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Mr. Speakers Ether

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by velvetx, Nov 9, 2015.

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  1. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    I would rather listen to the Omni, Paradox/Slant, HFM HEX, or even HE400S over the Ether open. However I would much rather have the Ether over HE560. Though a recent fazor Audeze or Ether...that's tough. Lol

    It isn't perfect, but when you consider the whole package and price, I think I'd still consider the final Mad Dog revisions to be the best buy from MrSpeakers.

    But even then, I'd still much rather take the HD650. ;)
     
    Hands, Nov 9, 2015
    #21
  2. drfindley

    drfindley Secretly lives in the Analog Room - Friend

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    Agreed on some counts. The Ether is alright, not great, but alright. I can't decide which is more meh, the HE1K or the Ether.

    The Enigma, Paradox Slants and Code-X are all better and deserve the wall. Also, that modded PM-2.
     
    drfindley, Nov 9, 2015
    #22
  3. kapanak

    kapanak Canucklehead - Friend

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    If Head-Case is Stax Mafia base, SBAF is the Sennheiser Mafia.
     
    kapanak, Nov 9, 2015
    #23
  4. JewBear

    JewBear Almost "Made"

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    Any mafia atmosphere is bad, even if it's based on prior experiences. I do wonder how people's past experiences with Mr. Speakers Alpha Dogs and Primes are influencing their perceptions of the Ethers. If you go in expecting to be disappointed you'll likely be so. How do the measurements taken by themselves stack up?
     
    JewBear, Nov 10, 2015
    #24
  5. kapanak

    kapanak Canucklehead - Friend

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    Or perhaps, as @Bill-P said, SBAF = Sennheiser-Biased Audio Fanatics.
     
    kapanak, Nov 10, 2015
    #25
  6. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    Yeah, and I'm guilty of being Sennheiser biased now, too.

    I keep thinking my HD600 was more resolving than most orthos, and that my HD800 is probably the most resolving thing in existence, but... hey, that's me.

    |\/|

    That said, whatever I remember of the Ether is that... yeah, it's tonally kinda similar to a less warm HD600 to me, and with the treble sounding a bit more grainy/tizzy/zippy/"fast"? I don't know. Need to have one now to confirm. Though I don't think I heard it to be as resolving as my HD800. Would be interesting to compare to a modded HD600, though.
     
    Bill-P, Nov 10, 2015
    #26
  7. Dadracer

    Dadracer New

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    You say that as though its a bad thing...............
     
    Dadracer, Nov 10, 2015
    #27
  8. HitmanFluffy

    HitmanFluffy Hoping to see real genitals someday!

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    I dunno about you guys but do you get the impression of the Ether sounding dynamically flat and limp, even with a lot of power going into them? The tonality of them is pretty well-established and I can see the appeal even if it is not exactly my thing, but they failed to engage me in terms of dynamics in a way I haven't observed even on some cheaper T50 mods.
     
    HitmanFluffy, Nov 10, 2015
    #28
  9. TMRaven

    TMRaven Friend

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    Ether loaner would be cool! It was one of the headphones I was interested in, because I value comfort over sound in a headphone, since I'm wearing one 8-10 hours a day in front of the computer working.

    If I didn't like them, that'd probably just narrow my choice down to HD800S for any future headphone upgrade (or sticking a diy resonator in my own haha.)

    I get the overall feeling that SBAF is Sennheiser mafia too, given a lot of the comments from prominent members. I'm not that high on HD600/650, and while HD800 is the best sounding headphone I've personally heard, it has glaring flaws. Luckily it's comfortable as hell, although a suspension strap could make it even better.
     
    TMRaven, Nov 10, 2015
    #29
  10. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Yes.

    Oh, I'd also much rather take the PMx2 for a neutral, comfortable planar over Ether. Similar price range. This list could potentially grow large.
     
    Hands, Nov 10, 2015
    #30
  11. Tyll Hertsens

    Tyll Hertsens Grandpappy of the hobby - Special Friend

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    I must say I experienced quite a bit of angst writing the review. I knew it went against the grain here.
    Oh well, it was my honest thoughts. LCD-X and Oppos will fall off the WoF.

    Lcd-3 might when I do the HE1k review.
     
    Tyll Hertsens, Nov 10, 2015
    #31
  12. AustinValentine

    AustinValentine Friend

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    Yeah, I read the Ether review and the first thing I thought was,

    [​IMG]

    But no, seriously, sticking with your honest thoughts is why most of the headphone hobby respects your reviews in the first place.
     
    AustinValentine, Nov 10, 2015
    #32
  13. Judeus

    Judeus Facebook Friend

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    well they are better then the oppos and lcdx imo

    i dunno why someone would buy them over the hd800s though,
     
    Judeus, Nov 10, 2015
    #33
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I'll take an HD800 z28 mod over the Ether anyday.
    Well a lot of us like the HiFiMan headphones too ($1k or less) and Joe Grado (not to be confused with John) headphones too.

    Try the z28 mods on the HD800. Seriously. I plan on buying the HD800 again because of that.
     
    purr1n, Nov 10, 2015
    #34
  15. Judeus

    Judeus Facebook Friend

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    i have an hd800 for sale with a balanced cable, buy mine pls c:
     
    Judeus, Nov 10, 2015
    #35
  16. TMRaven

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    I love Hifiman headphone too, lived with the HE-400 for two years and the HE-560 for over a year. I don't want to cut into the dust cover over the HD800 at the moment because I might want to resell it later on if the HD-800S proved to be that good. If not, I will mod away. I am running the IF anax mod right now, but I don't want to use the rug liner.
     
    TMRaven, Nov 10, 2015
    #36
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I need to look into our coffers, but depending how the T1v2 pans out, we can perhaps get an Ether on tour or loaner. I'll be sure to put SuperBestAudioFriends.org on the shipping address so we get a cherry picked one. :p

    P.S. And let's do a straight shot comparison against the HE-560 and HD-650

    P.S.S. And with EQ too.
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2015
    purr1n, Nov 10, 2015
    #37
  18. velvetx

    velvetx Gear Master West/Vendor Spotlight Moderator

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    I know many people may not agree but I actually think your review of the Ether was spot on. Not only that but I felt it did take courage to bring up EQ during the review. While other reviewers continuously amplify marketing you didn't do any of that in your review and the bulk of it was actually talking about your thoughts on how the Ethers sounded.

    There's obviously a history with Mr. Speakers headphones so I would say there is some bias. However, I expected this but it would be interesting to hear those shy lurkers/members out there who have heard the Ethers to constructively comment.
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2015
    velvetx, Nov 10, 2015
    #38
  19. PoochZag

    PoochZag The Shadow knows - Friend

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    I'm a shy lurker who has these coming tomorrow. I'll post my impressions in a few days. Warning: they're my first really high end headphone, but I do have HE-500's and AD2000's to compare to
     
    PoochZag, Nov 10, 2015
    #39
  20. velvetx

    velvetx Gear Master West/Vendor Spotlight Moderator

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    Just one question: Not to derail the thread but how many people here can listen to the stock HD-800 and be ok with never modding them?

    I for one unfortunately can't. In relation to the Ethers if I had to choose either the stock Ethers or the stock HD-800 (only two choices here) it would be the Ethers. Even without EQ they sound to me more listenable for long periods of time than the HD800.

    I think the important thing to point out here is that no one is wrong. People enjoy listening to different things and that is what is so great about the community. There is a multitude of opinions and the ability to constructively criticize and discuss is important.
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2015
    velvetx, Nov 10, 2015
    #40
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