[Beagle]

It's going to vary wildly, person to person. I had no need to bend the headband. As they say, YMMV. Getting the earcups to couple properly to the sides of your head for a secure fit can definitely improve the presentation and probably your personal comfort.

That should make for inconsistent reviews. Which it is. I'm still curious but really wonder what the sound is really about.

 

[rkw]

You may be able to use some translucent paint on the tip of a sewing needle or sharp toothpick, and try to get to the LED from the outside hole. But there’s so many ways that could go wrong...

Compared to disassembling the earpiece? It is much less risk to just dab on something from the outside.

 

[Slater]

Compared to disassembling the earpiece? It is much less risk to just dab on something from the outside.

As I said before, there’s many ways to do it (just like anything in life). I just did one way and shared how I did it. Heck, don’t do it at all, as the bright LED may not even bother everyone. What others do or don’t do to their headphones really doesn’t matter to me. I modded mine the way I wanted and the way I was comfortable with, so I’m perfectly happy.

 

[bbfoto]

Compared to disassembling the earpiece? It is much less risk to just dab on something from the outside.

Well, I for one was happy to see the ifixit-like breakdown photos and some of the inner workings of the GQ headphones without having to take my own set apart. So thanks for that, Slater!

I can understand where most people would be and should be hesitant to take them apart. But I was about ready to do the same, just to see some of the design aspects and the quality of the materials/parts/assembly.

Personally, I don't think that the LED is too bright, but I'm also not going to have to look at it while listening to them, so there's that. And I don't plan to be wearing them any time I'm hanging out with my better half, so it's not an issue at all in my use case scenario.

EDIT: I just realized that the LED might be an annoyance to others if you use them in BT mode on an airline flight at night (I travel a lot), so I also completely understand if others would want to tame the brightness a bit and I may end up doing this as well.

However, I normally opt to use my AKG N5005 IEMs when flying, either wired or with their BT adapter, so I'm not sure I would bother with mod'ing the GQs after all.

 

[bbfoto]

That looks far from easy to me. I hope the LED is off when using them wired. If not, if my husband's pair ever does arrive, I won't want them being used near me. Blue LEDs really hurt my eyes. I thought people were becoming more aware of the problems with blue LEDs and using more red and green.

Yes, the LED is off when using them wired. And one simple option is to move to the opposite side of your husband if the blue LED annoys you...it is only on one earcup.

And the LED does also shine Red and Green (and Blue) to indicate the current status. But when the battery has a sufficient charge and you are listening in wireless BT mode it does shine a constant blue. Though IIRC it is slightly dimmed compared to when it flashes alternating blue when pairing. Check the downloadable user manual on the Ora Sound webpage for details.

 

[AlwaysForward]

Looks like my pair might be waiting for me at home after work! I’m equally excited and nervous at this point. More like curious I guess. Will update after they’re burned in a bit.

 

[brams]

Just received my pair today and must say these things are very impressive. I have a smaller head so no problems with the fit whatsoever.

Out of a Questyle DAP they sounded very natural, clean and detailed ... in fact so clean that I found myself listening to good recordings far louder than I normally would. The combination of the quiet background of the Questyle and low distortion in this unit is really something. What was interesting is that even at high volumes I could not readily point to any obvious depressions or emphasis in the frequency response with the possible exception of a slight warmth in the lower mid-range. That does not happen very often since even with highly regarded units I can usually zone in on peculiar traits in their signature fairly quickly.

As far as I am concerned the Youtube reviewer who gave these such a lambasting was either suffering from temporary hearing loss or had a broken unit.

Really makes one question the need to spend big money on headphones. Yes, my Utopia is better, but look at the price difference!

 

[Seazer]

Just received my pair today and must say these things are very impressive. I have a smaller head so no problems with the fit whatsoever.

Out of a Questyle DAP they sounded very natural, clean and detailed ... in fact so clean that I found myself listening to good recordings far louder than I normally would. The combination of the quiet background of the Questyle and low distortion in this unit is really something. What was interesting is that even at high volumes I could not readily point to any obvious depressions or emphasis in the frequency response with the possible exception of a slight warmth in the lower mid-range. That does not happen very often since even with highly regarded units I can usually zone in on peculiar traits in their signature fairly quickly.

As far as I am concerned the Youtube reviewer who gave these such a lambasting was either suffering from temporary hearing loss or had a broken unit.

Really makes one question the need to spend big money on headphones. Yes, my Utopia is better, but look at the price difference!

I agree with being able to blast these without distortion. My biggest issue with it though is the bass, it just didn't feel good I may pad swap with a more breathable pad since sticking my finger under the pads to break the seal actually makes the bass sound better to me

 

[AlwaysForward]

Just received my pair today and must say these things are very impressive. I have a smaller head so no problems with the fit whatsoever.

Out of a Questyle DAP they sounded very natural, clean and detailed ... in fact so clean that I found myself listening to good recordings far louder than I normally would. The combination of the quiet background of the Questyle and low distortion in this unit is really something. What was interesting is that even at high volumes I could not readily point to any obvious depressions or emphasis in the frequency response with the possible exception of a slight warmth in the lower mid-range. That does not happen very often since even with highly regarded units I can usually zone in on peculiar traits in their signature fairly quickly.

As far as I am concerned the Youtube reviewer who gave these such a lambasting was either suffering from temporary hearing loss or had a broken unit.

Really makes one question the need to spend big money on headphones. Yes, my Utopia is better, but look at the price difference!

Very much agree with this in my first impressions.

They very much sound exactly like what the measurements suggest and it’s right up my alley. I can understand many audiophile being turned off, it’s a more bass averse community. That said, I do think they nailed their take on Harman and it’s honestly the tweaks I would make. You could probably call it the Millenial Harman Curve. More bass & presence and a little bit of forgiveness in the usually over-energetic (imo) low/mid treble.

The lack of distortion is palpable.

The bass is sublime. Sub bass is a standout. The whole is Textured and extended to the lowest octaves. Rumble and transients are both significantly exceeding early expectations for this set. Despite prior feedback, I am hearing quality and quantity.

Perhaps I’m lucky, they fit my head incredibly comfortably.

They have outstandingly full performance out of an apple lightning 3.5mm.

My first impressions are that I’m hearing everything I was expecting.

 

[AlwaysForward]

Greatly prefer wired over wireless. I really can’t get over how much I like them direct out of my phone. Acoustically, with no DSP. Like I said, this tuning is very much up my alley.

I am also really enjoying the efficiency. I don’t think these are going to regularly leave the house but I can definitely see myself plugging into my phone and getting stuff done or just jamming out. They’ll probably generally live on my computer desk.

 

[brams]

My preference is usually for a bass response a few db less than that of the Harman curve, however I'm thinking now that this preference is based on the typically higher distortion bass in most other cans. The bass on these things is so clean that the level sounds very natural to me. It appears when needed and disappears quickly with little overhang.

Harman knows what they are doing. If the goal is for a headphone to mimic the sound of a flat speaker in properly damped room then their target response is bang on. I have been an audiophile for over 30 years, am lucky to live in a city where I can regularly listen to some super high end two channel systems and have owned some pretty high end stuff. My current system uses Kef Reference 1 speakers with a REL sub DSP'd using a DSpeaker X4 unit to achieve an optimal response in my room. With the sub on the system has a remarkably similar signature to these headphones with perhaps a bit closer tonality to the Utopias in the high end. With the sub off the bass tonality is more in line with what headphiles would consider a neutral response. Of course with the speaker system you get a lot more dynamic impact in the midrange (more in line with a Final Audio Sonorous X), better soundstaging and palpable bass that you can feel. The headphones counter with a level of detail that is hard to achieve with a two channel system (mostly due to room absorption) at the high end.

It's great to see the possibilities offered by this new driver material.

 

[AlwaysForward]

My preference is usually for a bass response a few db less than that of the Harman curve, however I'm thinking now that this preference is based on the typically higher distortion bass in most other cans. The bass on these things is so clean that the level sounds very natural to me. It appears when needed and disappears quickly with little overhang.

Harman knows what they are doing. If the goal is for a headphone to mimic the sound of a flat speaker in properly damped room then their target response is bang on. I have been an audiophile for over 30 years, am lucky to live in a city where I can regularly listen to some super high end two channel systems and have owned some pretty high end stuff. My current system uses Kef Reference 1 speakers with a REL sub DSP'd using a DSpeaker X4 unit to acheive an optimal response in my room. With the sub on the system has a remarkably similar signature to these headphones with perhaps a bit closer tonality to the Utopias in the high end. With the sub off the bass tonality is more in line with what headphiles would consider a neutral response. Of course with the speaker system you get a lot more dynamic impact in the midrange (more in line with a Final Audio Sonorous X), better sounstaging and palpable bass that you can feel. The headphones counter with a level of detail that is hard to acheive with a two channel system (mostly due to room absorption) at the high end.

It's great to see the possibilities offered by this new driver material.

Totally agree. I live with a KEF LS50W & 2 JL Subs that sounds like 2 1000lb speaker when running as a unit with the right crossover and some light DSP + placement blah blah.

Anyway, yeah, these do remind me of that kind of in room big system.

 

[Seazer]

Idk something about the bass isn't quite how I like it, it's hard to pinpoint. I'm thinking a pad swap might help it though. I'll admit I'm bass picky though. Something about this bass is large in quantity but lacking in punch. I think i experienced something similar with the Modhouse Argons, another set with bass that is large in quantity but imo lacks punch. I prefer the puncher bass on my Sony mdr1a, and even the bass on my emu purplehearts, even if they don't extend quite as low. I might by a pair of fenestrated pads for the Ora to see how it sounds though

 

[d1337tion]

RIP...

I handed my ORA's to a friend to test out and while adjusting the cups/band snapped the plastic sliders...

So before you lend your new ORA's to anyone, let them know that fit is an issue and not to try to extend or bend the sliders beyond their "max" capacity.

 

[brams]

Idk something about the bass isn't quite how I like it, it's hard to pinpoint. I'm thinking a pad swap might help it though. I'll admit I'm bass picky though. Something about this bass is large in quantity but lacking in punch. I think i experienced something similar with the Modhouse Argons, another set with bass that is large in quantity but imo lacks punch. I prefer the puncher bass on my Sony mdr1a, and even the bass on my emu purplehearts, even if they don't extend quite as low. I might by a pair of fenestrated pads for the Ora to see how it sounds though

May I ask what amp or DAP you are using? I've only tried with the Questyle which IMO is excellent, but maybe my results would be different with another unit. Perhaps I'll give them a whirl with the Fiio M11 (also very good, but sounds flat and a bit bright with much less nuance compared to the Questyle).

Really loving these Oras so far though ...