Nice photos but I haven’t written 20 characters. Now I have.
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That’s it! Lots of it in Lake Superior, I’ve read.
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I have the closed but I am very attached to the shade of blue. Likewise, need to sell for the same reasons but they fit so nicely and have an equally comfortable sound.
I think the Verite (open) with the black grill are the most attractive headphones I’ve ever seen. Focal comes in second, esp with the Clear and Stellia designs (the latter growing on me; wasn’t a fan of the color scheme at first).
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The best looking 'phones I have ever seen were a pair of Aeolus (sp?) in camphor burl. Stunning.
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I’m definitely a Focal man myself they all look stunning. ZMF are also great looking too.
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I personally think the Sony Z1Rs are one of the most attractive headphones I’ve seen from browsing headphones on the internet.
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I feel like this is the opposite of what i would want if i were building an instrument. Old wood, yes. But its because it is usually less dense allowing it to open up more and move and make sound easier.
But maybe with headphones you dont want it to do those things?
Yes, instrument builders generally seek resonance (aka “tone wood”) for specific characteristics. Similarly, electric guitars are intentionally distorted via tube overdrive to achieve distinct tones.
Audiophiles use tubes much more subtly to slightly smooth and warm the tone. Audiophiles use wood in headphones for various reasons. This includes aesthetics, resonance, and perhaps unmeasurable or dubious qualities. In most cases headphone or speaker builders seek just slight modifications (i.e., warming) through choice of wood.
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Oh hey I wanted to ask since you’ve owned 2 HD 650 headphones at this point, is it true the 6XX is 100% identical sounding? Kinda wonder if the 650 is more revealing of source gear like when you plug them into TOTL amps such as your Starlett.
Not who you asked but I have had the HD 650 and HD 6XX and found them to sound identical personally.
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I’ve had two 6XX and four 650s. It all depends on the batch.
The early 650s from 10+ years ago can be quite different especially the silver box model and there are some weird ones, had a bass cannon once. The newer ones from the past 10 years including 6xx are bang on identical from my experience. I’m not sure about the new Romanian model, from graphs I’ve seen it’s a bit different, not enough to change the characted but I don’t like they’re messing with it.
To answer your question, yes 6XX made in the Ireland factory is the same as the HD650 made in the Ireland factory. I wouldn’t trust headphones being identical from different factories. Same goes for tubes.
Also Starlett is not TOTL, hell even the Stratus isn’t, upped mid-fi if we’re talking in absolute terms. Take it this way, a BMW M5 is mid range compared to Koenigsegg and Pagani. My guess is the Starlett sufferes from the same soft spongy low end as the Stratus.
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Thanks for the informative write up. Needed to confirm the the 6XX scaled just as well going up to better amps. Interesting how you talk about the Romanian model being somewhat different. No idea where I could get it making sure it’s the latest version. I live in SoCal but finding a dealer online with one wouldn’t bother me. Do you find the pads on the 650 to be better quality than the 6XX? I’m genuinely interested in hearing if there are any gains grabbing an actual 650 over the Drop version. By the way, keeping the pads clean is still really annoying. I have a cat lint roller around just for those.
I’ve been confused about what’s considered the best of the best for OTL tubes for a while now. The Feliks Audio Elise is probably going to be my end game for a very long time when I get it later this year.
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Apex Teton is hands down the ultimate OTL. I still miss mine and built a mini Teton for when the OTL bug strikes. 650 and 6XX have the same pads as far as I know. Use whatever you enjoy the most.
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I really like the Dan Clark Audio design language my self, the Red on A2C is lovely, ZMF wood on wood is always a positive and RAD-0 is always stunning as is Grado at times
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You’re the first person I’ve come across who actually owns this Music Master E1000I headphone (if I recognize it correctly). There are no reviews of it anywhere. It certainly looks nice. What does it sound like? Is it any good? Have you had the chance to compare it to other more well-known planars?
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Look awsome! I have written 20 characters. haha