[ddlo]

Be interested to hear some comparisons with the susvara, the d8000 pro and the raals. (compared to the yamaha)

will need some time to get more solid impression. will report back later

some quick thoughts (i listen to pop musics and acg music mostly and running mostly from topping a90/d90 combo except JotR with SR1a):

sr1a sounds really different. one of the differences is bass decays quickly below ~100dB and doesn't reach very low0. not as bad as many said though. the soundstage is very different as you're really hearing (depends on the flipping angel) from the front of ears like speakers. that's an experience headphones can't offer. and have to take into account the fact that very low impedance of sr1a required specific amps or using a silly, mostly resistive interface to use with headphone amp (yet dissipates majority of power as heat) or using an impedance matching interface with headphone amps. the price is quite reasonable comparable with current totl (almost cheap now in a relative sense).

suvara is my favorite headphones. hekse is almost as good, just sometimes the treble is too hot. sus renders amazing details (usually means a lot of treble) yet it's never offensive (sr1a and hekse some times do). bass, though not z1r or 1266tc level strong, feels tactical and powerful. never feel it's a runner up no matter what you put it up against with.

i like d8k pro the least amongst the 3. i got a used d8k a year after i purchased d8kpro. the d8k actually sounds closer to my prefer tuning. with more bass and sounds more spacious. the retro style of d8k family, however, looks the best. i believe the style will never be out of trend - this can't be said for SUS and sr1a i believe. But 523g is quite heavy indeed

 

[adrianm]

and really curious u bought a 2nd pair of D8kpro LE for collection?

Oh, no, I had the first pair for a few days, only a few hours of listening time, and I sent them back because they were a demo pair, not supposed to be sold. Figured by the serial number. I just got the replacement, and comparing it to Elites and Stealth now. It already "won " the Elite round last time (barely), which is why my pair is now up for sale. The Stealth I really love, and I need a closed back. Their resolution is just great though. Dynamics are not that bad, slightly better than Susvara by memory, which I am not a fan of.

btw, the elite mystique and d8kpro LE look gorgeous! i like matt black stuff a lot (over the silly bing bing style things). i can imagine they sound as good as they look.

Yeah I also love them. Will make me sad to see them go, but they're like half way between D8k Pro LE and Stealth from my perspective.

my answer maybe a disappointing one i'm not a critical listener so the subtle change in tuning/resolution, etc. didn't bother me much. so i didn't spend much on the source/amp/cable side as i couldn't hear any difference for good quality ones even doing side-by-side a-b listening. headphones/iems are the only thing that i could hear a noticable difference so i buy more of that. the stealth sounds too sterile and funless to me (most of other DCA cans do so too). expanses is the best DCA for my taste as it has more bass and a wider soundstage (still maintain the amazingly clean mid). having said that, i could be 100% happy listening to music using a wp900 or d9200 or hd800s too .

Well I still listen to my Z1R at times like that but they definitely can not scale, and I'm a huge fan of source gear. Rather than listen to any flagship on something like my Mojo , i'd rather to just not go through the hassle and use my Airpods pro. I would try more stuff that's well received. I would expect all THX stuff , dac chip stuff to sound relatively similar, but I think the devil lives in the details, and the reason why Stealth just might be the best I've heard is how insanely transparent it is for those details.
This also kills any interest in the YH5000 for me sadly.

 

[ddlo]

Oh, no, I had the first pair for a few days, only a few hours of listening time, and I sent them back because they were a demo pair, not supposed to be sold. Figured by the serial number. I just got the replacement, and comparing it to Elites and Stealth now. It already "won " the Elite round last time (barely), which is why my pair is now up for sale. The Stealth I really love, and I need a closed back. Their resolution is just great though. Dynamics are not that bad, slightly better than Susvara by memory, which I am not a fan of.

Yeah I also love them. Will make me sad to see them go, but they're like half way between D8k Pro LE and Stealth from my perspective.

Well I still listen to my Z1R at times like that but they definitely can not scale, and I'm a huge fan of source gear. Rather than listen to any flagship on something like my Mojo , i'd rather to just not go through the hassle and use my Airpods pro. I would try more stuff that's well received. I would expect all THX stuff , dac chip stuff to sound relatively similar, but I think the devil lives in the details, and the reason why Stealth just might be the best I've heard is how insanely transparent it is for those details.
This also kills any interest in the YH5000 for me sadly.

i think yh-5000se might not working well with tube amp (impedance mismatching?) during my demo back in e-earphone or it's the ambient noise of the shop that affected my impression, it sounded a bit lifeless with not much bass in my memory.

my own yh-5000se sounds very detailed with a lot of nice and smooth treble and also very beautiful bass with my topping dac/amp. soundstage is not really big and similar to d8kpro. i like this better then the utopia SG (which is even more expensive) and think it's worth to be have in anyone's headphone collection. the build quality is amongst the best of all headphones i got and the look is easily the best too. it's just the headphones of darth vader give it a try and likely you probably will love it too.

just a very minor glitch i found that's not really pleasing in the package - when i opened the box, the back cover instead of the cover of the manual is facing up! i know that's really obsessive to ask for this kind of details to be "right". but it seems right to ask for such kind of attention to details when they spent so much effort in making the protective carton and putting in even a packing instruction!

 

[Benesyed]

my answer maybe a disappointing one i'm not a critical listener so the subtle change in tuning/resolution, etc. didn't bother me much. so i didn't spend much on the source/amp/cable side as i couldn't hear any difference for good quality ones even doing side-by-side a-b listening. headphones/iems are the only thing that i could hear a noticable difference so i buy more of that. the stealth sounds too sterile and funless to me (most of other DCA cans do so too). expanses is the best DCA for my taste as it has more bass and a wider soundstage (still maintain the amazingly clean mid). having said that, i could be 100% happy listening to music using a wp900 or d9200 or hd800s too .

ml 5909 is my daily cans as my habit of listening to music is doing web browsing or reading concurrently (or on the go). i never pay 100% attention to music listening. 5909 in fact is 100% adequate and fully satisfying my music needs.

btw, the elite mystique and d8kpro LE look gorgeous! i like matt black stuff a lot (over the silly bing bing style things). i can imagine they sound as good as they look.

and really curious u bought a 2nd pair of D8kpro LE for collection?

Are we the same musical person???

I also have a very hard time telling any meaningful difference between adequately powered source gear at listening volumes. The headphone/IEMs are much more bang for buck. I too found the DCA expanse the better of the two DCA offerings though neither impressed me all that much. Pretty much all the other totl were a better experience.

 

[ddlo]

Are we the same musical person???

I also have a very hard time telling any meaningful difference between adequately powered source gear at listening volumes. The headphone/IEMs are much more bang for buck. I too found the DCA expanse the better of the two DCA offerings though neither impressed me all that much. Pretty much all the other totl were a better experience.

stealth/expanses duo are quite good in fact. every time i go from other cans back to dca duo i felt thir rendering of mid and treble is much more "distribution free". just the tuning is too clean and i don't like it too much. strange that stealth and 5909 both supposedly tuned to the herman curve but i like 5909 tuning much better (it's heavier bass to my ears)

 

[Tachyon88]

stealth/expanses duo are quite good in fact. every time i go from other cans back to dca duo i felt there rendering of mid and treble is much more "distribution free". just the tuning is too clean and i don't like it too much. strange that stealth and 5909 both supposedly tuned to the herman curve but i like 5909 tuning much better (it's heavier bass to my ears)

When comparing the same FR to a dampened headphone like the stealth vs one that isn't dampened will sound leaner, but will surprise you with warm powerful bass when the track is right. I think the reflections in non damped headphones add that warmness even if the track isn't as bass heavy in general so not as track dependent.

 

[ddlo]

When comparing the same FR to a dampened headphone like the stealth vs one that isn't dampened will sound leaner, but will surprise you with warm powerful bass when the track is right. I think the reflections in non damped headphones add that warmness even if the track isn't as bass heavy in general so not as track dependent.

thanks! that's really great to learn how we subjectively comprehend the same sound in different context. the amts supposingly taking care of the "unwanted" cup reflections around the treble. but quite commonly we subjectively prefer euphony over accuracy for music reproduction. i guess similar reasons people prefer vinyl, tube amp and r2r

after i saw the clip your shared, YT suggested me this one which is also quite interesting.

 

[Kimiifrit]

Curious on the aftermarket cable for YH5K, anyone has ideas if the Eidolic 3.5mm connectors would fit?

 

[arthor]

Any comparisons to the sennheier hd800s? That's what I'm upgrading from.

 

[ddlo]

Any comparisons to the sennheier hd800s? That's what I'm upgrading from.

my personal feeling is that they're both comfortable and feel very lightweight. hd800s has bigger cups and i actually like it better if not for hair yanking (also feel subjectively lighter on my head, despite it's 10g heavier than yh-5000se). switching to hd800s, i need to dial up the volume a few notch to get my comfortable listening level. soundstage clearly is bigger in hd800s. yh-5000se has better slam. i've saw quite a few comments that hd800s has 6k peak and found it annoying. i personally don't have any problem with it. yh-5000se seems having more treble to me and hence sounds a bit more detailed but both are not offensive (which sometimes awkt or hekse does). be warned though i don't volume match and the comparison is just from a short listening session with several jpop songs. please take my view with a grain of salt.

 

[HA-1]

The German HiFi-Magazine AUDIO (04-2023, p.56) has a review of the YH-5000SE, gave 100 (out of 100) points and call it their new reference:

"The Yamaha delivered a powerful low bass in the listening test that impressed with its balance and precision. Bass was presented earthy, with exceptional power, clarity and structure, without being overbearing. The high frequencies, on the other hand, came across as silky, velvety and pleasant without sounding shrill or overblown. Timing was perfect. The mids remained slightly in the background of the stage. As a result, they helped the sound achieve an amazing spatial depth that we very rarely experience in headphones. Both instruments and voices were reproduced clearly and in detail, which was particularly pleasant with classical music. The musicians appeared on stage in front of us, while at the same time the finest nuances and details became audible. The reproduction always seemed natural and authentic without sounding exaggerated or artificial. Overall, the Yamaha YH-5000SE provided an excellent listening experience with a balanced and precise sound image that is particularly suitable for classical music. Yamaha achieved the sonic goal with the YH-5000SE. This performance was more than impressive. It also sets standards in wearing comfort. But € 5000 have to be earned first."

German ePaper of AUDIO 04-2023: United-Kiosk.de , Zinio.com , iKiosk.de . Print edition: Audio.de .

 

[jlbrach]

nothing is 100/100 so I immediately discount the review

 

[betula]

nothing is 100/100 so I immediately discount the review

Fair assessment.

 

[xeizo]

nothing is 100/100 so I immediately discount the review

Indeed, sounds delusional

 

[HA-1]

nothing is 100/100 so I immediately discount the review

Sure. But AUDIO gave also the T+A Solitaire P as well as the Stax SR-009S the rating of 100 points. All other reviewed headphones have 98 or less points (e.g. Focal Utopia 2016 model and Final D8000 Pro got 97 points). AUDIO gives also more than 100 points in other categories, e.g. the T+A DAC 200 got 145 (out of currently 145) points.

But the best review is with your own ears: I've listened e.g. to the much praised Audeze LCD-4 (2016) and T+A Solitaire P myself - both sound too dark for me, while I've found HiFiMan HE-1000se a bit too bright. I've tested also Warwick Bravura and Apple AirPods Max myself - the clamping force of both is too high for my taste. With HiFiMan Susvara the ear pads don't have enough depth for me, so my ears are touching the inner covering, which I don't like. The reviews in magazines rarely mention such things.

So better test headphones by yourself and take reviews only as a first (rough) orientation. Trust your own ears.