its the worst plus on this one I got hit with a fat 200 aud on top for importing an item over 1k aud rip. Oh well someone will get a nice set of cans
at some point it gets cheaper to just take a cruise to someplace to buy the goods and take them home with out telling the government.
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The free market always wins
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What pads have you guys tried? They are finally breaking in and the sound is getting there. I am considering a pad swap for comfort and maybe a little soundstage. I know these will never be super wide but on some tracks it feels like the music is being shot into my brain lol.
I was thinking about the Dekoni Hybrids for BD DT series headphones. Are they and thicker than the stock CX pads? Sometimes my ears touch the tuning felts. Speaking of which, do you think the tuning felts will work with these pads? Any other suggestions to consider?
Iām at that magical part of my burn in that it sounds worse than the first listen. Regardless, not complaining because these are super comfy.
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What would be good closed back set of cans that isolate well around or below this price range? Iāve heard these leak a bit of sound
They donāt really leak sound.
The big knock on them is they require significant volume to sound their best, certainly more than Iām comfortable listening at. Without the volume more complex mixes tend to sound very confined.
My understanding is that the Aeon 2 Closed donāt have that same limitation, I know @M0N prefers them.
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These headphones take over 200 hours to break in. Maybe longer, Iām still working on mine and theyāre getting more enjoyable. As far as sound leakage, not terrible as long as youāre not blasting them.
Yeah the aeon 2 closed seem to be the better pair. I love the opens and the closed are supposed to be the same frequency response overall. They are currently 15 percent of on his website. About 760 after the discount. Worth it.
Pulled these out a couple days ago for the first time in a while, coming off of about 10 days on the Nighthawks. I was surprised to be reminded of how extended the bass is with decent slam. Coming from the Nighthawks, I somewhat anticipated being disappointed by the bass, but was instead pleasantly surprised. Iāve been trying to hear the dynamic compression that has been a complaint for these (and with DCA in general), but have either already acclimated and donāt hear it, or just havenāt trained my ears well enough to identify it yet. Anyone have suggestions on tracks to demo specifically for this purpose?
Side noteā¦listening to the Bob Marley Essentials playlist on Tidal this afternoon. Anyone else ever notice the out of tune (flat A string) bass on Stir It Up - Original Album Version? As much as it kinda made me cringe, couldnāt help but continue listening to it to make sure Iām not going crazy.
So, I recently purchased The Ether Flow C and the Ether Flow Open backs along with a set of Ether CXās. I must say, there is a far different sound from each. I think the Ether CX has better imaging, but the bass / sub is far less pronounced and underwhelming compared to the original Flow C / Flow Open. I much prefer the Ether Flow C / Flow Open in comparison. (Also did a 200 hour burn in for the Ether CXās)
Next purcahse will likely be the Ether 2ās to see how they compare.
Havent tried the Aeons, Maybe Iāll pick those up too.
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Have you tried out using the tuning filters and the differences between those?
Iām less of a fan of the tuning filters, but yes, for the CXās I used the white filters which give it a warmer sound overall. Ultimately, I ended up disliking the filters, I felt it removed detail from the CXās (which is literally the reason I like them so much).
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Given the price of these cans compared to something like the LCD-2, these really seem like a compelling offer. I just wish I could demo both of them to know which one Iād prefer.
I have a pair, Iāll happily sell you for $600.
They have their moments, they are a difficult headphone to love, unless you get them extremely loud they sound extremely compressed on anything but the most simple mixes.
They can sound stellar with some material, probably the most comfortable headphones I own and the build is A+.
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Thatād be nice but I desperately got to save up, maybe someday, they both look and ought to sound great to my ears if all Iāve experienced as āhifiā audio has been the 4XX lol
I may sell mine soon for $300. These cans disappoint but they can turn any competent speaker amp in to a sonos.
Copying over my comparison to the C Flow I wrote up on Drop earlier this week in case anyone is considering picking these up during the sale:
I recently picked up a secondhand Ether C Flow and decided to do a comparison against the CX. Hereās a photo album and my review notes to give perspective on the differences for each model.
Review Notes
Stock pads used on each, stock black foam installed on CX)
All testing was done with a Topping D90/iFi Zen Can while streaming Tidal hi-fi through Roon
Ether C Flow Notes:
- Tighter weave of carbon fiber on the earcups
- Pivoting gimbal feels very sturdy
- Significantly improved sub-bass when played back to back against Ether CX
- Much stronger bass slam than the CX in stock form
- Moderately lighter clamp force
- Leather headband is slightly higher quality ā stitched edges and smoother finish under the band
- Adjustment mechanism same as CX ā very good
- Well worn pads are much better on the C Flow than CX
- Stock pads of flow are angled ā feels like real leather
- Ears are cushioned by the foam dampening of the driver vs hard surface of the CX
- Isolation is just as strong as the CX
- Retrieves just as much detail as the CX, but smoother delivery
- Ports at the top of the earcups are functional ā covering them with the optional filters reduces the sub-bass
Ether CX Notes:
- Neutral sound signature, mid bass is similar to C Flow but the sub bass difference is very noticeable when testing side by side
- Upper frequency of treble is almost harsh with just the stock black foam tuning
- Great analytical closed back, the recessed sub bass contributes to strong detail retrieval across the spectrum
- Clean separation of instruments and vocals
- Marginally stronger clamp force than the C Flow
- Still very comfortable despite less positioning adjustments ā flat pads vs angled of the C Flow also
- Vocals a little more prominent
Other Notes:
- Stock pads of the CX need more material around the lip of the earcup to form a more consistent seal, over months of ownership I had to clean out hair that managed to get behind the pads
- Both headphones respond extremely well to EQ adjustments
- Recommend aftermarket pads pads for both of these headphones.
- I personally recommend ZMF Universe Lambskin
- Improves the seal, sub-bass, and expands the soundstage slightly. More lively and less clinical sounding
- The ear insert can still support the CX tuning foams
Final Thoughts:
They are both fantastic headphones for anyone considering closed back headphones. They are both light for planars and exceptionally comfortable. The CX delivers a more neutral signature across the board, and perfect clarity + detail retrieval, great for critical listening and the foams to allow people to adjust the signature to their taste. The C Flow feels like a further refinement, and smooths out some of the rough edges and introduces a slight U-shaped sound.
Both of them benefit significantly from a pad upgrade, although I still found them both enjoyable with the stock pads. Also, they both respond exceptionally well to software EQ, they can provide a serious amount of bass slam without distorting and overpowering the rest of the range. I personally feel the stock tuning really holds back how impressive both of these headphones are in terms of their capability. (My CX review on Drop contains the EQ settings I applied)
As for the price difference between them both, I do not feel the retail price of the C Flow justifies the difference in performance. At $900 the CX is half the price new, but delivers the same level of detail and can be tuned to an individualās preference with a bit of work and gets about 90% of the way to the C Flow in terms of overall performance. However if you can find a pair of C Flows closer to $1k used I highly recommend them.
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The ether flow c is far better than the CX on basically every level though. Gotta disagree with you brother. I use them both with ifi pro dsd/amp and ifi micro dsd (signature).
I never said the C Flow was worse than the CX on raw performance, just comparing the retail prices for what they deliver. They are much closer priced on the used market where I do recommend the C Flow.