A Brief Review of RAD-0
Firstly, thank you @MokhaMark for loaning these to me. Much appreciated man! Super kind of you!
Equipment Used
DAC:
- Schiit Yggdrasil A2 with Unison
PreAmp:
- Schiit Freya S
AMPs:
- Donald North Audio Stratus
- Eddie Current Black Widow 2
- Schiit Asgard 2
- Schiit Mjolnir 2
Comparison Headphones
- ZMF Verite Closed, Auteur, Aeolus
- Focal Radiance
- Meze Empyrean
Impressions
I understand this RAD-0 is the “standard” tuning option. Mark provided two cables with the headphones - the stock cable with 1/4" TRS plug, and a balanced Corpse Cable with 4 pin XLR. For all impressions and comparisons, the Corpse cable was used, because all my amps have balanced connections. (I didn’t use the stock cable at all, actually.)
Despite this, examining the stock cable reveals no items I can pick nits about. It’s not too stiff, it doesn’t seem microphonic, it’s long enough to actually use (I’m looking at you Focal…), and seems to be constructed very well.
The RAD-0 presents a very neutral experience with a decent amount of impact, very good detail retrieval, and above average head stage and imaging. What is unique to this experience is how it combines the above qualities into a very cohesive and natural presentation. There are certainly other headphones on the market that do detail better, or have better staging, or provide more impact; however, those headphones are also (usually) deficient in other categories as well. With the RAD-0, across all of these characteristics, I feel the performance in aggregate performs far better than what you get with many of it’s competitors.
I could hear no annoying peaks or dips in the frequency response, just a neutral sound that was very even handed. The bass seems very linear all the way down past 20 HZ. Likewise, I think the treble extends very linearly, with no nasty peaks that will bite or fatigue you. The mid-range does an excellent job here on keeping instruments separate. Male and female vocalists present very well, as they are neither pulled too far back (withdrawn and hard to hear), nor pushed too far forward (overriding the music/too present) in relation to the music. I consider this to be quite a feat as some headphones will do great with male voices, not so good with female voices, or vice versa.
Staging is wide enough, and instruments all have a location on that stage. Stage depth is above average, and combines with the width to provide a very nice equidistant effect to the overall stage. By this I mean that the instruments don’t seem in your face when stage directly in front of you, but have a sense of space equal to the instruments that are presented to your left or right. It does this without having a three blob effect as well. That’s quite impressive.
Speed and Decay are also very good here, where I can’t detect anything sounding blurred or fuzzy, and when a note ends I hear no hollow decay or ringing. It also doesn’t sound artificially sharp or cut off.
I think RAD-0 gives one of the best interpretations of perceptually neutral frequency response out of all of the headphones I’ve heard thus far. With all of the other qualities I’ve already mentioned, it gives you one of the best overall presentations to music from a headphone that I’ve heard to date.
Preferences
For my preference, I would like a little bit more bass quantity here. When I’m listening to metal, I do like to feel as well as hear that taunt kick drum. I don’t expect a neutral headphone to crush my cranium when listening to electronic music, but it would be nice if low end impact had just a bit more oomph. I would only like that if the other characteristics of the headphone remain unchanged - speed, decay, imaging, stage, etc.
I also think a little more presence in the mid to upper treble would be appreciated. Just a little bit more here would be perfect to better bring out the upper end of pianos, cymbal crashes, etc. With that said, I only think it would need just a little bit more. There is an option for a bright tuning for these headphones, but I would be hesitant to go that direction unless I knew it didn’t cross the “too bright” threshold. I think hobbyists who enjoy the ZMF Verite or Focal sound might find the RAD-0 a bit soft sounding.
As far as comfort, I have some preference issues here as well. The headband and yolk/gimbal assembly are just too small. I have the yolks extended as far as possible, and the ear pads still ride high on my ears. There may be ordering options that account for ginormous heads like mine, but this pair doesn’t have that, so it goes on the nitpick list.
Another issue I have is that the ear pads, while very comfortable, squish and compress a lot. The ear hole opening is quite large, but when you put the RAD-0 on, the ear pads compress too much and the interior of the ear pad closes in around my ear. This provided me with a claustrophobic earlobe sensation (for lack of better words) and I just don’t dig that feeling. With that said, I was able to live with the RAD-Squishy effect far better than I have with other ear pads on other headphones, because there are no seams or stitching digging into my skin, and the interior material is very soft.
Given the option, I would either increase the ear opening size or make the foam stiffer so that it didn’t close in around my ear - again, only if it didn’t change the sonic characteristics of the headphone. (I think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell for that happening, considering how much ear pads go into the tuning of a headphone.). It also occurs to me that if the headband were wider and the gimbals could extend farther, the RAD-Squishy thing might not be an issue at all. I dunno.
Comparisons
Amps
The RAD-0 performed admirably on all of my headphone amplifiers, with the exception of the Bottlehead Crack. The OI mismatch did not do good things for the sound quality, where things sounded a little more hazy and less detailed, although the base did get a bit of a lift but was kinda mushy. For all of the other amplifiers, you could hear the nature of those amps come through the headphones. The three best pairings I’ll talk about below.
The DNA Stratus was a touch warmer with amazing stage and detail. I set the amplifier to low output impedance, and -6db gain. It it did sound amazing, but I think maybe not an absolutely perfect pairing. Depending on your preference, an amp with more emphasis in certain areas might be appreciated. The Eddie Current Aficionado or the Amps&Sound Mogwai come to mind, depending on if you want a more reference sound or one with more feeling.
With the Mjolnir 2, you could really hear that extra bit of impact and dynamics. Head stage seemed to flatten toward you, and wasn’t as wide, characteristics that I find common on most Schiit amplifiers. (Except the Jot2, which I’m starting to miss more and more.) It was a very engaging listen however and seem to synergize quite well here.
The Eddie Current Black Widow 2 was probably the best pairing here. It seemed to add a bit more oomph to the bass, and bring out a little bit more feeling in the mids. It’s not a neutral sounding amp, and I love it because of that. It is thoroughly engaging with the RAD-0 and seems to play to all of its strengths.
Headphones
I compared the RAD-0 to the headphones listed above. All of those headphones are what I would describe as flavor headphones. They’re not neutral, they’re not trying to be, and they all have different takes on reproducing your music.
The Verite Closed, for example, has very good bass and a crisp and airy top end, and somehow manages to blend in a nice present mid-range. It sounds fast and precise. Add in some of the best head stage for any headphone, let alone a closed back headphone, and it is a enthralling experience. It does however have some dips in the frequency that makes some things sound a bit withdrawn. It can also seem a little bright with the wrong track. There’s also a bit of cup reverb that may bother some listeners. So it’s not perfect, it’s just perfectly flavored for some people. Like me.
It’s this expectation of flavor that makes evaluating and comparing the RAD-0 to my other headphones quite the challenge. In fact I think it’s fair to say it would be an apples to oranges comparison.
So instead, I will say that all of the things I have NOT enjoyed from “neutral” headphones from other manufacturers like Audeze and HiFiMan are blissfully absent here. There is no bothersome treble fuckery going on. No midrange suckout. There is no air pressure issue, like what I’ve experienced on other planar magnetic headphones. The bass response also seems to respond better to EQ on the RAD-0 -vs- other planar magnetic headphones that just seem to reach their limit quickly and can’t do anymore.
For this reason, I would highly recommend the RAD-0 over the Audeze LCD 2, 3, X, or the HiFiMan Arya or HE1k. Those headphones may offer some qualities that are a little bit better than the RAD-0, but as a complete package fail in many ways.
Final Thoughts
I think these are very enjoyable headphones to listen to. They don’t commit any sins. The look and design are just amazing. I couldn’t really find anything to nitpick about beyond items that are purely preference in the first place. They also look amazing. While these don’t fit my sonic preferences in some categories, my overall evaluation is that these are worth every penny if they do suit your preferences. Have I mentioned that they look amazing?
Thank you for taking to the time to read this, and have a great weekend!
Edit: It has come to my attention that the term “Standard” is not a purchasing option on the Rosson website, and may cause confusion. The proper definition for the tuning of the headphone I reviewed above is “Flat - Standard, true to life, accurate, resolving across the frequency spectrum”.