Focal Elear and Utopia Impressions at Source AV

HD650 thread at HF is over 2300 pages. How the hell does anyone read that? I thought I spent too much time on forums. I'm not gonna read that unless someone tells me there's a new George RR Martin book hidden in there.

 

Indeed. As headphones get better, measurements will tell us less and less about the characteristic sound of the headphones. To date, most headphones suck so bad that you're mostly just looking for deviations from (what we thing might be) flat. Now, when they're close enough the tonality becomes a secondary problem, we'll see more emphasis on interpreting impulse and square wave response, and looking at CSDs---which, unfortunately I can't make readily available (though I do have the data.)

We'll much more need to rely on the impressions of folks with good ears, and I think we'll also go a few steps backwards on our ability to really pars out the good cans subjectively as they'll be closer.

But!!! We've f'ing won the game. I may have started it, but the fact that you guys do so much measuring, and the fact that Jude has gotten sucked into it (despite being somewhat down on it previously) means that manufacturers are now very aware that it's not just ears out there that are relatively easy to fool, and opinions just can't carry the objective weight of headphones.

Thank you, my friends, for carrying this torch. We're winning!

 

Ha ha, a creative type should produce an emoticon of a "Sad Measurement Rig" or something. That's what popped into my mind, anyway.

 

This is a sad measurement rig.

 

wow....much musicality

 

I don't remember. Is that a north korean official torture device ?

 

Thanks to @New Reformation

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/obravo-hamt-1-headphones.1880/#post-47646



Those squares waves are... disturbing too.

 

Nicely done!

We all hear things differently, right? One man's pulverized, mulched eardrum is another man's "lushness." Don't go hatin' @Hands.

I think so, yes. It is whispered of in hushed tones in the Dear Leader's celestial palace. They call it... the Ultrasone.

 

If you enjoy that kind of fidelity but prefer a "Reference" headphone instead, you should look into this:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/FlareAudioReferenceR1.pdf

Deepest 5kHz ever!

 

Sound in square forms sound rough and unsmooth, these are wobblywaves™, much smoother and far superiour.

 

Hey I reviewed that on head fi and people were fighting me when I said it was the "700 Pounds of Scrap Metal" or something.

 

Wow, holy POS Batman! Those things look like balls

 

The system has no feelings. If I put a really bad headphone in there, it just blows them up.

 

This is one of many references to the HD650 that has me really intrigued about the Elear.
I arguably made two less than ideal choices with an oppo ha-1 and Alpha Dogs (given the conventional wisdom/expertise at SBAF), but with balanced cables and an uptone regen I'm satisfied for now. What I've really been hoping for is an open headphone that could be the equivalent of an hd650 with up to date aesthetics, updated materials and no need for modifications. I'm really anxious to hear any impressions posters may have with the elear running off a SS Amp and/or sabre based dac.
Only downside I see right now is that while the elear has an msrp of $1000 US the only Canadian retailers I've seen have it listed at $1500 CAD... one of the retailers has the HD800 on sale at $1499 CAD!
I've repeated this over and over again but if Sennheisser could release an hd650S that meets my wish list above for $700 US (just under $1000 CAD) it would be a top seller. Its nice to see that other manufacturers are targeting the HD650 signature but at well over double the price (in Canada at least) I can't help but feel that Sennheisser has a huge untapped opportunity here with an updated hd650.

 

This.