Sennheiser HE-1 Orpheus 2: Quick impressions from Toronto tour @ Bay Bloor

Hi everyone,

Stopped by Bay Bloor Radio this weekend to audition the Sennheiser HE-1 Orpheus 2. Only had 15 minutes, so impressions are very much stream-of-consciousness. The Sennheiser rep played snippets of three test tracks, and I had time to play two more songs of my own choice (all lossless, TIDAL quality or higher). Here's some notable open-back setups I've had experience with as a frame of reference in addition to my current setup of Andromeda + Mojo. I know, source gear is pretty crap but school doesn't free much much disposable income for amps + DACs lol:

HD800 + Burson HA160D
Hifiman HE-X + Chord Mojo
Audeze LCD-2 pre-fazor + Burson Conductor
HD600/HD650 + Aune T1

Can confidently say Orpheus is the best sounding headphone I've tried yet (as it should be). Has great speed and clarity, yet with a balanced sound sig with a slightly warm tilt. No glare like the HD800, I'd liken the sound signature more akin to HD650 but with better speed, definition, separation, positioning and soundstage. Track-by-track impressions are below:

Rep's demo tracks:

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah: Really shows off Orpheus' chops at handling male vocals. Captures Buckley's excellent vocals with a great sense of space. Melody provided a nice backdrop to vocals without getting in the way.

Norah Jones - Come Away With Me: Honestly, see above but replace male with female vocals.

Some world music which I don't have the ID of - Highlights the phone's strong capability to keep vocals + instrumentals separate. Beginning was a choral section where it was easy to pinpoint each member's contribution. Second part was a percussive swing song which got me tapping my toes, demonstrating the great PRaT (shit term I know lol).

My personal picks:

Kendrick Lamar - Backseat Freestyle: Much better bass slam than I expected. Hit hard for a headphone with no bleed. Kendrick's sometimes mumbly rap style was as legible as it's ever been. The bells in the intro had a great sense of sparkle.

Kaskade & Deadmau5 - Move for me: Mau5' intro in the song was extremely rich and enveloping. Really breathy vocals, this track demonstrates the Orpheus 2's strong ability on highs without being fatiguing like the HD800.

A classical piano piece I can't remember: You can pick out the coughs of the audience in the recording. Good tone and timbre of the keys. However, I still think for piano, 70k would be better spent on a Yamaha grand + the services of a national-level piano player

UItimately, these recaptured the magic of my first exposure to a high-end headphone set. Can`t say the same about the other setups I`ve encountered. Definitely interested in owning a set if I ever hit big on Powerball.

 

Oh, cosmetic evolutions : rings around the knobs and different writing on the top left (logo only, no more "sennheiser")

Ali

 

Oh that's cool those changes all sound for the better.