[AudioDuck]

I've been to High End in Munich this week, and I think I tried out that Hifiman with those cups that remind me of the old Sony R10 for a short time. It does have a lot of bass, but those cups are much too large and its not as balanced as e.g. the D9200. I'd never buy any Hifiman model though, that constant churning out of new models gives me the feeling of wasting money for something that won't live long and doesn't have any support rather soon.

I did not try out much there, most models were simply not that interesting. I do like my bass, and I don't want to have to engage massive electronics since I want my setup to be as mobile as possible. Unfortunately Beyerdynamic did not exhibit this year, so I could not try out the T1/T5... but I tried the Liric, and although the Meze guys are really nice and we shared some drinks I won't get one: comfort is really good, sound is nice, but its a bit too power hungry and does not go deep enough for my taste (with the Apple Lightning dongle, mind you).

What surprised me was the DCA Stealth, which I'd exepcted to be rather bland after what most review said. It is not, and I'll actually give it another try. But it is much too power hungry for a mobile setup, so I probably won't get one either. This one I did try with some desktop amp though. Excellent comfort, and very lightweight. I love its folding concept.

I also checked out the DCA Aeon 2 Noire, which also has excellent comfort like the Stealth, but does not go deep enough for my taste (again with amplification provided by the exhibitor). I did not try that one with the Apple Dongle since I won't consider getting one.

Another one: that T+A offering, I even forgot its product name. Questionable comfort due to a much too small headband (it rests on the sides of my head, with an arch above where it does not touch my head at all...). Quite missing in the upper midrange and not worth the money.

The Raal Requisite: while an interesting driver, the overall construction is still very home-made. Plus its tonality was very off to me. There was another prototype with the same driver, and that one did sound quite good. Not mobile though, since the driver has a crazy low impedance and needs a transformer to work with normal amps. So no, I won't get one either.

Other things I ignored:
ifi GO Bar -- why should I pay that much for a simple dongle DAC?
HEDD -- just too heavy, plus its open...
any crazy electronics
Cables... there were even cable bridges or high rises... what should I say? Plus those totally crazy power cables with plugs that look like they are just made to destroy wall sockets.
Mojo 2 -- still charging via Micro USB, adding an EQ (which I'd never use). Too bad, I'd have considered a smaller Mojo with a less complicated interface concept, but adding another button with its own color scheme, plus keeping the dimensions identical otherwise, doesn't work for me.
and obviously tons of other things... I don't need to try another Focal e.g., and the Stellia does look as ugly in person as it does in pictures. That brown...

Thanks for the write-up! For those of us not traveling much (if at all) these days, it’s much appreciated.

 

[Terriero]

I've been to High End in Munich this week, and I think I tried out that Hifiman with those cups that remind me of the old Sony R10 for a short time. It does have a lot of bass, but those cups are much too large and its not as balanced as e.g. the D9200. I'd never buy any Hifiman model though, that constant churning out of new models gives me the feeling of wasting money for something that won't live long and doesn't have any support rather soon.

I did not try out much there, most models were simply not that interesting. I do like my bass, and I don't want to have to engage massive electronics since I want my setup to be as mobile as possible. Unfortunately Beyerdynamic did not exhibit this year, so I could not try out the T1/T5... but I tried the Liric, and although the Meze guys are really nice and we shared some drinks I won't get one: comfort is really good, sound is nice, but its a bit too power hungry and does not go deep enough for my taste (with the Apple Lightning dongle, mind you).

What surprised me was the DCA Stealth, which I'd exepcted to be rather bland after what most review said. It is not, and I'll actually give it another try. But it is much too power hungry for a mobile setup, so I probably won't get one either. This one I did try with some desktop amp though. Excellent comfort, and very lightweight. I love its folding concept.

I also checked out the DCA Aeon 2 Noire, which also has excellent comfort like the Stealth, but does not go deep enough for my taste (again with amplification provided by the exhibitor). I did not try that one with the Apple Dongle since I won't consider getting one.

Another one: that T+A offering, I even forgot its product name. Questionable comfort due to a much too small headband (it rests on the sides of my head, with an arch above where it does not touch my head at all...). Quite missing in the upper midrange and not worth the money.

The Raal Requisite: while an interesting driver, the overall construction is still very home-made. Plus its tonality was very off to me. There was another prototype with the same driver, and that one did sound quite good. Not mobile though, since the driver has a crazy low impedance and needs a transformer to work with normal amps. So no, I won't get one either.

Other things I ignored:
ifi GO Bar -- why should I pay that much for a simple dongle DAC?
HEDD -- just too heavy, plus its open...
any crazy electronics
Cables... there were even cable bridges or high rises... what should I say? Plus those totally crazy power cables with plugs that look like they are just made to destroy wall sockets.
Mojo 2 -- still charging via Micro USB, adding an EQ (which I'd never use). Too bad, I'd have considered a smaller Mojo with a less complicated interface concept, but adding another button with its own color scheme, plus keeping the dimensions identical otherwise, doesn't work for me.
and obviously tons of other things... I don't need to try another Focal e.g., and the Stellia does look as ugly in person as it does in pictures. That brown...

Thanks very much for taking your time to share your impressions (I/"we" miss a lot Malevolent and his pursue to "closed-back" perfection ) . But, regarding to your experience, I thought that you were the "no more than 1,5 K to spend on headphones" guy, and you are talking here about Stealth, RAAL Requisite or T+ A Solitaire P (I suppose)

 

[plakat]

Thanks for the write-up! For those of us not traveling much (if at all) these days, it’s much appreciated.

You're welcome I'm sorry if it sounds a bit too negative, but I'm not That happy with where new products are going, especially that prices are just totally inflated without quality and/or features following suit.

Thanks very much for taking your time to share your impressions (I/"we" miss a lot Malevolent and his pursue to "closed-back" perfection ) . But, regarding to your experience, I thought that you were the "no more than 1,5 K to spend on headphones" guy, and you are talking here about Stealth, RAAL Requisite or T+ A Solitaire P (I suppose)

You remember that correctly, and I don't plan on getting any of these (I'm thinking a bit about the Stealth I have to admit, but its not very realistic since it only works with an amp). The Raal was just visually so different and others told me about it so that I had to try it out. The T+A was never on my radar, I just confirmed what a colleague told me.

I had a bit of interest in the Aeon and maybe the Liric as closed options, but neither kicked me out of my pants. On the other hand I'm really happy with my (admittedly growing) M-100 collection, and I always look forward to just listen to music on one of them. Given that this whole ensemble costs less than Stealth/2 -- I'm still within my self-imposed limits.

Of course I do understand that many prefer open-back headphones, and manufacturers are happy with that since closed back does pose special, very hard problems. Yet I think a good closed back has many more use cases and is worth the extra effort. It's a bit disheartening to see how few models emerge in this space. And at what prices. I talked to several people, within the industry as well as outside, and they don't understand those price policies either. Some see this just as a cash grab, as I tend to do as well.

 

[us.classic]

Switched out the pads on my Beyerdynamic DT 177x Go and seem to like them better now.

Inbound now....

Sony MDR-Z7M2​

 

[arielext]

Switched out the pads on my Beyerdynamic DT 177x Go and seem to like them better now.

Inbound now....

Sony MDR-Z7M2​

To what pads? I recently tried a pair of dekoni th-900 pads I had laying around and those increased the comfort quite a bit for me personally. Those pads are also a bit more neutral sounding than the stock leather pads imo. Curious to know what you switched to

 

[us.classic]

To what pads? I recently tried a pair of dekoni th-900 pads I had laying around and those increased the comfort quite a bit for me personally. Those pads are also a bit more neutral sounding than the stock leather pads imo. Curious to know what you switched to

the stock leather pads

 

[Shane D]

Got these in tonight. Funky looking, but I like them. Very light and the price was very reasonable. Interesting cable adventure. Now using a Hart T60 Argon cable.
Need a thread for these.

 

[DTgill]

Got these in tonight. Funky looking, but I like them. Very light and the price was very reasonable. Interesting cable adventure. Now using a Hart T60 Argon cable.
Need a thread for these.

Those are very nice-looking cans, how do they sound?

 

[Shane D]

Those are very nice-looking cans, how do they sound?

Very bassy. The mids are good. I have heard that they require a fair bit of burn-in. I thought there might be a bit of a veil, but I will wait until after the weekend to form an opinion.

 

[Mhog55]

Got these in tonight. Funky looking, but I like them. Very light and the price was very reasonable. Interesting cable adventure. Now using a Hart T60 Argon cable.
Need a thread for these.

There is one, but only 6 pages thus far.

 

[Shane D]

There is one, but only 6 pages thus far.

I did a quick search but could only find the R7's and the R10's. I will look again tonight.

 

[llysender]

I did a quick search but could only find the R7's and the R10's. I will look again tonight.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/introducing-the-hifiman-he-r9.961867/

 

[Shane D]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/introducing-the-hifiman-he-r9.961867/

Thank you!
I will definitely be posting on that this weekend.

 

[arielext]

Got these in tonight. Funky looking, but I like them. Very light and the price was very reasonable. Interesting cable adventure. Now using a Hart T60 Argon cable.
Need a thread for these.

I think I dislike all about it except for the colour of the cups.
Somehow even the thickness of the pads and headband looks cheap and coming from a child's toy...

"Because it sounds good"; as long as that applied: enjoy man

*looks at OG HE-500*: you are still cool, old boy.

 

[Shane D]

I think I dislike all about it except for the colour of the cups.
Somehow even the thickness of the pads and headband looks cheap and coming from a child's toy...

"Because it sounds good"; as long as that applied: enjoy man

*looks at OG HE-500*: you are still cool, old boy.

They are WAY below my HE6se V2's, but they were almost half the price.

I posted on the thread about my thoughts so far. It has only been like 5 hours of play time though.