[LostnAmerica]

You are correct! I had a brain fart.

You probably meant the HP-1's ...

 

[Shane D]

You probably meant the HP-1's ...

Nope, just zoned out.

 

[LostnAmerica]

Nope, just zoned out.

I'm getting the bug (prob never lost it). Super curious about the GH 40... I missed the special sale (Rognir Dynamic/GH40) by about 4 days. I had sent an email to Kennerton to order and they informed me it was over.... That would have been a great opportunity and whole bunch of fun...

 

[plakat]

Wasn't Tyll's review of the Z1R the beginning of the end for him? It contradicted some of the other reviews, upset sponsors, and then made him question his hearing?

I miss that guy. Thanks to this thread, I'm rocking the Aeon Noire and considering the Liric.

That I don’t know. But he was definitely the only reviewer I trusted so far.
I think upsetting sponsors should not be a reviewers problem, and Tyll seems to have kept his independence as far as possible and had the standing to do so. But I could imagine him quitting over critique that a sponsor may feel bad due to his review… but whatever, I don’t know more than what his farewell post and video said, which sounded reasonable.

But my point is that the Z1R did not leave a lasting impression with me except for its exemplary comfort, despite testing it for some days at that time. So I guess I won’t bite this time either
It’s closed brother Z7M2 might be a different story though, I liked its predecessor despite its shortcomings.

 

[Nostoi]

It's been a week since the JVC HA-SW01 has been shacked up with me, so a few impressions are in order.



I do realize this is an extremely niche product for the reason that these are an Asia-exclusive, so it seems to go with JVC's best stuff these days.
So if anything I hope this quells some of your curiosities.

First of all, the Build Quality of these headphones is as far as I can tell, exactly what you would hope for around this price point.
Materials, fit, engineering and wood finish all appear to be top notch.
I do have some reservations about the quality of the headband inner-padding. It seems to be the kind of pleather that might suddenly start shedding in 3-5 years, but you really never know.



From looking at photos of this headphone it's not immediately clear that the vertical swivel is provided by circular metal gimbles.
The black and shiny metal rings around the wood are actually circular gimbles connected at the center on the horizontal plane.
The rest of the headband assembly appears to be plastic.
All joints are quiet, no creaking.
Cable is braided cloth and does make scratching noises when you move.



The drivers appear to be modified versions of the driver used in the JVC HA-MX100-Z (and both HA-MX10-B and HA-MX100-V).
The first and only 40mm drivers ever to use real wood.
In my opinion, this appears to be a decision taken by JVC, not because there was any serious advantage to using wood, but as a another step in their search through innovation.
Unlike many other companies that have stagnated and settled for the relative safety of mediocrity over the years, JVC continues to try new and crazy things, without ever stopping to ask if they should.

Comfort
For me, this headphone easily provides top-tier comfort and can stay on the head all day.

Sound
The only headphone worth making a direct comparison with the HA-SW01 is the JVC HA-MX100-Z.
For full disclosure, my personal HA-MX100-Z is warmer/bassier than stock as I'm using aftermarket MDR-Z1000 pads.

If the MX100-Z is the close to 'harman neutral' impactful studio detail monster, the HA-SW01 is the warmer, more relaxed 'whiskey and fireplace' version.

This seems to be exactly what JVC was going for with the whole 'wood' thing. Trying to make a smoother more 'natural' sound.
I think these give the impression of sound you might get from extra-large bookshelf speakers with paper-cone drivers.

To my ears, these are siblings, with different personalities.


HA-SW01 is essentially the polar opposite of the HA-DX1000.
SW01 has an intimate sounstage, whereas the DX1000 is expansive.
SW01 is warm and fatigue free, while DX1000 has everything 'turned to 11'.

The other area where it might be easy to criticize the SW01 is the 'psychological' detail.
I find that warm tunings always have a tendancy to sound less detailed than a headphone with a solid 10kHz peak, not because it is necessarily less detailed, but that's just the psychological effect of the tuning; and this headphone is no exception.
If like me you don't need a significant artificial treble spike to satisfy your pseudo-detail needs, they sound just about as detailed as top-tier headphones.
Mostly, I just appreciate the unique contrast it gives to all other headphones I own.
It seems to force smoothness and feeling of 'luxury'... coaxing me to just relax and enjoy the music slowly.
It's difficult not to feel that way when every time you put them on, you're greeted by wood on the outside AND INSIDE!

Isolation seems to be better than average.

Comparisons
I took out a few headphones today to make comparisons, but basically everything else I own just paled.
Both Sennheiser Momentum and M2 AEBT sounded like toys beside it.
Magnat LZR980 made a better effort but wasn't quite as detailed, with slightly mushy bass.
Satolex Plum hdh0297 actually shared a few tonal characteristics with SW01, but ultimately suffers from ear pads that are too big and cause some mid bass distortions.


In the end, it made no sense making these comparisons.
If anything it's a testament to just how good the JVC HA-MX100-Z is, as just like the HA-SW01, they are better suited to comparisons beside only top tier headphones.

Good to see this headphone getting some attention. I had it last year for a while, took it travelling with me, and it was a good companion. Sold it for a idiotically low price complete with an Arctic Cables cable... regret. The overall timbre was a little warm for me, however, but I did greatly enjoy it with the Yaxi pads, which render it a brighter sounding headphone.

 

[GREQ]

Good to see this headphone getting some attention. I had it last year for a while, took it travelling with me, and it was a good companion. Sold it for a idiotically low price complete with an Arctic Cables cable... regret. The overall timbre was a little warm for me, however, but I did greatly enjoy it with the Yaxi pads, which render it a brighter sounding headphone.

I think it's that warmth that really separates it from most other closed back headphones which tend to lean towards a v-shaped tuning.
Sounds like the Yaxi pads wouldn't be for my taste... maybe for MDR-V6/CD900 lovers.

 

[Nostoi]

I think it's that warmth that really separates it from most other closed back headphones which tend to lean towards a v-shaped tuning.
Sounds like the Yaxi pads wouldn't be for my taste... maybe for MDR-V6/CD900 lovers.

Yup, I lean more toward linear/neutral/analytical, though I do like a smooth/warm headphone here and there. The SW01, from memory, were excellent with jazz and acoustic music - almost had a mini-ZMF tuning to them. Great for mids.

MDR-V6, ha I have a gnarled pair of those around here somewhere. Nice headphones indeed.

 

[revolutionz]

I'm going to ask an opinion of you folks here as I didn't get any reply on the Kennerton thread...

I recently got a set of Magni's in Bog Oak. They are v2's. It was an ebay purchase. I do like their sound but of course my brain is telling me that I need to have it upgraded to v3 for the best possible performance. Along with that, the left ear cuts in and out (can't tell if it's the cable or the plug).

I contacted Kennerton, and was told that I can upgrade to v3 for about $170 (which would include new wood as the bog oak isn't available for the v3) or I can upgrade to v3 plus all inner components, connectors and drivers along with a "special headband upgrade" so basically a full rebuild for $330. I got the pair for $550 shipped off the used market, I feel like I could have just bought a brand new pair of v3's at that point, and would pretty much have a brand new pair of v3's.

I've considered just selling them for what I paid and then purchasing a brand new pair, but I can't in good conscience until I get the left ear cutting in and out issue solved (not sure if I have any recourse through ebay for this, no way to prove it was or wasn't doing it prior to me using them for the first time)

Has anyone gone through the upgrade process or heard the v2 vs the v3 and can tell me in their opinion if it was worth the upgrade? My other thought was to sell my bog oak v2 for what I paid and just order a brand new pair of v3 from audio46 as it would be about the same as what I paid for the v2 plus the upgrade.

 

[Gevi]

I managed to listen to the Rögnir today, thanks to a very friendly and helpful Head-Fier. Much appreciated - you know who you are!

First things first, they look really pretty up close. The Rögnir has a classy and upmarket appearance; perfectly befitting its status as the brand's closed-back flagship. Clamp force was also minimal, and in tandem with its relatively light mass, I thoroughly enjoyed my solid 30 minutes audition, from the perspective of comfort.

On to the sound - this is truly one of the best closed-back headphones that I've heard, thus far. It oozed detail out of every pore, with excellent dynamics and layering throughout. You could easily discern the multiple sheets of instruments and/or voices within each track. If you're looking for a closed headphone with top-tier clarity, you can't go wrong with the Rögnir. Typical of a planar, bass is fast with good transients; articulation and presentation in the lows is one of the best around, too. Sadly, though, the mid-bass falls a couple of notches shy of what I'd normally like in my headphone. Make no mistake, the general public - huge bassheads excluded - will certainly enjoy the Rögnir's effortless ability in crafting an impactful low-end response.

The midrange on the Rögnir is similarly impressive, with a slight tinge of warmth to round out the headphone's supreme ability in the technical aspect of things. There is some sizzle and sparkle in the highs, but this isn't a bright headphone; rather, the higher registers are present without being overbearing, prominent without sounding harsh.

Ultimately, the Rögnir is an excellent example of a closed-back headphone done right. It has a relatively balanced signature that eschews any offensive forays into overabundance in any portion of its frequency spectrum. Without resorting to hyperbole, this is one of the few closed-back headphones that can easily swim with the top-end open-back cans.

Thank you so much for your insight.
Have you got a chance to get your hands on the new Rognir Dynamic?

 

[tonedeafmelomaniac]

Regarding Nighthawk/Nightowl: not going to buy one after selling all I once had several years ago, but how is the long term experience with the elastic parts (headband extension mechanism as well as those spiders fixing the cups to the headband)? I know the AKG mechanism failed after several years, and the elastic bands were hard to change there...

I recently felt an itch regarding the Z1R... looked around a bit and they seem to be sold out with several weeks expected delivery everywhere in EU. Given their age, I'd not be that surprised if a new model was on the horizon.

Recently had a close encounter with the new Shure Aonic 40. Nice headphone overall with a pleasing sound signature and good build. Unfortunately the headband proved problematic to me, it left me with a hotspot on top of my head due to its shape and rather minimal padding, so I sent it back. Anyway, I probably wouldn't have used it much... trying to keep my current set in rotation is a challenge already Anybody tried the new SRH840A already?



Speaking of that, I took out my Austrian Audio Hi-X60 again yesterday, it does still sound excellent to me. And those deep cups are really comfortable... Would just love a Bluetooth version.

Hello, sir! Could you help me a bit. I've read that you have Beyerdynamic 700 pro X and Austrian Audio Hi-X60. I also consider those cans and I was wondering if it's a big leap in sound quality compared to Shure Aonic 40? I'm looking for a semi portable solution and I don't mind throwing a decent portable DAC in a pocket, so wired solution isn't big inconvenience for me, but I try to find out if it's worth it. I've read in one review that despite being one of the best wireless headphones Aonic 50 is significantly inferior to far less expensive wired solutions. So if it's true I'll exclude wireless headphones from consideration.
My priority is sound quality
I mostly listen to different subgenres of metal, not a basshead but I think that reasonably elevated and fast bass with a good kick is a necessity for outdoor usage. Lack of bass and audiophile-like sound signature discouraged me from buying Aonic 50.

 

[plakat]

Hello, sir! Could you help me a bit. I've read that you have Beyerdynamic 700 pro X and Austrian Audio Hi-X60. I also consider those cans and I was wondering if it's a big leap in sound quality compared to Shure Aonic 40? I'm looking for a semi portable solution and I don't mind throwing a decent portable DAC in a pocket, so wired solution isn't big inconvenience for me, but I try to find out if it's worth it. I've read in one review that despite being one of the best wireless headphones Aonic 50 is significantly inferior to far less expensive wired solutions. So if it's true I'll exclude wireless headphones from consideration.
My priority is sound quality
I mostly listen to different subgenres of metal, not a basshead but I think that reasonably elevated and fast bass with a good kick is a necessity for outdoor usage. Lack of bass and audiophile-like sound signature discouraged me from buying Aonic 50.

Hi!

One or two things upfront: my opinion is just that: personal and maybe not easily transferable. Keep that in mind... Plus: reviews tend to throw around hyperbolic comparisons like "significantly inferior". Take review and other peoples opinions (because most of the time its just that) with the appropriate grain of salt. In some cases that grain may well have dimensions that make it almost indistinguishable from a football

With that out of the way: I don't listen to metal, but electronica (mostly EDM, especially Deep House), but a friend of mine is more into Rock and Metal. While personally I really like the Hi-X60 as a quite truthful studio headphone that's not devoid of fun, he liked the DT700 much better -- which I can understand purely from a fun factor point of view: the DT700 has a bit more character of its own and may make music sound a bit more engaging. Nothing wrong with that, its done with taste and a good eye, i.e. not too much. Both isolate very well (without active ANC, which I don't like much and therefore seldom use) and are very comfortable (to me that is). Both the Austrian Audio as well as the DT700 can be driven with even that minuscule Apple Lightning headphone adapter.

If your usage is mostly on the go I'd really consider wireless headphones: if your source has a decent AAC implementation (my favorite codec due to a good compromise between sound quality and connection stability, and incidentally the codec of choice on my iPhone) I think you won't notice a real difference, especially on the go. I think ANC does more harm to sound quality than a good Bluetooth codec... but having no wires is really really nice. I use a rucksack, and a cable is a bit of a hassle in that context...

My favorite wireless headphones are the AirPods Max (maybe not at the top of the list of you're using anything else than an iPhone though) and the V-Moda CF2W Codex (I also love the M-100 as people here can tell...). I really liked the Aonic 50 while I had it, and I don't think its totally missing bass, but its not throwing it in your face. Actually I think its one of the best sounding wireless headphones, but its smaller brother Aonic 40 has sound signature that's a bit more consumer oriented. Unfortunately its headband did not fit my head that well. Both now offer EQ that's stored in the headphone if that's your cup of tea (personally I prefer to listen to the native sound signature of a headphone).

So for me it comes down to the primary use scenario: stationary a wired headphone is just fine, a bit cheaper maybe for maybe even a bit better sound signature and one less thing that has aging batteries in it. For mobile use I'd prefer wireless, but in most cases I simply use the AirPods 3, which are not only totally hassle-free but sound great and are so compact that I always have them in my pockets. TWS is easier with the omnipresent masks as well...

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Malevolent]

I’ve been thinking about this for future (post-pandemic) travel and bus commuting, etc. and would love to use a pair of Elegias with improved pads for that type of situation. With my fondness for Focals (and ZMFs, but weight/price/wood fragility = no) they would be a great travel headphone. I guess we’ll see if there are any Elegias in circulation once things become more stable.

(So far I’ve always used Shure IEMs with custom ear inserts, but even custom-fitted inserts get a bit uncomfortable after several hours on a flight. That said, the noise-blocking IS excellent…)

As much as I love headphones (over IEMs), the truth is, I think comfort and convenience are pertinent factors that trump sound quality when I'm out and about. I wouldn't have thought this, say, 2-3 years ago, but I've had quite the change of heart over the last 2 years. I've since realized that when I'm traveling, I don't want to be dealing with a separate DAP (that's usually quite chunky), a portable amplifier (possibly), and a thick, unwieldy cable.

All of this came to a head about 4-5 months ago when I was trying to juggle between my previous DAP (Hiby R6 2020), my Kindle, and my smartphone - my wife was calling me, and I was simultaneously trying to prevent my Kindle from dropping, remove my IEMs from my ears, and pause my music. I know, this conjures up comedic images, and I must say, if I looked at myself then, I would probably have a laugh. Still, from that moment forth, I came to the conclusion that I was going down the wireless path, and there would be no turning back.

So.... it has been a TWS IEM and headphone future for me. These days, when I'm commuting, I use my Sony WF-1000XM4. It's comfortable, the battery lasts forever, and yes... it's convenient as heck!

 

[dstarr3]

I've been doing some modding this week! My Beyer DT150 and my Audio-Technica A900x are the two headphones I take back and forth from the office most regularly. Both closed-backs that are good about isolation, and both absolutely rock. But both originally had fixed cables that I wasn't a fan of. Plus, my amp at the office is the Fiio K5 Pro, which is single-ended only, and my amp at home is the Singxer SA-1 which, while it has both SE and balanced outputs, I find that the balanced output is just better.

So between disliking the stock cables and wanting the flexibility to run them balanced or single-ended depending on where I was, I decided to give them both a dual-3.5mm detachable cable mod. The reason I prefer dual 3.5mm is that this is the connection system that Hifiman uses, which means there's a huuuuuuge variety of third party cables already easily available for as much or as little money as I could want to spend, SE or balanced, any kind of connector I could want. No custom cables required, it all already exists and is easily obtainable.

The DT150 was a bit elaborate requiring some CAD and 3D-printed parts, the A900x was more straight-forward. The DT150, SE vs balanced out of my Singxer, it's night and day, it sounds like a completely different headphone, which has generally been my experience with this amp and other headphones I've been able to listen to on both outputs. The A900x, though, less transformative, which is interesting. But either way, still a mod worth doing. Now I just keep a dual-3.5mm to 1/4" cable at the office and a dual-3.5mm to XLR cable at home and I can just take these headphones to and from the two places all I wish easily and without a problem. Quite pleased!

 

[Malevolent]

Wasn't Tyll's review of the Z1R the beginning of the end for him? It contradicted some of the other reviews, upset sponsors, and then made him question his hearing?

I miss that guy. Thanks to this thread, I'm rocking the Aeon Noire and considering the Liric.

I can't remember the story behind it all, but I distinctly recall that Tyll was very critical of the MDR-Z1R. This was especially surprising to me (back then), as I found the Sony to sound extremely pleasant to my ears. In fact, I knew, then and there, that this would be one of the first options that I'd consider, if and when I ventured back into the realm of headphones. True enough, fast forward 2 years, and I got my paws on an MDR-Z1R, and I've been thoroughly enjoying it ever since.

 

[Malevolent]

Do you guys think the Audeze Penrose wireless headset (with dialed in EQ) would stack up against a pair of Beyer Dynamic DT700 Pro X(with a DAC)?
Probably a poor comparison, since it's a wireless head'set' vs a headphone that's nearly the same price.

I have yet to hear the DT 700 PRO X, so I can't compare the sound quality between these 2 headphones.

With that being said, the use-case scenario is very different with these 2 options. If you are primarily using the headphone at home (e.g. at your desk), you should consider a wired headphone. However, if you are looking for a can that serves a dual purpose (e.g. home and portable use), then a TWS headphone is your best bet.

However, if you prize sound quality over all aspects, just go for a wired solution.