MokhaMark
100+ Head-Fier
I pre-ordered Magna the minute they were announced. My impulsiveness is paying off, something that rarely happens. I should have them Thursday or Friday. I think Danny got two, although there are no cases for them in the US yet. Given the Immanis is still weeks (months?) away. I decided to keep my Magna order intact and realize some more immediate gratification. I fully expect to have both eventually, so why not start with Magna?
A lot has been written about bass in the last few pages here. I feel compelled to weigh in, even if philosophically.
I've heard bass in the Knitting Factory NYC, and also in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Very different, to say the least. Is there a headphone that can take you to both places and represent the different intentions of the typical music for those two storied venues? In my own experience, some do get closer than others in respect to versatility. There are plenty of headphones that reproduce A LOT of bass. Bass that slams, compresses, overwhelms. Often (not always) this is accomplished with headphones that have very tight seals and a lot of clamp force. Even more often, this quantity of bass is rather indistinct in terms of pitch specificity, or texture. This character can be a lot of fun with some genre, but less so in a Mahler symphony. Those folks on the right side of the stage with the instruments bigger than they are, they are actually making specific pitches, lol. The accuracy and reach into those wavelengths is a litmus test for my own listening. No matter the genre, I want quality there over quantity, even if simple quantity is fun sometimes. The sensation of blunt compression on the eardrums is not a measure of bass quality, I don't think.
My short experience with the Magna and Immanis last month suggested to me that they have absolutely incredible reach into the lowest frequencies. It is impactful, but remains textured and accurate. I did not at all find it overwhelming or overblown. I also remember really, really appreciating the way Susvara worked in the deep. Especially since the Susvara's performance came, for me, with excellent comfort and moderate clamp. I think Susvara lovers will really like the new Raal headphones.
I think most of us would be happy to listen to music at both the Knitting Factory (ear plugs in) and the Concertgebouw, and any sort of tribalism introduced to disparage one vs. the other would correctly be laughed out of the space. This is an exciting new(ish) technology enriching the hobby we all find important. I'd rather this forum follow such sentiment.
If these opinions do not get me chased off the thread, or further abused on various discord, I'll be pleased to share more long term Magna impressions after the weekend.
Happy listening!
A lot has been written about bass in the last few pages here. I feel compelled to weigh in, even if philosophically.
I've heard bass in the Knitting Factory NYC, and also in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Very different, to say the least. Is there a headphone that can take you to both places and represent the different intentions of the typical music for those two storied venues? In my own experience, some do get closer than others in respect to versatility. There are plenty of headphones that reproduce A LOT of bass. Bass that slams, compresses, overwhelms. Often (not always) this is accomplished with headphones that have very tight seals and a lot of clamp force. Even more often, this quantity of bass is rather indistinct in terms of pitch specificity, or texture. This character can be a lot of fun with some genre, but less so in a Mahler symphony. Those folks on the right side of the stage with the instruments bigger than they are, they are actually making specific pitches, lol. The accuracy and reach into those wavelengths is a litmus test for my own listening. No matter the genre, I want quality there over quantity, even if simple quantity is fun sometimes. The sensation of blunt compression on the eardrums is not a measure of bass quality, I don't think.
My short experience with the Magna and Immanis last month suggested to me that they have absolutely incredible reach into the lowest frequencies. It is impactful, but remains textured and accurate. I did not at all find it overwhelming or overblown. I also remember really, really appreciating the way Susvara worked in the deep. Especially since the Susvara's performance came, for me, with excellent comfort and moderate clamp. I think Susvara lovers will really like the new Raal headphones.
I think most of us would be happy to listen to music at both the Knitting Factory (ear plugs in) and the Concertgebouw, and any sort of tribalism introduced to disparage one vs. the other would correctly be laughed out of the space. This is an exciting new(ish) technology enriching the hobby we all find important. I'd rather this forum follow such sentiment.
If these opinions do not get me chased off the thread, or further abused on various discord, I'll be pleased to share more long term Magna impressions after the weekend.
Happy listening!
), and I think it takes a significant amount of time analyzing different presentations to truly understand, much less be able to verbalize where a particular transducer excels at each thing and where it does not. I think most people presume that adding a few dB bass shelf on any EQ equals "more better" bass, and that really just isn't so at all. But I digress.
