Third 24 Hours: Impressions
In today’s edition the Green Lantern Amplifier of Power goes head-to-head against the Measurement Master THX 789. Four headphones tell a story on the impact of Class A power versus a technical design with optimized measurements.
I’ve previously evaluated the Focal Clear with the 789 and I hate it, hate it, hate it. I’m not going to test it again. While I have a balanced cable for my AEON Flow Closed, it had no impact in prior testing. These two sat on the sidelines today.
I also own balanced cables that fit my HD-600, Moondrop Kanas Pro, AudioQuest NightHawk Carbon, and perhaps the world’s ugliest headphones – BiGR Boston Red Sox edition. I intended to cut up and destroy the extremely cheap used BiGRs with experimentation, but they turned out to be superior to my now-sold Grado SR80e. So, they stuck around.
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Sennheiser HD-600: For a long time I’ve heard stark differences between the HD-600 on balanced versus single-ended amps. The Green Lantern was no different. It delivers maximum everything and reaches their technical potential, but doesn’t control treble noise like a balanced amp can. As expected, I heard excess sibilance, sparkle, and air. Once in a while this became piercing, but it wasn’t bad relative to other single-ended amps.
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Moondrop Kanas Pro IEMs: These are my best IEMs, as I don’t use them except when necessary. The Kanas Pro behaves differently with balanced versus singled-ended amps. Its mid range tends to be blurry and thick on single-ended, and the Green Lantern was no different. However, it brought out the bass bigtime. As with the HD-600, the 789 kept mid range resonances and high range sibilance under control.
Both of the above sound “fine” on either amp, but for everyday use I may tilt toward the 789 because of less sibilance. The Green Lantern had enough treble stabs that I’m not fully comfortable with this setup [subject to further testing with other DACs]. To be determined.
Pick your priorities: Get “more everything” with the Green Lantern or more treble control with the 789. As always, an EQ can help with sub $500 transducers. The Green Lantern did not score a knock-out, so the 789 will stay with me and live to fight another day.
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Bonkers bonus comparisons (adding little value for most people, honestly):
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AudioQuest NightHawk Carbon: These were notorious for massive, excessive bass and weak treble upon their release. The instructions called for something like 200 hours of burn-in time, and mine improved over that period. They went from having nothing but bass and inaudible treble to having too much bass and shaky, weak treble. My wife adopted them as her favored electric piano headphones, so I didn’t use them for the last couple years. In testing today, the transducers have transformed. They still have limited dynamic resolution (no nuance), and limited high-range potential. What’s changed is that they’ve become mid-focused or neutral with modest bass. The vocal range now dominates, and is quite resonant or blurry. I take this as the slow curing of the biocellulose drivers – starting out like flabby soft rubber when purchased and now seemingly much stiffer. For today’s comparison: not much difference on either amp. They have limited potential and are equally “okay” either way. They remain my most physically comfortable headphones by a wide margin.
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The World’s Ugliest Headphones: These made today’s comparison only because they have detachable cables, and because I have a balanced cable that fits them (2.5mm connectors). On the Green Lantern or 789 they are stunningly good for the ~$20 I paid. These sound like a cousin to the HD-600 or (from memory) a less bright, mid focused Grado. They are straight-up solid headphones, with reasonable bass and a nice delivery. As mid-focused, they never had sibilance issues and perform about the same on both amps.