Now that I’ve gotten to spend some more time with each of these headphones I think I’m ready to give some listening impressions. I’ve done some listening over the past week on my Chord Mojo > RNHP chain as well as some on the Mojo by itself.
One thing I will get out of the way right at the beginning is to say that these 3 headphones all sound very different from each other. And I would claim it’s not subtle either. Yes, they share common characteristics but the changes made in each design change the overall experience more than I expected.
Starting with the HP-2 since it’s the one I’m most familiar with and the one I currently own. I would personally characterize this as a mostly neutral signature with a slight bump in mid bass and lower treble which gives it an energetic signature. I would say the standout features are a very natural timbre, punchy and impactful sound, and a very good level of detail for its price point. It also has a way of presenting the stage that is engaging for a closed back. There is good depth and layering even if the stage is not particularly wide. Vocals are usually presented somewhat forward while the rest of the sounds fill out the space around and behind.
Now on to the JM Edition. I would characterize the sound as being lighter and more nimble than the HP-2. The emphasis is more on the mids and treble with the bass taking a backseat. The slam and impact also seem to be lessened to an extent and I’m not sure if I should attribute that to a lower overall bass elevation or something else. The stage also feels pulled back and more distant with the JM. Vocals don’t feel quite as immediate and intimate. This gives the overall sound a wider feel like a larger room than either of the other two variants.
And last we have the OG. The one that started it all. The ones that set out to convince the audio world why they should put horns directly on their heads. These bring the bass in a way that the other two simply don’t. It keeps the tight impactful midbass of the HP-2 and the JM but cranks it up a notch in elevation and adds in a healthy dollop of sub bass weight and rumble that the other two don’t have. Treble is lower compared to the other two but it’s still rich and detailed. The stage and imaging feels somewhere between the JM and the HP-2. It’s not extremely wide but it feels nicely layered. Because of the elevation in bass I think it loses a little bit of the precision imaging that characterizes the others.
I hope these brief comparisons are helpful to somebody. It’s been a very cool experience for me to be able to spend time with all of these at once. Thanks again @j.fopps and @NickMimi for letting me hear your sets and compare them. I’d love to discuss these more if anybody has some specific questions.
To sum up, I have to say my personal preference goes to the OG. I like big BASS and I can not LIE! And the OG delivers that in all the right ways for me. I have found out over time that I like my headphones to deliver a weighty, meaty, impactful sound. I can appreciate other sound signatures and I enjoy them for certain genres, but at the end of the day I always find myself drawn to that slam, growl, and rumble as the underpinning to the rest of my music. If it’s not there in the quantity I expect I always find myself missing it before long. If this is you too, then my advice is go for the OG. If you aren’t a crazy person and don’t care to pummel your head and rattle your brains on occasion, then the other two should be on your list as well. Especially if you are looking for a closed back that might make you forget you are wearing a closed back every once in a while.