Drop + MrSpeakers Ether CX Closed Headphones Discussions | Drop

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Drop + MrSpeakers Ether CX Closed Headphones

Audiophile

FULL DISCUSSION

sigmonius

Feb 27, 2019

If you received your headphones, you are very welcome to the Head-fi thread with your impressions. We really want to know how this sounds !

Feb 27, 2019

db42

Feb 28, 2019

sigmoniusI'm relatively new to the audiophile world, my ears aren't that great and my explanation will probably be lacking, but here's my impressions after just a short listening session. Mind you, these aren't anywhere near burned in yet and I'm still using the default inserts. They're being driven by a THX789 and fed by a Khadas Tone Board. I've been fortunate enough to have several nice headphones in my collection including the Elex (love the presentation of the soundstage, dynamics, and the feeling of being at a live concert), Emu Teak (clean sharp bass and overall smooth, fun sound), MKII Argon (big and fun), RBH HP-2 (most satisfying bass and overall great sound signature), SRH-940 (detail), and HD6xx (feels like I am the mic) to name a few. All of those wowed me when I first listened to them and I still love them for what they're able to bring to the table, but this was the first time I forgot about the headphone and just got completely lost in the music. The first thing I noticed was that the sound signature was very even. No particular frequency felt like it was over or under emphasized and everything just sounded natural. Then I started noticing little details in my music I never heard before. Maybe a light cymbal hit off to my right, some chimes mixed in the background, the singer taking a breath, things like that. Then I turned on a live recording and suddenly I was just floored. The footsteps of the singer as she was pacing on the stage, one of the trumpet players adjusting his instrument during the start of the song, one of the musicians lightly tapping his foot to get the timing just before he started to play. I closed my eyes and I was just able to visualize being there, watching the event right in front of my eyes. I could place every instrument's direction and depth. I could tell who was in front, who was behind, I could even hear some noise from the live crowd behind me. I was totally absorbed into the music and was presented with every little detail that was going on. Not so much that it was distracting and in my face, but just enough to make it feel real. I could tell that those details were there and could easily focus in on them if I wanted to, or I could just kick back and let myself get absorbed into the music without worrying about them. These were things that never came through much, if at all, when I listened before on my other gear. I had listened to this song so many times over the years, but this was the first time I was ever moved by it. It was like I could hear and feel the effort and emotion of the singer and the musicians, particularly the reed and brass players, though everything just felt more alive than I ever heard it before. I then proceeded to plow through song after song, eager to discover new things in my old collection (if anyone has the Skyrim soundtrack, the background sounds and music on disc 4 are AWESOME on these cans for relaxing and taking a short escape from the world) I know that the above is pretty subjective and vague, so I'll try to give a bit of a better technical explanation (I hope). As I said, the sound seems very even and natural with no frequency in particular standing out to me. The soundstage doesn't feel quite as big as my Argons, but it's still fairly large. One thing that stood apart from the Argons, is that while the Argons sound huge, they don't do very well with sounding close. These do a better job of this and seem to have a better "range" in the size of the soundstage, if that makes any sense. Imaging seems spot on and it was fairly easy to pick out direction as well as depth of the singer and the instruments. They are quite detailed and I was able to pick out sounds I didn't hear before and they seem plenty quick and didn't get tied up even on very fast and complicated tracks. I have to admit that I just got completely wrapped up in them and didn't do much back and forth with other cans. I really want to wait for them to be fully broken in before I really try to analyze them (and also get more used to them so that I can better describe the nuances of the sound these produce), but these impressed me so much out of the box that I just felt compelled to say something. Hope you all find this useful and I apologize for my crappy explanation and if I'm mistaken in any way. This is the first time I've posted my impressions on a set of headphones and I'm still pretty new to this hobby and have a lot to learn.

Feb 28, 2019

m.allamin7

Feb 28, 2019

db42Thank you. That was quite informative. I just wonder if you’ve tried any of the filters included and if so what was your impression?

Feb 28, 2019

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db42

Mar 1, 2019

m.allamin7Keep in mind that this is from a relatively inexperienced ear and a very quick listen, but I'd say that the card that comes with them describes it spot on (see the stickied post from T.Fernandez). Each insert dampens the highs by varying degrees and puts a bit more emphasis on the bass (for me it's because I was able to listen louder with the lowered highs). I will also agree that the one notch white pad is great for lower volume listening that doesn't change the sound too much from the stock configuration at a higher listening level. It does seem that the detail might get slightly lower with each pad, but I'd really have to be listening for it and it might just be a placebo effect. Need more time to analyze that. Mind you, the above are all subtle differences to MY ear and I need to be paying attention to them. If you randomly shoved one of the dampening pads in and told me to pick out which one it was, I wouldn't be able to tell at this stage. Maybe after getting to know these better my opinion might change, but I can't say. For now I plan to spend most of my time listening to them in their original configuration. If you like your bass though, the more dampening will bring it out a bit (since it reduces the highs), however if you plan to EQ digitally, I personally found that doing so with no dampening gave the best results. I found that the more dampening I used the less clear the music became with EQ. With the double notch pad and EQ, it actually sounded a bit messy and almost bloated, but with no dampening the same eq was no problem and the bass came through clearly without any bloat. I'm no expert at EQ so others may have other experiences with this. Keep in mind, these are not basshead cans and if you're looking for very visceral slam and rumble, these may not scratch that itch. However they do seem to dig pretty low and you shouldn't be missing anything down there. Once these get burned in I plan on spending a lot of time comparing them with my other cans so that I can maybe get a better idea of what exactly it is about these that I like so much (or at least be able to articulate what I'm hearing better).

Mar 1, 2019

m.allamin7

Mar 1, 2019

db42Thank you very much for taking the time and effort to answer my question . Now I know for sure that I made the right decision when I joined this drop almost immediately after it was activated. I’m living in the Middle East and that’s why I didn’t receive mine yet. I would like to add that your valuable impression would be very useful for those who’re considering these in the future . 👍

Mar 1, 2019

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