Loquah
Headphoneus Supremus
Quote:
Great impressions, thanks!
What you're hearing makes perfect sense if I remember correctly that the MS version uses a silver cable of some description while the RWA version uses Cardas copper. I personally love the musicality of the RWA - it's rich and warm, but still very well detailed.
Cravenz, cheers for your thorough in-depth impressions of the 4 models. I'll share my thoughts on the MS-AK100 & RWAK100 after this but before doing so I have a question about your impressions between the AK100 black and AK100 Gold. Is there really a difference in sound between the AK100 black and AK100 gold? I know it's been mentioned before of the battery life differences but didn't know about the sonic differences. Makes me wonder if the AK100 gold still has the 22 ohm OI.
I've had the MS-AK100 and RWAK100 in my hands together for some time now but I've actually spent little time A/B-ing both. Spending some time comparing between the two now, I find the two to be extremely similar. In fact it's a difficult call to make whether one is "better" than the other. As far as I know both are modded pretty much in almost the same way except (at least from pictures I've seen), the bypass wires are different in brand and in gauge.
If i were to nitpick between the two, I'd say the RWAK100 has a more holographic effect and a slightly warmer signature whilst the MS-AK100 is more of a drier and more airy focused. I'd probably categorise the MS-AK100 to be more analytical whilst the RWAK100 to be more on the musical side. Detail is easier to discern and more obvious on the MS-AK100 whilst the RWAK100 is more "natural" and and requires just a tad more focus.
I feel the RWAK100 also leans a little more on the fluid side, almost more analogue sounding, whist the MS-AK100 to be maybe a little more clinical.
Bottom line is that after listening to both, if I had to give up one and keep the other I probably wouldn't miss the other. Both are great performers and are really so similar to each other. The tendency of one vs the other is really at the level of nitpicking.
Great impressions, thanks!
What you're hearing makes perfect sense if I remember correctly that the MS version uses a silver cable of some description while the RWA version uses Cardas copper. I personally love the musicality of the RWA - it's rich and warm, but still very well detailed.