Yea I was going to say these are not āanalyticalā headphones. If you are looking for something the opposite of that and prefer a more laid back, warm sounding experience then these could be something to look at.
I feel like this might be a headphone that folks who love the Nighthawk may really like this headphone. I say that cause that headphone is a comphy warm sounding phone that is ādifferentā.
I know @John_William compared them to a ZMF Verite at half the price. I personally have had no experience with any of the ZMF headphones. But does make me curious if this is true?
I think the problem people have is paying 1500 dollars just for the build quality and special tuning. I think ZMF has demonstrated that you can have good looks, pleasing sound signature without sacrificing much details and accuracy.
Wow, good point. I have not even considered ZMF headphones because I thought the prices were simply out of reach. But they are not so unrealistic , really. They have a few models that sit at the same price point as the Peacocks or less. Personally I would not even have to think about it, I would go with the ZMFs. The Atticus or the Aeolus look very attractive. I just have to decide if I want an open or closed set. Iām leaning towards closed this time for those late, late night sessions. Was also looking at the BeyerDynamic T5, based on the stellar performance I am getting from the Lagoons I currently use for work.
The Peacock doesnāt sacrifice detail for its price category. They just canāt compete with the Verite, Susvara, HEK line, Abyss TC, etc. But those cost thousands more.
Iād take the Peacock over the Auteur, all LCDās except the 4 (never heard the R), Arya, HEDDphone, Rad O, Focal Clear/MG, etc.
Thanks for sharing this. I was also looking at the Focal Clear, but for some reason I am not giving them serious consideration. Truth be told I think I am on the T5 path. I really like the BeyerDynamic product. But now the ZMFs are in play!
I just feel like my next jump in terms of headphones is gonna be in that 800 - 1000-ish dollar range, and that will be the cap for me. I canāt justify spending more than that.
That actually sounds good to me. If you prefer the brighter sound of Beyerdynamic, you wouldnāt like the Peacock. They sit at different ends of the spectrum.
Itās probably his choice of DAC. Some DACs have a substantially higher nominal output than others. Or maybe he was running it off single ended for some reason.
Yea I suppose. He does say later in the article he is using the Denafrips Ares II. I would think this shouldnāt be an issue? But yeaā¦ maybe he is using SE for some reason like you said. Which is strange since the headphone comes with an XLR connector. One would think he would be using balanced connection for his testing purposes.
I am using the Topping D90se where I have enabled the 5V mode. Also I upgraded the power supply on the Burson Soloist 3X to Super Charger 3A as well.
Could be for just those few things alone on my end could be the differenceā¦ maybe?
Ares II outputs at 4V. If I remember correctly, voltage output of a DAC scales logarithmically with dB. You should see how much the volume drops if you switch to 4V mode. It may make a 10+ dB difference.
Idk about the author, but I know for a fact that there are many reviewers who are listening waaaaaay too loud (imo). I used to listen to very loud levels in the beginning, and then I just stopped. It wasnāt good for my ears (probs took some damage from it) and the music is just so much more enjoyable at quieter and more normal levels.
So just tested changing the voltage from 5v to 4v output on the D90seā¦ volume didnāt changeā¦ so yea again might have more to do with the Denafrips Ares II that the reviewer was using in his chain. Plus who knows what volumes he may of had set from beginning to end.
Thanks for giving your opinions on the peacocks It really helps to clarify the flavour of these headphones and it appears to be pretty agreeable to my tastes.
Based on your preferences and what you have tested, what headphones would you think would be the most effective for 3D soundstage and immersion, particularly in the movie and gaming space?
I have tested a few headphones (not a lot) and was the most impressed by the GL2000s as they felt big, layered and didnāt seem sibilant to me (I think Iām pretty treble sensitive).
Youāre welcome. To my ears, hereās the largest soundstage Iāve heard in headphones, in order from largest to smallest:
Sennheiser 800S
Peacock
Hifiman he1000 (OG)
Hifiman Arya
Susvara
But hereās the thing about the 800S vs the Peacock. The Peacock has a much larger driver. So even though the 800S might stage a tad wider, it IMAGES much smaller. The instruments may sound further apart because they occupy less space. The Peacock is almost as wide, but the images are much larger. The instruments sound more life-like and/or speaker-like in terms of scale. For those that value ambience/staging/immersion, the Peacock is number 1 to my ears.
Honestly, since I already own the Verite, and they have a somewhat similar tonality/timbre/tuning, I was pretty sure I was going to sell the Peacock fairly quickly. I just enjoy trying out new gear. But I canāt let them go. I love the way they present and stage the music, especially live albums.
Any owners of the Peacock have to listen to āImmortalityā by Seether, from their album, āOne Cold Night Liveā. It sounds amazing! Itās like youāre actually there and sitting in the 2nd row. The first time I heard it with them, I got goosebumps.
Finally, if you think the gl2000 stage well, then you better have a beer before listening to the Peacock
Great rec manā¦ just listened to itā¦ yea that is pretty amazing. You should try Chris Cornell Live at Queen Elizabeth Theatre - Like a Stone. Can really hear the acoustics of the room. Pretty damn cool.
Hahaha yeah Iām pretty excited to try these out lol!
Thanks for the amazing write up You also answered some questions I hadnāt thought of asking but Iām glad you did, as I feel like I have a much better idea about how they differ from whatās out there and Iām very interested to check these out.
Hereās another must listen song on the Peacock. Check out, āSend Me An Angelā by the Scorpions, from their MTV Unplugged Scorpions in Athens Live album. Man I love the way these portray live recordings!
It really helps to clarify the flavour of these headphones and it appears to be pretty agreeable to my tastes.