I also heard the Ether from several set ups, ranging from my HA-1 (horrible with the stock HD800 by the way) to the Cavalli liquid carbon, to a beautiful DIY balanced Dynalo Mk2, Cavalli liquid crimson and rag/Yggy. The Ether played nice with all of them. The ether suits my listening so much better than the HD800. If the HD800 is too much of a musical scalpel for you, the Ether might just be the musical carving knife that puts something really tasty on your plate.
This is a bit off topic; would you say the Ether is as good a match for the HA-1 as just about any other TOTL Headphone? I know that oppo recommends a minimum impedance of 30ohms and IIRC the Ether is in the 20's?
This is a bit off topic; would you say the Ether is as good a match for the HA-1 as just about any other TOTL Headphone? I know that oppo recommends a minimum impedance of 30ohms and IIRC the Ether is in the 20's?
Output impedance of the HA-1 is .5R balanced, 0.7R single ended. Damping factor for a 20R headphone ought to be around 30 to 40. Additionally, the planars are pretty much a resistive load, with a pretty linear impedance vs. frequency curve. Should be fine, and sounded fine.
And why everyone stuck to these He6's as a glue? It's even not a headphones at all, but headspeakers, that should be drived directly from nuclear power plant reactor.
It's a late night, i'm about to bed. But i woun't sleep before you tell me my fairy tale about Ether's mids!
And why everyone stuck to these He6's as a glue? It's even not a headphones at all, but headspeakers, that should be drived directly from nuclear power plant reactor.
You just nailed it on the head there and answered your own question. The HE6 is the closest thing to to speakers that I have heard in a headphone, IMHO.
That said, I'm intrigued by these Ethers myself!
rawrster, @m80 and @Colgin -
I'll have Ethers for NYC audition as soon as Dan releases them, if you want another listen before deciding (with your own gear, or anything I have in stock at the time from Woo and others).
Cheers. - Dave
I'm actually less excited about the HE1000 now (tho I was dumb enough to walk by the Hifiman table at the meet so it may change after hearing it; but weight will matter) and more excited about the impending release of the Ether.
The clincher for me btw, is ... the synth melody that is mixed in in the right channel the last 20 seconds of "Making Out" by No Doubt, having primary tones in the midbass, perhaps a square or sawtooth wave. Many headphones mask that.
Its certainly not my only criteria, and I don't make buying decisions on one several second music snippets (maybe a whole lotta them tho) ... it is however one worth mentioning. I am likely to avoid the phones that fail to bring that out and a whole bunch of othe musical criteria I have. The Ether brought that to the forefront more than I've heard before. Without being emphasized in the midbass or midrange.
A few second guitar lead mixed way back at 1:50 of Steely Dan's changing of the guard is a similar tone that the Ether excels at reproducing. Which I love. The Ether appears to have excellent transient response, with fast decay. I suspect this phone's waterfall plot will look very nice. Or at least that is how it responds to my Mc amp using an autoformer output. My Thanx again to you Dan for letting me listen to this on my own McIntosh rig with my own music.
I'd also be interested in this comparison, though I doubt that many current PS1000 owners will also buy the Ether. I always preferred the PS1000 to the HD800 and T1 when those were the big three at that price point, and I don't really understand the hate towards them.
The biggest surprise was the weight of the Ether. I thought the HE-560 I owned was light for an ortho but the Ether was on another level. I've had issues with the HE-500, HE-6 and the LCD series with weight.
I guess this must be how the weight is supported - because on paper there is only 5g difference between the Ether and the HE-560?
A query I have, does the ear fit easily inside the squarish openings on the Ether - it doesn't look wide enough to fit over all ears? Is the pad depth enough to prevent the ear touching?
And why everyone stuck to these He6's as a glue? It's even not a headphones at all, but headspeakers, that should be drived directly from nuclear power plant reactor.
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