Article: MrSpeakers Ether 2 Review

[Josh Mound]

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[The Computer Audiophile]

Another well written review Josh. 

[Graham Luke]

Great review and all the more pertinent as it has been written after the initial dust has settled. I have been looking at the Ether 2s for a while now but was a little underwhelmed at the first audition. I think this was partly down to the fact that my current cans, Shure SRH 1840's, are so good. I too found that the earcups were just a little small but that problem has been solved. Dekoni has brought out earcups for the Shures and I'm going to try these before committing to new headphones. Thanks.

[PAR]

Very good review. The measurements are particularly appreciated by me.  My only wish is that the musical examples used for the subjective assessment could have involved more than a single genre.  As my listening is mainly to classical music, finding 'phones that are good for this is difficult as these days so many have a sound tailored to appeal predominantly to rock/pop enthusiasts.

 

My audio project for 2020 will be a new pair of cans to replace my ancient pair of HD600s. Coincidentally all of my small list of contenders feature in this review. However I suspect that when I come to audition them that the 10 dB depression from 3kHz  - 10kHz may make the Ether 2s too dull for my particular needs.

[Josh Mound]

3 hours ago, PAR said:

Very good review. The measurements are particularly appreciated by me.  My only wish is that the musical examples used for the subjective assessment could have involved more than a single genre.  As my listening is mainly to classical music, finding 'phones that are good for this is difficult as these days so many have a sound tailored to appeal predominantly to rock/pop enthusiasts.

 

My audio project for 2020 will be a new pair of cans to replace my ancient pair of HD600s. Coincidentally all of my small list of contenders feature in this review. However I suspect that when I come to audition them that the 10 dB depression from 3kHz  - 10kHz may make the Ether 2s too dull for my particular needs.

 

I’m pretty sure @austinpop has said this, but for classical, I’d go for the HD800S. I don’t think the Ether 2 are the best fit for a genre where sound stage width and string articulation are paramount. 

 

[pippenainteasy]

it's a real shame the ether 2 earpads are so small. at least the original ethers had a wide choice of pads, but they aren't compatible with the new earcups.

[PAR]

1 hour ago, JoshM said:

 

I’m pretty sure @austinpop has said this, but for classical, I’d go for the HD800S. I don’t think the Ether 2 are the best fit for a genre where sound stage width and string articulation are paramount. 

 

Thanks JoshM, that is very useful advice.

[crenca]

5 hours ago, JoshM said:

 

I’m pretty sure @austinpop has said this, but for classical, I’d go for the HD800S. I don’t think the Ether 2 are the best fit for a genre where sound stage width and string articulation are paramount. 

 

 

Josh,

 

Would you say that the Ether approaches (or is equal to) the Clear in low level detail/resolution (variously and confusingly called "microdetail" or "resolution", or Marv's idiosyncratic term "plankton" etc.)?  IMO, the HD800S is too dependent upon its bright FR for its microdetail level (which would still be good even if it had a more balanced FR).   Based on your overall review, it strikes me that the Ether 2 might be on level with ZMF's Eikon/Autuer in this dept. - "good", but not quite up to the Clear level...