[Hifiearspeakers]

Hey guys Ive been following this thread for a while now but haven't posted yet. I like the focus of this thread on TOTL setups. I owned the Gungnir Multibit with Mjolnir 2 for a while as an amp and dac, but eventually let them go in favor of the ifi iCAN and iDSD Pro stack along with an iESL which I have since sold. The ifi setup may not be the pinnacle for an Amp and Dac by themselves. However when paired together I find them to be simply incredible and it would take a lot for me to move up the line from them. The shear volume of options that this pairing offers is quite fantastic. Especially for someone like myself who always wants to upgrade when I get bored of something. But getting bored of this pairing will take a long time as I have created some fantastic sound differences with different changes and haven't even scratched the surface of options yet.

As far as TOTL headphones go I can offer input on the Audeze LCD-X, MX4, LCD-4, MrSpeakers Ether Flow C, Ether 2, Focal Utopia, Stax SR-009, and soon the Shangri-La Jr. I am going to start from the last one on to the Audeze last.

Stax SR-009: I currently own the Jr, but have yet to hear them. I had the iESL for a while and was running both a Stax SR-L700 and the SR-009 through it. I find that the iESL was simply troublesome for the stats. It gave me a good taste of the sound of the L700 which in all honesty was simply an incredible headphone. If they would build a quality looking version that didnt feel like it was going to break everytime you picked it up I would still own them. The SR-009 out of the iESL showed that it has a great deal of potential, but thanks to @Whitigir and a few others I decided to purchase a KGSSHV Carbon which I should have in a week or two. But for right now the 009 is not the best headphone in my inventory. Through the iESL the brightness was a little on the ridiculous side. I mean even the bloody mids where bright leaving little room for a dynamic sound. I will provide a better review of the 009 and Jr when the Carbon comes in.

Focal Utopia: For a headphone that sells or at least sold for $4k when I purchased it the stock cable that comes with this thing is just plain stupid. Fortunately when I bought it I purchased a balanced cable before I received the headphones. When I got the headphones and plugged them in I was so bloody overwhelmed by how underwhelmed I was by the sound of these. I mean I thought they sounded so bad I boxed them back up and was going to sell them. When the cable came in I decided to try it again just to justify the cable purchase. As most of you know when you own a balanced amp the single ended functionality leaves a lot to be desired, but I didn't realize just how much. When I ran the Utopias through the balanced section it was as though I experienced magic. They went from being so bad I had already posted them for sell to sounding so good they altered the way I looked at headphones. However though I did love them when I got the 009 even through the iESL it was so close that I knew the Carbon would make the 009 take that spot so I sold them.

MrSpeakers Ether Flow C & Ether 2: You guys said you wanted some mrspeakers in the thread so here it is. So even though the Flow C isn't really considered TOTL at this point it could well still be considered that in the closed back realm. I found the C to be a very good sounding headphone as far as closed backs go, but overall if you don't have need of a closed back I would never recommend it. It just isn't that exciting. The Ether 2 however is one of my favorite headphones period. It is rather dark sounding, but in the best way possible. It is musical, airy, open, and has great imaging. I also find that it just has some sort of ethereal tonality to it that I can't really explain, but also haven't heard on any other headphone. Even though it is only a $2k headphone I believe that is a bloody steal for this guy. It works well with all genres including metal and the bass is beautiful and accurate along with the mids. The treble is rather on the warm side but thats okay. There is a great deal of detail as well, but you have to look for it. I highly recommend it.

Audeze Line Up: This is where I find myself perplexed. I've read a lot of people suggest there to be a great deal of fault in the treble of the LCD-4 and I simply don't understand this. I can see that in the X as it did have a bit higher treble. The X for its price was a wonderful headphone but easily improved upon. Upgrading to the MX4 was a drastic difference. It was instantly cleaner and clearer sounding I would likely buy it again but will wait till the price drops a little more as I don't need it at this point. The MX4 cemented my decision to get the LCD-4. This is by far my favorite headphone to date. I like it more than I liked the Utopia which some may find to be blasphemous. Here is where I don't understand people's issues with its treble. The LCD-4 in my mind has one of the most accurate representations of the frequency spectrum that I have heard. Please don't start pulling out frequency charts and showing me where it fails or some such nonsense. When you listen to this headphone there is not one person that will suggest its bass is anything less than near perfect. It then has some of the most musical and beautiful midranges available without being as forward as other cans. The treble in my mind is almost perfectly represented in that it is in no way used anywhere that it shouldn't be but instead is place everywhere that it should be. Therefore when treble notes strike it provides what can only be described as sparkle. The mids don't ever intrude upon the treble nor the treble on the mids providing astounding instrument separation. Maybe its just my ears or perhaps it just pairs really well with the iCAN. Either way as of right now this is my favorite can.

When I finally get to hear the 009 and Jr. through the Carbon my ranking may change. Either way I will provide insight when I finally get to hear them. If you've managed to read this far I thank you for your time.

Thanks
Dan Lee

Nice write up on the LCD 4! My 4Z arrives this Thursday. I hope I love it as much as you love the 4.

 

[manzano804]

I've actually started researching both over the weekend as well. I am interested, but so far folks are saying they both lack bass. seems the ra1 is a resolution monster (lacking bass, but still better bass than sr009), the myspehre is a midrange monster.
I'll be reading up on both over the next few weeks.

Thanks for your reply , i hope you will be interested enough to include at least the SR1a.
Regards,
Carlos

 

[Dan Lee]

@Hifiearspeakers I have little doubt that you will enjoy them very much. From everything I have researched about the two pairs of headphones is that for the most part they are very close in their sound signatures. The difference are subtle. Ive met quite a few who have owned and or tried both and it seems that its a 50/50 split on which people prefer. Let me know what you think when you get them.

Also do you actually still own all the headphones in your inventory list or is that a list of what you have owned or still do? I'd be curious to see your comparissons to the Ether 2 and the LCD-3 when you get your 4z.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

@Hifiearspeakers I have little doubt that you will enjoy them very much. From everything I have researched about the two pairs of headphones is that for the most part they are very close in their sound signatures. The difference are subtle. Ive met quite a few who have owned and or tried both and it seems that its a 50/50 split on which people prefer. Let me know what you think when you get them.

Also do you actually still own all the headphones in your inventory list or is that a list of what you have owned or still do? I'd be curious to see your comparissons to the Ether 2 and the LCD-3 when you get your 4z.

Thanks man, I hope you’re right. I do not currently own all of those headphones. That is a list of what I have owned. And I will definitely post impressions when they arrive, and I’ll give you comparisons as well.

 

[Dan Lee]

That is quite a nice list of headphones to have tried my friend. I have tried quite a few, but yours is quite a bit more diverse then mine.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

That is quite a nice list of headphones to have tried my friend. I have tried quite a few, but yours is quite a bit more diverse then mine.

Yes. It’s an unhealthy obsession.

 

[Whazzzup]

I got as far la900 for fun and hd800S. Thats it. Its a tough desk to get real estate on. Susvara couldn't crack it even at 30% disc.

 

[protoss]

My 4Z arrives this Thursday. I hope I love it as much as you love the 4.

It has a tight clamp. Get use to it or slightly try to mold the fiber headband be-careful. The headband is strong enough to mold.
Change the cable to copper also. Draug v2. And you should be fine.

I dont see it at all a 50/50 between the original. One is extremely efficient. Works on a cellphone. and is lighter and has a better quality driver that in my opinion fixes every issue previous owners complain about with the OG 4. imho

Its like;

HD800 and the HD800S
009 and the 009S
LCD4 and the LCD4Z
He1000v2 and the HE1000se

Its a 50/50 on likening the original vs the new.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

It has a tight clamp. Get use to it or slightly try to mold the fiber headband be-careful. The headband is strong enough to mold.
Change the cable to copper also. Draug v2. And you should be fine.

I dont see it at all a 50/50 between the original. One is extremely efficient. Works on a cellphone. and is lighter and has a better quality driver that in my opinion fixes every issue previous owners complain about with the OG 4. imho

Its like;

HD800 and the HD800S
009 and the 009S
LCD4 and the LCD4Z
He1000v2 and the HE1000se

Its a 50/50 on likening the original vs the new.

Wow! I hope you’re right. Because to my ears, the 800S was a huge improvement over the 800 and the HEKse was a huge improvement over the V2. I’ve never heard a Stax, so I can’t relate to that comparison.

 

[protoss]

Because to my ears, the 800S was a huge improvement over the 800

Funny thing is I prefer the original HD800 over the "S".

So, this should give you an idea about people preferences.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Funny thing is I prefer the original HD800 over the "S".

So, this should give you an idea about people preferences.

True. We all like what we like. But if I loved the original 800, I doubt I’d ever consider an Audeze can, especially the 4 or 4Z. I can’t take too much brightness. The 800 is miles above what I can tolerate.

 

[llamaluv]

Since its release, usage of the Susvara has evolved such that more people are running it off of speaker amps or are considering doing so (I think. Or at least they should be. )

@matthewhypolite Since your review and this thread is becoming increasingly comprehensive, I think it could be useful to revisit or augment the Susvara review to take that into account. Maybe if and when you get your hands on an SR1a and set it up with a speaker amp to power it, that could become more of an appealing prospect.

Before I started "power amp rolling", the WA33 (with various combinations of tubes) had been my primary amp for the Susvara. In my experience, the use of a good speaker amp with the Susvara affects the result of most rows in your matrix. Food for thought at least.

 

[protoss]

account. Maybe if and when you get your hands on an SR1a and set it up with a speaker amp to power it, that could become more of an appealing prospect

SR1A is too much of a gimmick. Its still at beta stages. I heard it a couple of days ago. You guys over at the main thread sure are overhyping that diy headphone huh? The sound is too similar to k1000 and hd800. And yet trolls are overhpying it at HE1 levels. How is that so if it cant even beat a susvara, 009, 007, abyss, etch... ?

And the gimmick is the angle of the drivers, the magic amplifers, and this and that excuses if its not likeable.

Its good at being its own. And thats that. Susvara is just way better in all around package. And if you think sr1a is superior than sell your Susvara? Oh right you wont.

 

[llamaluv]

LOL. Can't represent anyone else but myself, but I love the SR1a.

 

[protoss]

LOL. Can't represent anyone else but myself, but I love the SR1a.

Okay thats no problem than. The main thread has become a freak show of trolls. It became too unbearable