[maakheru]

I received my Wywires Platinum in less than a week after ordering.

 

[Bambule]

After over six months of reading this and the Elear and Utopia thread I finally get the chance to listen to the Elear, Utopia and the Ether Flow on one day, with my QP1R. Sadly, not in the same shop, I had to move after listening to the focal's, so it was not an direct comparison. My impression: flow was the best of them for me. Utopia was really ultra clear and resolution was top though. I think I liked the musicality, the not over dynamic presentation of the flow more. And for sure I liked the fit and the weight more. Maybe the QP1R plays better with them also. I don't know. The portable DAP will be my only combo with the hp's. Close to pull the trigger..
At this time I'm wondering if the mentioned tuning pads come with the Ether's stock?

 

[chrisjepson]

After over six months of reading this and the Elear and Utopia thread I finally get the chance to listen to the Elear, Utopia and the Ether Flow on one day, with my QP1R. Sadly, not in the same shop, I had to move after listening to the focal's, so it was not an direct comparison. My impression: flow was the best of them for me. Utopia was really ultra clear and resolution was top though. I think I liked the musicality, the not over dynamic presentation of the flow more. And for sure I liked the fit and the weight more. Maybe the QP1R plays better with them also. I don't know. The portable DAP will be my only combo with the hp's. Close to pull the trigger..
At this time I'm wondering if the mentioned tuning pads come with the Ether's stock?

If you're trying to assess $1,000 headphones out of a portable rig, it's going to be significantly different even if these headphones are easy to drive.

 

[buke9]

After over six months of reading this and the Elear and Utopia thread I finally get the chance to listen to the Elear, Utopia and the Ether Flow on one day, with my QP1R. Sadly, not in the same shop, I had to move after listening to the focal's, so it was not an direct comparison. My impression: flow was the best of them for me. Utopia was really ultra clear and resolution was top though. I think I liked the musicality, the not over dynamic presentation of the flow more. And for sure I liked the fit and the weight more. Maybe the QP1R plays better with them also. I don't know. The portable DAP will be my only combo with the hp's. Close to pull the trigger..
At this time I'm wondering if the mentioned tuning pads come with the Ether's stock?

Yes the Ethers love the QP1R. At the Fall meet in Nashville 2015 Dan handed me the cool red and black carbon fiber C prototype's with the new QP1R and I was sold on both still no regrets. Listened to the Flow opens in Chicago on the QP1R and it was also a great pairing.

 

[sunneebear]

If you're trying to assess $1,000 headphones out of a portable rig, it's going to be significantly different even if these headphones are easy to drive.

The QP1R is a great portable for planars with it's current mode amplification. Even Dan recommended it. I thought that the EC1.1 sounded terrific out of it but paired with the ECF it sounds even better. Like it was designed just to drive the ECF.

 

[Bambule]

If you're trying to assess $1,000 headphones out of a portable rig, it's going to be significantly different even if these headphones are easy to drive.

I'm not searching for the best of the best. Just for the best open hp for my portable player. On top desktop rigs, I can't comment. From I've read, the utopia must be the best headphone overall. It sounded great. Was heavy.

 

[chrisjepson]

I'm not searching for the best of the best. Just for the best open hp for my portable player. On top desktop rigs, I can't comment. From I've read, the utopia must be the best headphone overall. It sounded great. Was heavy.

Just wait for the Myspoke 3.1.

 

[husafreak]

I used my QP1R to demo the 3 headphones you mentioned all in one day at the Head Fi meet in San Fran last year. The Utopias were great, top shelf, the Ether Flows were damn close and within my budget, sorry to say the Elears weren't in the same league to my ears. Ether Flows sound like "end game" headphones and they are in my budget range. So I bought a pair. They kill it in my home rig too. The QP1R is a worthy player for making these sort of decisions.
The Ether Flows were the most comfortable of all three to me.

 

[JerseyD]

Thank you! I don't have a Dave yet, but planning to acquire one within a year. I simply wish to avoid going through a cycle of cable upgrades.

Would you happen to know how much a Platinum headphone cable costs? It isn't clear from the WyWires website.

The Platinum costs $599. (Note to Head-Fi- I am answering a direct question and not attempting to make a sale. Thank you. )

 

[Arnav Agharwal]

  $599 for a 5 foot length.

 
 

The Platinum costs $599. (Note to Head-Fi- I am answering a direct question and not attempting to make a sale. Thank you. )

Thank you, gentlemen

 The website lists $2499-something for the Platinum speaker wires, but I'd expect those to have a much thicker gauge. Wasn't sure what that would translate to for headphones.

 

[chrisjepson]

Thank you, gentlemen  The website lists $2499-something for the Platinum speaker wires, but I'd expect those to have a much thicker gauge. Wasn't sure what that would translate to for headphones.

That is a nice price point for a TOTL cable.

 

[Arnav Agharwal]

That is a nice price point for a TOTL cable.

I've seen only positive reviews for these cables. But compared to DHC's much more expensive offerings, would these sound "inferior" in any way? Or is DHC over-priced?

 

[chrisjepson]

I've seen only positive reviews for these cables. But compared to DHC's much more expensive offerings, would these sound "inferior" in any way? Or is DHC over-priced?

At some point the returns are so insignificant they're probably not discernable. The big thing used to be that they charged more for balanced and now it's commonplace. DHC is okay too IMO. Each kind of had their own signature whether that is trying to tone down the highs, bring stuff forward, etc.

 

[chrisjepson]

At some point the returns are so insignificant they're probably not discernable. The big thing used to be that they charged more for balanced and now it's commonplace. DHC is okay too IMO. Each kind of had their own signature whether that is trying to tone down the highs, bring stuff forward, etc.

I think that DHC and WYWIRES both have good resale value if you don't end up liking one

 

[Arnav Agharwal]

I think that DHC and WYWIRES both have good resale value if you don't end up liking one

That's the most confidence-inspiring post I've seen till date! 

 This was a pretty big subconscious roadblock.