[San Man]

I meant sorted as far as geography is concerned

Edit : I see it, apologies

 

[Barra]

When are you going to release the list of participants
@Barra?

As mentioned, the list is up and you are in.

 

[Barra]

First Impressions

Wow, wow, and wow. Admittedly I have only listened to the W500 and W900 so far, but being new to hybrids, this is a new class of bass for me. No, these are not farty basshead headphones that sound like they will shake themselves apart. These are the difference from listening to a nice full range high end speaker system to listening to an even higher end THX system with dual subs. If that is enough to peak your interest, then you can stop here at the W500. The W900 adds a treble that is very, very special. I am still trying to wrap my head around it, but it is like having your favorite two supermodels giving you special kisses on your ears - it just makes you giddy. I can tell you that the richness makes the W500, my HEX, and my other favorite headphones seem harsh in the treble when stepping away from the W900. Will have to come back to this when I get my head wrapped around the new sound.
 
The sound stage is something special too, but more so on the W900 so I will describe that. When scaled to nice desktop equipment, the soundstage leaves the head and has a full HP like experience. The more you scale, the better the sound stage becomes. And yes, it scales like a TOTL HP into exotic territory. Hopefully, this is not just new toy syndrome, but it is making it hard to scale down to my portable once I am hearing it through my Eddie Current Black Widow. To give you an example of what I am hearing in sound stage besides an out of head experience, the normal mixing sweep from left to right usually just sounds like a volume shift between the left and right channels sounding very 2D. The W900 and somewhat in the W500, I am hearing not only left/right, but up/down, and forward/back for a truely 3D experience like a bird flying around a room after flying through an open window.
 
The seal is interesting with the hybrid as I can hear/feel the bass even without a great seal making it better for me as a person that has issues getting a good seal on a universal. It is like listening to subwoofers from the other room on a really good speaker setup. However, with a good seal, I am getting the air pressure sensation you get when in front of a couple high end subs playing EDM. The bass in these bad boys is not all just about punch, they are all about balanced and articulation. They add a natural feeling to guitar strumming that allows me to differentiate hand technique. Hard strums verse soft strums, pick vs. fingernail vs. the side of the thumb. There is just a lot more information there presented in a natural way.
 
More to come........
 
Now I have to go back and listen to their little brothers.

 

[ericr]

Nice!

Really looking forward to hearing the W900!

 

[nmatheis]

Sounding good Barra. Trying to wrap my head around something making HEX treble sound harsh, though...

 

[alpha421]

I'm psyched - really.

 

[Barra]

Sounding good @Barra. Trying to wrap my head around something making HEX treble sound harsh, though...

I should preface by saying that this is scaled up with my best desktop setup as the w900 scales up really well. The HiFiman HEK/HEX are great headphones, but IMO they have treble issues that need smoothing with the right custom cables. Even then, the treble in the W900 seems unique.
 
With my crazy ears and seal issue, I get a range of quality as I position correctly and get the best seal by holding my hands over my ears - then pow. I can only imagine how these would sound as a custom.
 
Again, I am having trouble getting my head wrapped around the sound of the hybrid. It is kind of like moving from 1080p to 4K curved. Took me about 6 months to stop looking at the effects and just enjoy the movies again. The curve adds a 3d effect and the 4K a bit more realism that make me feel like I am watching a documentary - almost too real at first. The older movies have just the right amount of haze for suspension of disbelief. Its kind of the same with the w900 as the bass is so much more realistic in its portrayal, but etched by the smooth/fast treble.
 
I know I am sounding like a kid with a new toy, but these are my first impressions. Things can change............but I kind of doubt it.
 
One more thing............as hybrids, they have dynamic drivers. Dynamic drivers are known for needing to be burned in to loosen up unlike the BAs. Was told that 200 hours would optimize the drivers. However, they sounded great out of the box. There was some congestion at first that cleared up pretty fast and I do notice some SQ changes over time, but they are hard to judge as I have been swapping equipment.

 

[San Man]

By the time they get to me, they'll be fully broken in

 

[Ike1985]

Looking forward to my turn as well!

 

[Barra]

Impression Update

Full sized TOTL vs. CIEM TOTL: While both options are TOTL, there has always been a difference in SQ between these two options. CIEMs are convenient and easy to take on the road while the full sized seem to scale better. However, there is another difference that typically divides the performance of the two that is more profound - headspace. The CIEMs tend to be in the head type of sound where the open full sized sound much more spacious and open. This gives the realism advantage to the full sized that is hard to overcome. The W900s are the first time that I feel this difference does not apply. The W900s have an out of head full sized sound that matches or beats my LCDs or my HEX. No, it doesn't beat the HD800, but nothing can match its sound stage size in full sized either. So listening to the W900s I forget that it is not a full sized HP which is a first.
 
Scaling: The W900 scales like crazy, but still sounds great with an iPhone. However, once you listen to your desktop rig to see how high it scales, going back to the iPhone is a disappointment. Therefore, the W900 gives off the impression of being source fussy. This is true of source and recording. So as opposed to a warm and fun CIEM that makes anything sound good, it is true to source. Head to head with the same source, it shows off its performance, but between sources and songs, there are definitely scaling performance considerations. While I lust after the desktop EC BW performance, I have mainly focused on my Calyx M providing the cleanest, most consistent SQ. The AK100i with my BH2 amp can make it sound better in some EDM type genres, but the sound is all over the place in comparison. It feels like I am driving a 1000 HP Dodge Viper tempting me to punch it.
 
Fit: I always have trouble with universal fit having some crazy ear channels that twist and fold. In this case, I am getting a stellar fit with my right ear with full on down deep bass goodness. However, the left ear requires some work. A simple push and cup over with hand allows me to hear what AAW intended. I can also lay down with my ear on the pillow to achieve the desired fit. The reason this is important is that the perfect fit is required to get the full SQ out of these hybrid CIEMs. They sound great with a partial fit, but you are missing the air displacement and the low sub bass extension that make these so special. I didn't get that at first and still loved them, but with a good seal, they go out of head and dig deep as well as extend further on top.

 

[alpha421]

Nice update.  Saving my pennies.

 

[Barra]

Tour Update

I apologize for the lack of communication, but have been busy with a house sale that has me split focused. The tour was launched this last weekend in Seattle starting with @barrasr with an upcoming hand off to @alpha421 coming up this weekend. @alpha421 , can you communicate with @barrasr to work out a time to meet?
 
I will be finishing my turn early next week and shipping out to @Overkill Red on the east coast to start the second lag of the tour. @Overkill Red can you PM me your address so that I can ship out to you?
 
Communication going forward: Going forward, can everyone please post their receipt and their shipping so that we can follow the progress of the tour? Of course, we all would love to hear any impressions you have along the way so we can enjoy the journey too. No impression is too small.
 
Burn In: While I was advised that 200 hours is needed to get past any burn in considerations given the dynamic driver, I was happy with the sound out of the box. There has been some small changes and hick ups along the way. So it is possible that the sound will improve moving further into the tour, but at this point, I am not worried that it will affect our opinion up front. That being said, please feel free to leave the CIEMs burning in as much as you can to help future tour participants.

 

[bvng3540]

Hi Barra, what come in the kits, so that whomever receives know what in it thanks

 

[barrasr]

Received the AAW tour - Fantastic - ready to pass on preferred the M40

 

[Ike1985]

Hyped!