ETHER 2

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by Ice-man, Oct 3, 2018.

  1. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Got my ether 2 this morning.

    [​IMG]

    I love the appearance. Very satisfying blackness.

    However, initial sound impression is rather confusing.

    Awesome bass was already reported by some, which now I wholeheartedly agree with. Vocals are very articulate and moderately wet -- good in my book. Staging and airs are also great to my linking.

    But when I played some "sibilant" recordings, I was surprised at NO presence of sibilance. This is weird, considering previous Dan's products. In addition, drums sound relatively poor. Cymbals nearly sound muted. Too dark and lacking trebles overall.

    Tried to get a quick measurement..

    upload_2018-11-9_13-55-19.png
    (1/6 oct)

    The result exactly mirrors what I felt. WTF? To me MrS products have been on a brighter side -- including more neutral AFO.. In 2018, they are making one of the darkest headphones. lol

    Feeding pink noise to E2 now. Will see how everything changes over time.

    But at least now, I am inclined to think that E2 is for extremely treble-averse folks, not for me. Otherwise, I may have to change BOTH amp and dac to bright and aggressive ones. The most likely short-term future is paying restocking fee.. oh well.
     
  2. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    The pre-prod units were about as bright as the HD650, with last iteration I heard at home being a bit brighter than HD650. Prod unit at RMAF sounded about the same as that last iteration I heard, though I think that one was yet to have the driver with the higher impedance (?).

    In that regard, yes, they are a departure from what you might expect from the Ether line. But your measurements seem much darker than I expected.

    Makes me more curious to get a real production unit in my hands to test at home. Maybe we'll find something interesting!
     
  3. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Will measure E2 again tonight. Maybe I will have to ask Dan or his people if this super-dark tonality is intended or production-failure, before returning this pair.
     
  4. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    TFW you let Hands help tune a headphone :p Making things darker for everyone!

    ...or it could just the byproduct of trying to hit the bullseye blindfolded.
     
  5. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    It was tuned that way from the start! ;)
     
  6. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    Not true. hands said it spikey treble so Dan had to make it darker :)
     
  7. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Emailed to MrS just before, with attaching some measurements indicating strange points. Will see how they reply..

    Well, honestly this is not a kind of experience that I want when I pay 2k. At least I wanted something like Auteur I am enjoying now.. but this is not mine.. but Kirk's... Damn!

    Anyway with any consequences, I will report back to here!
     
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2018
  8. TMRaven

    TMRaven Friend

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    I'll have to to do some more listening to see if there's any 10k depression. I'll admit treble problems don't hit me quite as easily as midrange problems, unless there's a 'way too much' or 'way too little' problem.
     
  9. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Sent my pair of Ether 2 back to the factory to get some investigations.

    There were quite a few weird points (FR was the most trivial part indeed) in my measurements of Ether 2, which let me believe my unit is defective. They didn't sound horrible but reminded me of some experimental vintage speakers both positively and negatively. Anyway will determine whether or not to get refund when MrS check them out.

    I honestly loved aesthetics and ergonomics of E2 -- literally they're the most comfort headphones among I have ever experienced. Want to keep them if my pair gets properly fixed.
     
  10. Baten

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    It's nice that everything will be investigated @Vtory, good on MrSpeakers

    it's funny how many people find them so insanely comfortable then other reviewers say that they are only so-so comfortable. A big ear vs small ear issue :) ?
     
  11. lcmusiclover

    lcmusiclover Friend

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    Possibly ear size -- ear holes are smaller than many others. Also, clamping force is a bit more than most of my other cans (EFO, HEK, Auteur, Utopia).
     
  12. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    E2 has a stronger clamping force and stiffer ear cushions (both more than AFO and EFO). In other words, comfort-wise E2 can be described as "HD600/650 with pleather pads and a more ergonomic headband". Can work for some (including myself), but others may hate or meh lol. Sorting E2, EFO, and AFO by comfort must be highly dependent on how one defines wearing comfort.
     
  13. davis_man

    davis_man New

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    The clamping pressure is high especially if you have a large head. If you run out of adjustment you can slide the nitinol wires up in the mounts to get some more room. Once I did this they are very comfortable.
     
  14. TMRaven

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    I got my PM3 back on my desk and now I can finally do a proper in-depth analysis of the Ether2's frequency balance. For reference, I find my PM3 to have one of the best frequency responses I've heard without much quirks to it.

    Now an hour or so of listening to the two using different songs, the two share quite a lot in common, which speaks wonders for Ether2's frequency response. I don't find an immediate lack of upper treble with the Ether2 compared to the PM3 (although do note the PM3 has what I would describe a broad but small depression in its treble region-- nothing to complain about.)

    I'll probably add my Massdrop Plus UIEM into the mix as well, but I don't really like how they sound out of my Jotenheim's low impedance output-- shout city.
     
  15. davis_man

    davis_man New

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    My thoughts on amps/dacs with E2. Take it for what an opinion on the internet is worth.

    E2 seems to scale with sources pretty well. This is cool, I can really hear and appreciate the differences between my bifrost uber and my Gungnir Multibit A2. Better staging, being the most notable. I wouldn't skimp on the dac for E2.

    E2 seems to pair really well with SS amps. You lose some of the staging from tubes, but the clear and punchy sound of a neutral SS amp pairs well with E2. So you could save a few bucks here for a really good setup.

    A good hybrid tube setup will still out preform, but you will need to find a low noise tube that has good treble extension, avoid anything that is has questionable noise or is considered laid back. This means that a lot of new production tubes will fit the bill nicely. Some that I have found that work pretty well (in order of preference): Matsushita pcc88s, Electro Harmonix gold pin, JJ gold pin, and possibly genalex gold lions. I need to audition the gold lions again with E2 to be for certain. I have some telefunken pcc88s that are promising but are slightly warm, hopefully they will open up some once they get some time on them. You want neutral as possible.

    Overall I have been really happy with E2, that is once I got the excessive clamping pressure sorted. I could nit pick some things for sure given the price, but for me its a keeper. Its a nice change of pace from my Th900s that can be a little to sibilant at times for me.
     
  16. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    Started out the day with a series of albums by k.d. Lang. Hymns of the 49th Parallel. Just a fantastic record from start to finish and what a voice. That woman needs to record more albums. This evening took a twist with some down tempo chill/pop with Rhye: Blood. Thanks to @Vansen for that one. Very well records and the bass just kills with ETHER 2!!
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2018
  17. daniellistens

    daniellistens Acquaintance

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    Excellent album. +1
     
  18. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    @Vtory, did you ever get a replacement Ether 2 and remeasure?
     
  19. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    They are under investigation in the factory. Briefly heard something went wrong with my pair. Definitely remeasure and post the result when I get E2 back.
     
  20. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    Considered me intrigued by these headphones. Anything that's light is a major plus to me at the moment (I think it's my only negative on me buying a Eikon).
     

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