The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
- Thread starter Rockwell75
- Start date
Nice now I don't own a Sony
But definitely a nice one
My current top 10 IEMs:
1. Unique Melody Red Halo FE
2. Aroma Jewel
3. Elysian Annihilator
4. Vision Ears EXT
5. Empire Ears Legend EVO
6. Empire Ears Odin
7. Oriolus Traillii
8. Unique Melody MEST Indigo
9. Sony IER-Z1R
10. Empire Ears Legend X (custom)
My current top 10 headphones:
1. Abyss 1266 Phi TC (Abyss ranked number 1 as of 6/11/22)
2. Hifiman Susvara
3. ZMF Atrium
4. Focal Utopia
5. Hifiman HE1000SE (with EQ)
6. ZMF Verite Closed
7. Hifiman HE1000v2
8 Sennheiser HD800S
9. Hifiman Ayra v2
10. Focal Clear OG
1. Unique Melody Red Halo FE
2. Aroma Jewel
3. Elysian Annihilator
4. Vision Ears EXT
5. Empire Ears Legend EVO
6. Empire Ears Odin
7. Oriolus Traillii
8. Unique Melody MEST Indigo
9. Sony IER-Z1R
10. Empire Ears Legend X (custom)
My current top 10 headphones:
1. Abyss 1266 Phi TC (Abyss ranked number 1 as of 6/11/22)
2. Hifiman Susvara
3. ZMF Atrium
4. Focal Utopia
5. Hifiman HE1000SE (with EQ)
6. ZMF Verite Closed
7. Hifiman HE1000v2
8 Sennheiser HD800S
9. Hifiman Ayra v2
10. Focal Clear OG
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My current top 10 Head-Fi Watercooler thread posters:
1. Deezel177
2. twister6
3. ranfan
4. HiFiHawaii808
5. aaf evo
6. normie610
7. blotmouse
8. Rockwell75
9. Scuba Devils
10. DanielListening
1. Deezel177
2. twister6
3. ranfan
4. HiFiHawaii808
5. aaf evo
6. normie610
7. blotmouse
8. Rockwell75
9. Scuba Devils
10. DanielListening
monduvo
100+ Head-Fier
Hi riverground,
I haven't been using headphones and iems as much lately, as work always seems to find a way to get the most of all the time we have in a day. And, with work comes caffeine and carbs to get some boost of fuel in starting off the day at the store/warehouse, and also for work on some properties during weekends, so coffee runs (and some pastry, too) are a must most of the time.
Apple fritter and cold brew cafe de olla (take-out from Mugs Coffee Roasters, in East Los Angeles, California, on a Saturday, 5/28).
As far as headphones go, I haven't listened to many open-back headphones prior, so my experience is limited to what I can share from my thoughts on open-back headphones (and rankings).
From the time I first listened to open-back headphones, I found it difficult to get a sense of what I was hearing and feeling from the presentation of sound in the first set I listened to, which was an Audeze EL-8 open-back. Around this time (years before pandemic), I was in an audio store that was fairly crowded with other people talking loudly and chatting about vinyl record players, turntables and speakers. My first impressions of EL-8 open-back was sound that was mostly presented in a sort of lively/energetic way, but with linear-like liquid tone that lacked some depth & feel in physicality and almost no heft of any kind in dynamics.
As I went through some tracks that were available on the computer, which was connected to a headphone amplifier and dac, I checked the format and bit rate on each track in the Winamp playlist, and it turned out that most of the songs I demoed and listened to were of mp3 or mp4 (from 128kbps to 320kbps quality). I asked one of the workers if a cd album or a higher quality source file was available to be played on the computer through the amplifier and dac, and the worker told me that the tracks in the computer were the only ones available for in-store demo/listening. The worker then reassured me there were other open-back headphones that I could try and listen to, and see which set closely matched my preferences. After going through some of the same tracks listening to other open-back headphones, such as Sennheiser HD600 and HD650, Grado SR series, and other 'mid-tier' dynamic driver open-back headphones, my thoughts/impressions in each set's sound/presentation were no different, in that the sound was just there to be presented in a 'picturesque' sense along a nearly flat plane surface without much depth nor emotion. After realizing I spent nearly three hours listening back and forth with open-back headphones in a noisy environment of an audio store where I felt was more geared towards selling record players, turntables and home entertainment system components, I felt it was best to put my disappointments aside, move on and put in some time/effort to read as many thoughts and impressions as I possibly could, and dig further into getting a better understanding of headphones, amplifiers, dacs and other source components from various articles, threads and forums.
Fast forward to December 2021, I acquired my first pair of open-back headphones (new, from Amazon), which was a Sennheiser HD800S.
Within the same month, I also managed to acquire a desktop headphone amplifier (Violectric HPA V280FE), a desktop headphone amp/dac (Topping DX7 Pro), and a custom headphone cable (Plus Sound Exo 4-wire spc cable with 4-pin xlr), for my HD800S.
After having spent some time from a fairly brief listen with the HD800S (mostly classical solo & orchestral performances and vocals) on a Mac, desktop amp & dac setup (Mac Mini M1 w/ V280 + DX7 Pro), my first thoughts and impressions were its noticeably wide sound stage, fairly clean and quick separation in imaging, panning and positioning of instruments, objects & subjects, and also its mostly sharp detail retrieval with slightly softened edges for some slight warmth in body and subtle touch of weight and feel to its lean tonality. With pre-gain switches turned up to +6 and +18 for both left and right sides on the V280, while connected to DX7 Pro (set in dac mode, in high gain, xlr balanced) by Plus Sound 8-wire spc dual 3-pin xlr interconnect cable, I found some slight differences in its sound with just a little more forwardness in physicality and some dynamic presence from its low end, a touch more body and texture in midrange, and with a slightly more opened up top end in its treble.
Despite the lack of some depth and engaging feel in its sound presentation and performance, along with its lean-bodied tonality and its nearly flat surfaced positioning and some unnatural left-center-right panning of objects, instruments & subjects, most of its shortcomings can be set aside, as the HD800S (when paired with decent amp and dac) presents music in a clear-like focused sense with as little coloration as possible, while still retaining some reach of warmth/air and keeping a delicate balance of fine-tuning & musically presenting a performance on both ends of the spectrum.
Of all the headphones I've listened to (so far), the HD800S sits at the very top, in terms of its overall sound presentation and performance, along with its comfortably weighted and padded headband & pads for long hours of listening.
Sennheiser HD800S open-back headphones, with Plus Sound Audio 4-wire spc cable terminated to xlr 4-pin balanced, connected to xlr-to-4.4 interconnect, paired with iBasso DX220 w/amp8 (great pairing/combo for portable listening).
Tidal track in this photo is Symphony for Strings, Op. 118a: I. Andante (by Prague Chamber Orchestra, Antonín Hradil).
Plus Sound Audio 8-wire spc dual xlr 3-pin interconnect, w/ Topping DX7 Pro (set in dac mode) and Violectric V280 (amp).
Some notable mentions that are not open-back headphones, but are used in rotation from time to time (mostly at home after work) are Sony MDR-Z7M2 (closed-back) over-ear headphones (mostly used for action-packed/thriller movies, some shows and documentaries), Apple AirPods Max (for casual/wireless listening when doing some workouts at home, or while going out for short to medium distance walks near/around home after work), and Creative Aurvana Live (closed-back) headphones (fairly lightweight, with just enough supple padding, and decent/fun sound presentation & performance at a reasonable price).
Sony MDR-Z7M2 (closed-back) over-ear headphones (2021 model), w/ stock 4.4 balanced cable, paired with iBasso DX300 w/amp12. I find this pairing/combo to have excellent synergy in delivering fun dynamic performance, with voluminous heft and thick/grand presentation of sound (and, in some ways, its sub-bass brings out some Legend X vibes), and with dense & airy engaging feel across most instrumental and vocal genres of music. For action-packed and thriller movies & documentaries, the MDR-Z7M2 is unquestionably my go-to pair, as its type of sound is somewhat reminiscent of the time when I went to Hollytron (formerly in Los Angeles, California) years ago and first experienced being in an acoustically treated small home theater room/system with my father watching a part of the movie 'Terminator 2' on a fairly big screen, and being immersed and moved with impactful dynamics and air that were being pushed through some high-end surround sound speakers.
Tidal track in this photo is Beethoven: String Quartet No.15 in A Minor, Op. 132 - V. Allegro appassionato - Presto (by Danish String Quartet).
Apple AirPods Max (closed-back) headphones (presents music in an unfatiguing and enjoyable way, with enough details/dynamics for casual listening), paired by bluetooth w/ Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (or with iPhone 13 Pro Max, for casual listening & streaming on Tidal when going out for walks). Tidal track in this photo is N 2gether now (by Limp Bizkit).
Creative Aurvana Live (closed-back) headphones, w/ Adv Lite 3.5 to Lightning dongle, paired with Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (all-around fun and energetic-like presentation of sound, with decent dynamics and performance, and fairly comfortable with light-moderate clamp force and comfortably supple ear pads and just enough padding on headband). Tidal track in this photo is Voyage of the Nautilus (by Ben Allison).
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tone.texture.soul
Previously known as Tokpakorlo
Just received a demo unit of the Eletech Aeneid courtesy of Eric, (nicest guy in the business BTW) and I should have the Project L demo cables later this week, stoked to be a part of this design process. Some serious ET listening coming up. While the Aeneid is brand new, and sounds great right out of the box, I won't fully judge it until I can do some break-in.
Just for fun, with my Jewel and A18t, I went back and forth between Aeneid and my First Times, and then to the mighty Orpheus. Aeneid is very organic, a tad warm and spacious with that signature ET golden sparkle presence up top. FT is really amazing, also organic and natural but less warm, more textured and very clear, wondrously even, but man... The Orpheus is from another planet. This breaks all the rules of what a cable should sound like, forget it's "just" copper.
It's stupid expensive but I would say it's the best piece of gear I own. I would sell 3 IEMs for this if I had to do it all over again, it's really that amazing. With Jewel it's.... Just wow.
Just for fun, with my Jewel and A18t, I went back and forth between Aeneid and my First Times, and then to the mighty Orpheus. Aeneid is very organic, a tad warm and spacious with that signature ET golden sparkle presence up top. FT is really amazing, also organic and natural but less warm, more textured and very clear, wondrously even, but man... The Orpheus is from another planet. This breaks all the rules of what a cable should sound like, forget it's "just" copper.
It's stupid expensive but I would say it's the best piece of gear I own. I would sell 3 IEMs for this if I had to do it all over again, it's really that amazing. With Jewel it's.... Just wow.
Oh wow, that's a driver name I haven't heard in a while. I remember listening to my first one, I think it was the Noble Khan. It had a nice treble which was a nice change of tone from the BA tweeter I was accustomed to. But it was quite expensive due to its novelty, being among the very first hybrid using it
Yeah, I think the two (DD + Piezo) make for a great pair! The DD for the more visceral rumbling lows, and the latter for capturing the airiness in the highs
I think that's a good opposite definition of a transparent sound. Well aptly described !
Though I'd argue that the emotion on the listener's behalf is subject to their music and fondness of the device, especially if they already have a long history/relationship with said gear. Such as the Grado SR80 in the old radio days, with a casette player or walkman
The Z7M2 is one heck of a headphone for accompanying watching movies. Especially for hearing/feeling the loud explosions, or presenting a deep expansive stage with great sub-bass and note weight. Plus the comfy earpads, they make for an immersive experience
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Thanks @twister6 that’s quite a useful bit of kit. Like you said on Nic’s thread, it’s not something you even knew you needed, until that is you think wow that would be useful!
Nice I'm glad I made the cut. It seems that Deezel and Twister are the Jewel and Traillii of the Watercooler, which seems fair. Ranfan at 3...that's consistent with his universal likeabillity. Hawaii at number 4-- he does everything right but brings a bit of color to the table...that's about right for a number 4 placement.
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Not even #1 in your own thread! Don't forget what this place used to be called
Fair however I changed the name of the thread precisely because I'm not really interested in me or my opinions being the focus of the community.
Let's just hope the Cooler doesn't do a Lord of the Flies like half the other threads on HF...this is our safe space!
Let's just hope the Cooler doesn't do a Lord of the Flies like half the other threads on HF...this is our safe space!
LOL well if I do have any influence associated with being the creator of this thread it will all be used to the fullest extent possible to make sure something like that doesn't happen...but if it does, well, sucks to your ass-mar.
I’m more like the Elysian X, I reckon: Soon-to-be discontinued, linguistically bombastic and constantly behind-schedule.
In all seriousness, I do appreciate the very kind gesture, @Bosk.
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