[NZtechfreak]

2A3, 800mW into 32ohm, looks underpowered for the 6.

 

[conquerator2]

I have had the good fortune of hearing these Ethers alongside many others, not just in yesterdays headfi meet in CT.

These are my favorite open planar type cans, even against the mighty HE6(!)

They give me the most musically engaging with "meat" alonside its details, where even cymbal hits have more solidness, instead airynes like the HD800.

Plucks of Bass strings have more body and air.

They are unique in their bass quality for open planar because there is no compromise.
No Treble loss (LCD,oppo)
No bass boom fluff (HE1k)
No heavy dark bass(abyss)
No airy light bass (HD800)
No unsatisfying bass(HE560)

On an HD800, details pop more easily, but lack the body of presence.

Dynamics hit a bit harder on the HE6, yet lack the body as well as the HE6 sound less energetic & a bit laid back in comparison.

Both HE6 & HD800 can have a larger stage, but both do not give the intensity or energy that the Ether can.

I will still keep my HD800 alongside this Ether for now.
Perfect combo for open cans..
The HE6 also was a good combo, but nothing I would choose over the ether, because of being a bit laid back in compariaon.
Soundstage ia less on Ether but still at a level easily matching an HE560, and way more lifelike...

The only competition this can have is:
1- HE6(preference if you have the power requirements)

2- HE-X(unknown yet)

Honestly I could just be happy with these for open cans.

Boom? Since when? 

 

[Maxx134]

Boom? Since when? :blink:

yes I will correct.
I meant sub bass excess

 

[conquerator2]

yes I will correct.
I meant sub bass excess

Fair enough 

Everybody hears differently 

I certainly find the bass presentation enjoyable and very nice 

 

 

[Maxx134]

2A3, 800mW into 32ohm, looks underpowered for the 6.

Volume needed turning up to halfway, while on my amp it was not strong enough at all at over 3/4 up..
I will embark on a much more powerful amp next year, but still regard the HE6 being more lean.

Also the HE6 used was NOT fully moded, only grill removal.

What were your findings?
Curious to know.
I know how it should sound as well since I herd it fully moded witha speaker amp.
Yet on that tube setup it was more laid back and open.
I actually prefer the HE6 with the EC2a3 for that.
It seems to aporoach the HF800 more, yet loses some forwardness which to me is also good.
Still had dynamic power.

 

[Maxx134]

yes I will correct.

I meant sub bass excess

Fair enough 
Everybody hears differently 
I certainly find the bass presentation enjoyable and very nice   

Yes I actually prefer the X version over it, but thats another story.

 

[conquerator2]

Yes I actually prefer the X version over it, but thats another story.

I certainly look forward to when the impressions and comparisons start coming in!

 

[NZtechfreak]

Volume needed turning up to halfway, while on my amp it was not strong enough at all at over 3/4 up..
I will embark on a much more powerful amp next year, but still regard the HE6 being more lean.

Also the HE6 used was NOT fully moded, only grill removal.

What were your findings?
Curious to know.
I know how it should sound as well since I herd it fully moded witha speaker amp.
Yet on that tube setup it was more laid back and open.
I actually prefer the HE6 with the EC2a3 for that.
It seems to aporoach the HF800 more, yet loses some forwardness which to me is also good.
Still had dynamic power.

The HE6 is anything but lean well-driven, the Ether is the leaner headphone, and by a reasonable margin, on my CMA800R monos. Their sound can change with modding of course, so that might go some way to explaining things.

 

[Maxx134]

HE6 bass was more impactfull fast and tight over the Ether,
Yet I preferred the Ether which had more body...

The HE6 actually hit my ear with a drumstick sound so quick and hard it almost hurt my ear, yet went away so fast I could not enjoy the timbre and nuance of the hit(!).

While on the same exact music point on the Ether,
I was not hit as sharply in the ear, and was instead rewarded with the timbre and nuance and decay of the hit..

So I have to maintain that I prefer the more enjoyable Ethers the the HE6 dynamic prowess..

Also,
The H6 was like a different can than I was used to,
sounding grander and larger in soundatage than I remember, because of the EC2a3.

So yes I suspect it is the amp signature coming thru.

Edit:
The comparison with the Ether was on same setup of EC2a3,
But the difference of the HE6 I noted, was in comparison to an older setup I heard using a modded HE6 with a "First Watt" amp.

So I agree the HE6 will sound different most likely because of the power requirement,
But the 2a3 was actually quite powefull with them anyways,
as I could not pass halfway or the dynamics might have hurt my ear..

 

[Stereolab42]

I found the HE6 lean with a full WA5 to power it, so you're not alone in that opinion.

 

[NZtechfreak]

I found the HE6 lean with a full WA5 to power it, so you're not alone in that opinion.

In a minority however.

 

[Maxx134]

I found the HE6 lean with a full WA5 to power it, so you're not alone in that opinion.

In a minority however.

Actually it could be just your amp.


Also,
On comparison to am LCD-XC:
The bass level also seemed greater on the LCD.

Then on testing, there was a thick bass track, that when played louder, made a distortion which I realized I was hearing a distortion point limit on the LCD(!)

The same bass track on the Ether did not show the distortion at same level,
and also at same time showed more resolution over the LCD-XC bass...

Of course the LCD was not a linear signature anyways,
but it shows just how high a level the Ether is,
which was surprising to me as I did not know of these abilities a few month ago when I first heard them at a meet.

 

[NZtechfreak]

Actually it could be just your amp.

My amp you mean? It sounds particularly good on the monos, but it didn't sound lean out of the Luxman L507U, Merak monoblocks or WA5 I heard it from either. Didn't sound lean even on the Audio-GD Reference 10.32, even though that wasn't quite up to amping them and they were far from their best. Also, I'm hearing the Ether on the same amp.

 

[Maxx134]

Actually it could be just your amp.

My amp you mean? It sounds particularly good on the monos, but it didn't sound lean out of the Luxman L507U, Merak monoblocks or WA5 I heard it from either. Didn't sound lean even on the Audio-GD Reference 10.32, even though that wasn't quite up to amping them and they were far from their best. Also, I'm hearing the Ether on the same amp.

I am not talking about amps...
I am talking about the HE6 in comparison to other headphones.

HE6 is not "lean" and in general it is neutal and impressive.
But in comparison to an LCD, it is the more "lean" can.

Thats what we talkin about.
It has kick,slam, authority,
But the Ether has the body, nuance & clarity to make it more desireable for me.
I dont need a can to puncture my eardrums with dynamics.
Yet some may love that.
On the other flipside, I found the HE1k the softest in this regard(bass slam/punch) yet with loads of low end rumble to still sound impresive.
Ether to me is most balanced I tried yet,
With exception of unkown HE-X.

 

[NZtechfreak]

The HE6 might be leaner than some in relative terms, like the Audeze, which are renowned for a lush thick sound, but on my gear the Ether is leaner than the HE6 and it isn't particularly subtle.

I really don't think the amp you had the 6 on was a particularly ideal pairing, when you described the 'dynamics' of the HE6 the particular example you gave sounded more like you were describing stridency than dynamics. They're not the same thing, and strident sound will of course be fatiguing. The HE6 is more prone to exhibiting that characteristic when not that well driven.