[kejar31]

  Well the possibility to upgrade is a positive, agreed. But for 500 USD + shipping? Moreover, how could I find out if the update would be worth it, over here in Europe? This may look different from an US-American enthusiast point-of-view. Dan is a nice person, I met him this year in Munich. But I do not like the incredibly short upgrade-cycles. Would you buy a high end car knowing that probably within a year a facelift would occur? Probably not, because the "old" model would immediately be worth considerably less. That exactly is the case here too, again and again. This is not so important if a headphone costs 400 USD. But at 2k? Not with me. And now I will shut up and will leave this thread for those in praise of this new incredible Innovation.

 
well you could opt for the $350 upgrade if $500 is to much for you...

 

[24grant24]

I would much rather see companies constantly working to improve their product instead of waiting 7 years for an update, the quality of sound will never improve if we don't keep pushing boundaries. The hd800 is a special case because of the quality of engineering and ingenuity put into it initially. But many would still argue the hd800s isn't even a very good upgrade and that sennheiser should work harder to improve the hd800 and hd6X0.

 

[RCBinTN]

   
In fairness, not many companies can be Sennheiser. Mr. Speakers is a fraction of that company. But the great thing is what he is able to offer. World class sound at a very reasonable price. So if you compare Ether Flow to hd800S (and I have) the Flow is the better headphone both technically and musically speaking. 
 
Also, this is nothing new from Dan and the team at Mr. Speakers. This is in fact his pattern if you've followed him at all. This was a discovery based on the Ether stat project. What would you have him do? Not incorporate it into Ether and leave it as is? Still a damned good hp. But to not share this would be a crime IMHO. 
 
Mr. Speakers is able to move much faster than Sennheiser ever will...

 
That's what I remember Matt.  MrSpeakers were working on the Ether E design when they noticed a SQ improvement over the base Ether by changing the airflow through the chamber.  It sounded (to me) like an accidental discovery, then they decided to move forward to present the discovery as an upgrade to the base Ether.  It seems like their end-game is still the Ether E, but IMO it's a great idea to acknowledge the discovery, make it public, and offer upgrades to current Ether owners so they can take advantage of the discovery.

 

[zachawry]

   
 
Are you serious? Why not build a headphone that is up-to-date for at least a few years? Take Sennheiser for example. They started with the HD800 in 2009 and made a first small update in 2015 with the HD800S. In contrast, if one buys the flagship headphone from MrSpeakers and Hifiman, it is outdated only one year later!​

First of all, planars are a relatively new technology. Dynamic headphones like the HD800 were mature years ago. That's why upgrades are more frequent for planars. 
 
Second of all, improving the product is only a plus for users. If you don't want the upgrade, you still get the headphone you paid for.
 
Optional improvements are only viewed as a negative by people who can't stand the idea of not having the newest and the best. This is pathological. 

 

[mrspeakers]

The first few ETHER Flows to end users are shipping today (without retail box).

 

[james6333]

^
Great news

 

[hemtmaker]

When will the upgrade link be online?

 

[LukeThyWalker]

I think that you have to think of high end headphones like cars, they all can be upgraded and modified with aftermarket parts and accessories to improve the looks and performance. The manufctureer designs them to be as good as they can be for a "reasonable" price to the average consumer otherwise we would all be driving a Bugatti or Ferrari. Just like there are the cheaper headphones, the mid to high ends, and then there are headphones like the Orpheus for the 300 people who can afford it and rest of us to drool over. Im sure all of these headphone companies would love to make headphones like the Orpheus that are the pinnacle of what is possible right now and just be like "Here, this is as good as it gets and will be for 10 or so years, it costs $55,000 but nobody can say we didn't make them as good as possible." It would be infuriating if car manufacturers did that. That is why there are new cars every year and a new iPhone twice a year... Think about if you had just bought a sports car and then a year later they said "We just invented a new part that can drastically improve the performance, we can either add it to your car now for said amount, or you can wait until we release a new car at some point a few years from now and just buy that." Which would you chose? Remember these headphones aren't cheap so if you can afford to buy them $350 - $500 is not an insane amount to spend on improving them if you want. Key words there are IF YOU WANT, you don't have to upgrade them if you don't want to, they are amazing sounding headphones regardless. Just providing people with the OPTION to upgrade them is awesome. I would rather be able to upgrade them than know they can be upgraded and not be able to. Also realize this is something NEW that MrSpeakers just discovered, if they had known about this before they built the original Ether I would think they would have incorperated that into the original design. Sorry to add to all this just my two cents.

 

[tretneo]

  The first few ETHER Flows to end users are shipping today (without retail box).

 
Got my shipping notice, thank you!!

 

[LunaC]

Dan told me a solid 3dB all the way below 140Hz!
Yes the Ether C Flow will rock!

If this is true from the original cup as well, wouldn't that imply the decrease of cavity from the inserts would be the reason?

 

[emptymt]

does the new earpad and new grill make an impact to the sound?
 
I was thinking to do the 350 upgrade since I like the red color more than blue and also because I also intend to purchase the liquid spark later when it is released, so every penny is worth saving, especially because of the exchange rate from usd to aud.
 
but if the earpad and grill somehow make a difference, I will do the full upgrade.
 
still waiting on the upgrade form to be live in the site

 

[Odin412]

  Thanks for your input. Do you feel the bass of the Ether Flow was lacking in any way compared to the C Flow? That was my main complaint with the Ether O when I tried them awhile back.

 
​I thought that the bass on both headphones was very good, at least with the tracks that I played. Keep in mind that I didn't really seek out tracks with deep or heavy bass during my listening session (no deadmau5 or Beyonce this time) so I have to listen some more to get a better opinion

 

[LukeThyWalker]

Thanks, I just needed to get that off my chest and did not expect it to be that long. As you can tell I'm kinda new to this. Ill keep that in mind but I doubt ill post anything that long again. 

 

[Currawong]

  Also realize this is something NEW that MrSpeakers just discovered, if they had known about this before they built the original Ether I would think they would have incorperated that into the original design. Sorry to add to all this just my two cents.

 
What I know of Dan, that is absolutely right. He bet his company on these headphones (and still is) and intended to make them as good as he was able to. 
 
Back to listening impressions, I did just compare the original Ethers to the Flows to verify my impression that the low bass had been improved. Now the rumble is there where it needs to be. I noticed that the Flow version is louder at the same volume setting, which suggests the sensitivity has increased. The improved precision in the presentation is quite noticeable too. 

 

[MuZo2]

It is a pity that I like the sound of planars so much. But I will never buy a headphone from MrSpeakers and Hifiman (and Audeze due to the frequent driver failures) again because of their incredibly short upgrade cycles. Buying their headphones and upgrades is simply a waste of money in my opinion. To Dan and Fang: wake up! You are alienating your customers!

So you never buy any electronic goods? IPhone, smart tv, watches.