This is the official thread for the Mysphere 3
This thread is for discussion and reviews.
- Type: Over Ear
- Amp needed: YES
- Open Back Fully Open
Hifiguides Link
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interesting looking headphones.
can someone explain why the 115 ohm needs a hybrid and the 110 ohm needs an OTL?
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The 3.1 are very very picky on amp choice, it is unusual to want a high output impedance for a 15 ohm headphone but it’s likely for damping factor reasons. The 3.2 tend to be more forgiving most of the time and also are less difficult to find a good pairing with compared to the 3.1. Generally my experience has been that the 3.1 does really well on some specific select tube amps and a slight few solid state amps, where the 3.2 does better on most solid state amps and a few tube amps.
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Just wanted to say this is probably one of the most overlooked TOTL headphone/ear speakers. 100% recommend demoing it if you can.
I’ve tried a lot of headphones and this is currently in my top 2 all-time favorites. As crazy as it sounds, I even added a subwoofer after someone recommended it.
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Would definitely agree, one of my top 4 (honestly might be top 2 for me as well), much prefer over the sr1a (which I think is the reason people overlook it)
Decided to write some formal impressions on them (and added a bit of pairing and comparison notes as well : )
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After taking the time to properly drive them off my living room 2ch with the subs, it really is something lol, now I don’t know if it’s something I like so much to only use them like that, but man it just really does make it feel more like an actual nearfield setup
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Actually, anyone here heard both a K1000 and a 3.2? It’s been quite a long time since I heard a K1000 but from memory I recall that headphone having an even larger stage than the 3.2 but much less accurate and more vague in placement, but I’m not sure
And another question, what headphones outside something like a sr1a and k1000 would be closer comparisons with a mysphere? I already did a comparison with the raal, and I haven’t heard the k1000 recently enough to make any accurate comparison, so somewhat just lost there. I’ve already compared things like susvara/utopia/1266 and others like the d8kp and adx5k, but I’m wondering what else would be a worthwhile comparison? Reason I ask is because more context is always helpful for people and I also want to make sure there’s no obvious comparison I’m missing (that I could make at least). I also want to make sure there isn’t another design like the mysphere that I’m missing lol, would be more nice if other headphones took on this style
wow great writeup Mon! Def makes me want to try purchasing one of these I’d perhaps want to lean towards the 3.1.
Rando question did you happen to try the Raal HSA-1b amp with the Sphere or other planars via the ribbon output and using the adapter? I know this amp’s primary purposes is something like the SR1A or LCDR but some people have commented that it does very well with the Sus/Phi TC as well. Wasn’t sure if it would be solid with the 3.1 as well?
Also when you were doing your comparisons vs. Sus/Utopia/etc were your comps the 3.1 or 3.2?
No. I have tried a 1266 and susvara briefly on the headphone out of the hsa1b, and it was good but nothing to write home about (for the price of that amp)
Not sure, but I would bet it would be better with the 3.2 on the headphone out, I might worry that the ribbon output would be way too much, might be different with the 3.1 idk. Actually I’m pretty sure @sa11297 has tried the 3.2 on the ribbon output and it did not go well iirc
So that’s the hard part, I generalized both. Because really in the end which version you go for basically is decided by what amp you have, you can get them to preform on a similar level with similarly tiered parings so I just decided to combine my experiences with both for the comparison. I might go back and rewrite it to separate things out again, but it’s just so hard because it really depends on the source gear for which one is worthwhile comparing. I guess I could tack on an extra section that compares the headphones with one common amp, but I’m not sure if that would really add anything in the end. Will have to think on how to make that more clear.
But basically take the comparisons as being applicable to both the 3.2 and 3.1 assuming you have the right chains for either. While they do have different characteristics, they are more similar than different, and the synergy factor with the source gear should largely decide which one you go for. Also assume comparisons were done on fairly high level source gear to allow both headphones to really preform. Because if I handicapped the source gear used to compare, the comparisons will change for sure
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No I think your writeup was plenty thorough enough. I’m going to go back and reread it a few times just to absorb the info. Sounds like easily the most slept on headphones out there in this tier.
I think it is, or perhaps that’s just me and I like it more than most lol. Really didn’t see as much information about it vs other options in the range so I decided to write something on it
I saw your post over on hp dot com and first off sorry to see your buying experience. When I saw the add and your pictures my gut sank quite a bit.
I’m currently looking at a used pair and the price seems decent but the seller is in Israel and the site is a bit sketch. Based upon your experience do you think the Mysphere are built “flimsy” or in a way they are susceptible to damage or do you think you were just dealing with a seller that mid-treeted his set and did not disclose it?
Added a bit more clarification to comparisons, added a bit more detail to explanations, and also adjusted the rank of the mass kobo upwards since I had been listening to that for a few days with the 3.2 and it honestly can hang with the top in most respects lol (since I was already editing it, why not). Wanted to add more portable options as well, but honestly only the 2 mentioned stood out to me as being a worthwhile experience for that headphone
Still feel like I’m missing something and need to add more, but can’t think of what that is at the moment
From my experience they are actually pretty well built and feel solid, they don’t feel as solid as let’s say a 1266 or something but I wouldn’t be concerned with damage from normal use, I feel like you would have had to be rough with them to get that sort of damage but idk. And shipping wise it comes in a very protective case so that’s good for preventing damage during travel
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Honestly I don’t feel comfortable speaking to how the mysphere 3.1 or 3.2 perform on the hsa1b because while I had the hsa1b, the 4 pin xlr headphone out was not usable.
Hmm, I think it is built well but the mechanism but with one possible caveat. It has a single entry connector and uses a conductive track rather than a wire to connect both sides. The issue I see is that the the cups slide along the same track that is used for conduction and overtime this can potentially wear down. Why would you engineer it so that a critical connection is also under friction/mechanical wear?
But I am not engineer so maybe I am wrong and there is no need to worry 
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Gotcha gotcha, was mainly asking if they even worked through the ribbon output, iirc you had tried the 3.1 on the ribbon out and it didn’t work well?
With some cables you can use dual entry but I do think the weakest point might be those tracks. To be fair though, you really don’t need to be constantly sliding those around or swapping driver modules (just like most of the time setting headbands on normal headphones is more a set and forget thing)
At this point the Mysphere 3.1 is now my most used headphones, and due to source chain upgrades now my most used headphones. I can now confidently say it meets or exceeds (mostly exceeds) the performance of the Sennheiser HE90 and the Hifiman Shangri La (and clearly betters the HE1 from memory but I personally preferred the HE90 to the HE1) with my current chain. It’s a really stupid chain from a cost perspective and not reasonable to use for headphones, but I might as well do it anyways and was rewarded for trying it lol. Then again that’s assuming you put the HE90 on the matching HEV90 amp or for the Shangri La something like a Woo 3ES Elite or top tier DIY T2 build, so the Mysphere does get a clear source advantage there from what I’ve tried, I’d like to get the headphones in again and try them with a quality transformer box on my setup and see how they compare again, but I can’t really do that, so for now the Mysphere still better them from memory lol
I’ve updated my Mysphere article accordingly, now almost 20,000 words lol, most of all of that is pairing notes, comparisons, and other things that relate to sound, tried to be solely focused on sound and things relating to sound rather than anything else (since that’s all I care about personally), but I’m really trying to cover the headphones comprehensively considering how much I enjoy them and how little info really is out there. I’d like to add more detail, but I’m just at the point where I’m not really skilled enough at writing to articulate things in further detail and I don’t really have any more comparison or paring updates (outside the most recent source upgrade), so hit a wall for now lol
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Last time I’ll bump this thread, but I think I’m finally finished/content with my article and the coverage from the mysphere, extra 5k words of info about it and it’s pairings and comparisons, tweaked things properly now (I hope), and gave enough info where I now feel satisfied. A year in the making, so it’s in it’s final form now (I hope), the link is in some of the above posts. The longest shortest glance
The other reason for the bump is simply to just more people talking about this headphone, there’s gotta be more owners of it here, if not, that’s disappointing because it’s genuinely the best overall headphone I’ve heard to date, and more people should hear it lol
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Your placement of it over the RAAL makes me definitely want to hear it! I was so blown away by the RAALs, though I did not enjoy its fit and would happily settle with the new Circumaural RAAL - which I really loved - including fit. Someday! Thanks for doing what you do.
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I can totally see the appeal of the raal, but it’s personally not for me, and on my setups I do find it personally superior in most aspects. Could see someone going either way though depending on what they wanted and what their chain was
Yeah, unfortunately that’s a strong suit of neither, both are weird, both aren’t the most comfortable in the world, and both require time and effort to get the fit just right (although the raals were a bit more forgiving in placement/alignment than the mysphere imo)
Although when it comes to the mysphere, I actually don’t mind the fit whatsoever now, just takes some getting used to. Although I have heard (but not seen myself) that those with pretty smaller heads (like very small) can’t get a good fit no matter what
Curious on your thoughts on that one, how was it in comparison to the sr1a?
Wellll… my lack of high-end seasoning and the exposure being in a show environment a month ago makes my impressions barely valuable for me, much-less anyone else. Limited time, limited music, locked into source gear. BUT, that said, I listened to LCD-5, MM-500, Arya, HE1000v2, Diana TC, 1266, plus others forgotten or less regal. Lots of positives, lots of wow moments. The Raals were the really striking ones. Gave speaker-like presentation (overused) with tippy-top separation/staging AND with great dynamics. Like… really speaker-like performance. The fit of the circumaural was super-agreeable, not just by-comparison to the flagship. I think there was a furthering of spatial elements with the SR1a, broader stage and image accuracy - the fit was simply distracting and SURELY I was not fully dialed in. Dynamics in that open feeling environment were really impressive, but perhaps the circumaural had more consistent or perhaps overall higher bass output/tuning. Also, I didn’t even get the top-flight experience because I believe both were auditioned through the PDA-1a using a TI-1a interface. Someone more deserving had the full-on mega tube daddy-o.
If I was smart, I’d order a pair of CA-1a with that interface, see if I already have an amp that makes them happy or procure one and just be happy and done. LOL. I even loved the look, simple, rugged, metal stones. The weight was polite.
When you get to them, I’d love to hear YOUR impressions of the new one - way more useful.
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