Yeah, but …how’s that Root Beer?
They’ve been in the game since 1929!
Yeah, but …how’s that Root Beer?
They’ve been in the game since 1929!
Wow, that’s like diabetes in a bottle. Brownie, caramel, creme, root beer.
Looking forward to impressions!
It is one of my favorites!!! I’m kind of a RootBeer lover lol… love old school ones made with real sugar =)
On topic…Stream of conscious post incoming!
The HEDDphone is…unique… It is very power-hungry! it sounds good off the Cayin DAP, but, it really sounds much better with the Phonitor XE…but I had to mess with the line out dBu on the ADI-2DAC, I currently have it at +13…with the Phonitor volume at about 11am on the knob. I will need to mess with the ADI-2DAC settings to get it dialed in more…not EQ but line out settings =)
Ok, sound…at first I was just like…hmm…reminds me of a much better version of the HD800…I am going to stick with that for now…but, after listening for a bit longer, I am surprised at the stage and imaging… speed…it’s impressive. To me it has something in the highs that isn’t sitting with me on certain tracks, it comes off shouty… but that could be due to mastering of the track… these are some pretty impressive headphones…
They kind of have a bass lite feel to them…but it is odd, as it also seems to me like it has good “impact” lol… I like these the most so far with live music, or orchestra/jazz/classical/band…etc…
Comfort is not bad actually…I think @Resolve nailed the description here… they are pretty dang comfortable, but, very big… and they leak sound, but no worse than other open backs.
I find myself having to volume control a lot between random tracks on Qobuz…nothing to bad, but, on occasion can be painful beginning to a new track…
Man…Live music/acoustic music is bomb.com on these!!! OOHHH…and well-mastered tracks! I’m brain-burning on these… getting it, getting it… I’ve been searching for a Planar to add to my collection that isn’t a gaming headphone, and these just might be that ticket! Wow! Detail, imaging, stage… these are what I wanted my HD800 to sound like.
hmm…bass is still an interesting bit… it isn’t quite lite, but, is missing something, not in a bad way mind you… it just feels like it should have more Impact? I think this is contradicting myself from earlier lol but, I can’t quite put my finger on the bass aspect…it sounds good, I think it is the impact that is missing…as the sound is there but the impact seems to be missing? (Impact to me: is the visceral thud feeling of bass). So, hmm… I think that is it, ok, now that I think I’ve figured that out I can move on
These have a great presentation, but, can be shouty at higher volumes. I think that a certain @pwjazz would love these lol…
Crisp, clean, accurate, comes to mind… oh…Wandering by Yosi Horikawa just came on…that is intense… one of the best presentations of this track I’ve heard! Oh man, drums sound epic on these!
https://open.qobuz.com/track/24807623
This was a great listen… damn… I think I’ve been listening to the SR1A too much as it colored my initial impression of these… not gonna lie…was not that impressed initially…but now… brain feels burnt in a bit… I’m picking up the details and nuance, these are good.
I think the only cons I can think of so far to my ears:
Can get shouty at higher volumes (80-95db) depending on the track
bass has at least to my ears a lack of Impact that defies the bass sound/quality (I’m struggling to find the right word here…)
ok back to conscious streaming
vocals are also pretty damn good… I think this reminds me more of the Utopia than the HD800, I would say it is more of a Utopia contender than an SR1a contender at this point…
https://open.qobuz.com/track/61348118
man this track is another great track to test female vocals…intense
Ha, this next track is one of my favorites, and it sounds excellent with the HEDDphone
https://open.qobuz.com/track/80159884
Ok, I need to revisit the bass dealio… just to be clear it is good! But, it is missing that visceral feel at times…
These are exceptional…there I said it… at this point, they are the best sounding Planar(ish) I’ve personally heard. These are monsters… please don’t feed them poor quality food they will force-feed it back to you lol…
oh damn, this triggered an emotional reaction… damn
https://open.qobuz.com/track/2837987
…damn… might have to end on that note… I’ll have to touch back with a comparison between these and the SR1A next…
Weight, maybe?
Great impressions.
Damn it… yes… that is the word… lol .
Ok, just a real quick back to back with the SR1a…
SR1a still wins…hands down… sorry, to anyone that was hoping otherwise… at least this is my opinion…
Ok, that being said… THESE ARE OUTSTANDING!!! especially for the price… damn…I would say these have in their sights the Utopia and higher end planars like Hifimans…
The HEDDphone is here, and I think it will disrupt some folks… It isn’t perfect…but price to performance is a major factor here!
It makes me wonder if the lack of weight or impact on these aren’t due to how AMT works.
Subwoofers have high excursion for a reason. How much air can ribbons and AMT drivers realistically displace? They may very well be the balanced armatures of the full sized headphone world. Sure, they can make low frequency sound, but…
It was fun reading your impressions! I’m now more interested in hearing these.
HEDDphone pictures incoming
Purple version becasue…you know why
…and because it’s what a lot of people were wanting to hear about…
Nice initial impressions Tyler @TylersEclectic!
Been very curious about these and on my current ‘to get list’ is the Phonitor XE, the RME ADI 2 and possibly the HEDDphone.
Very interesting and helpful returns !!! Thank you.
It’s a bit surprising that the deep bass impacts are rather behind the SR1A.
Basically, I imagined that relatively closed cans around the ears would have been deeper with more impact and even some risk of rumble than what we can expect to get with an almost totally open drivers like SR1A has.
I am listening to your playlist, and luckily I find almost all sound situations I would like to test.
What is not clear to me (due to my poor english speaking/readind) is if the Heddphone is somewhere limited to a lower level of sound volume (in DB) than SR1 without noticeable distortion or a becoming a jam sound. Sometimes I like to spend a small amount of time with unreasonable sound level, as I don’t go any more to gigs like I used to go a few decades ago.
I got it into the low to mid 90s on a couple of tracks…it does better with acoustic and “real” instruments at higher levels…at least with my initial impressions of them. EDM worked fine but it would highlight poorly recorded sounds or bad mixes, which would cause the shoutiness factor I think but, so far really impressive capabilities!
Excellent impressions Tyler. These sound right up my street. Now all I need to do is convince my wife to loosen the nose around my wallet.
Man those are great photos.
This is actually very apt… I like the armature comparisons it makes sense…I’ve read a couple people put a subwoofer in their SR1A chain for the impact/visceral/weight addition it brings to bass…interesting…
These are right up your alley I think Paul! They are pretty great, and price to performance is disruptive to say the least… I would see if there is an audio shop that is getting them in and try and demo them…or maybe see about visiting Germany and their offices for a demo?
Also, thank you for the kind words regarding the photos…I hope to get better =)
thank you for the constant flow of impressions - I do like this style of ears/hands on as much as your pictures
so I think the HEDD is simply to fast, to produce the heft/weight, you get by the big Audeze heavyweight champions - this mirrrors my first impression in may
I am wondering if the comparison between the Heddphone and the SR1A will include the Schiit Jotunheim “R” as driving the SR1A.
In a way, it make sense and I like the idea to stay with a more or less 4000-4500$ systems comparisons … Heddphone + a good headphone amp like the SPL Phonitor xe and the SR1A with a promising dedicated Schiit Jotunheim “R”…
Of course I would understand if, unfortunately, the Schiit Jotunheim “R” is not available for this purpose.
Coming soon though. Jason received the boards and assembly is ongoing. I assume they will also spend time on the burn rack. Hopefully we’ll see it in the Schiit site this week or next.
in 4-4.5k is a DAC included? let´s see…
RME ADI 2 fs… around 1k
SPL Phonitor XE around 2,5
HEDDphone at around 1.9
oh! comes down to 5400 bucks
what will be the cost for the Jot R?