The SBAF Headphone Compendium

Should I type up my notes on the semi-large group of flagships I auditioned last year? Don't know if they're useful this far down thread?

Also, would it be worth moving IEM technical stuff to its own separate thread?

 

Can I suggest an addendum/edit to the RAAL?

They discontinued the resistor interface box, which is what you mentioned. It required a fairly beefy power amp to drive it. They now have two transformer boxes which both sound significantly better than the resistor box and have much more accessible power requirements:
TI-1B: 16 and 32 ohm inputs, needs 2-3 watts, but 6+ is recommended so a decent number of headphone amps can drive this easily.
TI-1C: for 4 or 8 ohm inputs, think lower power/300B power amps.

My experience for anyone who might be interested. I listen primarily to classical music - orchestral, chamber, and opera.

I had the SR-1A with the TI-1B for about a year and loved it. Drove it with the iFi iCan Pro Signature. My only gripes were the bass distortion and that I could never get the angles quite right to get a cohesive headstage, it always sounded like two blobs of sound. Imaging and timbre were particularly impressive.

I trialed the CA-1, also with the T1-1B, and loved it. Slightly narrower and shallower headstage, but feels entirely cohesive. Much more bass and better bass texture. Having two ear pad options to tune the sound is fun on occasion. Timbre is the same as the SR-1A. These are the most realistic sounding headphones I've ever heard. The CA-1 is now my only headphone and I don't feel much need to have anything else, especially for the price difference in picking up a Susvara or Utopia.

Picked up a used Aegir here and am now using that in to the TI-1B and wow is it incredible. Warmer tone, feels way more controlled, tons of micro-detail, and slams plenty hard for my tastes. Have a Freya+ arriving tomorrow that I'm really excited to try. The iFi is not that great as a preamp, it's pretty noisy. Kind of want to try monoblock Aegirs too, just for kicks...

 

I think you've been fair. I'm not current either with DCA's recent offerings nor have I heard them with an explosive amp setup but I can see what you're saying could possibly be true. Ether 2 is really laidback (and incredibly lightweight, which was one of its best qualities in a world of chonk over ears)

A funny anecdote at Canjam. I took a friend there and we were at a listening table with some HeadAmps and my friend listened to Ether 2 and then Susvara. He was so blown away by Sus he picked up the Ether 2's and exclaimed "What are these? Headphones for peasants!?" I turned around and Dan was standing right there. Thankfully don't think he heard us. In his defense, neither Sus or E2 are for peasants. lol

 

FWIW, my notes from many recent auditions and a couple of things I added to the stable. Auditions were done in good, quiet dealer settings with generally good to excellent chains. @purr1n feel free to use as much or as little of this as you like.


HFM Susvara (extensive listening): I've been championing these lately. IME, they're the most complete HP out there. To my ears, they're more detailed than any other flagship, except maybe the top-end Stax, but they have much better bass response than those e-stats. Many say the Sus is "ethereal," but I find that, well-driven, they can thump. They don't have the heft of old-school Audeze, true, and they can be a touch dry. But they don't lack for bass response, including sub-bass. The super HD600. Big downside is amping requirements, which I think are real. You can get the Sus for $3800 (refurb) direct from HFM now. Another $2k for a used Ferrum stack, and you're at a higher level than HD800 and a summit tube amp for similar or less money. Sus doesn't stage as well as HD800(S), but it layers better. And its tone is already right enough that you don't have to futz with mods or EQ. They can be slightly polite dynamically, but I don't think they majorly lack in this area either. Not a perfect HP, but the most complete I've heard.

HE-1000SE (extensive listening): Good bass, great detail and layering, tall and wide soundstage. These do have the softness some (or many) experience in HFM planars. They're bassier than the Sus, but the bass isn't as good. Don't need a heavy duty amp though. The big downside is that the SE's are bit wonky in frequency response, mostly up top. Some EQ this out and don't worry about it again. You can get these B-stock from HFM now, which makes them a compelling option, value-wise, if you're okay with a slightly softer, slightly compressed presentation. IME, Sus doesn't have these issues, if well amped. Basically, the HE-1000SE is a slight step down from Sus in all categories, except stage width maybe. I had fun with these, an open-box pair direct from HFM, but after a 30-day trial, sent them back to HFM (who were fine and accommodating with a return).


Audeze

LCD-4 (extensive listening): The highest expression of the old-school Audeze sound. Wet and fat and a little rolled up top*, but still detailed and resolving. Staging is slightly wider than Utopia OG. LCD-4 is incredibly good for electronic music. Somehow captures more of the texture and growl of synth bass than any other HP. Layers well with a sense of front to back staging even on solid-state amps. Speaking of which, needs some power. Ferrum stack seems to bring out some magic. (I want to hear it on the BHA-1 and speaker amps.) LCD-4 variance across models seems to be a thing. I heard one pair that was a bass monster and others that are still hefty but not as big down low. Don't know how this maps across various revisions. Pads have changed, which could be part of it. Still, I've not heard a bad pair of LCD-4. They're heavy, but the suspension headband works for me. Comfort-level is similar to Verité Closed, for me, but you should try the fit yourself.

*Even with EQ. Btw, these EQ very well, and I only listen to them with Audeze's Reveal plug-in via Roon. Maybe *needs* EQ to sound un-wonky, but I like these so much, I don't care.


LCD-5 (auditioned): New-school Audeze sound: balanced, bordering on neutral. Heard these a few times and didn't fall for them. For better or worse, they don't have the magic. (Neutral-heads might find this a good thing.) A bit forward, not lush. Fit is just okay. Pads too small. Headband too small, though I think they've fixed this and/or offer a larger headband if you bought the smaller one.

CRBN (auditioned): A totally solid, capable e-stat with something of that older Audeze sound. Solid bass for an electrostat. But... they don't stand out in any real way. I prefer the LCD-5. And, by a wider margin still, the LCD-4.


Meze Elite (auditioned): A very solid planar option. Strong bass and resolution. Not top of the class in any attribute, and pricey, but sensitive enough you don't have to go nuts on an amp. Super comfortable and well made. Susvara is better, but if someone just wanted to get something close enough to TOTL and pretty fuss-free, I might well steer them to the Elite.

Meze Empyrean (auditioned): Similarly well made and comfortable, but too dark. This doesn't work for me. If you want dark, you might like this, but I think most would do better with the Elite.

T+A Solitaire P (auditioned): Just a couple of auditions with these. I think they're actually pretty good. Sort of in the same category as the Elite, in that they do most things well, nothing much wrong, but don't hit the same level as the Sus. They *are* a step up from the Elite, and also don't have major amping needs, but they're also too expensive. Most would go for a Susvara at this price point. But if you can get these on sale, or don't want to muck around with amps, maybe try to hear them.


Stax SR-X9000 (auditioned): The level of detail here is pretty nuts. More low-level and spatial cues than even the Susvara. It's kind of wild how much info these flood at you. It's very impressive. But... the bass, like many Stax, is just okay. It's there, it's okay, detailed, goes fairly deep, but it has minimal impact. Susvara is much better in this regard. Were money no object, it'd be fun to own these. Otherwise, I think you'd have to be 100% sure you're fine with stat bass. Could be that they're a bit tizzy or hyped up top, but hard to imagine more micro-detail. I heard them off a TOTL Stax amp. I'd like to hear them on the supposedly superior third-party amps. Whichever way, stats are a rabbit hole I personally can't go down.

SR-009S (auditioned): Just too bright for me. Quite bass light. For classical specialists?

SR-007 (auditioned): By many accounts the best Stax overall. I heard a couple of these and was intrigued and wanted to hear more. But, again, e-stats too much of a rabbit hole.

SR-L700 (very brief audition): I got a chance to hear these at HeadAmp's shop in Charlottesville, VA. One of the guys suggested them, and I have to say I was also intrigued by these. They struck me as having a much better FR overall, with some actual, tactile bass. I'd like to hear them again, but they seemed in the realm of HD800(S) performance. (Big caveat: I could be wrong about the model number. The rectangular cup Stax all sort of look the same.)


As for the Verité Closed, Caldera, and other ZMF models, I have thoughts, largely positive, but there's plenty of info on here already. I own and enjoy the VC. It's impressive for a closed back: good detail, good bass, good staging, great isolation. Where it shows its closed-back nature, to me, is in busier tracks, where it gets a bit congested. Still, on the right album, these have plenty of magic.

Final Audio D8000 (Pro/Limited Edition) (very brief audition): Heard a couple of times and was intrigued. Met a few folks who've moved from Sus to these.

Yamaha YH-5000SE (very brief audition): Not the glorious return Yamaha probably had in mind. Comfortable, well made, but my audition (brief, granted) didn't impress. And the price is high. Hopefully they'll figure it out with the next model.

 

So in video calibration terms, measuring the measurements mics would be like profiling your raw panel and then the compensation to the HRTF would be like calibrating the output of the monitor to a standard like Rec709 or P3D65? If so, I think i get it, finally.

 

Good to see I'm not the only one who has switched from the SR-1a to the CA-1a, with my rationale being very similar to yours. The CA-1a's do seem to resolve a tad bit less than the SR-1a, but I was fine to forego what feels like the last 5% of plankton to gain much improved bass and cohesiveness. I also use a Lokius in the chain to try to flatten out the mids & treble. I also don't care too much about "wide-staging" with headphones, which I never felt like the SR-1a's presented as well as headphones that specialize in it, like the HD800.

Also started with Aegir, but moved onto the Tyrs, which I recommend trying if you like what the Aegir is doing. While maintaining that warmer tilt, I'd say the Tyrs offer a noticeable step up in almost every technical aspect. And they better, considering how much more they cost!

 

Agreed 100%. The SR are technically a bit better, but the CA is more enjoyable while still being technically jaw-dropping.

I have. Bifrost 2/64 that I’m very happy with and run that into a Lokius before the iFi. The Raals are very responsive to EQ.

I would love to try the Tyrs, but they are out of my budget and too big for a desk setup, which is where I do all my listening.

Next step is the Freya+ arriving tomorrow. I'll compare against the Kara when it's available in silver. Then probably a Yggdrasil+ (semi holding out for a more is more version), a Loki Max if I come across a used silver one for a decent price, and a second Aegir.

 

Same here. @purr1n since you’ve heard Stealth (but not Expanse), same profile with two important differences: (1) soundstage is perceivably taller and a bit wider, and (2) bass boosted presumably to compensate for open ear design.

The Noire may deserve a mention as they are indeed an evolution in the Aeons that performs well. They used to come with three pads (now four?), so people can tune a bit to suit preferences (2 notch white for me + Jotunheim is the perfect “while working” combo, not distracting, pleasant). It’s like a planar 650, if that makes sense.

And for people who think the price of something sounds bad, well… consider listening to the thing itself and comparing it to a known can...

 

The thing with DCA that I think is the big problem is they lack character because in my mind they don't have a halo product that defines their house sound. They have many good products, some engineered extraordinarily well in terms of both physical design and fit, but there's no particular thing in their sound that to me is present in the DNA of all their stuff. So emotionally I don't relate to their brand as well as others that really have that part on lockdown.

 

Is that a bad thing though? Should a maker restrict themselves to a house sound rather than be free to explore and release what sounds good? I get that a house sound means that a user will know in advance whether it's likely they'll enjoy their headphones or not if they heard other sets from the brand, but that's not an acceptable substitute for actually listening to them.

 

How about Kennerton's headphones? They're kind of Hi-Tech too, with shocking stability of quality in works.

 

It isn't a bad thing objectively. I respect what Dan is doing. Subjectively it's just a brand that I have a hard time loving and have failed to consistently connect with.

 

I would respectfully suggest to add the HE400se to the short list of "Cheap Hifiman Planars" in the opening post. To quote from purr1n's review (OP at https://superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/hifiman-he400se-measurements-and-review.11038/): "For the price, there's nothing I can really complain about with respect to sound except for some minor sizzliness or tizziness. The effect is minor and something I was easily able to acclimate to after a little bit of listening. I cannot emphasize how refreshing it was not to have to experience upper mid or lower treble oddities without having to mod, tweak, etc." My favorite headphones (over HD6XX, HD58X, DT880-250, HE400i, Q701, and many more "cheap" headphones) with the "cheap" (< $100) amplifiers I own. Best synergy for me with the iFi Uno.

 

buh-buh-buh watta-bout HE-560. Easier to drive HE-6 that gets your tip wet in that gen. sound. The HEX I heard was different and in a good spot. The HE1000 and on became weirder and weirder sounding to me.