Again, nice resources, building a grado style headphone looks satisfactory af, a truly custom headphone.
That also kinda answers my other questions, as someone who just got into grados, with little experience I want to experiment their house sound first and then I can build a better custom based on my preference, so many driver and cup options is confusing at the moment.
this definitely goes to my projects list, I’ll be happy to share the results when I do.
Sick headphones btw
Hemps are pretty dope tho. Within the under 500 range, those and hawks og only are my favs. Sundara too afterwards
Okay - follow up from like a week ago.
I’ve been testing my LCD2 pf and Diana v2s and I can barely slightly hear the driver crinkle in the Audeze when I break a good seal…
However, with the Diana’s the crinkle is so ridiculously loud in the right cup if I ever tap it or move my head with any force it makes a very audible noise. I never have a full seal with the pads, so I have no idea why or how it’s making that crinkling noise so loudly - even if it is hovering a few inches from my head. Rotating pads, it still has noise. It’s really unnerving to me tbh and it’s only in one side. I’ve been looking up as many threads as I could find to read about it, and it does seem somewhat common in planar headphones, but I just can’t imagine it should be this bad to where it seemingly affects the sound of the headphone.
I guess my question is am I just over-reacting because I spent a lot on these and this is the first time I have experienced this, or is it possible that something may be wrong? Because when I compare the crinkle between the two headphones one is just so much more blatant than the other.
Sorry for the ramblings and thank you all for the help - I am just trying to play very cautious with this particular seller right now. When I messaged him he was very anxious to get the sale done as quickly as possible with no negotiations and supposedly this was “excellent” condition but the pads are coming off the metal, the cable has a cut on it, and the driver has the worst crinkle I’ve ever heard. (Also sidenote: the pads/bag/box smell kinda funny)
if you aren’t comfortable with it then send it back. that’s my advice. Yes driver crinkle is common and i dont believe anything is actually wrong with the headphone based on what you have said, but just the fact that and the pads condition weren’t mentioned despite it being in “excellent” condition is grounds enough for me to send back especially if I wasn’t fully content with it. There are more severe cases of crinkle than others and it just kinda depends it can vary, but if it’s to the point where it is seriously taking away from the expereince and usability of the headphones then that is obviously no bueno.
Also keep in mind that driver thickness and material is very different for the LCD-2 (thick) and the Abyss Diana V2 (thin). The thinner the driver, the more susceptible to driver crinkle.
I’m with @Towa here. Ultimately crazy crinkle is normal but jmo you have very good reason to send it back with the pads if it bugs you. Fwiw, the crinkle meaning I couldn’t walk around the house was a major factor in why I sold my set as well. Afaik, crinkle is just not a think on d8kp if you want a higher end planar that doesnt do it (though the sound sig is quite different obviously)
Anyone mind giving me a rundown on diana phi? It seems like most reviews online seem to say its not worth it over v2 but that $2400 set has me real tempted at an impulse purchase tbh.
I know dms pads were made for phi, so if I buy should I expect to need to buy dms pads as well? Also, I know its fairly source picky but I’m hoping my gambit will run it well enough (especialy with my hpa-21 on the way now). How is it at lower volumes? I tend to listen pretty quiet and have run into issues yhere before
It’s not worth it over the v2 at the price difference of msrp or normal secondhand prices. But that used price is totally worth considering, that’s pretty much in the range of used v2 pricing and around 5-600 bucks less than what it goes for usually secondhand.
Just wanted to point that out, as far as sound difference beats me. I’ll let someone else that has heard it describe the differences.
This is exactly what made me ask the question tbh. The deal is just so good im remice to not even consider it
Appreciate all the feedback guys, thank you all a bunch!
@M0N Follow up to this post. Think this question probably fits here better.
If I am concerned about timbre (its not absolute peak priority but is quite important to me) at what price point (for amp + cans) does it make sense to start considering estat options as well as the more traditional options like susvara/mysphere/etc?
A bit confused on the question, but if you care about timbre, I’d personally look toward something like a used sennheiser he60, es labs es1a, stax 007 mk2.9, hfm shang jr, and potentially sonoma m1. But when you get to the next level there I think the he90/he1/shang sr/aperio the timbre is all excellent there imo (tonality is a bit more iffy for all of these). Just take into consideration all the aforementioned cans really like high end source gear to go along with it
Thats probabsly because I have a misconception going on. My only estat experience was sr009 (not s) on BHSE (not sure dac tbh) and it had this like emotional deadness that permiated into the timbre where like if you sat there and went “does that sound right?” You would say “yah, I guess so” but nothing sounded convincing real at all. When I gave those impressions online the prety well universal repsonce I got was “welcome to estats” so that weird timbral deadness is something that I dread finding again if I do branch into estats. My guess from your reaction is that this isn’t exactky some given in the higher end (or maybe lower either)
I’ll read up on these tonight. These are all super in my budget so may be a fun play.
Prices vary kinda wildly here… just assuming when you say he90 you mean just the can and use a different amp? Or do you mean as a system? Cause tbh 10k is what I’m expecting to spend on sus+amp anyways at this point (if not a solid bit more).
I guess my real question is, I like fantastic timbre + a hint of lushness/richness in the mids and a dynamic stage (as in it changes sizes as needed). If my plan ends up being <10k for cans+amp I assume sus+13r would be the pick, but if I do end up budgeting more of sus+aic-10 range are there any estats i should look into that may fit the bill?
Im going to my local dealer to demo a few things tomorrow but I need help figuring out what to priorities here in terms of estats. Here is what they have:
Cans:
Amps:
Are there any combos to be had here that woukd rewly display organicness and timbre?
@Hazi59 - curious, where is the seam on the pads positioned when installed on your DV2 ?
They set I am borrowing, when it arrived they bottom front - it sounded like ass (to me). I have them now top front much better but still not quite what I was hoping for.
I keep mine in stock position…but I bent/adjusted the cup and arm angle a bit.
Whoa you are up late. Did not expect that.
So, the seam is at bottom back?
Yes. Seam stock is at bottom back. Keep in mind the HPs are also quite position sensitive so olay around moving them forward, back, uo, and down
Try both amps, use 007 and potentially voce
So 007 is no longer there but 009, 009S (which they didn’t have last time) and Voce were. Tbh I actualy really enjoyed 009S on bhse. 009S was also very cool on wes but something was going on making it pretty fatiguing. If I could add a bit of body to the mids of the WES (and remove the fatigue obviously) I think ti would be my prefered sound.
As for the VOCE, I had some pretty seriously listening fatigue by the time I got to it, but it didnt realy feel like it offered much over the 009S in terms of organicness or timbre (and the lack of detail kinda bugged me).
Ultimately this made me stop writing off estats as a whole. Shang Sr and Jr will be at canjam socal (only on shang jr amp unfortunately) so Ill get to at least try those next weekend and can discuss with hifiman directly about setting up further demos from there.