Hey guys, I've been on head-fi for ages but I haven't posted much and I haven't posted one single proper review. I've just been reading most of the time. So here's my first one, it's the Sennheiser Amperior in silver colour.
I got this headphone recently and I'll try to post in the most unbiased manner.
Accessories
wow i thought my AKG K271 mk ii came with little accessories but this came with less
for a "street style" headphone i expected a bit more....
It came with well... the headphones, and two cables. one with and another without iphone remote control.
No hard case despite the gigantic box size. No carrying pouch. No spare ear pads.
Score :
4/10
Build Quality
The headphone is mostly plastic which is quite disappointing (compared to something like DT1350) but feels relatively sturdy unlike the fragile CAL!. An exception can be made for the earcups which are made of aluminium which are also the thing that sets them differently when it comes to build quality from the HD-25s. The part that hangs down to allow the earcups to be moved up and down seems somewhat thin compared to the plastic at the headband and personally I'm rather worried that this might break easily.
The amperior also has cables exposed on top of the ear cups which can also be a bad thing.
(Example scenario : you put the amperior in your bag along with other objects, the cable gets caught without you noticing and you pull the headphone out. Result : damaged cable
)
The amperior itself has a short 25/30 cm cable that is fairly thick and seem very durable.
It also comes with 2 cables that are about 1 meter long, one with iphone remote and the other one without which attaches to the thicker cable via 3.5 mm female jack. The two cables are much much thinner and seem fragile like a borderline IEM cable. This is clearly a minus point.
As seen in the picture below, the cables are (from top to bottom) fxz100, amperior's extension, cable straight out of amperior. You can see that the extension cable is the thinnest. The fxz seem to have the same thickness but is actually thicker. It seems to be the same size because of the distance between the two.
The jacks however seem high quality at all ends. The terminating right angle jack on the thinner cable also has sufficient strain relief.
Also, a thing to note is that the cable is attached to the right side instead of the usual left. This has no significance to me but some might find it interesting.
Score :
7.4/10
Comfort
The headphone being fairly small, mostly plastic and aluminium makes them very light so your neck muscles won't hurt.
Getting an initial good seal can be a bit troublesome at first but once you get it, it feels very secure. It has a very firm fit, I wouldn't say it's overly tight that it'd give you headaches, but it is tight enough such that you can head bang all you want and it won't fall off.
If you wear glasses, depending on the type of glasses you might want to avoid these.
To wear the headphones, you have to take your glasses off before putting the headphones on. Since your ears would then be squished, your glasses' frames would just rest on your ears rather than hook around it like usual,it feels odd at first and It just adds to the discomfort. It's not a big issue but it's there.
Without glasses however, the comfort is far better simply because there is not the need to adjust the glasses when wearing the headphones.
The amperior comes with velour pads that feels very nice on the ears, it heats up less than leather pads do and doesn't cause sweating. But due to the firm clamping force and the fact that it's on ear means there isn't much breathing your ears can do and would cause your ears to feel hot after a while. I find that after wearing it for an hour or so, I usually take it off for about 30 seconds / 1 minute to let my ears cool down and rest. This is not something you can wear and forget they're on, the clamping force is there and you will feel it for sure ! It's not too tight but it's just there. I also wouldn't wear this in summer cause i'd be really irritated if I had this on in addition to the Australian summer temperature that can reach 40 degrees celcius +.
The headband on the amperior can be split into two which allows for a more secure / comfortable fit, it's certainly a positive addition.
The headband also has velour pads like the ear pads. When worn, I can't feel the headband at all.
An additional gimmick that the amperior has is the rotatable left earcup. This is definitely a plus but is not as good as the DT1350 that has rotatable ear cups on both sides.
With the earcups swung back, the amperior still stays on nice and firmly which is rather nice.
Overall there are +s and -s when it comes to comfort with this headphone but it's not purely uncomfortable nor as comfy as circumaural headphones.
The best way to decide if this is the headphone for you or not would be to personally audition them like I did.
The fact that the headphones don't suit everyone gave it less score than some might prefer.
I'd give it an overall
Score :
7/10
Isolation & Sound Leak
It's storming outside and my sister is chatting with her husband about 3 meters from me and i can't hear them at all
However i can hear my phone when it rings next to me just slightly. Very good isolation!
Score
9.5/10
I can't tell you how many decibels exactly but it's nowhere near 0 leakage. But it's obviously not as bad as an open back headphone.
At moderate volume with the addition of the storm outisde as background noise, i can hear the words and some of the instruments from 1 meter of the worn headphone.
But i think i listen to music fairly loud so, if i take it down to what i consider to be quieter / more moredarte, I can still hear the music but only whispers of the vocals (can't make up the words said), I honestly think that it won't bother people when you're commuting ie. in the bus or train.
Score :
8.0/10
Microphonics
Can only hear the cable noise if you really tap on it / if the thicker cable hits something. Even then, not much cable noise is present.
Score :
9.5/10
Sound quality
This is where the amperior really shines and this is the reason why I bought the amperior in the first place. It is simply amazing !
At first I wasn't impressed but that was due to improper fit. Once I got the right fit, WOW i was impressed !
Originally I bought this just to audition it and would return it before the 2 week return policy is up but i'm considering to keep this now.
Yes I haven't had much time with this headphones but damn it's sound quality alone is damn impressive.
I think that the overall tone of the headphone would be considered to be fairly warm.
It has a soundstage that's pretty amazing for its size but obviously much less than any open back headphone.
It may give detail that you haven't heard before from your favourite tracks if you step up from low end headphones but it's not as revealing as reference style headphones.
It is pretty forgiving with most audio tracks as well, making it suitable for the general market.
Bass: It reaches down low down to the 20Hz range. You can really feel it rumble when it calls for it. What's nice is that the bass is nice and controlled, it's there when the track calls for it but won't add unnecessary boom when it's uncalled for. The bass is also tight and has what i consider to be ideal when it comes to extension and decay. The bass also do not leak into the mids unlike something cheap headphones / beats solo hds are known for. It does however lacks a bit when it comes to detail because of its strong presence. Perhaps if you're looking for something more analytical this might not be for you but for the average audiophile, average listeners and bassheads, this has a really really nice bass.
Mids: The mids the mids the mids ! The mids are great ! They are detailed and clear, although i prefer the mids in the momentum, I think the amperior has terrific mids. It's not overwhelmed by the bass and is not too forward nor far. Male vocals sound warm and smooth. I personally don't listen to much female vocals but to my ears they seem unaltered (they're not shifted to the lower end of the FR).
Highs: It does not sparkle as much as some people might like. To me they're ideal, it's smooth and non-sibilant. (there are people out there who say they are sibilant though). Obviously different preferences but it's something to note. To me the highs will not WOW you and make it a reason for you to buy one of this.
It is, something that won't cause you problems though. It slightly lacks its presence when compared with the rest of the spectrum but it's not veiled or anything.
Overall, honestly for a closed on-ears, i haven't heard anything better.
Score :
9/10
Conclusion
Honestly I think the amperior is a fantastic headphone, it is something worth trying really. The only issue is that you can't wear it for too long. The sound quality is just amazing. I am not great with words so i can't describe the sound very well and I don't own many headphones ( I've tried plenty) but I can assure you that the sound quality is above average.
It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but that's with everything. There isn't one product that will satisfy everyone, but nevertheless, this headphone is worth a shot.
The sound quality is certainly what sold the headphone to me.
Oh one thing i nearly forgot to say, they're damn stylish
Lastly I apologize firstly for the damn long review and if there are any mistakes with my English or anything I said in general . English is not my first language so please bear that in mind.
