Ah, bummer. Thanks a lot for the help and reference.
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Just a heads up that Hart is able to do custom pinouts for the RAD-0.
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Cool - thatās what Iāll do, thank you. I already ordered the stock (Focal) cable from him, but I guess I need the custom one now as well.
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Those are insane. You should ask Hart to do a custom cable to match.
How are you enjoying the synergy with your set-up and sound overall?
Nice to see they ended up at another good home!
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Ha, great idea. Iāll ask him about it.
Happy to be of brainstorming help! The color combos are too good to not pass up doing a custom cable.
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@huntca If youāve never bought custom cables from Hart before, @SebastienChiuās idea is a really good one. Check out the hundreds of different colors on Hartās custom page, and you might find something that either matches or complements your headphones. And the extra charge for custom colors is minimal.
If you already knew all this, then I just wanted to say how much I liked Sebastianās idea.
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A cable I was waiting on arrived last night and Iām now listening to them for the first time. They sound pretty great to meā¦ definitely more interesting and satisfying that the DT770s Iāve been listening on. 
Iām toggling between the Oratory1990 EQ and the Auto EQ and, strangely enough, prefer the sound without any EQ. I was expecting to enjoy the EQs because they really improved the sound of the DT770s, but Iām not a fan on the RAD-0. I could see myself maybe adding a tiny high shelf, but probably going to just leave them alone for a while.
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I picked up a used set that arrive next week. Unfortunately, Iāll be away for a week right after they arrive so I wonāt really get a chance to listen to them until the following week. Iām still excited though! Iāll be using them with a Pendant SE.
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Iām sure they will sound incredible synergy-wise with the Pendant. Tube+ mode on our iCAN is my favorite synergy with them from our line-up and I love it.
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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 āstandardā 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 didnāt use the stock cable at all, actually.)
Despite this, examining the stock cable reveals no items I can pick nits about. Itās not too stiff, it doesnāt seem microphonic, itās long enough to actually use (Iām looking at you Focalā¦), 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 itās 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 donāt 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. Thatās quite impressive.
Speed and Decay are also very good here, where I canāt detect anything sounding blurred or fuzzy, and when a note ends I hear no hollow decay or ringing. It also doesnāt 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 Iāve heard thus far. With all of the other qualities Iāve already mentioned, it gives you one of the best overall presentations to music from a headphone that Iāve heard to date.
Preferences
For my preference, I would like a little bit more bass quantity here. When Iām listening to metal, I do like to feel as well as hear that taunt kick drum. I donāt 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 didnāt cross the ātoo brightā 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 doesnāt 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 donāt 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 didnāt close in around my ear - again, only if it didnāt change the sonic characteristics of the headphone. (I think thereās a snowballās 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 Iāll 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 wasnāt as wide, characteristics that I find common on most Schiit amplifiers. (Except the Jot2, which Iām 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. Itās 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. Theyāre not neutral, theyāre 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. Thereās also a bit of cup reverb that may bother some listeners. So itās not perfect, itās just perfectly flavored for some people. Like me.
Itās this expectation of flavor that makes evaluating and comparing the RAD-0 to my other headphones quite the challenge. In fact I think itās 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 āneutralā 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 Iāve 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 canāt 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 donāt commit any sins. The look and design are just amazing. I couldnāt really find anything to nitpick about beyond items that are purely preference in the first place. They also look amazing. While these donāt 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 āStandardā 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 āFlat - Standard, true to life, accurate, resolving across the frequency spectrumā.
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Made a few edits above. All done now. Enjoy.
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Great description of the VC.
Iām very interested in hearing a pair of RADs with my Bigger Ben. Thanks for this awesome review.
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Nice review. DIdnāt realize @MokhaMark had a RAD 0 tooā¦that mean we have at least 3 RAD 0s in Colorado! Lol!!!
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Excellent review @ProfFalkin. Really enjoyable read. You should do more. Theyāre hard work though. Atleast I think so. LOL.
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Amazing review, thanks for this! 
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Welcome to the Community!
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Great review! Have you heard the Auteur? It is the most neutral and natural sounding headphone I have heard yet, wondering how it compares to the RAD-0.
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The Auteur is one of my favorites, yes. I think itās ZMFās most neutral headphone, sure, but I also think it is still kind of colored. My thoughts on Auteur vs RAD-0:
Auteur has:
Wood
More bass
A more present mid-range
More impact
Wood
Wider staging by just a bit
A liquid smooth rendering of sound
Much more comfortable ear pads and headbands
Wood
Much better pairing with tube amps
RAD-0 has:
Better speed / transients
More emphasis in treble and treble extension
A more neutral and perhaps a bit analytical at times type of sound overall
Better balance between impact, dynamics, staging as a whole.
Both are great. I think neutral is also a nebulous term depending on preference. If you think Auteur is neutral, I think you might perceive the RAD-0 as a bit dry and lacking low end / bass extension, but otherwise very balanced.
Did I mention wood?
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