THE COMPOSER OPEN BACK FLAGSHIP by AUSTRIAN AUDIO

[Nomax]

Before I drive home, I'll take a short video of a very well thought-out construction

THE COMPOSER PART 2



NOMAX

 

[Rob80b]

By the photo it seems that Composer looks cheaper than its half-brother K812 although the price is more, hope this HP is technically better

Same cooks in the kitchen, technically, some will disagree, but the 812 and 872 were/are IMHO quite the "technical" achievements, very unique, but veered more on the analytical which is their "raison d'être", than being completely musical.

 

[Nomax]

@plakat

Has the Composer much more Bass/Low End as HD800S/UTOPIA?
(and is it also very well integrated into the rest of the tonal performance?)

NOMAX

 

[plakat]

@plakat

Has the Composer much more Bass/Low End as HD800S/UTOPIA?

NOMAX

Oh yes. In a good way. This is no bass canon, but it’s there, pushing dry and deep without tainting midrange. And, very important to me, without overboarding midbass, which would give me a headache.

 

[Nomax]

Oh yes. In a good way. This is no bass canon, but it’s there, pushing dry and deep without tainting midrange. And, very important to me, without overboarding midbass, which would give me a headache.

Yes no woom woom

NOMAX

 

[Daiyama]

@plakat

With the Composer




NOMAX

On a head the Composer looks actually like a quite cool construction. Without a head, not so much (great marketing shots are missing!).

 

[FritzS]

The Amp are full discrete in signal path!

 

[FritzS]

You have to scroll down

NOMAX

PS.lol lol

The amp are full discrete in signal path!
I have been studying amplifier circuits for decades and analyse them when I see them! I know the beginnings of semiconductor circuits as well as tube amplifiers!

 

[FritzS]

Good I got a haircut just in time

Rasierapparat kaputt? [/satire] {intentionally in german}

 

[FritzS]

Going from past experience with Austrian Audio, then yes: the do offer spare parts for their current models.

AFAIK velour pads come after ...... I own K8xx, Hi X55, X65 - I don't really get on with their pads. I prefer the velour pads of the AKG Kxx series and those of Beier.

 

[DarginMahkum]

Do you know when it will be available for purchase? I sent an email to Andreas to reserve one for me, but we will see how it unfolds in the next few days.

Anyway, I guess @Nomax is currently occupied with creating hype over his new toys (or I guess they are not very new for him). Hopefully tomorrow we will know more from the CanJam'ers (which I actually also don't trust too much - if they find the Composer too boring and too correct, that means Composer is what I am looking for).

 

[DarginMahkum]

Now official

https://austrian.audio/headphones/fullscoreone/



https://de.austrian.audio/kopfhoerer/thecomposer/

"Jaw dropping transients"... Looks like AA just discovered the snake oil covered world of audiophilism. It is jaw dropping but needs a button to be enabled? If it is so jaw dropping and the right thing, why is it not enable by default and keep it that way? Why would anyone need an extra switch for that - a switched implementation that would just increase component count and the cost. Military grade? Who needs military grade components and casing, for example, for an amplifier just sitting on a table top? No ICs? There are so many designs out there with ICs and extremely low noise. So?

 

[ThanatosVI]

"Jaw dropping transients"... Looks like AA just discovered the snake oil covered world of audiophilism. It is jaw dropping but needs a button to be enabled? If it is so jaw dropping and the right thing, why is it not enable by default and keep it that way? Why would anyone need an extra switch for that - a switched implementation that would just increase component count and the cost. Military grade? Who needs military grade components and casing, for example, for an amplifier just sitting on a table top? No ICs? There are so many designs out there with ICs and extremely low noise. So?

Pretty much the same questions I had about TTT

 

[Ohno Schiitizen]

Pretty much the same questions I had about TTT

Could be a magic switch of Triplet Turbo .....

 

[plakat]

There are good news and bad news. Bad news first: the Composer is good indeed. My wallet made strange sounds during the afternoon and tried to hide as soon as I got home. Once I find it I'll attach the last AirTag I have...
Good news is: I won't need the amp. It's nicely built, no question. It also sounds good, but seems a bit finicky about input levels (and, if I understand its tech specs right, its XLR inputs are also limited to 0dbV/1V, which would not work with most XLR outputs... but maybe the specs are not complete). Anyway, I don't need a large amp.

Which brings me back to good news: the Composer really works nicely with every one of my relevant sources: the Hugo 1 (OK, that was more or less a given), the iPod and... the Apple dongle. It did loose maybe a bit drive of that juicy deep bass, but otherwise was quite fine at 70-75% volume. Not bad. Not bad at all.

I did most of my listening with the Hugo though, and as I noted earlier there was beautiful low bass that worked like with an excellent club sound system: there was appropriate pressure from deep down, without tarnishing the mids or overshadowing any details. The details... that was the first thing I noticed. There were lots and lots of details, just there, not into my face, but present without vanishing when other sounds became more prominent. It also rendered a beautiful image of voices, with stable positioning that was wide, but not artificially vast. It showed how much room a recording actually had.

Going through a good number of titles I never experienced any sharpness or sibilance. Bass was always under control, massive at one moment, but stopping at a moments notice. Excellent resolution as well, offering beautiful details in a range that is often devoid of articulation. This is what sets it apart from many high end offerings, especially the HD800/HD800S, K812, Utopia etc. It does show its AKG heritage I think, but brought up to date.

Build quality looks very good, the feeling in hand is excellent. The tilting of the cups is a nice addition. I did not find any sharp edges. The connectors are feeling very good for connecting/disconnecting, just the right amount of friction. They should also be easy to source for DIY cables -- yet the cable selection that comes with the Composer looks more than complete. I'd prefer 1.8-2m cables though, the 3.5mm se cable seems a bit long, with the Pentacon cable being of better length for use with portable devices.

I'm obviously a bit biased, living in Vienna and mourning the passing of AKG... so I'm more than happy to see something truly high end being manufactured here. It's not my only reason to support Austrian Audio by getting one though, I really liked what I hear. And no, neither me nor @Nomax get sponsored items.