the effect of these being closed back headphones with the unavoidable sound reflections within the cup.

 

[franz12]

Interesting that you mention this.
I own both the C Flow and Clear and I find the bass on the MrSpeakers muddy and imprecise compared to the Clear.
I’m not EQing but if I’d ever do that I would probably reduce a bit of bass on the C Flow rather than adding.
Another possibility is that what I’m hearing wrong on the C Flow is not the tonality or bass quantity but simply the effect of these being closed back headphones with the unavoidable sound reflections within the cup.

Interesting. I hear exactly the opposite. That maybe because difference in the setup. I drive them only from Hugo. To my ears, bass in the C flow is cleaner and more transparent, but it lacks quantity. I say this after hearing ether c flow, clear, and aeon open flow. When I use the later two of them with bass heavy music, I found they deliver similar bass quantity, while the c flow lacks quantity.

 

[George Taylor]

I have a quick question. Can anyone tell me what the difference getting the initial Ether "upgraded" to Flow makes to the sound? I have a pair that hasn't been through the upgrade. So needless to say, I'm slightly curious. I'll add that I do like the sound of them now as they are.

 

[doraymon]

Interesting. I hear exactly the opposite. That maybe because difference in the setup. I drive them only from Hugo. To my ears, bass in the C flow is cleaner and more transparent, but it lacks quantity. I say this after hearing ether c flow, clear, and aeon open flow. When I use the later two of them with bass heavy music, I found they deliver similar bass quantity, while the c flow lacks quantity.

If you’re not happy with the quantity of bass on the C Flow and you want a closed back try the Sony Z1R.
For me way too bass heavy and muddy but maybe to your ears they might sound ok.
As an alternative you could change the earpads on the C Flow, I remember MrSpeakers was offering an alternative some time ago, but not sure what was the effect on the sound.
Maybe other fellow headfiers can chip in here.