Mr. Speakers ETHER Flow Headphone(?) Upgrade(?)

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by OJneg, Jul 14, 2016.

  1. rainer.skill

    rainer.skill New

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    If comfortable wearing and dark sounding headphones with strong bass and smooth highs (read: audeze) are prefered, what to chose: Elear or Ether Flow?
     
  2. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    Did you just use "comfortable" and "Audeze" in the same sentence?
     
  3. rainer.skill

    rainer.skill New

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    I used it in one sentence but it was misleading . Audeze headphones are my favourite headphones regarding their bass and smooth highs and overall smooth sound but they are extremely uncomfortable and that's the reason I sold LCD2 / LCDX. Can't wear them longer than 30 minutes.

    So my question was: what is more comfortable and what gets closer to the smooth and bassy audeze sound: Elear or Ether Flow?
     
  4. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Neither will give you smooth highs, though the Elear is smooth, stronger with bass, but with different pads, you can dial in for a smoother, more refined sound.
     
  5. gbeast

    gbeast Mighty Moral Power Ranger

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    maybe consider the HEX v2. It has a heftier bass than the flow and is more laid back up top.
     
  6. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Ah, yeah, the Edition X that I heard, v1, was pretty good. But if you listen loud, the sound sort of falls apart. My best guess is that distortion rises as you play them louder, based on how Tyll's results turned out. At low-to-medium volumes, they were really quite good. Very good tone.
     
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    • HEXv2 might be not dark enough. Hefty bass to be sure, but more neutral than not (not Audeze rolled off) with a tiny bit of the HEK spashy treble timbre.
    • Ether Flow definitely not. It has a V shaped curve and there is some stridency and sharpness thing going on in the lower treble.
    • Elear is bassy and warm. Upper mid dip. Treble has some tizz from midtreble peak.
    There's nothing that quite bits the bill for Audeze type sound other than Audeze in terms of planars.
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The other possibility, which is kind of a stretch, is the HD650 or modded variants discussed here on SuperBAF. Somewhere around the time of he Fazors, Audeze pulled a fast one and started to make LCD headphones with more bass distortion than the prior LCDs. Bass distortion equals veiled sound. See the following link. There are measurements for an LCD-X and ancient LCD2 rev 2: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...-pre-fazor-unicorn-edition-measurements.1834/

    The HD650's biggest weakness is the veil. Of course when Audeze starts making headphones that sound more veiled than their prior iterations, and just as veiled or perhaps even more veiled that the HD650, then perhaps it's time to consider the HD650. You can ask @Mikoss about it. We had several conversations on HF about this before he finally made the switch. This is also why we never see Audeze headphones at SuperBAF meets. The folks are either guarding their LCD2rev2 headphones (the drivers are known to be fragile) or have switched to the HD650. Finally, the HD650 scales with better gear more than the new Audezes. You are better off using that $700-$1900 that you save on headphones for more awesome amps / DACs. But again, choose carefully.
     
  9. rainer.skill

    rainer.skill New

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    Thank you all very much for your help.

    Funny thing is, I already own a modded HD650 right now. I owned pre-fazor LCD2rev2 and LCD-X and both were close to perfect sounding headphones for my ears but it was impossible to wear them longer than 30 minutes. I had 3-4 different HD800 and different mods and EQs but I was never really satisfied with them, they were just too lifeless and thin sounding. I also had the Elear for a few days but sold it quickly because of the harshness in the treble. But I might regret it and rebuy it cauz I kinda liked the elear but I just thought it might get better and my last hope is the Ether Flow, considering it is on innerfidelity's wall of fame as a replacement for my fav. headphone LCD-X so I thought it might suit my tastes but now after you said it has sharpness in the treble too I doubt if it suits.
     
  10. mscott58

    mscott58 Friend

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  11. rainer.skill

    rainer.skill New

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    I tried a suspension mod that I bought on ebay, it was still uncomfortable. Maybe this carbon headband is better but I still would prefer a lighter headphone as I wear it nearly the whole day.
     
  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Suspension straps from the ceiling?
     
  13. rainer.skill

    rainer.skill New

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    hmm problem solved I guess :)

    From your writings I conclude Ether Flow is even more agressive / sharp in the highs than the Elear? Then I don't need to hear them. Maybe I should hear HEX instead.
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The treble hotspots between the Elear and Flow are in different spots. I found the Ether Flows un-listenable with most recordings at medium to higher volume levels. The tizz from the Elear didn't bug me that much. There's a small bump near the middle mids on the Elear too which is slightly reminiscent of the Audezes.

    Another one to consider is the regular Ether Open. People have tendency to be weird and always think newer is better. (Honestly, the Flow is different, not better). The Ether Open may be what you are looking for - exceptional ergonomically with an even-keeled response if you get a good seal on your head. The funnel tech stuff on the Flows being more detailed sounding is mostly bullshit, unless you happen to like the sonic equivalent of badly oversharpened images in Photoshop.
     
  15. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    In terms of upper-end aggressiveness, brightness, and/or nastiness (most problematic to least problematic): Ether Flow, at least the one I heard > HE1000 > Ether Open original >> Elear >> HD650. All of the LCD headphones I've heard sounded slightly different. They all kind of had this dark but slightly ragged timbre, with the LCD-X being the worst offender. But, who knows...like I said, they all sound slightly different.
     
  16. rainer.skill

    rainer.skill New

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    ok I just bought an Ether Open on ebay :)
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2017
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yeah. Again, make you fluff the pads and push them in on your head so they conform well. Otherwise you will get early bass dropoff and a thin sound. The treble can be tweaked with dog treats or maxi pads or whatever they are called. You can use toilet paper if in a pinch.

    Don't expect monster bass sustain or grunt from them.
     
  18. mscott58

    mscott58 Friend

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    Yeah, just like this but for headphones...:cool:

    [​IMG]
     
  19. rainer.skill

    rainer.skill New

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    What do you think about using other pads? maybe audeze pads
     
  20. Sharkhunter

    Sharkhunter Always on the hunt.

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    picked up a ether c from the other forum. excited.
     

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