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MrSpeakers Ether C Headphone

MrSpeakers Ether C Headphone

If you look at the “flagship” full-sized headphones currently on the market, you’ll notice they all share one particular trait: Whether they’re planars, dynamics, or hybrids, whether they cost $400 or $4000, they’re all open-backed designs. As long as you’re listening in a quiet environment and have no problem with other people hearing what you’re listening to, open-backed designs are superior. But what if you’re in a noisy spot or someplace where your music might distract others? In such situations an open-backed design may not be a practical option. Unless you can switch to in-ear monitors or have a pair of closed-enclosure headphones readily available, you may find your only civil choice is silence.

So far, the goal of creating a closed-back, full-sized headphone that doesn’t have serious sonic drawbacks compared to a similar open-backed version has eluded most headphone designers. Some attempts, such as the Audeze EL-8C, have come very close to the sound of open-backed designs (in Audeze’s case, the EL-8), but have not quite equaled them. Enter the MrSpeakers Ether C ($1499–$1549, depending on cable length) headphones. Their sole reason for existence is to duplicate as closely as possible the sound of MrSpeakers’ open-enclosure Ether ($1499–$1549) so that end-users can listen to music in places where the open-backed design would be inappropriate. The big questions are: 1) how close does the Ether C’s sound come to that of the Ether, and 2) how close does the Ether C’s sound come to that of the best flagship open-enclosure headphones? I’ll attempt to answer both questions in this review.

Technical Description
The Ether headphone series is MrSpeakers’ first design not based on a modified Fostex driver. Instead, the Ether headphones use a proprietary 69mm by 44mm V-Planar driver, which has a pleated surface that Dan Clark, MrSpeakers’ chief engineer, claims “can reduce distortion, improve transient response, and extend frequency range.” Bruce Thigpen originally developed this pleated driver for his Eminent Technology planar loudspeakers, and he is listed as the co-inventor on MrSpeakers’ pending patents. According to MrSpeakers, “V-Planar technology addresses nonlinear driver motion by more deeply creasing the diaphragm to increase compliance. Much as pleats allow an accordion to expand and contract without stretching the fabric, the creases in the driver ‘open’ slightly during larger excursions…the resultant peaks and troughs are deep enough to maintain more of their physical structure even after the driver has been tensioned.” Increasing a planar driver’s compliance also improves its ability to accelerate rapidly in a linear fashion.

The Ether C is slightly less sensitive than the open-backed Ether at 92dB instead of 96dB. But because of its low impedance of only 23 ohms, even lower-output portable players such as the Astell&Kern AK Jr or the Sony NW ZX-100 should be able to drive the Ether C easily. The Ether C (394 grams/13.9 oz.) also weighs slightly more than the Ether (375 grams/13.3 oz.). The Ether C’s enclosure is similar in size and composition to the Ether, but instead of an open-back earpiece protected by a honeycomb lattice, the Ether C’s enclosure has a carbon-fiber cap that is very well damped against sympathetic resonances. The Ether C comes standard with MrSpeakers’ DUM (distinctly un-magical) interchangeable cable, which can be ordered with either a single-ended ¼” stereo or balanced XLR connection.

MrSpeakers Ether C Headphone

The Ether C is fairly lightweight due in large part to its headband design, which uses a Nitinol “memory metal” frame combined with an adjustable leather band. The adjustable leather band has two set-screws (one for each side). Once you find the ideal position you can lock the band in place, so the next time you put on the Ether Cs they will fit perfectly. The side-pressure exerted by the metal headband frame is firm yet not uncomfortable, making for a good seal with enough isolation to prevent anyone nearby from hearing anything, as long as he is more than a foot away from you and you’re not playing at deafening levels. The Ether C’s earpads are made of well-damped “lamb leather,” and are designed to completely encapsulate your ears to form a tight seal. Unlike some earphones, such as the Audeze LCD-2, which require trial and error to get right, the Ether C fit perfectly from the onset without fiddling.

Ergonomics
The Ether C is among the most comfortable headphones I’ve used. The fit was firm, and no amount of movement could unseat the earphones once they were properly positioned. Figuring out which side is left and which is right is easy thanks to the embossed L and R on the leather headband. The DUM cable also has a small circle of red plastic shrink-wrap on its barrel to delineate the right channel. The cable attachment itself is well designed with a spring-loaded outer collar that must be pulled back to release the cable. My only issue with this scheme is that it creates a stiff 11/2″ long connection from each earcup that can catch on something and, if enough force is applied, possibly snap off. (The HiFiMan HE-560 has a similar attachment issue.)

The Ether C’s two-point, gimbaled, earpiece-attachment scheme allows more than enough range of motion for the headphones to fit quite well but does not permit them to fold flat, which would require less storage space. The early-production Ether headphones do fold flat, but the design was changed because the Ether’s gimbal screws could scratch the headphone cup enclosure. Since it’s more likely that you will want to travel with the Ether C headphones, this change may not be for the better. The Ether C comes in a supplied hardshell case that is rather large (about the size of a Nerf football) but does a good job of protecting the ’phones from damage during travel.

Because the Ether C’s cable is interchangeable I was able to use MrSpeakers DUM cables with both single-ended and balanced connections, as well as Moon Audio’s Silver Dragon cable with both terminations. The DUM cable was more flexible and less microphonic than the Moon Audio cable, but the Moon Audio cable was lighter weight and slightly more revealing sonically.

As noted, I found the Ether C was an easy headphone to drive, even with less beefy portable players. The Astell&Kern AK Jr had no problems pushing it to satisfying levels at around 45 on the AK’s 0–75 volume scale. The Sony NW-ZX100HN needed a setting of only 16 on its 0–30 scale to play loudly. Unlike some earphones, such as the Sennheiser HD 700, which benefit from using a balanced connection, I found the Ether C did not improve sonically when I used the balanced headphone connection on the Mytek Brooklyn or the Auralic Gemini 2000.

 

Sound
The first difference I usually notice when I go from an open-headphone design to a closed one is that the size of the stage shrinks and recedes to the point where there is no sound extending beyond the confines of my cranium. In this regard, I noticed very little difference between the Ether C and the open-backed Ether. Both headphones displayed excellent image specificity and both created a large three-dimensional soundstage that seemed to extend outside the physical limits of the headphones (and my head). While the Stax SR-L700 coupled to the Stax tube-based SRM-007tII created an even larger soundstage than the Ether C connected to the Mytek Brooklyn, the Ethers were just as three-dimensional and placed instruments just as precisely in space as the SR-L700.

Another area where closed-enclosure headphones usually suffer in comparison to open ones is in their sense of “openness” and air. Again I found the two Ethers virtually identical in these regards. On an MQA-encoded recording of Beethoven’s “Emperor” piano concerto, both headphones had the same amount of air and spaciousness and both allowed me to hear the sound bloom from the piano’s location in the middle of the stage to the outer edges of the proscenium. On my own recording of Chris Thile practicing Bach, the Ether C had the same amount of space and ambient detail as the Ether.

Bass extension from the Ether C was also very similar to the open-enclosure Ether. Neither headphone is as “bass-centric” as some ’phones, such as the AudioQuest NightHawk. The Sennheiser HD 700 has a bigger, more pronounced midbass, but it doesn’t have as much control or definition as the Ether C. On some pop recordings I did wish for a bit more low-bass slam, but given a choice between the Ether C’s tight definition and a bigger, sloppier, bada-boom low end, I prefer the Ether C.

The midrange is, as we all know, where most of the music resides. And the midrange is where the Ether C excels. Vocals, whether male or female, were rendered with spot-on harmonic balance. Unlike some headphones, such as the Sennheiser HD 700, which give female vocalists a bit too much treble emphasis, the Ether C lets mezzo-sopranos stay mezzo, not elevating their timbre to coloratura. On the other end of the spectrum, male vocalists didn’t have any additional chestiness added to their tone. The Ether C’s midrange tonal accuracy is so good that I would have no hesitations using them as on-location recording monitors.

As I’ve gotten older my sensitivity in the upper treble has become limited to 14kHz. So commenting on treble extension is something I realize needs a qualifier. But one test I’ve found very useful when testing a headphone’s upper-frequency response is a sinewave sweep in mono from 15kHz to 500Hz via the Audiotest app on my Mac. This test reveals several things. First, if there’s any imbalance between the right and left channel at high frequencies the signal will move off the central position it should occupy towards the side with higher output. Some headphones, especially less expensive models with less stringent driver matching, can exhibit multiple pulls from one side to the other as frequencies change. This test also lets you know if the frequency response has any noticeable bumps or dips in level at certain points. Much as I enjoy my pair of Sennheiser HD 700 headphones, they exhibit several very noticeable peaks in their upper midrange and lower treble that diverge from flat when I run this test. Also my particular pair of HD 700s pulls to the left between 11kHz and 7kHz. Conversely, the Ether C had no pulling from side to side or obvious peaks as the sinewave worked down from 15kHz to 500Hz.

As I discovered when I reviewed the AudioQuest NightHawk headphones, many headphones add some amount of additional upper-midrange energy to increase perceived detail. While certainly brighter than the NightHawks, the Ether C occupied a well-considered middle ground between top-end darkness and excessive detail. During the review period I did a lot of A/B listening tests between MQA and non-MQA files. Through the Ether I could easily hear how the MQA version of the sample file of Keith Jarrett’s Köln Concert had less intermodulation distortion on the leading edges of piano transients than the 96/24 version. I could also hear further into the background in the MQA version. These differences are rather subtle, but the Ether C made them relatively easy to hear.

Competition
Because of their price, the Ether C has a lot of competition, but most models are open, rather than closed, enclosure designs. The Audeze LCD-2 Bamboo ($995 street), which I’ve used as a reference for a while, has a slightly smoother upper midrange and equally precise imaging characteristics. The LCD-2 also produces a slightly larger soundstage and more low bass. But when it comes to comfort the Ether C easily bests the LCD-2 due to its lighter weight and lower side-pressure.

Although discontinued several years ago, the AudioTechnica ATH W-3000ANV ($1299) has been my go-to closed headphone due to its comfort, high level of isolation, and overall fidelity. Compared to the Ether C, the AudioTechnica ATH W-3000ANV has a noticeably warmer midbass and more piquant upper midrange. The AudioTechnica ATH W-3000ANV also has a smaller soundstage, but equally precise imaging capabilities. Comfort-wise I’d give the Ether Cs the edge, but not by much.

Conclusion
When I travel I need three pairs of earphones—one in-ear monitor for on the airplane, one open enclosure for the waiting area (so I don’t miss out when they change gates on me), and one closed-enclosure headphone because sometimes you need more isolation than an open pair but not the 30dB isolation of in-ears. And while I have multiple options for reference-level in-ears and open-enclosure full-sized headphones for travel, when it comes to closed-enclosure, full-sized, over-ear headphones that are reference-level the options have been more limited. The MrSpeakers Ether C fills that last category nicely. It combines great sound, exceptional comfort, wide-ranging portable-player compatibility, and good isolation with A+ build-quality and an elegant physical design. What’s not to like?

Specs & Pricing

Type: Closed-back planar-magnetic
Sensitivity: 92dB/mW
Impedance: 23 ohms
Driver: 2.75″ x 1.75″ MrSpeakers-designed single-ended planar-magnetic (with V-Planar surface processing); matched +/-1.5dB between 30Hz and 5kHz
Weight: 390g (13.8oz)
Price: $1499–$1699, depending on cable choice

MRSPEAKERS
3366 Kurtz Street
San Diego, CA 92110
(619) 501-6313
mrspeakers.com

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