[oneguy]

009 didn’t have much bass to speak of. If bass is your game, I like the Es-1a.

I can give a x9k and Es-1a vs Perun Rock comparison when the Perun comes.

 

[goldwerger]

009 didn’t have much bass to speak of. If bass is your game, I like the Es-1a.

I can give a x9k and Es-1a vs Perun Rock comparison when the Perun comes.

Pls do

 

[oneguy]

Ok I’ve had the Perun Rock on my head for about an hour now and I think it’s a stellar headphone. For those of you that have heard the Sigma Pro and like it, you will love the Rock. Very similar sound signature but more open sounding.

@padam commented on the ES-1a’s quick decay which I hadn’t noticed prior to tonight due to the Rock. I think the Rock strikes the right amount of decay for a rich sound signature. Now the ES-1a does handle faster music better because of this quicker decay. The Rock gets a muddy when the decay from the previous note hasn’t quite disappeared and the next note hits during quick music.

The Rock requires some power to drive it. The ES-1a is relatively easy to drive. The Rock by comparison required a lot more clicks on the volume to get a comparable sound. The Sigma Pro similarly needs hefty amount of volume knob to get the sound to be comparable in volume, just a little less than the Rock.

In my previous comparisons when asked “what the best headphone I own” it was hard to answer because I really felt there there were two main categories (refined and lively) with the Sigma kind of as an outlier in the “natural” category. I now feel like there are three main categories with the Rock and Omega Hybrid joining the natural category.

Refined:
1. X9K
2. RR1

Lively:
1. ES-1a*
2. Hive X

Natural:
1. Rock**
2. Omega/007 Hybrid**
3. Sigma

*on slower music the Rock can be more lively than the ES-1a
** this is close to a tie. But I feel like 60% of the vote would go to the Rock

I haven’t done a X9K back to back with the Rock. I’ll attempt that tomorrow.

A few other notes:
-The rock handles sibilance very well, I’ll talk more about this with the x9k comparison
-The rock has a similar fault as the Omega hybrid just a less of an extent see my review here for more details.

 

[zomkung]

Ok I’ve had the Perun Rock on my head for about an hour now and I think it’s a stellar headphone. For those of you that have heard the Sigma Pro and like it, you will love the Rock. Very similar sound signature but more open sounding.

@padam commented on the ES-1a’s quick decay which I hadn’t noticed prior to tonight due to the Rock. I think the Rock strikes the right amount of decay for a rich sound signature. Now the ES-1a does handle faster music better because of this quicker decay. The Rock gets a muddy when the decay from the previous note hasn’t quite disappeared and the next note hits during quick music.

The Rock requires some power to drive it. The ES-1a is relatively easy to drive. The Rock by comparison required a lot more clicks on the volume to get a comparable sound. The Sigma Pro similarly needs hefty amount of volume knob to get the sound to be comparable in volume, just a little less than the Rock.

In my previous comparisons when asked “what the best headphone I own” it was hard to answer because I really felt there there were two main categories (refined and lively) with the Sigma kind of as an outlier in the “natural” category. I now feel like there are three main categories with the Rock and Omega Hybrid joining the natural category.

Refined:
1. X9K
2. RR1

Lively:
1. ES-1a*
2. Hive X

Natural:
1. Rock**
2. Omega/007 Hybrid**
3. Sigma

*on slower music the Rock can be more lively than the ES-1a
** this is close to a tie. But I feel like 60% of the vote would go to the Rock

I haven’t done a X9K back to back with the Rock. I’ll attempt that tomorrow.

A few other notes:
-The rock handles sibilance very well, I’ll talk more about this with the x9k comparison
-The rock has a similar fault as the Omega hybrid just a less of an extent see my review here for more details.

Thank you,

The previous o2-mk2 modded, would you put this one in the natural category?

I sold the 009 since the sound was too thin. Maybe will get ES-1A to complement my O2.

 

[oneguy]

@zomkung yes, I would put it in the natural category. Port mod is a must. I’d throw it in as #4 on the list mainly because the Sigma has a more speaker like presentation due to the placement of the driver forward of the ears. It’s hard to compete with that wow factor.

Expanded list with what I’ve owned recently:
Refined:
1. X9K
2. L700mk1
3. RR1***
4. 407***

Lively:
1. ES-1a*
2. L500mk1 with L700 pads
3. Hive X
4. 507
5. L500mk1 with L500 pads

Natural:
1. Rock**
2. Omega/007 Hybrid**
3. Sigma
4. 007mk2 with port mod

*on slower music the Rock can be more lively than the ES-1a
** this is close to a tie. But I feel like 60% of the vote would go to the Rock
***don’t have enough head time with these so this is more of a gut impression. They could be switched

 

[vvar10ck]

At my KGST amplifier, Stax x9000 is harder to drive vs Perun rock headphones and Peruns must be charged for 15 mins before listening after long period of discharge/ disconnection from an amp. For the same position of volume knob, Perun headphones are louder than x9000 for about 15-20% (11 o'clock for Perun and 13 o'clock for Stax x9000).

 

[Bonddam]

My Rock left driver was able to fully charge but it slowly lost charge and I had to use balance again. So could be the convertor or the driver. Crazy thing the convertor is just transformers. I don't remember and charging caps inside.

 

[oneguy]

At my KGST amplifier, Stax x9000 is harder to drive vs Perun rock headphones and Peruns must be charged for 15 mins before listening after long period of discharge/ disconnection from an amp. For the same position of volume knob, Perun headphones are louder than x9000 for about 15-20% (11 o'clock for Perun and 13 o'clock for Stax x9000).

May be due to manufacturer variability but I have the opposite scenario with my KGGG. If a song calls for 11 o’clock on the Perun Rock, about 9 o’clock works for the x9k. I let the Rock charge for over 20 min before testing this.

 

[rluciano]

May be due to manufacturer variability but I have the opposite scenario with my KGGG. If a song calls for 11 o’clock on the Perun Rock, about 9 o’clock works for the x9k. I let the Rock charge for over 20 min before testing this.

With my KGSS, the rock takes so little gain from the amplifier that I put 10 dB attenuators on the input. The Stax SR-404 (only other stat I still have) take one or two "hours" higher on the volume knob.

 

[oneguy]

@rluciano Is yours a V1 or V2?

 

[rluciano]

@rluciano Is yours a V1 or V2?

V1

 

[oneguy]

Ok I finally got the time to do a little Rock/X9000 comparison with notes.

Sara Bareilles, Brave, Brave Enough: Live at the Variety Playhouse

Rock: Very musical. I’m typically not a fan on live recordings because of recoding artifacts of not being in a studio environment. The Rock didn’t make it seem like a live recording which is nice because it opens up live recordings to be headphone listenable for me.

X9k: Better technical performance. Spatial placement was super sharp, notes had height, wider sound stage. Sibilance pops it’s head up again at points but not as bad as I’ve heard from these headphones.

Livingston Taylor, Isn’t She lovely, World’s Greatest Audiophile Vocal
Recordings

Rock: Opening of the song where singer is whistling the chorus is not as crisp as the X9k. nice roundness to the singer’s voice

X9k: Plankton level detail in the singers voice carry’s through with easy; every string had a precise position that it came from.

Queen, Don’t stop me now

Rock: It’s slowness makes the song a dissonance of sounds

X9k: Not as integrated of a song as I had hoped for but it’s listenable.

At this point I was pretty unhappy with the way both of these headphones handled this song so I brought the ES-1a out.

ES-1a: Much better. Mr. Mercury would be proud. Has energy, it’s fast enough to keep up with the music. All instruments can be picked out easy if you want or they can melt together if you don’t want try to pick them out.

Straight No Chaset ft. Colbie Caillat, Everyday is Christmas, Under the Influence

Rock: The richness in Colbie Caillat’s voice is seductive. The entire song is euphoria inducing.

One thing I had notice in a few other songs but hadn’t commented on is the occasional sudden jump in soundstage. The sound stage is pretty will tuned and neutral but occasionally it will get markedly wider/appear behind your ears. I suspect this jump in sound stage is due to placement of second drivers becoming more noticeable.

X9k: Colbie’s voice is slightly softened compared to the Rock. Vocal sounds of the a capella instruments have separation but still mesh together. Has a little more punch on the leading edge of notes than the Rock.


—————
As I was cleaning up my notes to make them more presentable for this review, I noted a whine from the left driver of the Rock. The sound was very similar to what happens to the HiveX and RR1 when humidity is too high although it not as bad as they get it.

As a troubleshooting measure, I grounded the plugs of the Rock and it remained (as expected). I removed the headphones from my head for about 30 sec and put them back on and it was gone.

Conclusion: the Rock has a very slight issue with humidity so be aware of that. Again, nothing as bad as the HiveX and RR1 and it’s not damage causing so no worries there. Just can be annoying for so food for thought for those that have perpetually humid weather. To provide another data point for smaller manufacturer e-stats,, I’ve never had a humidifty related issue with the ES-1a. My room relative humidity during this listening session was 60%.

 

[goldwerger]

Ok I finally got the time to do a little Rock/X9000 comparison with notes.

Sara Bareilles, Brave, Brave Enough: Live at the Variety Playhouse

Rock: Very musical. I’m typically not a fan on live recordings because of recoding artifacts of not being in a studio environment. The Rock didn’t make it seem like a live recording which is nice because it opens up live recordings to be headphone listenable for me.

X9k: Better technical performance. Spatial placement was super sharp, notes had height, wider sound stage. Sibilance pops it’s head up again at points but not as bad as I’ve heard from these headphones.

Livingston Taylor, Isn’t She lovely, World’s Greatest Audiophile Vocal
Recordings

Rock: Opening of the song where singer is whistling the chorus is not as crisp as the X9k. nice roundness to the singer’s voice

X9k: Plankton level detail in the singers voice carry’s through with easy; every string had a precise position that it came from.

Queen, Don’t stop me now

Rock: It’s slowness makes the song a dissonance of sounds

X9k: Not as integrated of a song as I had hoped for but it’s listenable.

At this point I was pretty unhappy with the way both of these headphones handled this song so I brought the ES-1a out.

ES-1a: Much better. Mr. Mercury would be proud. Has energy, it’s fast enough to keep up with the music. All instruments can be picked out easy if you want or they can melt together if you don’t want try to pick them out.

Straight No Chaset ft. Colbie Caillat, Everyday is Christmas, Under the Influence

Rock: The richness in Colbie Caillat’s voice is seductive. The entire song is euphoria inducing.

One thing I had notice in a few other songs but hadn’t commented on is the occasional sudden jump in soundstage. The sound stage is pretty will tuned and neutral but occasionally it will get markedly wider/appear behind your ears. I suspect this jump in sound stage is due to placement of second drivers becoming more noticeable.

X9k: Colbie’s voice is slightly softened compared to the Rock. Vocal sounds of the a capella instruments have separation but still mesh together. Has a little more punch on the leading edge of notes than the Rock.


—————
As I was cleaning up my notes to make them more presentable for this review, I noted a whine from the left driver of the Rock. The sound was very similar to what happens to the HiveX and RR1 when humidity is too high although it not as bad as they get it.

As a troubleshooting measure, I grounded the plugs of the Rock and it remained (as expected). I removed the headphones from my head for about 30 sec and put them back on and it was gone.

Conclusion: the Rock has a very slight issue with humidity so be aware of that. Again, nothing as bad as the HiveX and RR1 and it’s not damage causing so no worries there. Just can be annoying for so food for thought for those that have perpetually humid weather. To provide another data point for smaller manufacturer e-stats,, I’ve never had a humidifty related issue with the ES-1a. My room relative humidity during this listening session was 60%.

Great write up, thanks for that!

The ES-1a sounds like something worth looking into…

 

[oneguy]

Great write up, thanks for that!

The ES-1a sounds like something worth looking into…

No problem at all. Just one person’s opinions and others may have differing views.

The ES-1a is a good headphone to have. Just like everything else though, it’s not without its faults but depending on what type of music you listen to the most/what type of headphones you already have it can be a worthwhile addition.

For me, the Rock does well at 75-80% of the music I listen to so I’m glad I looked into it and the ES-1a fills the void for the other bit. The X9k mostly overlaps areas that I would also use the Rock for with maybe a little overlap in the ES-1a’s 25%.

 

[goldwerger]

No problem at all. Just one person’s opinions and others may have differing views.

The ES-1a is a good headphone to have. Just like everything else though, it’s not without its faults but depending on what type of music you listen to the most/what type of headphones you already have it can be a worthwhile addition.

For me, the Rock does well at 75-80% of the music I listen to so I’m glad I looked into it and the ES-1a fills the void for the other bit. The X9k mostly overlaps areas that I would also use the Rock for with maybe a little overlap in the ES-1a’s 25%.

I listen mostly to vocals, jazz and acoustic music..