[Presto]

I hate to repeat myself, but really, nobody heard the Final Audio D8000?

I did, but not for very long. It wasn't super memorable - nothing stood out about it.

 

[Devodonaldson]

I heard the D8000, it was nice. I mean, they were running it from a Dave. Not $3,000 nice IMO but hey.... it sounded good. I'm a $500 max headphone kind of guy. I was also impressed by the Mojo on my heavily modded K702s (That I prefer over my old HE-560, much more resolving). Not many people brought their own cans that I saw, though.. I am amp/dac shopping at the moment so figured I would bring my daily drivers to shop around. Did try the Utopia, it was good but..again.. not for the price. Liked the new Mr. Speakers open back headphone, though, again.. sub $2000 is a no go for me, even if I can afford it.

Other random thoughts:

The FiiO guys were friendly, I wish the X5iii had the power of the X7 Mark 2 as I enjoyed the X5iii's signature. It probably rocks with the A5. X7M2 is very dry and neutral, if you are into that.

Mojo impressed me. I've been wanting to lay ears on it for some time as an Ifi iDSD BL owner. Not that it bested my kit, just had a different presentation that I liked. The gent I was talking to was very shy about telling me Poly's pricing.

Being a BL owner could you compare and contrast for me? Looking at both, feel like the BL has more options, say want to watch a movie, put on the 3d effect, etc. Thoughts would be very helpful

 

[Allanmarcus]

I tried the d8000. I thought it was good, moderately comfortable, detailed, goodly quantity of bass, possibly a bit of bass bloom. The music selection they has was very limited, so I could not really give it a good listen, and it was through a Dave, which few have. It was a fun headphone, and I figured $1500, maybe. $3800!?!? Somewhwhere between wow and What. No way it was better, or even as good as the LCD-4 or utopia.

What I, and others, were impressed with was the AR planar for 5 or 6 hundred. Ha-1, I think.

 

[Mkoll]

What I, and others, were impressed with was the AR planar for 5 or 6 hundred. Ha-1, I think.

This one? Looks interesting. 86mm seems like quite a large driver.

~~~

From Acoustic Research
Acoustic Research announced it will soon ship a new hi-resolution, over-ear headphone with planar driver technology for unmatched sonic performance.

The new AR-H1, which was previewed at several recent audio enthusiast events including High End 2017 in Munich, Germany, and CES Asia in Shanghai, China, is scheduled to ship at the end of this month at a suggested retail price of $599/649€. The AR-H1 represents a new standard in headphone performance for the price point by incorporating planar technology--acclaimed for achieving detailed output with drastically reduced distortion compared to other technologies--with an open-back circumaural or over-ear design for exceptional comfort and sound quality.

"Acoustic Research has a long history of developing high-performance consumer audio products that are considered the best in class, in terms of both performance and aesthetics, said Sebastien Manenc, Senior Vice President, Asia, Voxx International Corporation, parent company of Acoustic Research. "The AR-H1 lives up to the best of AR's legacy, especially in the way it outperforms competitive models costing hundreds more, let alone headphones at the same price."

Featuring an industrial design that is both comfortable and aesthetically appealing, the AR-H1 gives music lovers an unbeatable listening experience, thanks to the 86mm planar driver with a neodymium magnet array that is considered among the best in its class. Frequency response is measured at 10 to 70 kHz, with sensitivity rated at 100dB/V and impedance at 33 ohms.

A true hi-resolution headphone should be as comfortable as it is sonically exciting, which is why the AR-H1 features as a genuine leather headband and low resilience ear cushion that add up to hours of listening with no fatigue.

The AR-H1 comes complete with essential accessories, including a 1.2m audio cable (3.5mm 3-pole to dual 2.5mm 2-pole), a 6.3mm plug adapter, and a soft pouch for easy storage and portability. It will be available through the Acoustic Research website and select dealers.

https://hometheaterreview.com/new-planar-headphones-from-acoustic-research/

 

[Voxata]

Being a BL owner could you compare and contrast for me? Looking at both, feel like the BL has more options, say want to watch a movie, put on the 3d effect, etc. Thoughts would be very helpful

I don't use the 3d or bass myself. I use for music and gaming. I'd say the mojo is more like sitting on the stage with music enveloping you in detail. The BL takes a few rows back and really throws the stage out. Still very detailed, amazing resolve. I like both for their differences. I'll be grabbing a mojo when another sale crops up.

 

[Allanmarcus]

This one? Looks interesting. 86mm seems like quite a large driver.

~~~

From Acoustic Research
Acoustic Research announced it will soon ship a new hi-resolution, over-ear headphone with planar driver technology for unmatched sonic performance.

The new AR-H1, which was previewed at several recent audio enthusiast events including High End 2017 in Munich, Germany, and CES Asia in Shanghai, China, is scheduled to ship at the end of this month at a suggested retail price of $599/649€. The AR-H1 represents a new standard in headphone performance for the price point by incorporating planar technology--acclaimed for achieving detailed output with drastically reduced distortion compared to other technologies--with an open-back circumaural or over-ear design for exceptional comfort and sound quality.

"Acoustic Research has a long history of developing high-performance consumer audio products that are considered the best in class, in terms of both performance and aesthetics, said Sebastien Manenc, Senior Vice President, Asia, Voxx International Corporation, parent company of Acoustic Research. "The AR-H1 lives up to the best of AR's legacy, especially in the way it outperforms competitive models costing hundreds more, let alone headphones at the same price."

Featuring an industrial design that is both comfortable and aesthetically appealing, the AR-H1 gives music lovers an unbeatable listening experience, thanks to the 86mm planar driver with a neodymium magnet array that is considered among the best in its class. Frequency response is measured at 10 to 70 kHz, with sensitivity rated at 100dB/V and impedance at 33 ohms.

A true hi-resolution headphone should be as comfortable as it is sonically exciting, which is why the AR-H1 features as a genuine leather headband and low resilience ear cushion that add up to hours of listening with no fatigue.

The AR-H1 comes complete with essential accessories, including a 1.2m audio cable (3.5mm 3-pole to dual 2.5mm 2-pole), a 6.3mm plug adapter, and a soft pouch for easy storage and portability. It will be available through the Acoustic Research website and select dealers.

https://hometheaterreview.com/new-planar-headphones-from-acoustic-research/

Yes

 

[XERO1]

HD660S.

Why in the hell hasn't Sennheiser shouted from the rooftops about these?!

There is absolutely nothing about them on the interwebs.

 

[MtnMan307]

I also liked the Audio Technica A1000Z. I've owned the M50x and this is a far better headphone. Closed but sounded more like an open can. I found it much clearer and more neutral than the M50, a very strong option at $400 in my opinion.

 

[Devodonaldson]

I don't use the 3d or bass myself. I use for music and gaming. I'd say the mojo is more like sitting on the stage with music enveloping you in detail. The BL takes a few rows back and really throws the stage out. Still very detailed, amazing resolve. I like both for their differences. I'll be grabbing a mojo when another sale crops up.[/QUOTE, interesting.

I don't use the 3d or bass myself. I use for music and gaming. I'd say the mojo is more like sitting on the stage with music enveloping you in detail. The BL takes a few rows back and really throws the stage out. Still very detailed, amazing resolve. I like both for their differences. I'll be grabbing a mojo when another sale crops up.

Hmm, interesting. Both are great presentations, however based on your description, sounds like Mojo is a "professional, musical accuracy" presentation, and the BL is a "consumer experiencing the performance" presentation. A different type of detail. If you could only choose one? BTW, thx for the impression. Looking to eventually upgrade my Dragonfly Red to JDS Labs C5 combo

 

[phase0]

Here's some more pics. I made it back to RMAF for a few hours:
https://imgur.com/a/NVMKE

- Schiit Gadget - Magic knob. It seemed like it made the music more relaxing, like I was tensed up until I twisted the knob a little bit. It's an interesting effect and I think when it releases it will be cheap enough everyone can get one just cause knobs are fun!
- Schiit Loki Mini - Had a little fun with this. Seems to work as advertised. Lots of activity around the area with extra noise etc but I think this would be a handy thing to have around. Twisting a knob for a quick adjustment is more fun that clicking around bringing up the EQ plugin and dragging things around.
- Schiit Ragnarok/Yggy - Everyone has heard it already. I was a little meh after hearing so many nice setups. IIRC had Mr Speaker HPs. It wasn't bad but not my favorite of the show.
- Empire Ears Zeus R / Adel / G1 - Shut up and take my money. This was one of my faves. It just seemed to make every track I gave it sound amazing.
- Abyss Phi w/ the Eleven Audio Amp - Shut up and take my money (always liked the Abyss but I found some tracks with some heavier bass and was just jamming, I love it)
- Audeze LCD-MX4 - Dare I say I might like these more than the LCD-4? Heard them out of the Chord Dave... Just fantastic. The LCD-4 too.
- Woo Audio WA-33 w/ Hifiman Susvara - Wow! Maybe my favorite of the show. Reminded me of the electrostats with the level of refinement and detail, had a nice sound stage, much more open than the Utopia, better over all range. Comparing it side-by-side w/ Utopia makes me not like my Utopia LOL...
- The LCDi4 in-ears are really impressive too. I wish I could take those home with me too... Had that nice warm Audeze sound in such a small package.
- Focal Clear - Only spent a short time with them, but I think they look great, and I like to tuning/balance. Feels full bodied with more oomph than the Utopias right next to them...
- Shangri-La - I was surprisingly meh/disappointed for such an expensive high-end system. I would take the WA33+Susvara in a heartbeat over that thing. I think I read comments from someone else that there was an issue w/ the source. Maybe that was it. If not I'd spend on something else.
- Finally heard the Schiit 2-channel stack - Vidar/Freya/Gungnir - That was good, very much enjoyed but I think it was eclipsed by other higher end 2-ch systems
- Sonoma system - Off the computer with some of the tracks I heard, nice but I felt like it was lacking a bit in the bottom end. It might be the track selection IDK. I fumble my way through these things. The had a reel to reel tape machine as a source, and that was by contrast totally incredible. I forget what the tracks were. i think there was one old jazz track. Anyways it came through sounding amazing. I'm still not planning on buying an electrostat system but there's probably worse ways to blow $5k in head-fi.

And I heard a lot of interesting 2 channel systems. Some of these smaller speakers I felt were disappointing. I think I definitely am a fan of bigger cabinets and larger woofers in most cases. Anyways I can't afford their stuff so I'm not going to worry about. Just enjoyed the chance to hang out and hear some fun tunes on some amazing gear!

 

[czy6412]

Some impressions (will update):

Bimby + Valhalla2 + ZMF Auteur: This is the sound that is exactly like my ideal sound signature. I bet a lot of people will dislike it but I really enjoy this sound and spent almost an hour just listening on it.

Shanling M3S: very impressive for the price, especially the balanced amp. I would say the sound comes close to several $600 level DAPs. The pairing with Fidue Sirius is amazing. I bought one on the show.

Klipsch HP-3: I like this headphone, might be a little bit bassy for HD800 fans, but it is really a well balanced headphone that sounds right. I would say it is a TH900 done right. very easy to drive, can get a large soundstage and great dynamic on a DAP. Fantastic for portable.

Metrum Amethyst: Musical R2R DAC and I don't think the DAC behinds Mytek Brooklyn a lot in terms of resolution, which is impressive for a R2R DAC. The amp is adequate for driving Atticus but just a tad short for Eikon and Auteur, did not try other headphones and I guess a separate amp is somewhat necessary.

Echobox open-back headphone prototype: Really impressive especially with the resolution, to me it does not fall behind a lot against several flagship level headphones. I wish the soundstage can be better but I might just nitpicking at this price point.

Hifiman Sundara: Played it with my DAP, definitely needs more power, but the impression is that this headphone has a great potential if drives properly. Similar to Susvara, Sundara is more dynamic than Other Hifiman since HE560.

LCD-2C: To me it is more like LCD-X than LCD-2, technicality is impressive as I cannot find significant differences when I switch between LCD-2C and LCD-4. This might due to the fact that LCD-4 is not driven properly.

Mrspeakers Ether ES: Just had a minute to listen so might be incorrect. The soundstage is really impressive and I would say on par with HD800, imaging size is somewhat small to me but should be fine for a lot of people in this forum.

Final D8000: Somewhat similar to the sound signature of Lab2 and I enjoy it. Clearly not "right" but sometimes people tend to enjoy something special, and that is what D8000 can offer. Don't like the heavy weight and high price though.

 

[tjc303]

I hate to repeat myself, but really, nobody heard the Final Audio D8000?

I listened to them. They were pretty fantastic out of the Dave by Chord Electronics they has set up! I could have stayed there all day. They were very comfortable as well. Nothing bad I can say. Unfortunately, $3,800 is not in my price range at the moment.

 

[miceblue]

I'll post photos, video, and impressions when I get the chance. Safe travels to everyone!

 

[Effusion]

Another great day and ending to one of the best shows I've been to. I want to thank all those who participated in this year's show, everyone, including those who attend, make the show what it is, and there was some truly amazing gear! Below are a few more photos that I shot today.

HIFIMAN

Sundara




Echobox

The Explorer


Echobox Open Back Prototype


McIntosh

MHA150 Headphone Amplifier




Schiit Audio

Ragnarok & Yggdrasil

 

[verbositynow]

Had a blast meeting the folks at AR (@AR-Voice ?), checking out their new planar as well as the upcoming IEM. Really, the IEM at a $250 price point should kill it. Made everything sound good, and came with added-value goodies (e.g. bluetooth as well as wired capability). Looking forward to that debut in around a month or so. Also, they were just a plain good group of people. Really nice. In fact, I was able to sample the upcoming new UI for their AR-M2 and AR-M20 (I've got an M20), and it's a HUGE improvement. I'm psyched for that to roll out!

ZMF. @zach915m Zach, geez. Really. You're amazing in person. I've been LOVING my Eikon, but meeting you made it even better. What a super down to earth, true audiophile. It was a pleasure getting to meet you, Bevin, and Ren. Thanks again for all you do! The new Auteur is phenomenal. Definitely more neutral than the Eikon, plus add air and space. For my ears, it was a little drier than preferred on the solid state amp you had (wow, Milo!), but the tube amp really made it sing. You're going to make a lot of open-backed fans very very very happy. Plus, the new wood cups I saw were drool-worthy. Can't say enough about how great it was to see the booth!

The folks manning the @RHA Team RHA booth were really nice, and I hope you two were able to make it up to see Red Rocks while you were here. Good entry-level products, as well. I had some minor fit issues with the silicone tips, and silly me had forgotten to bring my own, but once I got those comply tips in things tightened up nicely! The fit / finish on your IEMs were great, and the DAC / amp you had was killer!

Finally, wanted to give a shout-out to the folks at Empire Ears. Not only were you a great bunch, you were helpful, patient, and pointed me in the right direction for a sound that would match what I was looking for. I am highly anticipating the custom Spartan IVs that should be heading my way in a few weeks. Taking my ear impressions at CanJam really made things convenient, and you were great with explaining what was happening to my curious son while I was having the impressions taken. Many thanks, and I look forward to seeing you again at RMAF next year!

Please feel free to ask me any questions about any of the above. Can't wait for next year (and to read through this entire thread...).