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HIFIMAN Shangri-La: The New Electrostatic Headphones From HIFIMAN
Mar 20, 2016 at 1:36 PM Post #316 of 1,057
While I love the HE1000 (and really liked the HE500 and thought it was a tremendous bargain), it seems like a Stax SR007 and a super-duper DAC and amp will produce excellent results for less $ than this phone just by itself.
 
Mar 20, 2016 at 3:16 PM Post #317 of 1,057
herueyes said:
   
Sennheiser's Orpheus 2 Amp
looks like it lacks imagination compared to the Finished Shangri-La Amp...
 
 
Click to expand...

 
I have to disagree.  If you're taking the care to put 4 beautiful 300B tubes in an amp -- only to hide them behind a piece of aluminum and wood-- it detracts from the aesthetic.  Those 4 tubes should be the centerpiece, visually.  
 
From the side you can see the tubes, but you can also see the circuit board beneath, which is sloppy.  Perhaps they will tweak this by the time the final version is available.  I actually expect major changes to the design by the time it's available.  
 
The Orpheus 2 is, to my eyes, a clean design with impressive (if not completely useless) motorized touches.  It looks like a finished product.  
 
Mar 20, 2016 at 4:00 PM Post #318 of 1,057
reeltime said:
   
I have to disagree.  If you're taking the care to put 4 beautiful 300B tubes in an amp -- only to hide them behind a piece of aluminum and wood-- it detracts from the aesthetic.  Those 4 tubes should be the centerpiece, visually.  
 
From the side you can see the tubes, but you can also see the circuit board beneath, which is sloppy.  Perhaps they will tweak this by the time the final version is available.  I actually expect major changes to the design by the time it's available.  
 
The Orpheus 2 is, to my eyes, a clean design with impressive (if not completely useless) motorized touches.  It looks like a finished product.  
Click to expand...

 
You obviously missed the part where he said it has been completely redesigned...
 
Mar 20, 2016 at 4:00 PM Post #319 of 1,057
reeltime said:
   
I have to disagree.  If you're taking the care to put 4 beautiful 300B tubes in an amp -- only to hide them behind a piece of aluminum and wood-- it detracts from the aesthetic.  Those 4 tubes should be the centerpiece, visually.  
 
From the side you can see the tubes, but you can also see the circuit board beneath, which is sloppy.  Perhaps they will tweak this by the time the final version is available.  I actually expect major changes to the design by the time it's available.  
 
The Orpheus 2 is, to my eyes, a clean design with impressive (if not completely useless) motorized touches.  It looks like a finished product.  
Click to expand...

What the??? Have you seen the pictures of the "Finished Shangri-La Amp"??? I was comparing the Finished Orpheus 2 Amp to the Finished Shangri-La Amp that Fang showed me on his personal Cellphone... It sounds like you are comparing the Prototype Shangri-La Amp to the  Finished Orpheus 2 Amp. No big deal - just kinda weird to disagree with someone on something you haven't seen yet.... 
 
Remember the Finished Shangri-La Amp looks nothing like the Prototype Shangri-La Amp: I told Fang I wouldn't post a pic of it nor of his Prototype A&K killer DAP... Last year we all went out to dinner & Fang asked us not to divulge what was discussed at the table. All I can say is he took some good notes and it's refreshing to see him follow through... I wish him all the best... Go Fangster Go!!!!!
 
 
Peace...
L3000.gif
 
 
mulder01 you got me by a couple of seconds...LOL!!!!
 
Mar 21, 2016 at 3:12 AM Post #321 of 1,057
Had a listen to the Shangri-La this morning at Canjam, with very few people around. Would like to post some impressions here.
 
Set up: Macbook pro ---> Chord Hugo ---->Shangrila Amp ----> Shangrila headphone
 
Hifiman seems to only allow people to listen to their headphones on their own setup, but this time the 901s ran out of power so I got a lucky chance to listen to these beautiful headphones with a set up and songs that I am quite familiar with.
 
Pros: Very nice frequency distribution from very bottom to very top. Bass hits very strong, does not have the same experience as other electrostatic headphone I used to listen to, most of which somewhat lack bass. Mid frequency is usually nice on electrostatic headphone's and on Shangrila, the mids and vocals are just sweet and nice. High frequency is the one that surprises me the most, very nice and natural sounding, with somewhat brightness but feels no fatigue at all! Also doesn't have the softness on the HEKs. The imagaing feels more precise on Shangrila than on the HEKs as well. Overall, I don't find any other headphone in the whole Canjam that has such nice frequency distribution, musicality and naturalness as the Shangrila did!
 
Cons: Soundstage. Width is ok (a little smaller than the HD800, from memory), height is good, but it lacks soundstage in the direction of your face and back. This means that the headphone lacks the feeling of 3D soundstage.
 
I do think Shangrila is the upgraded version of the HEKs, but I am sure the price difference is way larger than the sounding difference.
 
Mar 31, 2016 at 4:40 AM Post #323 of 1,057
So here's a round up of EVERYTHING I've heard so far of the Shangri-La.
 
-It has a beautiful name (Paradise)
-It sound better than the Orpheus in some ways and is on par with it in terms of sound quality
-Will be costing around $9,999 for the headphone alone
-The accompanying amplifier makes the Orpheus amp look like it "lacks imagination" , so it WILL be better in terms of looks (according to two reliable head-fiers that have seen it)
 
 
And as for the price and what people are b******* about look.
 
There are people that will do whatever possible to obtain this headphone. Yes it might be ridiculous to spend $10,000k+ but WHO CARES MAN!
When I bought my BMW people called me crazy for spending a lot of money on a car "you could've gotten a Toyota xxx for 1/3 of the price" okay? Hey man it might be but, "YOU DO YOU AND I"ll DO ME"
 
Mar 31, 2016 at 6:02 AM Post #324 of 1,057
verycoolalan said:
 
There are people that will do whatever possible to obtain this headphone. Yes it might be ridiculous to spend $10,000k+ but WHO CARES MAN!
When I bought my BMW people called me crazy for spending a lot of money on a car "you could've gotten a Toyota xxx for 1/3 of the price" okay? Hey man it might be but, "YOU DO YOU AND I"ll DO ME"
Click to expand...

 
Highly agree with you.
Also, headphones are a nice investiment when you live in an apartment or have kids.
A room good enough to sound like no room (perfect acoustics like with headphones), can cost 50K in the cheapest of cases.
Also, a speaker setup capable of the coherence and microdetail of a mega electrostatic headphone setup can cost more than 100K (not to mention the costs of electronics capable of doing justice to that speakers).
 
Today, one can have a nice digital source for 5K (custom htpc for audio and a Schiit Yggdrassil or a Dangerous Music Convert for example).
Shangri-La is 10K and a KGSSHV Carbon costs more or less 5K.
That makes a total of 20K, and is a ton of money, but for the level of performance and compared to what it will cost with a speaker setup, is not a crazy sum.
 
May 3, 2016 at 4:15 PM Post #329 of 1,057
I see you're spreading your helpful perceptions of value across multiple threads now.  Yes you can buy a car for 10 grand and you can buy a pair of headphones for 10 bucks but you chose to spend more.  If you want the best car though, you have to spend millions and if you want the best headphone you have to spend thousands.  If you don't like it, don't buy it.
 
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