Dan Clark-Massdrop Ether CX Headphones (closed back)

Sound quality:

How does the Ether CX sound?

In a word: remarkable.

"These headphones sound remarkable. Over the week that I have had them, I have had them on as often as possible, and I’ve lost track of the number of times that I’ve found myself completely caught up in the music. When listening to particular tracks for review purposes, I get completely sidetracked, but it’s not by the headphones themselves: it’s by the music. Typically, when assessing a pair of headphones, something similar happens, but it stems from something the headphones are doing: maybe it’s a particularly strong resonance around a certain frequency, maybe some distortion in the bass, or maybe I can’t get over how sucked out the mids are. Regardless of what the distraction is, it always comes from the headphones themselves. With the Ether CX, however, the distraction is the music: it just sounds so good. These headphones do a truly remarkable job of getting out of the way and letting the recording speak for itself.

Of course, this does come with its own problems, and there’s one in particular that stands out when I think about the Ether CX: there’s no single aspect of it that stands out as truly extraordinary. While they do everything very well, I don’t feel that they’re the best at anything. Other headphones that I own or have heard can stand up to them in multiple areas, and in some cases, are just better.

To satisfy that most essential component of a sound review, here is a quick sense of how that breaks down in each category:

Bass: board-flat, as far down as I can hear. The sub bass presence is not boosted at all, but it is absolutely still there no matter what is going on above. The midbass makes itself known too, but without being overwhelming at all.

Mids: for the most part neutral, albeit with what sounds like a minor bump in the upper mids that can bring out high male vocals or female vocals a little bit too much at higher volumes."

Treble: perhaps slightly recessed, but still present enough to provide a pretty respectable level of detail.

Overall, pretty close to neutral I believe, with excellent tonality all the way through.

Please call me directly in my world class showroom in Los Angeles weekdays:
from 11-3:00 PM (PST) @ 310-472-8880 or on my cell including weekends from 10-7:00 PM (PST) at 310-927-2260 and I can answer your questions and help you with all of your new and pre owned needs.

===============================

Weinhart Design has lots of other items new and used and if you’re in Los Angeles or visiting please accept my invitation to experience our World Class Audio Showroom by appointment and please visit our web site www.weinhartdesign.com

We are always interested in purchasing quality Audio pieces, LP collections, and know we are specialists buying Audio Estates and most quality trades are welcomed.

All sales out of California are State Sales Tax exempt. California State Sales Tax of 9.5% applies for items picked up or shipped to a California address.

We accept payments by Bank Wire Transfers without fees and is the only form of payment on all sales out of the U.S. and Canada. We prefer this method of payment and also makes shipping to addresses other than billing OK.

VISA, MC and PayPal are gladly accepted within the U.S. and Canada as long as the charge is approved and we're shipping to the BILLING ADDRESS and shipping to the billing address on record.

AMEX & Discover are also available for a 4% cost if shipped to the Billing Address and approved.

Please be advised that all credit card and PayPal transactions are subject to a 3% processing fee.

Making better sound one system at a time,

David Weinhart
Weinhart Design, Inc.
President & CEO 

The Audio and Video Expert 
e: [email protected]
www.weinhartdesign.com

2337 Roscomare Road, Studio #1
Los Angeles, California 90077

Showroom: 310-472-8880
Cell: 310-927-2260