Jan Meier
King Corda
Member of the Trade: Meier Audio
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2001
- Posts
- 854
- Likes
- 182
Dear Headfellows,
At the last IFA-show in Berlin the Sennheiser stand also showed one of the Orpheus headphone systems. Unfortunately the system wasn't connected and but when I discussed the system with one of the Sennheiser representatives he kindly offered to send me the unit just for a few weeks of fun.
It thus happened that I had this noble system at my humble place during XMas-time and New Year's Eve. Not a bad way to spend the dark gloomy days!
Only few of you will ever have been able to have a listen to the Orpheus so I thought it would be nice to share my impressions with you.
The unit that I got is a rather old demo (Serial Nr. 0063) and is doing his duty on all the big HiFi shows in Europa, but at arrival it nonetheless looked gorgeous. The amplifier is heavy (13 kg!), looks like an altar of chrom-steel, and has an impeccable finishing. The headphone itself was much lighter then expected, extremely comfortable (large paddings) and the wood elements give it a truly classy look. The built quality was exquisit and it shows that no compromises were made in the materials used.
The amp offers both digital and analog inputs but the built-in DA-converter has not been used. Given that this is a rather old design I didn't expect much of it and during more recent modifications of my CD-player I deactivated the digital output. Only the analog inputs were used.
People might expect that sonically the Orpheus is like a very refined HD600 or HD650. However, at first hearing it becomes immediately apparent that this is not so. The HD600/HD650 have a deep and warm sound with a slightly recessed treble. The Orpheus is rather different.
The Orpheus has a slightly forward and agressive treble and the bass, which is very tight and free of any distortion, shows a fabulous definition but also feels a little bit light. To be honest, as far as sonic balance is concerned I think there's more resemblance to a DT931/860 (at 120 Ohm) then to a HD600/650.
The best of this headphone system is the midrange. Silky, smooth and extremely resolving. I know of people who don't like the CORDA amps that much, because these are "trimmed" for high resolution and because they prefer a more smooth sound. Well, if you're one of them, then don't try the Orpheus! You won't like it.
This system will show you any imperfection in your source or in the recording. It's very unforgiving!
In my opinion it's especially the treble where the Orpheus is less than perfect. The phone has this typical sissling character that I have heard with other electrostatic systems before and that is almost immediately noticed by everybody that listened to the system at my place. Within minutes (at different sessions) both my girlfriend Duveltje and my companion Harald asked me to connect an analoguer to the setup. The use of the analoguer didn't cure the problem though. It seems like the lower treble is also involved with this phenomenon. Almost needless to say that the phone tends to be a little bit sibilant.
Soundstage of the Orpheus is very special. It's extremely broad and the acoustics of the recording location are very well heard. Strange enough I felt that the soundstage created was placed at the back of my head, a few centimeters behind the middle. That might be very personal though. No one else complained.
With conventional headphones, with a relatively small driver, it always helps me to place the earcups a little bit to the front and below. The drivers thus do not radiate directly into my ears and soundstage becomes more natural and forward. The Orpheus though has a large radiating surface and the trick didn't help me with this system.
I'm one of those people who can't really live with the extreme channel separation of headphones. The left-right panning of the sound of certain stereo recordings really annoys me. I guess I'm a crossfeed junk. Needless to say that I placed a crossfeed filter in between CD-player and amp to see whether I could improve the soundstage.
The filter used indeed alleviated most of my problems. However, with a flat setting of the frequency response the lightness of the bass also became a little bit too apparent to my taste. Fortunately the filter allowed for small changes of bass and treble response that not only cured the bass but also reduced the sibilance. Total presentation simply became more relaxed and natural (to my ears that is!).
You might feel from my comments that I don't like the sound of the Orpheus. Well, that's a mistake. Any flaws mentioned are generally much smaller than comparable flaws of more conventional headphones. Moreover, to me the Orpheus is a piece of Art where taste is (or should be) the all-important factor. I like van Gogh and Kadinsky, other people will prefer Rembrandt or Pollock. It's not the question which one is the better painter. The question is which one you like more.
To my ears the Orpheus is the best headphone system I ever heard. However, sonically I feel it's not perfect.
But who cares! I can't afford one for myself anyway.
Happy listenings,
Jan
At the last IFA-show in Berlin the Sennheiser stand also showed one of the Orpheus headphone systems. Unfortunately the system wasn't connected and but when I discussed the system with one of the Sennheiser representatives he kindly offered to send me the unit just for a few weeks of fun.
It thus happened that I had this noble system at my humble place during XMas-time and New Year's Eve. Not a bad way to spend the dark gloomy days!
Only few of you will ever have been able to have a listen to the Orpheus so I thought it would be nice to share my impressions with you.
The unit that I got is a rather old demo (Serial Nr. 0063) and is doing his duty on all the big HiFi shows in Europa, but at arrival it nonetheless looked gorgeous. The amplifier is heavy (13 kg!), looks like an altar of chrom-steel, and has an impeccable finishing. The headphone itself was much lighter then expected, extremely comfortable (large paddings) and the wood elements give it a truly classy look. The built quality was exquisit and it shows that no compromises were made in the materials used.
The amp offers both digital and analog inputs but the built-in DA-converter has not been used. Given that this is a rather old design I didn't expect much of it and during more recent modifications of my CD-player I deactivated the digital output. Only the analog inputs were used.
People might expect that sonically the Orpheus is like a very refined HD600 or HD650. However, at first hearing it becomes immediately apparent that this is not so. The HD600/HD650 have a deep and warm sound with a slightly recessed treble. The Orpheus is rather different.
The Orpheus has a slightly forward and agressive treble and the bass, which is very tight and free of any distortion, shows a fabulous definition but also feels a little bit light. To be honest, as far as sonic balance is concerned I think there's more resemblance to a DT931/860 (at 120 Ohm) then to a HD600/650.
The best of this headphone system is the midrange. Silky, smooth and extremely resolving. I know of people who don't like the CORDA amps that much, because these are "trimmed" for high resolution and because they prefer a more smooth sound. Well, if you're one of them, then don't try the Orpheus! You won't like it.
This system will show you any imperfection in your source or in the recording. It's very unforgiving!
In my opinion it's especially the treble where the Orpheus is less than perfect. The phone has this typical sissling character that I have heard with other electrostatic systems before and that is almost immediately noticed by everybody that listened to the system at my place. Within minutes (at different sessions) both my girlfriend Duveltje and my companion Harald asked me to connect an analoguer to the setup. The use of the analoguer didn't cure the problem though. It seems like the lower treble is also involved with this phenomenon. Almost needless to say that the phone tends to be a little bit sibilant.
Soundstage of the Orpheus is very special. It's extremely broad and the acoustics of the recording location are very well heard. Strange enough I felt that the soundstage created was placed at the back of my head, a few centimeters behind the middle. That might be very personal though. No one else complained.
With conventional headphones, with a relatively small driver, it always helps me to place the earcups a little bit to the front and below. The drivers thus do not radiate directly into my ears and soundstage becomes more natural and forward. The Orpheus though has a large radiating surface and the trick didn't help me with this system.
I'm one of those people who can't really live with the extreme channel separation of headphones. The left-right panning of the sound of certain stereo recordings really annoys me. I guess I'm a crossfeed junk. Needless to say that I placed a crossfeed filter in between CD-player and amp to see whether I could improve the soundstage.
The filter used indeed alleviated most of my problems. However, with a flat setting of the frequency response the lightness of the bass also became a little bit too apparent to my taste. Fortunately the filter allowed for small changes of bass and treble response that not only cured the bass but also reduced the sibilance. Total presentation simply became more relaxed and natural (to my ears that is!).
You might feel from my comments that I don't like the sound of the Orpheus. Well, that's a mistake. Any flaws mentioned are generally much smaller than comparable flaws of more conventional headphones. Moreover, to me the Orpheus is a piece of Art where taste is (or should be) the all-important factor. I like van Gogh and Kadinsky, other people will prefer Rembrandt or Pollock. It's not the question which one is the better painter. The question is which one you like more.
To my ears the Orpheus is the best headphone system I ever heard. However, sonically I feel it's not perfect.
But who cares! I can't afford one for myself anyway.
Happy listenings,
Jan
