General Headphone Audio

[mrk]

I'm very impressed with how much the HE1000se can scale between X9, K13R2R and the A90 Discrete. The X9's AKM Velvet sound veils some of the HE1000se's upper range capability which in turn reduces some of the brightness whilst still retaining detail, I talked about this in my thoughts on the X9 back when it first arrived. The K13 R2R retains much of that signature whilst losing out on a very minor amount of imaging and soundstage articulation, though with the linear power supply that is restored and elevated to X9 levels for the most part.

Now, on the A90D this is where things get interesting, the HE1000se feels more fuller in the mid range and upwards, though there's no veil as the Discrete is rather transparent, so being fed by the Warmer R2R I am hearing layers that aren't being heard with the K13 R2R or the X9 - On top of that the brightness is elevated but not fatiguing - Though because it is transparent, songs that aren't mastered with care can sound more "digital" than with the X9 or K13 R2R if that makes sense.

A90D still has smoothness and warmth, but it does not mask away any of the headphone’s upper end capability, it just takes in whatever the source DAC is capable of and relays that right to the headphones in an honest-transport kind of way only adding some smoothness/warmth in the process which enhances the lower to mid range frequencies.

It seems to be a great pairing.

I suspect the Arya Stealth would also scale to a similar degree given how close the two are to each other in sound.

More than happy with this. The HD600 does not portray the same level of scaling, sounds like a HD600 on all, which is no bad thing.

 

[mrk]

Listen on headphones

 

[michty_me]

Listen on headphones

Reminds me of the tucker thing doing the rounds years back.

edit: Found it

 

[mrk]

So these Kiwi Ears arrived:

I'm not a fan have to say, even with the 9.8 watts of output and current drive power of the A90 Discrete, both models seem to lack low volume bass, and when you crank the volume up it's much better but there's no life in the music, they sound neutral/flat in response but given they both employ hybrid driver architecture and the Septet is micro planar, I expected oodles of low end bass detail but there is none of that.

None of teh tips fit my ears properly either so listening was done by pressing the IEMs into my ears directly to get the correct seal.

The mid-range is also odd sounding, it's not neutral and feels lifted and given a boost across the FR by about 2-3dB. The Astral actually sounds better than the Septet.

Aside from sound, the build quality and overall package and cables are superb, the Septet's cable is so soft, the Astral's cable is a bit stiffer.

I would not bother buying these given the price as have heard better IEMs for far below these prices. Hell even the Nothing Buds Plus 2 sound more musical than these.

 

[Rroff]

I've not experienced either but I'd double check your setup if they sound that off - that sounds like they are pretty bad.

 

[mrk]

The setup is not the problem at all, as I say at higher volumes (60%+ they have loudness, but lack any musicality and there's not much bass on the Septet. Maybe some folks would find these fine I don't know, they do not sound like what I expect from earphones at this sort of price class.

 

[michty_me]

I wouldn't mind trying some decent IEM's within a budget of £150. Any recomendations? Anything worthwhile for a more gaming centric set?

 

[Jenz]

I wouldn't mind trying some decent IEM's within a budget of £150. Any recomendations? Anything worthwhile for a more gaming centric set?

Difficult to answer for you individually but take a look and research the following (all of which I own):

Crinacle Daybreak
Kiwi Ears Aether (Planar)
Penon Fan3
Phoenixia by Iqvip
Simgot Supermix 4
Letshouer S12 Pro
ISN H20

 

[michty_me]

Difficult to answer for you individually but take a look and research the following (all of which I own):

Crinacle Daybreak
Kiwi Ears Aether (Planar)
Penon Fan3
Phoenixia by Iqvip
Simgot Supermix 4
Letshouer S12 Pro
ISN H20

Thanks @Jenz, I'll take a look!

 

[Jenz]

@mrk sadly Kiwi Ears seem to release a new Iem every 3 months! I think they peaked with the Aether.

 

[Rroff]

as I say at higher volumes (60%+ they have loudness, but lack any musicality and there's not much bass on the Septet

As an aside this can happen due to things like a loose connection - you can still drive something loud (if you throw enough power at it) with a poor connection but without good results, just as an example.

 

[mrk]

That is correct but nothing like that is a concern in my setup!

 

[Raymond Lin]

Currently in HK looking at a pair of new HE1000 unveil for £1200, Edition XS used for £50, Meze 105 Silva new for £400.

I took some photos, will post later.

 

[mpj88]

Fidelio X2HR are down to £67 on Amazon.

Think I might have missed this. Worth upgrading from my trusty x1s if they go back down?

 

[Rroff]

Personally I thought the X1s were better for music, they regularly go on sale for around that on Amazon. I find the X2HR sit in a bit of a no mans land - a bit raw sounding without having the trade off of a brighter analytic sound of say the Sony MDRs and while the soundstage and imaging was good for music I found it had some issues with surround sound in movies and gaming compared to other headphones I have like the Sennheisers albeit they are more expensive.

 

[mrk]

Been using the JT7 all day and for £100 they are actually very impressive, I can't really complain for the price, even though the sound signature is not what I am used to (lifted mid range that makes voices poke too far out from the music), they still sound rather good. Soundstage is less wide than the FOSI i5, but still wide enough to be suitable for gaming, it's HD600 levels of width from what I can tell, though the HD600 has a greater grasp of stereo image layering especially revealing a clearer top end which the JT7 slightly hides under a veil which is more prominent than Sennheiser's veil.

Given that anything that sounds better than JT7 costs at least 2x more, I have no basis to complain. Anyone looking to get into a decent set of planars that are legit SUPER comfortable would be well suited to check them out I would say.

As a laugh I immediately switched between HE1000se and JT7, and yeah it's night and day difference and just highlights what the entry level scene is like vs the flagship.

You get balanced cable in the box too and both cables are Sennheiser rubbery quality. The pads are the slip on type, the foam is soft memory foam and the headband foam is also memory foam secured with velcro.

318g weight so not as light as the HD600 but more comfortable thanks to the thick pads and clamping distribution, also the cups rotate for comfort much more than any Sennheiser.

Pics:

 

[Timber]

318g weight so not as light as the HD600 but more comfortable thanks to the thick pads and clamping distribution, also the cups rotate for comfort much more than any Sennheiser.

Sounds very good, and that these are another option for a cheap planar, even on top of their existing FT1 Pro, or the Hifiman HE400se at the same price.

Weight sounds promising, will make these more viable for longer gaming/music sessions. One observation is that Fiio has gone through different headphone chassis from their initial more expensive FT headphones, to the £70 JT1, to the FT1/Pro (screw gate - which they quickly resolved). The plastic frame on this looks more 'mass' market. Whether that is them maturing at R&D, or simply using parts that are available I don't know.

 

[mrk]

I would also try 3rd party pads to see if they tune the midrange a bit but finding slip fit pads that are compatible seems a bit trivial, will keep an ear out though. I've now modded the stock pads to remove the screen:

There is some noticeable improvement to the vocals, though not major it's a bit better for sure. The lift and forwardness of vocals is still there though, that is obviously the driver tuning.

Edit*
The soundstage also feel a bit wider too with the treble sparkle coming out a bit more now too.

It's still not sounding as sweet as the HD600, but a bit closer is still an improvement at £100, and you get planar bass on top.

 

[mrk]

You've heard of transparent amps, what about transparent headphones?

 

[Eddie99]

I got the Philips SHP9500 from AliExpress for £5, not sure if I had cashback in my account from previous purchases or something. They sound remarkably good for a £60 MSRP headphone, better than the Fidelio X2HR to my ears. Build quality feels a bit cheap as you'd expect though, and the earcups are very shallow although they're not actually uncomfortable because the clamp force is so light.