ETA Mini Closed Impressions and Reviews

I think this is spot on. My main complaints with the headphone were also that the bass was too much for me and it lacked the sparkle up top. I think this might be adjusted a little with the cable - did you try to use the Clear MG 's cable with it and notice any difference?

 

Yes. Actually, I’m using the Clear Mg stock cables for this headphone, not the Forza Claire cable I bought from you with the Mini C. The cable sounds crazy good with the Clear Mg, but with the Mini C, I like the Focal cables better.

Like with sources, changing the cables doesn’t make as much of a difference to me with the Mini C as it does with the Clear Mg. Very subtle tonality-wise, more a feeling than something I could put a finger on, but I like the Focal cables better with the Mini C, although the Forza provides more resolution.

 

I've only spent time listening to the MiniC from my Dell work laptop, which was basically the use case for me but I'll try it in the coming weeks with other stuff I have at home and via friends' setups.

Overall, I do like it but I am not in love with it. I think it offers a fairly linear sound (its a somewhat darker headphone, but I dont find any real peaks or dips) and I get a good sense of detail but it misses something in terms of involvement. Swings in songs and dynamic passages just dont have the feel I'm used to. Not sure what it is, but it was also something my girlfriend noticed because she said yeah it sounds nice but its not "wow". On the other hand you could say it works really well to be a studio monitor headphone or a work headphone with great sound without being completely distracting.
I have to come back and say that there is a lot that it does right - bass kicks when called for and the staging and imaging are quite nice. Its also very comfortable as a function of being light and the pads being just right for my ears to fit in without touching anything (i think, or if it touches, i dont feel it/it doesnt bother me)

I'll be keeping this for a while and seeing what its like with different pads and perhaps sources

 

hello,

loaner impressions:

tl/dr: i am currently lobbying MrsForBin for these to be my next headphone purchase.

pros: light weight, compact carry, can be driven with just about anything. sound wonderful with everything, don't leak very much at all.

as alluded to, i always thought headphones were supposed to be closed back as to not impose your musical taste (or lack there of) on other folks. this is especially true on public transit.

to this end, i own AKG K550 (the devil's own torture device, according to some), beyerdynamic DT 150 (bedside table to let others sleep), and Sennheiser HD25 (for the bus.)

the eta Mini-C surpasses all of these.

cons: i can't order them yet due to other necessary allocations.

(ps: the local high end dealer let me listen to the Focal Celestee on my portable rig. they are very nice, however i do not think they are anywhere twice as nice as the Mini-C.)

cheers!