rgs9200m
Headphoneus Supremus
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Thanks m80! I didn't drill down far enough on the site. And thanks for the recommendation Sonic Def, also.
MrSpeakers Ether Impressions Thread
- Thread starter Currawong
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- mrspeakers
Thanks m80! I didn't drill down far enough on the site. And thanks for the recommendation Sonic Def, also.
I have the pleasure of auditioning the Ether, thanks (a great thanks!) to MattTCG, who loaned them to me for a few days. First, a bit about my preferences, headphone history, systems used and music genres used.
Have owned or auditioned over 45 headphones now, starting with the venerable Panasonic RTF600 and ending with the HE-6 that I just sold due to a bit of discomfort after 45 minutes, even with Audeze vegan pads and Lohb's suspension pad system (highly recommended). Incredible headphone, with the most visceral bass I have ever heard/felt. I own all the Denon D-X000 series, with my LA-7000 being the top dog for dynamic cans, and formerly owned a Lawton modded TH-900, which was just a hair (if that) better than my LA-7000. Currently own the Denon's, a fully modded HE-400 (that out of speaker taps is very close to the HE-6 believe it or not), an Ultrasone Performance 840 that I use for my portable setup out of a Cayin C5 (best portable basshead combo I've yet tried, and I've tried a dozen or so combos) and my old M Audio Q40.
Music - preferences are for high energy Smooth Jazz, with a lot of percussion with artists like Paul Hardcastle, Rick Braun, Larry Carlton and Marcus Miller (a phenom bass player). Throw in a bit of classic rock like Pink Floyd (as you can tell from my avatar I love me some Pink Floyd), progressive rock from Rush and throw in some Steely Dan (the Aja title track has the drums to move a dead man) and you get a sense of my music preferences. Top it off with Sade (female vocal test) playing Slave Song and Bulletproof Soul (incredible deep bass throughout the track) and a few more of her wonderful vocals had me smiling.
Systems - started this morning with my vintage Pioneer SA-8800 (you'll note that all I use are vintage amps, 8 in total) fed via a Yoga2 laptop into a NuForce uDac 2, playing iTunes or Pandora. Not high end files, just as a reference point. I plugged the Ether in and started with a playlist of my favorites from the past couple of years. Immediately knew the Ether could hang with my basshead tendencies, which Matt thought would be my kryptonite. Well, the Ether, with power behind it, had enough of the low notes to keep this reformed basshead happy.
Fast forward to after work - my home system is an incredible 1978 vintage (top of the line at the time) Pioneer Spec 1 preamp feeding into a Spec 2 amp (309wpc bench tested) with a SG-9500 equalizer in the chain, fed tonight mostly by my Pioneer CD player. Of note is the addition of my Chase RLC preamp/remote control, a must for lazy vintage lovers like me. It adds the convenience of remote volume control but also doubles as a preamp for my preamp. Yes, you read that right. Purists will say it's another source of "noise" in the system but honestly, I love the thing and now have three of them in my vintage systems. Listening to some Jonathan Butler (Surrender) was a confirmation of what I felt from my work system - the bass this headphone delivers is more than adequate for me. Tone controls adjusted a notch or two up on both the 50hz and 125hz bass controls along with a V shaped EQ and this is one happy listener. Put on Steely Dan Aja (the entire CD) and when Aja came on the volume went up, as did the bass adder on the Chase remote, and the effect was like Steve Gadd (a highly renowned session drummer who played on the Aja track) was in my head, with his drum solos as good as I've ever heard.
I anticipate an evening of more of the same - and I can say my pre-order for the Ether is staying in place, again thanks to Matt.
Mids are incredible on the Ether - the male voices sound as good as Sade's earlier in the day and it seems the full range of treble, mids and bass are equally wonderful. This Ether has the DUM cable - not a fan of the little bit of stiffness but still it is not a problem to be honest.
Oh, the comfort is everything Matt and the gang has been saying - the new pads are as comfy as the earlier pads that came on the Alpha's, the suspension headband system is just right and the weight is very light and perfectly distributed. It's a keeper (well, Matt gets this one back by Saturday but my order will be awaited with some impatience).
Snapped a pic of the Ether joining my Bubinga-cupped D2000 on the headphone stand at work. Two beauties at rest. It's a great looking headphone. Added one of the system feeding it tonight...............
Huge thanks again to MattTCG - I owe you buddy. The selflessness of this shining example of a great representative of Head Fi astounds me - he offered the audition to me and for this I'll never forget his generosity.
Have owned or auditioned over 45 headphones now, starting with the venerable Panasonic RTF600 and ending with the HE-6 that I just sold due to a bit of discomfort after 45 minutes, even with Audeze vegan pads and Lohb's suspension pad system (highly recommended). Incredible headphone, with the most visceral bass I have ever heard/felt. I own all the Denon D-X000 series, with my LA-7000 being the top dog for dynamic cans, and formerly owned a Lawton modded TH-900, which was just a hair (if that) better than my LA-7000. Currently own the Denon's, a fully modded HE-400 (that out of speaker taps is very close to the HE-6 believe it or not), an Ultrasone Performance 840 that I use for my portable setup out of a Cayin C5 (best portable basshead combo I've yet tried, and I've tried a dozen or so combos) and my old M Audio Q40.
Music - preferences are for high energy Smooth Jazz, with a lot of percussion with artists like Paul Hardcastle, Rick Braun, Larry Carlton and Marcus Miller (a phenom bass player). Throw in a bit of classic rock like Pink Floyd (as you can tell from my avatar I love me some Pink Floyd), progressive rock from Rush and throw in some Steely Dan (the Aja title track has the drums to move a dead man) and you get a sense of my music preferences. Top it off with Sade (female vocal test) playing Slave Song and Bulletproof Soul (incredible deep bass throughout the track) and a few more of her wonderful vocals had me smiling.
Systems - started this morning with my vintage Pioneer SA-8800 (you'll note that all I use are vintage amps, 8 in total) fed via a Yoga2 laptop into a NuForce uDac 2, playing iTunes or Pandora. Not high end files, just as a reference point. I plugged the Ether in and started with a playlist of my favorites from the past couple of years. Immediately knew the Ether could hang with my basshead tendencies, which Matt thought would be my kryptonite. Well, the Ether, with power behind it, had enough of the low notes to keep this reformed basshead happy.
Fast forward to after work - my home system is an incredible 1978 vintage (top of the line at the time) Pioneer Spec 1 preamp feeding into a Spec 2 amp (309wpc bench tested) with a SG-9500 equalizer in the chain, fed tonight mostly by my Pioneer CD player. Of note is the addition of my Chase RLC preamp/remote control, a must for lazy vintage lovers like me. It adds the convenience of remote volume control but also doubles as a preamp for my preamp. Yes, you read that right. Purists will say it's another source of "noise" in the system but honestly, I love the thing and now have three of them in my vintage systems. Listening to some Jonathan Butler (Surrender) was a confirmation of what I felt from my work system - the bass this headphone delivers is more than adequate for me. Tone controls adjusted a notch or two up on both the 50hz and 125hz bass controls along with a V shaped EQ and this is one happy listener. Put on Steely Dan Aja (the entire CD) and when Aja came on the volume went up, as did the bass adder on the Chase remote, and the effect was like Steve Gadd (a highly renowned session drummer who played on the Aja track) was in my head, with his drum solos as good as I've ever heard.
I anticipate an evening of more of the same - and I can say my pre-order for the Ether is staying in place, again thanks to Matt.
Mids are incredible on the Ether - the male voices sound as good as Sade's earlier in the day and it seems the full range of treble, mids and bass are equally wonderful. This Ether has the DUM cable - not a fan of the little bit of stiffness but still it is not a problem to be honest.
Oh, the comfort is everything Matt and the gang has been saying - the new pads are as comfy as the earlier pads that came on the Alpha's, the suspension headband system is just right and the weight is very light and perfectly distributed. It's a keeper (well, Matt gets this one back by Saturday but my order will be awaited with some impatience).
Snapped a pic of the Ether joining my Bubinga-cupped D2000 on the headphone stand at work. Two beauties at rest. It's a great looking headphone. Added one of the system feeding it tonight...............
Huge thanks again to MattTCG - I owe you buddy. The selflessness of this shining example of a great representative of Head Fi astounds me - he offered the audition to me and for this I'll never forget his generosity.
MattTCG
Headphoneus Supremus
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Oregonian...it was my pleasure. The inner vintage circle must stick together.
Glad that you're enjoying the Ether. I have missed it dearly but was glad to get them out for you to audition.
aamefford
I have a custom title!
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Is there such an ailment as Warren-envy? Only suitable way to describe my feeling at this very moment...
Errrrmmmmm…...
Envy, no…… Enjoy immensely and look forward to seeing him again at the next show every time I shake his hand goodbye? Yes, absolutely!
aamefford
I have a custom title!
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Jeeze, I forgot my manners in my haste to poke a bit of fun toward @warrenpchi. @Oregonian, very nice write up. I am pleased to know that EQ makes the Ether suitable for a recovering bass head. I like them flat, but I am glad to know they respond well to EQ. I tease you occasionally about the vintage gear and your evangelism of the vintage stuff. Still, I graduated high school the year before your system was made, and I have fond memories of the gear of the day. That is a beautiful system!
Hi! Just wanted to drop a note and say everything is looking good for shipping on time. If anything changes, I'll post an update.
rgs9200m
Headphoneus Supremus
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Beautiful system there Oregonian. I used to have a Pioneer TX9800 tuner myself for many years.
theblueprint
100+ Head-Fier
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Great review Oregonian! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
and all his neighbors started to gossip and drool... J. Hendrix
cheers!
cheers!
Lol, I'm just volunteering to be the resident CarbonETHER guinea pig, in service to my fellow Head-Fiers.
How does one get on this list?
Ask Dan. Not this Dan, you know, the other Dan.
TBH, that wasn't the first thing I noticed about the avatar.
I have found selflessness to be one of the defining characteristics of every true Head-Fier I've ever met.
SCHIIT PANTS!
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