Initial impressions.
- Excellent build. Looks gorgeous, is quite light for its size and although it looks different from everything out there, it doesn't scream "LOOK AT ME!"
- Quite comfortable on the head, pads feel great and the adjustment system looks good though not sure how sturdy nor how it might take months/years of abuse.
- Cable isn't as stiff as it looks == good in my book. Ok length for office use (my main use).
- Sound... Ok, so I first started with decently recorded stuff (i.e. Paquito D'Rivera, Buena Vista - De Camino a la Vereda/El Cuarto de Tula, HD Tracks samples, plus some Chesky recordings, DJ Koze - My Plans, Beethoven - Rondo Allegro, etc. etc.) and yeah... they sound VERY good. Better than I expected actually. Bass response is excellent and possibly better than both closed-backs I currently use the most (Ultrasone Signature DJ and Beyer DT1770). Need to do comparisons at home but I think apart from quantity, this one will have those 2 beat. Mids are forward and have a warm tinge but not too much. Everything comes out very clean to my ears, especially in comparison with the DT1770s which sounds a "scooped" and artificial. Definitely these are more "open" sounding and imaging is excellent as well. Thing is, well recorded music sounds good on almost all decent headphones
. Tried not so well recorded punk, metal, reggaeton, salsa tracks and THERE you can catch what might be a 'con'... Brightness up-top. I'm guessing it might be from 6-8khz or so since on some tracks I detected a hint of sibilance but might have other peaks lower because sometimes guitars crunch can sound a bit aggressive (2.5? 3khz?). Increasing volume of course brings these things into prominence. Is this a show-stopper? Not sure yet...
What actually surprised me more about the headphones, after reading so many reports of "extreme brightness", is that they are not THAAAT bright. I mean, I own(ed) and tried Beyers, Ultrasones, Shure's, etc. and to me, bright is something like the SRH940, DT770 weird highs, and the JVC HA-MX100Z, Edition 8s, etc. Even the Hifiman HE-560s I consider brighter as well as the LCD-XCs I tried long ago (which I couldn't really listen for too long because it actually gave me headaches... probably a mix of their weight and weird upper mids...). Haven't gotten a headache yet so...
I was worried about bass quantity, and although not a bass monster, I like the punch from the tracks I've tested. Would have like a bit extra sub-bass presence but not bad at all while listening to tracks from Wiz Khalifa, Disclosure, Calle 13, etc.
Note:
1) I use glasses, sound might be different (seal dependent) for some.
2) No burn-in (if you live and die by this).
3) Gear used: HTC phone - USB OTG - iFi Micro iDSD
Will keep on listening and compare in the weekend against the others. Let's see if it (or my brain) "settles" as well.