THE COMPOSER OPEN BACK FLAGSHIP by AUSTRIAN AUDIO

[jamesjames]

[These Composers continue to get better and better, they will join my Susvara as the best I've personally ever heard, beating even some of my former all time favorites hek v2, Ca1a, MySphere

These, much like Susvara just do not offend and are a pleasure to listen to with all my music also while being technically very good at the same time.

These do what I find difficult for totl cans. While there are others that may be better at this or that, it's usually at the cost of something else that irritates me eventually, but not the Susvara or the Composer IMO.

Very wide, very deep, very immersive sound.. very well neutral tuned what more could I ask for.. Now have two systems that I feel could serve as my only. Thinking of a M15 cma for travel. Thinking of selling my MySphere as they don't get time since these Composers "woke up"

For what it's worth, I would agree the Composer is more convincing and satisfying than the Susvara. I've posted a little more about that above.

 

[FiGuY1017]

For what it's worth, I would agree the Composer is more convincing and satisfying than the Susvara. I've posted a little more about that above.

I don't necessarily think it's better from my perspective. But, the fact it's about equal imo is a testament to how good I think it is.

I have the admit, when I first got it (lightly used) it was sounding good but really lacking the immersive sound stage you expect in a totl but all that has changed, it's now as holographic as I've heard. All changed when I got this new amp.

 

[jamesjames]

I don't necessarily think it's better from my perspective. But, the fact it's about equal imo is a testament to how good I think it is.

I have the admit, when I first got it (lightly used) it was sounding good but really lacking the immersive sound stage you expect in a totl but all that has changed, it's now as holographic as I've heard. All changed when I got this new amp.

I would agree imaging is the issue with the Composer. I find with crossfeed it has good depth - and the sense of a performance at some distance from me becomes plausible. I must say to my ear it doesn't have the magic of the K812 in that sense - but few phones do.

 

[FiGuY1017]

I would agree imaging is the issue with the Composer. I find with crossfeed it has good depth - and the sense of a performance at some distance from me becomes plausible. I must say to my ear it doesn't have the magic of the K812 in that sense - but few phones do.

I guess in that case I should really be evangelizing for this Marley Mkii then, because to my ears it is so beautifully holographic now that I get the same sensation of my senses being overwhelmed, same imax like experience I get with my Susvara on my Volot, simply amazing! I don't want to take them off, I've had to make a conscious effort lately to calm down on my listening I was obsessed and almost addicted to it after I heard it with Marley

 

[jamesjames]

I guess in that case I should really be evangelizing for this Marley Mkii then, because to my ears it is so beautifully holographic now that I get the same sensation of my senses being overwhelmed, same imax like experience I get with my Susvara on my Volot, simply amazing! I don't want to take them off, I've had to make a conscious effort lately to calm down on my listening I was obsessed and almost addicted to it after I heard it with Marley

I'm interested in your reaction to the Marley, which I've read about. On paper it seems a very attractive proposition. Like my preferred amp (Moon 430HA), it incorporates a switchable crossfeed circuit. My reading suggests it combines well with high impedance phones like the HD800S and the ADX5000. So, it's useful to read also that it does well with lower impedance phones like the Composer. Other features which caught my attention were the adjustable output impedance and adjustable eq. Do you find crossfeed useful with the Composer?

 

[FiGuY1017]

I'm interested in your reaction to the Marley, which I've read about. On paper it seems a very attractive proposition. Like my preferred amp (Moon 430HA), it incorporates a switchable crossfeed circuit. My reading suggests it combines well with high impedance phones like the HD800S and the ADX5000. So, it's useful to read also that it does well with lower impedance phones like the Composer. Other features which caught my attention were the adjustable output impedance and adjustable eq. Do you find crossfeed useful with the Composer?

I think the crossfeed in Marley Mkii is much better than that found in the Ican pro signature I had

It does a great job with Composer, but in order to have that beautiful holographic soundstage it simply isn't necessary with the Marley.

The Marley to me sounds like taking the transparency of the Bryson bha-1 and increasing it but with the beautiful timber of Burson except the imaging is a level above the Bryston.

It's unfortunate it never gained traction in the U.S as it's simply the best amp I've ever heard.

It even drives Susvara beautifully 5wats into 60ohms all the while being a tiny amp which makes it even better and more amazing because I can throw it in a bag if I travel

Or in my case, I'll just take the Young Mkiv and a wall wart, as the headphone out of that dac is better than the old 3xp I had (it's what made me finally pull the trigger on the Marley) and it, like the Marley is the same small size as the Burson 3xp.

Which is one reason I loved the 3xp stacked with the Young Mkiv as they were the same small space saving size, but the Marley is a whole new universe compared to 3xp.

The ability to change output impedance is fun to play with as it opens doors to all different types of drivers, in my case, if it didn't have the ability to change, I couldn't use my MySphere because at 0" it had terrible feedback due to the drivers in the MySphere, but changing the output impedance to 10 ohm set it up perfectly and sings in such a beautiful way. As a reviewer said and that resonates with me the same when he said " I love it to my bones"

If you are ever interested in one pm me.

P.s I run it single ended, but does excellent with xlr as well. Whatever voodoo Marco did to this thing makes the single ended as good as xlr, of course Marco is a innovative mastermind of our beloved hobby, I'm glad to have been introduced to him as well as his equipment, as he's just an all around great guy and makes some unbelievable gear imo.

 

[jamesjames]

I think the crossfeed in Marley Mkii is much better than that found in the Ican pro signature I had

It does a great job with Composer, but in order to have that beautiful holographic soundstage it simply isn't necessary with the Marley.

The Marley to me sounds like taking the transparency of the Bryson bha-1 and increasing it but with the beautiful timber of Burson except the imaging is a level above the Bryston.

It's unfortunate it never gained traction in the U.S as it's simply the best amp I've ever heard.

It even drives Susvara beautifully 5wats into 60ohms all the while being a tiny amp which makes it even better and more amazing because I can throw it in a bag if I travel

Or in my case, I'll just take the Young Mkiv and a wall wart, as the headphone out of that dac is better than the old 3xp I had (it's what made me finally pull the trigger on the Marley) and it, like the Marley is the same small size as the Burson 3xp.

Which is one reason I loved the 3xp stacked with the Young Mkiv as they were the same small space saving size, but the Marley is a whole new universe compared to 3xp.

The ability to change output impedance is fun to play with as it opens doors to all different types of drivers, in my case, if it didn't have the ability to change, I couldn't use my MySphere because at 0" it had terrible feedback due to the drivers in the MySphere, but changing the output impedance to 10 ohm set it up perfectly and sings in such a beautiful way. As a reviewer said and that resonates with me the same when he said " I love it to my bones"

If you are ever interested in one pm me.

Many thanks for that - interesting. For what it's worth, I would agree there are several analogue crossfeed implementations out there better than the iFi - which I think is pretty good, nevertheless. Variable output impedance can often be useful, I think, particularly when switching between phones like the Composer and the ADX5000 - but not often available. The Audio Technica 5050 amp is another good example.

 

[FiGuY1017]

Yes I really enjoyed my time with the iCan Pro Sig, the most beautiful looking amp I've ever owned, almost kept it just to stare at it

 

[netowi]

So... I bought a set of these, and I'm probably in the minority, but I simply just don't like them. To my ears, they're very boring, and not a very satisfying listen. Theyre not very articulate or detailed, the staging isn't that large, and just generally, they're kinda meh imo. I'm honestly kinda disappointed...

For reference, I mostly listen to experimental electronic music, and my favorite headphones are various estats, and Abyss Diana MR

Edit: Going to add this here: I do not, AT ALL understand the sentiment of the massive soundstage. They have a dip in the upper mids, which to me gives a kind of "fake" soundstage feel, but they aren't really that wide. Listening to Metaroom's 7lane, which is my usual soundstage test, the arpeggiating synths don't sound that far away, nor to they really sound like they surround me all that much. These sound like IEM "soundstage" in headphone form.

Alright, SO

I mostly take back the previous opinion of these headphones I had posted.

I originally spent a day or two listening to these, and just didn't enjoy them that much, so they've sat aside for a while. But in the past couple days, since I've listed them for sale, I decided I should give them another shot, so I've spent some more time with them. After using Oratory's eq profile and modifying a bit for my own tastes, then mixing and mastering a song in them, I actually think these are pretty good.

I'll admit that I'm a bit surprised, as I didn't expect myself to like them, even with EQ.

The staging is interesting. I still wouldn't call these "wide", but they have an interesting spatial quality to them where everything feels kinda far, but nothing feels really far out there or really close. I also notice that they have really interesting slam charactaristics in the upper mids particularly; the sound in that range kinda "tickles", for lack of a better way to explain it.

After EQ, I don't think I've used a better headphone for mixing and mastering. I'm no professional, but mastering on these was particularly easy compared to the other headphones that I own.

One more thing that I feel the need to mention, and it's a weird one: This headphone sounds TERRIBLE when I'm high. Literally cannot listen to it, even with EQ in that state. Of course, my original opinion wasn't written while under the influence; this is just something I noticed while listening last night.

I'll end this off with some tracks that I find enjoyable on this headphone.

Tidal Playlist (of the songs linked below)

Various:
Torr - the scientific method
Torr - selfdestruct
Sammy Rae & The Friends - Kick It to Me (her voice is amazing on these headphones)
Louis Cole - Park Your Car on My Face
Caravan Palace - Mirrors
Jacob Collier - Little Blue

Electronic:
Fox Stevenson - Get Through
JKuch - Cabin Fever
Droeloe - Looking Back
Rhodz - Elsewhere
Droeloe - Bon Voyage
Metaroom - S.N.U.F.F.Y

 

[noplsestar]

It’s interesting that not few people hearing the Composer for the first time are thinking „it’s ok but nothing special“ but when coming back to the Composer later on (maybe with the right amp, or right tracks, maybe in the right mood, or with the right EQ etc. etc.) they praise them very highly. Just observing and thinking why that might be the case?

 

[FiGuY1017]

I can't remotely relate to anyone who doesn't like these, as to me the criticisms I hear make no sense to how I hear them. When someone says they aren't wide or they aren't deep I'm honestly stumped. It has to be synergy issues or just hearing (music taste) ? Either way I'm glad they matched me so well as I traded a great amp for these (Bryson bha-1)

 

[jamesjames]

Hearing differences are real. I'm surprised they're not talked about more.

 

[FiGuY1017]

Hearing differences are real. I'm surprised they're not talked about more.

I should have said music preferences however I'm not sure that would explain the perception of imaging differences. But music taste on general make a huge difference in rather one headphone may be preferred to another imo

 

[shabta]

It’s interesting that not few people hearing the Composer for the first time are thinking „it’s ok but nothing special“ but when coming back to the Composer later on (maybe with the right amp, or right tracks, maybe in the right mood, or with the right EQ etc. etc.) they praise them very highly. Just observing and thinking why that might be the case?

I have been wondering about this as well. I have noticed that the Composer in many of the cases where people weren't impressed was being run off the full score one. A month or two ago I finally heard the Composer on that amp and, yeah, I think the composer sounds so much better on my Icon Audio amp. I find the full score one makes the treble much less appealing, and that is already the weaker part of the Composer's overall sound. For example, another amp, which I use quite successfully with the anni23, is the Schiit Jotenheim 2. It is also a class AB amp. I was using it a lot this summer because it runs so much less hot than the Icon. And some of my posts that people got all weird about because I wasn't happy with the Composer treble were made during that time. When fall came and I moved back to teh Icon, gosh the Composer was so much better (and more holographic). I found when I heard the Full Scoer One it has a lot in common with the Jot (except price) soundwise. So, the Composer still doesn't have world class treble to my ears on my gear when I use the Icon, but it is a significantly better headphone on the Icon than either the Full Score One or the Jot. In fact, I find the Composer sounds better on the Questyle m15 than the Jot or Full Score One, even though it is less resolving on the dongle.

So my theory about why so may people seem so underwhelmed is in part because they aren't hearing the Composer on right amp. The other reason is the price but I don't want to inflame certain people all over again.

 

[jamesjames]

I should have said music preferences however I'm not sure that would explain the perception of imaging differences. But music taste on general make a huge difference in rather one headphone may be preferred to another imo

Yes, I agree musical preferences often seem a factor in headphone preferences. I guess this often involves a 'built in' sense of what sounds 'right' when it comes to the music in question - and so headphones designed to accurately reproduce the sounds of acoustic instruments might not do so well with electronica. I must admit I have no idea what listeners to electronica, for example, are looking for in headphones, as there's no 'natural' reference point. With classical music I know what the instruments sound like, and I know how those sounds can be affected by venues - more or less 'close', more or less 'dry', more or less resonant. I'm constantly comparing what I hear thru phones to my memories of concerts and recitals - and that's what determines whether the phones seem convincing, or satisfying (ie, good). To my mind, satisfying phones must be able to present dissonance as well as euphony. I want phones that let me decide whether a recording or a performance is good or bad. I think good phones expose bad recordings and performances. As I see it, it's not the job of good phones to make everything sound good. I want high fidelity.