[number1sixerfan]

It's been a month already. Should finally let the cat out of the bag. Picked up the Aperio (barely) used and it's as good as it was when I demoed it at Axpona.

 

[ThanatosVI]

It's been a month already. Should finally let the cat out of the bag. Picked up the Aperio (barely) used and it's as good as it was when I demoed it at Axpona.

The Arperio was actually really nice
Curious about your impressions and at which price you managed to snag one

 

[number1sixerfan]

I'll get into more comparisons eventually, but I've just been really enjoying it. A few brief thoughts:

1. I listened the Aperio alone for like two weeks straight (it's that good), and I was a bit worried that because of it's better bass, while still being really resolving, the Shang Sr. may pail in comparison. I then put it on and it didn't.. the openness and resolution immediately shined through. These are the two areas where the Aperio pales just a bit compared to the x9000 and Shang Sr., but really not to in comparison to much else. The overall sound is addicting and easy listening. *edit* for most people, the Aperio will be the easier no-regret blind purchase due to its warmer tone and bass.
2. It doesn't really sound like a stat. At all. Much more like a planar (I'm aware it's a planar stat).
3. The bass improvement over other stats is enough to enjoy all genres, but isn't anything crazy like the TC etc.
4. It somewhat reminds me of the HE90 in that it has really amazing timbre and tone, so I compared the two in the past week. It has very, very slightly better bass (less of a gap between it and the Shang Sr., which unfortunately is just light overall) which I enjoy. The HE90 is more complete overall, with a bit better openness and spacing, with similar resolution ability.
5. As an aside to #4, I think the HE90 is slowly becoming my favorite headphone of all time. It is just damn near perfect without flaw, which you just can't say about anything else out there. The Susvara is the closest to it in that single regard.

 

[number1sixerfan]

The Arperio was actually really nice
Curious about your impressions and at which price you managed to snag one

What I heard at Axpona was haunting me, it was that good. I was also very impressed with the Bravura, which I thought would be a league below, which to my ears in that brief session, it wasn't. Can share price via pm (to not effect the market), but it was a lightly used set from my dealer who wanted an in home demo himself. I got a nice discount based on that + our longstanding relationship. It's a shame he didn't have the silver version, which would've been a good deal cheaper lol

 

[gammi]

It's been a month already. Should finally let the cat out of the bag. Picked up the Aperio (barely) used and it's as good as it was when I demoed it at Axpona.

Whoooo boy, nice pick up. You're on the Immanis wait list too, right? Would very much like to hear your thoughts comparing these two.

 

[ThanatosVI]

What I heard at Axpona was haunting me, it was that good. I was also very impressed with the Bravura, which I thought would be a league below, which to my ears in that brief session, it wasn't. Can share price via pm (to not effect the market), but it was a lightly used set from my dealer who wanted an in home demo himself. I got a nice discount based on that + our longstanding relationship. It's a shame he didn't have the silver version, which would've been a good deal cheaper lol

The Bravura was to my ears much much worse.
I started with the Bravura in Warwicks rather quiet Show room at Munich High End and didn't think much of it.

When switching to the Arperio I was very surprised, that it's leagues above, to my ears at least.

I'm also pissed that the Black Version is 6 grand more expensive, even prior to tax. Just for a different color

 

[number1sixerfan]

Whoooo boy, nice pick up. You're on the Immanis wait list too, right? Would very much like to hear your thoughts comparing these two.

I definitely will. I heard the Immanis at the same show. The Aperio is what stood out for me the most, but I was overall impressed with the Imannis. I also don't think show conditions do it much justice. But can't want to try it out at home with the Aperio, Shang Sr. and HE90.

The Bravura was to my ears much much worse.
I started with the Bravura in Warwicks rather quiet Show room at Munich High End and didn't think much of it.

When switching to the Arperio I was very surprised, that it's leagues above, to my ears at least.

I'm also pissed that the Black Version is 6 grand more expensive, even prior to tax. Just for a different color

Very interesting. To me, the better resolution of the Aperio stood out immediately but otherwise I thought they had a similar house signature. That said, resolution isn't as abundantly apparent or a wow factor in the Aperio as it is with the x9000, Shang Sr., etc., so I'd get how that would stand out a bit more between it and the Bravura. Would love to listen again, but I went in with a bias of the thinking I wouldn't be impressed by the Bravura at all and that wasn't the case.

One last thing to say, Warwick's listening setup at the show was nothing short of amazing. Small cube for just 2 people, and I had half of the time to myself entirely. A great setup without having to rent out an entire room for privacy.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I'm also pissed that the Black Version is 6 grand more expensive, even prior to tax. Just for a different color

Yea, this to me makes on sense at all.. especially when black is a standard color in the hobby. The gold edition I saw in person was amazing. I really wanted it but the price difference was just insane smh.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Yea, this to me makes on sense at all.. especially when black is a standard color in the hobby. The gold edition I saw in person was amazing. I really wanted it but the price difference was just insane smh.

Personally I think the Gold Version is ugly, but it's a majorly hyped Version in Asia.

Over 10k price difference between silver and Gold though. Which is rough

Black is by far my favourite here

 

[gammi]

I definitely will. I heard the Immanis at the same show. The Aperio is what stood out for me the most, but I was overall impressed with the Imannis. I also don't think show conditions do it much justice. But can't want to try it out at home with the Aperio, Shang Sr. and HE90.

Yeah, I think show conditions probably benefit Aperio more than Immanis for multiple reasons.

-Aperio blocks more outside noise than Immanis which is extremely open. Obviously not good having an extremely open headphone at a show
-Immanis' strength is in things like soundstage/resolution which requires a quiet environment to appreciate
-Aperio being more "full" at least from my recollection probably comes across nicer at a show vs more airy headphones

Definitely looking forward to hearing your thoughts. I should be getting mine the week of June 10th btw. Possibly the week after.

Black is by far my favourite here

Agreed, the black looks MUCH better imo. Mainly because the darker grill looks so much nicer against the gold/orange driver than the silver one does imo.
But man, what the hell is with the price difference, put down the crack pipe, Warwick!

 

[number1sixerfan]

Personally I think the Gold Version is ugly, but it's a majorly hyped Version in Asia.

Over 10k price difference between silver and Gold though. Which is rough

Black is by far my favourite here

Did you see the gold version in person? I thought it was before actually seeing it. It wasn't as gaudy as I thought it was likely to be. I think I posted a pic in this thread as well. But either way, it won't be for everyone. And yea, the black version looks really nice. Better than I imagined when it arrived.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Did you see the gold version in person? I thought it was before actually seeing it. It wasn't as gaudy as I thought it was likely to be. I think I posted a pic in this thread as well. But either way, it won't be for everyone. And yea, the black version looks really nice. Better than I imagined when it arrived.

Yes I saw the Gold and Black Versions.
I didn't see the silver version though

 

[number1sixerfan]

Yeah, I think show conditions probably benefit Aperio more than Immanis for multiple reasons.

-Aperio blocks more outside noise than Immanis which is extremely open. Obviously not good having an extremely open headphone at a show
-Immanis' strength is in things like soundstage/resolution which requires a quiet environment to appreciate
-Aperio being more "full" at least from my recollection probably comes across nicer at a show vs more airy headphones

Definitely looking forward to hearing your thoughts. I should be getting mine the week of June 10th btw. Possibly the week after.

Yea from my early limited impressions the Aperio sounded fuller and the Immanis more open and detailed. I think they'll both be end up being more impressive than what I heard at the show from either. I'll definitely share once I can!

 

[number1sixerfan]

I think I can say with decent confidence that the HE90 is my favorite headphone. More than any other set of cans, I can just endlessly fall into them and the music. They get out of the way. A perfect balance between technical performance and tonality. Just so purely enjoyable.

This is a very interesting development for a few reasons.. 1) it's such an old, vintage headphone.. it's crazy that it still competes with any and everything for me; 2) the R10 (which I still love and will never sell) stood out above it easily from the day I first heard the two of them, but it's a bit flawed and imcomplete (although again very amazing--I'll follow up with a comparison of the two soon); 3) I thought I'd only own the HE90 for a year or so before selling and passing on to the next person.. and that's just no longer a scenario I see unless 2 channel takes over everything eventually.

The last point is one that matters. I've always treated this hobby as a backup, backup savings. And that's kind of no longer the case, as I have so much gear now that I simply would never want to part with. Not giving up the Shang Sr. Not giving up the R10. Not giving up the HE90, etc. In a few years time this hobby has suddenly turned into a financial liability lol. Good problems to have though!

Happy listening

 

[goldwerger]

I think I can say with decent confidence that the HE90 is my favorite headphone. More than any other set of cans, I can just endlessly fall into them and the music. They get out of the way. A perfect balance between technical performance and tonality. Just so purely enjoyable.

This is a very interesting development for a few reasons.. 1) it's such an old, vintage headphone.. it's crazy that it still competes with any and everything for me; 2) the R10 (which I still love and will never sell) stood out above it easily from the day I first heard the two of them, but it's a bit flawed and imcomplete (although again very amazing--I'll follow up with a comparison of the two soon); 3) I thought I'd only own the HE90 for a year or so before selling and passing on to the next person.. and that's just no longer a scenario I see unless 2 channel takes over everything eventually.

The last point is one that matters. I've always treated this hobby as a backup, backup savings. And that's kind of no longer the case, as I have so much gear now that I simply would never want to part with. Not giving up the Shang Sr. Not giving up the R10. Not giving up the HE90, etc. In a few years time this hobby has suddenly turned into a financial liability lol. Good problems to have though!

Happy listening

Happy place to be in!

one note (sorry in advance) but I've recently discovered the AIC10 + R10 is a wonderful combination. Blew my mind away. Took my "bass light" R10 and filled it up with texture and depth I was overwhelmed (Mullard M8136 tube).