Final Audio Design Sonorous VI Headphones Discussions | Drop

Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions

Free Standard Shipping in the US on orders over $99

Showing 1 of 105 conversations about:

Final Audio Design Sonorous VI Headphones

Audiophile

FULL DISCUSSION

Malenklov

Aug 23, 2015

Got mine yesterday. I've been listening to them on my Sony UDA1-> Gustard H10 for the last few hours. I think that most of the praise is justified. In terms of detail, it's definitely a step above the Hifiman HE-500 and maybe a wink below the Senn HD700. In recordings where I've noted particularly grating sibilance in the treble with the HD700, the Sonorous VI handles itself with notably more refinement. Bass is extremely well controlled. Not booming, certainly, but exceptionally tight. Percussion is a joy. Overall tonality is slightly bright, but not as much as the 700s. Soundstage is as good as I've heard on closed cans. If there's any real aural downside to my ears, it's that the extremely low impedance makes them unsuitable for my Project Ember tube amp, which the HD700 pairs beautifully with.
I did replace the original pads with Shure 1540 pads. Gotta love that alcantara fabric. Sound is about the same to my ears, but they're more comfortable. These are pretty heavy (maybe needlessly heavy) headphones. But while the listed weight is about the same as the HE-500, these feel tangibly lighter and more comfortable on my head.
One durability concern: the headphones themselves feel extremely solid, but the cables seem to lack any strain relief at all. And while they're happily detachable, the connectors on the HP side are 2.5mm mono connectors with a bayonet locking mechanism that might be hard to replace. I've ordered some parts to add some relief, but I wish that they'd have scarified some aesthetics on the cable in favor of durability.

Aug 23, 2015