Solderdude's Ether Review (from Changstar)

Solderdude's Stream of Consciousness Ether Review (from Changstar)

Heard one today, was planning on buying it.

Really liked ALMOST everything about it ... except the bass and with some music the somewhat overly 'hot-ish' edge it had with less than stellar recordings.
Could live with that and rationalise it away.
Not the bass quality though.

Caveat: didn't use pirate appoved amping/DAC-ing and it was spanking new and had only played less than an hour before I played with it.

Would have bought it for $ 375 in a heartbeat and would try to mod that bass and edge.
Not sure I could improve the bass enough and paying $1800.- (what it costs in Europe) and end up destroying it by accident during the process was a bit too high of a risk.

Aside from the bass ... top notch and up there with flagships.
Nice attempt from Dan .... the bass needs work though and I would buy it for $ 2000 IF he got that right as well.

(just my opinion)

Oh... and that red shrink tubing on the cable is crazy.
Why not have one of the connectors anodized red, that can't be very expensive for large batches..
Really ... so cheap looking !

How to describe it. It appears (but does not measure that way in FR I assume) as though there is a 'dip' and not even a small one in the 'warmth' part.
That is the transition between bass and voice. The upper bass, lower mids.
This makes the bass a bit 'dis-attached' from the rest of the music.
Normally I don't mind this and even find it pleasing sometimes and gives that ethereal sound as well.
BUT it isn't just the disconnected bass, which the HD650 nor T50RP don't have.
These 2 headphones have a perfect transition and everything 'jives' at that point.
Not so with the ETHER

That bass is, aside from being dis-attached also very one-note.
Different tough than the DT770 which appears to me as being one-note as well but at a lower 'note' and not as bad.

Where you can easily follow a nice bass line with the HD650/T50RP and even the uptown it is very 'difficult' to follow it with the ETHER.
I know it probably measures very flat from very deep to well over 1kHz but it certainly doesn't sound that way. Maybe waterfall plots could show this (didn't measure it) dunno …

The bass seems to 'resonate' at a for me not pleasant 'tone' and bass notes around it can be 'heard' but mainly because you hear the overtones of the 'pluck' or 'hit' that tell you … this must have been another note. The 'basis' note that follows is low but always seems to sound 'the same'.

Bass is ALSO important to me... and even though I really liked everything else about it (with Jazz/classical/audiophile) it took away the almost undeniable urge to buy it.

Just my opinion and I may hear this headphone different from other people.
Aside from the bass performance I felt all other aspects were top notch.

--

Not really a review, then I would also show measurements and possible modifictaions.
I see it more as comparative notes.
I will do a D.Thorn and paste my notes here as well.

Where to begin and keep it short..

I compared the ETHER to HD650 (on Kameleon) and T50RP (modified + Kameleon) + modified Philips cityscape uptown
Started out with audiophile recordings (WAV or FLAC) of various kinds and then turned to 'familiar' ground for me.

First impressions:
Build quality is very nice/high.
Pads are soft and very pleasant and give a very good seal.
Clamping force is just right.
The weight is excellent (very lightweight)
VERY easy to drive, even directly from the FiiO X3 which could play it very loud without distortion.
Looks and colours as well as finish... very nice, sorry beautiful is a better description.
Tonality: appears to be very flat (at first glance)
One would expect such an 'open' headphone to leak a lot of sound ... surprisingly it doesn't that much at all and isolates even somewhat.
Cable is smooth and pleasant to the touch, not stiff (like Grado) and not nice and soft either, has a decent feel and low in microphonics.
To me this is all worth the asking price so far ….

So far so good, more comfy than either of the other headphones and easier to drive.

Looks like Dan did an excellent (reference) job on these aspects.

Now the sound.
Highly detailed (maybe just a tad overly detailed, a bit like HD800 over detailed)
Small nuances were easy to hear and effortless with no distortion to speak of.

NEVER heard the intro of 'Jazz at the pawnshop' played that well (except for my speakers)
Those that know this recording know about the talking people in the background, the ambiance, the glass and how the brushes 'start' the music.
As said... effortless and extremely real... I was really there... no kidding... perfect.
The T50RP was 'nice' and tonally almost similar but doesn't do those soft things that well,
In dynamics they were very close.
The HD650 also renders those tiny details 'just fine' but NOT nearly as effortless as the ETHER.
Realism of the brushes in the ETHER and the 'glass' etc are really that much better.

So ETHER > HD650 > T50RP > uptown

When it comes to Jazz and 'audiophile recordings' my preference was ETHER > HD650 > T50RP > uptown as well when it concerns everything above say 300Hz.
With those kind of recordings the ETHER trumped the other headphones with ease.
No contest really, in two words ….. superior realism.

You may have noticed the mentioning of the 300Hz (an estimate though) and everything above being top notch.
I would easily say better than LCD2 and HE500 .
These were not there for actual comparison, from memory when compared to HD650/T50RP at another time so I may be wrong there but don't think so.

Okay.... mids and treble excellent. Neutral BUT also a bit Ethereal. Lacking some 'body' which HD650 and T50RP do so well.

Kuddos for Dan yet again.... mechanical, looks, electrical all great.
Well one small remark... everything is pretty flawless except one little but obvious detail.
The plug that marks the right channel has a piece of red shrink tubing around it.
Looks sooo cheap and it isn't even cut straight. It appears NOT to have been made by Dan in comparison. I would charge $ 10.- more for the cable and have the outer casing of the connectors anodized red instead.
Saw the DUM cable as well which was thinner and more supple but would NOT pay E 50.- more for it myself.

So all is not perfect.. well who cares about the shrink tubing...

But there is more... remember me mentioning > 300Hz is very/ nice perfect on Jazz etc.
Yup that' s certainly true.
But something like the Dire Straits is also pretty well recorded.
That's where some 'cracks' start to show in the treble area.
With music other than audiophile and Jazz/classical there is an 'edge' to the sound sometimes/often.
Not annoyingly bad but it's there and it sounds like some treble peaking which makes it well.
Not as good sounding as both HD650 and T50RP and for this kind of music I would change my rating: HD650 > T50RP > ETHER > uptown.
Yes, it may well be in the recording and ETHER making it audible and thus is 'better' blah blah.
Well that might have been the case but I know this DS CD pretty well and with speakers the same recording does not sound as sharp-ish / edge emphasized and is closer to the HD650/T50RP.

So … great for Jazz and high quality recordings, but less great for other types of music.

Well now lets finally come down to the bottom of the review and the bass response.
That's where this headphone bums out completely for me.
And I have to say alas because I REALLY liked almost every aspect of it and would have forked out the cash for it even though my 'limit' lies around E 500.- in general.

The bass … yeah that bass.
How to describe it. It appears (but does not measure that way in FR I assume) as though there is a 'dip' and not even a small one in the 'warmth' part.
That is the transition between bass and voice. The upper bass, lower mids.
When you hear someone play around on his bass and hitting all kinds of notes then you notice that the highest ones are 'O.K.', perhaps a bit on the lean side.
The HD650 (even EQ'ed flat) has better bass notes there already.
Then when the notes go down they seem to become softer and the fundamentals appear ro be replaced by a resonance somewhat lower.
Even lower notes then increase in amplitude and appear to be on the correct level but do not 'stop' fast enough when plucked.
Notes below that are very hard to follow and appear to become less and less in amplitude but seem to excite that (then higher) tone again.
This makes the bass a bit 'dis-attached' from the rest of the music.
Normally I don't mind this and even find it pleasing sometimes and gives that ethereal sound as well.
BUT it isn't just the disconnected bass, which the HD650 nor T50RP don't have.
These 2 headphones have a perfect transition and everything 'jives' at that point.
Not so with the ETHER … alas … as mentioned I REALLY wanted this to be my end-game headphone because of all the other (to me) positive traits.

That bass is, aside from being dis-attached also very one-note.
Different tough than the DT770 which appears to me as being one-note as well but at a lower 'note' and not as bad.

Where you can easily follow a nice bass line with the HD650/T50RP and even the uptown it is very 'difficult' to follow it with the ETHER.
I know it probably measures very flat from very deep to well over 1kHz but it certainly doesn't sound that way. Maybe waterfall plots could show this (didn't measure it) dunno …

The bass seems to 'resonate' at a for me not pleasant 'tone' and bass notes around it can be 'heard' but mainly because you hear the overtones of the 'pluck' or 'hit' that tell you … this must have been another note. The 'basis' note that follows is low but always seems to sound 'the same'.

Bass is ALSO important to me... and even though I really liked everything else about it (with Jazz/classical/audiophile) it took away the almost undeniable urge to buy it.
In fact when I would have to choose between using an EQ'ed LCD-2 (which is heavy weight and relatively harder to drive) and the ETHER and would want just 1 headphone I would choose an EQ'ed LCD2 over the ETHER.
When it comes to bass my preference would be: uptown>T50RP>HD650>ETHER.

So did I end up buying it (which was my intention)... No.
I really wanted to and think it is a most neutral and detailed sounding headphone with excellent sound except for that bass.
That really sounds so 'off/odd/wrong' to me that I seriously think Dan should address that.

I think in the line of pads or damping or so.

So great headphone that has a LOT going for it and may possibly have liked and vastly preferred it over other headphones with a lot of music.
BUT the bass quality is a real let down for me. Others may not really be bothered by it and may actually like it.

I want an HD650 till 300Hz and a slightly 'more damped' (perhaps) ETHER for the rest. I think.
The small 'edge' I heard with some (but not all) treble and upper mids may also have started to bug me after it grew on me, had I bought it.
The bass, however, would annoy me too much.

Oh and yes... I tried it on 2 other amps as well... the bass didn't change much it seems like its the headphone.
Another thing though... the headphone was brand new and had only been played for an hour before I arrived.
Had been swapping and listening for an hour in all peace and quiet.

And NO I did not use an Yggdrasil or other 'fine' DAC nor did I use TOTL amps.
Still the details the ETHER showed and the excellent SQ were easily heard on all the amps it was connected to so it does not seem to have been a very limiting factor.

Interesting comment. The sales guy (there was only one that didn't hover even near me and let me do my thing and only joined me for a talk after I asked him) was quite experienced and in his 40ies.
I asked him to listen to the 'one note bass' but instantly started about Pat Barber which was playing at that moment and how he didn't like it and ranted about sheffield labs and other recordings that were 'better'.
I mentioned it was about the bass which he said wasn't as good as people said.
Said that I agreed but asked him about the one note thing again and he listened again.
I chose that track because the bass notes are already NOT that well separated BUT you can still make them out on the other headphones.
He didn't hear what I said (had one on order and his father is the official importer in Europe/Netherlands) and perceived it more as a real 'room'.
Some rooms indeed do that... make bass one note-ish...
So to him the ETHER was perfect (and said he ordered one for himself).
Tried to explain what to listen for and used other music to make my point.
Could be he didn't perceive it as me, could be he heard it but liked the headphone too much, could be he wanted a 'sale' ... dunno.... don't care it's my ears and wallet and my gear anyway.
he kept going on about the 'lifelike-ness'/realism of the bass of speakers in a room and how well it sounded to him.

I then tried to 'imagine' this room in the hope I could catch on to what he was on about and do the purchase as I really liked the other aspects (aside from the shrink tubing) but really couldn't ... I wanted to though.
The bass SUCKS .... period.