The best overall high-end headphone
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MrSpeakers Ether- Excellent frequency response
- Excellent sound-stage
- Feather light and very comfortable
- Doesn't require significant amp power
- People will hear what you're listening to
- Requires a good amp/DAC to appreciate
After months of testing various headphones in all price ranges, the Ether from MrSpeakers is the best overall high-end headphone. The Ether has all the right ingredients: sound quality, comfort, construction and materials, and utility.
The Ether employs a relatively new form of driver technology called planar-magnetics. Although the technology has been around for several years, it's only now attracting mainstream attention. Unlike dynamic driver headphones which use a membrane moved by a voice coil, planar magnetic drivers sandwich the membrane between two magnets. The membrane itself is laced with thin traces and moves as a whole, without a coil. In theory, this allows the driver to move almost uniformly evenly across its surface, producing better sound.
The Ether demonstrates the advantages of planar magnetic technology extremely well. Audio is crisp, clean, and authoritative throughout the entire frequency spectrum. Low frequencies dipped down into my bowels and highs were crisp without ever being shrill. When professionally measured, the Ether demonstrated its capabilities clearly.
Measured frequency response for the Ether puts most headphones to shame. The Ether puts out a very flat curve, throughout the entire spectrum, which is what you want so that all frequencies sound balanced. Distortion is also a non-issue, even at high volumes. We measured all the headphones at loud 94 dBSPL, pushing them quite hard. But even at ear-damaging volumes, the Ether remained composed and virtually distortion free.
Because of its open-back design, the Ethers do extremely well in conveying a wide soundstage. In games, its performance was exceptional, and delivered the impression of hearing the environment in the game more convincingly than any closed-back headphone and even most open-back headphones. The only drawback of open-back cans is that they can be a disturbance to those around you. For the more discrete user, MrSpeakers offers the Ether C, which is a closed-back version of the Ether. Its performance is essentially the same as the Ether, but it doesn't quite have the same wide and open sound signature.
After weeks and months of listening to numerous high-end headphones across the full price spectrum, the Ether from MrSpeakers was the overall best.
In terms of comfort, the Ethers are extremely light weight and fit nicely on both large and small heads. The headband on the Ethers are made from a nickel-titanium alloy dubbed NiTinol. It bends and flexes easily in any direction but always returns to its original shape. We had several people try on the Ethers and all said it was one of the most comfortable headphones they had ever tried. During use, the Ethers comfortably sat on my head for hours without ever feeling heavy or tight. Customers can customize the Ether with either angled or flat ear pads. The sound-stage does change slightly between the two pad styles, with the angled pads sounding slightly wider.
The Ether ships with its own hard case for travel and the company supplies a variety of cables, which are fully detachable via custom locking connectors.
As of this writing, MrSpeakers has updated all of its Ether and Ether C headphones to version 1.1 and no longer ship the original versions. The 1.1 headphones have slightly modified inner ear pads that cover the drivers. The result is an even flatter frequency response and better low frequency extension. If you already have 1.0 versions, MrSpeakers will sell you the 1.1 upgrade kit for $10.
Runner-ups
Audeze LCD-2
The LCD-2 from Audeze is a spectacular headphone that delivers all the goodies of a planar-magnetic headphone for a reasonable price. Its audio quality is excellent and resolution exceptional. It's not quite as flat as the Ether C, but it comes close. And while it's made well with luxury accents such as Shedua wood, it's a bit on the heavy side and becomes uncomfortable to wear after two hours.
Audeze EL-8 Open Back
The EL-8 OE sits at $700 and delivers excellent sound. My impression is that the EL-8 produces a "darker" sound signature than others. Some may perceive this as a pleasing "warm" tone. It's a planar-magnetic offering from Audeze but doesn't look like any other planar on the market. I actually think it's actually the best looking planar. The EL-8 OE delivers the sound of a $1500 pair of headphones at half the price and will look good on you out in public.
My only complaint is with the aluminum support for the head band: it make a creaking sound when moved, which can sometimes happen if you're walking about. The membranes also exhibit a crumpling sound when the headphones move sometimes, which may or may not be noticeable to you. Audeze tells me this is common in planar-magnetic headphones that have thin membranes, but I didn't notice that in any of the other planars, including Audeze's own LCD-2, 3 and 4.
The best part of the EL-8 though, is that it can be easily powered by any modern smartphone.
OPPO PM-1
The PM-1 is one of my favorite headphones. It's extremely well made and the company's other headphones (PM-2 and PM-3) are well liked by customers on Amazon. The PM-1 sounds better than essentially all other dynamic-driver headphones you can buy, and is well packaged. It isn't as heavy as the Audeze LCD-2 but still gets uncomfortable after a while. I would describe the sound signature of the PM-1 as silky smooth.
Fostex TH-900
The Fostex TH-900 is a traditional dynamic-driver headphone and is one of the best on the market today. The bass response is excellent and the mids are well presented. The only issue I had with the TH-900 is its highs are quite piercing to me. Some folks may find that the TH-900 is a very "detailed" headphone and may prefer its upper-end response. For me, it was a tad too uncomfortable.
As a closed-back headphone, you won't have any sound-leak issue and it's one of the most beautiful headphones ever made.
Beyerdynamic T1
The T1 is Beyerdynamic's flagship headphone that's not fully open and not fully closed. The T1 tries to obtain a balance between the wide sound stage of an open-back design while being a bit more discrete. It does a fine job of reaching that middle ground but I'd wager that it still performs more like a pair of open cans, which is to say that it's excellent.
Like the Fostex TH-900, the T1 is a dynamic headphone, but while their exteriors may look similar, the T1 has angled drivers while the TH-900 drivers face directly at your ears. I found the T1's sound signature to be more pleasing than the TH-900.
Sennheiser HD 800 / 800S
The HD 800, and the new HD 800 S, have been Sennheiser's statement headphones for years, and rightly so. The HD 800 is considered by many to be the best headphone on the market. But I disagree. It was the best. But given all the new players on the market, and other technologies such as planar-magnetics and electrostats, the HD 800 is now one of the best, but it isn't the best. But it's still an exceptional pair of headphones.
The HD800s is a fully open-back pair of headphones known for excellent imaging and sound-stage as well as its ability to finely resolve detail. Some have considered it to be a bit too sharp for long-listening sessions, but others enjoy its shine. While I praise the HD 800 for its superb audio quality, I found it to be not quite comfortable. Its large ear cups are hard and don't fully enclose around my head. If only it had more plush pads.
