FYI - Before everyone requests free adapters from Ryan most reports from people who have tried them didn't report any major changes in sound quality. However, we also generally seem to have a much more positive impression than in WaveTheory's review video and would never have placed Tungstens below HEKSE or Aryas.
@@JohnnyADi Sounds nothing like the LCD-X to my ears, which is a headphone I was never able to appreciate unlike the Tungstens. Also, if one doesn't like the SS then very unlikely they will then enjoy the DS. Both are much more similar than dissimiliar when using identical pads.
The hype was nuts for these, still is I guess, but the fact that it may be years before some people can even get them, and the Nuclear power required to run them....
@@SimonP2you can literally get a an HE-1000SE tomorrow which is in the same ballpark technically. You can order a caldera and have it in a few weeks. You can buy a refurbed susvara if you need something hard to drive.
@@Del_987 For sure, just as you can get a Ford tomorrow, but if you want something exotic you have to wait and will probably find a rough edge or two as it is hand made. I couldn't wait and bought HE1000 Stealth but these Tungstens are something special - if you have the amp to drive them.
I don’t own a He1kse but the Susvara. On my May Bliss chain the Tungsten can sound better than my Susvara. Susvara isn’t worse than the Tungsten but the extra dynamics that Tungsten brings and the extra mid bass makes the rock music I listen to far more engaging. Susvara does have better space around the instruments but high end amps and cables can do the same for Tungsten. Tungsten loves current and if you can feed it that current it will surpass Susvara due to its frequency response.
Interesting, one would think that this combination of impedance and sensitivity places crazy voltage requirements for a headphone amp and solid state devices struggle with remaining linear
I don't get that these adapters diminish the subbass while some people on headfi claim that adding washers or rotating the pads to break the seal actually increases the subbass. Any thoughts?
Why do the spacers have the honeycomb in the middle ? Wouldn't a horseshoe shape or a set of small washers around 2 of the screws have a similar effect without additional reflections directly in front of the driver ? Are the honeycomb structures like Audeze fazors ?
The sound you described reminds me of what I hear with my Argon Mk3s. I am going to put a cocktail straw or a toothpick between the frame and the pad to see what happens to the sound.
Interesting. I commented on your original review, stating I was relieved and that I could continue to build my chain around my HEkse. I have done this since and feel I have reached endgame (WA22 + Schiit Gumby MB). Listening to your new comments, I still feel like I made the right decision, further, I feel that I couldn't make a wrong decision - I would have been happy with either.
I prefer them with the cloth removed on the pads. Makes them significantly better. Both with the Ultra Perf and the Hybrids IMO. Using a KT88 TS120 speaker amp with 8ohm adapter box and they are excellent. Trades blows with Susvara.
It simulates what DMS demonstrated and measured in his Tungsten review video when he rotated the pads - it increases the sub bass while allowing the pads to stay more fixed to the magnets.
Empryan 2 came out at the worst time, it's not better than tungsten according to anyone's opinion except for those who are past the 30 day return policy and are stuck with it, trying to cope for their extra $1000. Even DMS's glowing review of the empyrean 2, only owns a tungsten because it's just better.
@@JohnnyADi There may be other reasons. Tthe added cost on the ridiculous amp required and 6months to a year wait times and not really being available overseas has put a lot of people off the Tungstens. If the Empy is actually that good, just way easier to get that and forget about the Tungstens.
@@chungang7037who cares, if you have the money and if you're not impatient, tungsten are far more worth it, go wear the empyrean 2 in public, you'll be laughed at for having a Chinese futuristic over the top vibe from all the normal people around you, and both are open back, not like you can wear it in public. And for $1000 more on a better Amp for the Tungsten to make it $4000, it's a better product that not only looks more normal, but is more customizable, has a more passionate friendly CEO that you can actually contact, you can swap with audeze and zmf pads of all kinds (massive benefit), you could paint it whatever color you like, comes with a better cable, does better on more expensive amps than the empyrean, and nobody prefers the empyrean over the Tungsten, and even worse, the empyrean will never get much better, when you can afford a better amplifier the Tungsten will reward you.
@@chungang7037 if you can't get it øverseas, have an American do it for you and ship it to you, big deal. I've waited 4 years for my osmose expressive e, now it sits right in front of my monitor, thing is a gem of evolution.
Hay Wave Theory and Raion? - As I see it those metal spaces are obstructing free flow of the sound originally only conditioned by the magnets only in the original deisgn and could impact the sould properties. You can solve that problems by slotting the spacer metal plate exactly in the shape of the magnetic scaffolding. In future iterations you could solve the issue by cutting permanent slots on the base magnet? itself on which the pads rest and making corresponding aligning orifices on the outer shell of the headphone. Yet another way is to make indentations on the metal plate inserted to the pads so that when the pads are placed on the headphone base those indentations would keep a space between them and the magnet. Please let me know if I was any help. I wanted to buy a pair of them and I am looking for the amps that can drive these, please put a link here to them, thanks.
FYI - Before everyone requests free adapters from Ryan most reports from people who have tried them didn't report any major changes in sound quality.
However, we also generally seem to have a much more positive impression than in WaveTheory's review video and would never have placed Tungstens below HEKSE or Aryas.
Looking forward to trying the suggestions proposed by BOTH you and Douglas ("DMS") when Mimic Audio finally ships my SS Tungsten. 🎧
me too ! which shipping is likely still quite a ways off for me
Single sided sucks, it's just a fancier, modernized lcdx
@@JohnnyADi Sounds nothing like the LCD-X to my ears, which is a headphone I was never able to appreciate unlike the Tungstens. Also, if one doesn't like the SS then very unlikely they will then enjoy the DS. Both are much more similar than dissimiliar when using identical pads.
You are criminally underrated. Best reviewer on youtube hands down!
Just requested the plates. Thanks for the video and thanks to Ryan!
The hype was nuts for these, still is I guess, but the fact that it may be years before some people can even get them, and the Nuclear power required to run them....
$2000
20 week build time
Potential over pressurized issue that needs yet another mod
Yeah idk…
and a powerplant to run them...
The pressure build up is a rare thing. I had that with Focal Utopias OG. My Tungsten DS doesn’t have pressure build up.
For one of the best headphones in the world? Compare it to buying a Ferrari - similar story.
@@SimonP2you can literally get a an HE-1000SE tomorrow which is in the same ballpark technically. You can order a caldera and have it in a few weeks. You can buy a refurbed susvara if you need something hard to drive.
@@Del_987 For sure, just as you can get a Ford tomorrow, but if you want something exotic you have to wait and will probably find a rough edge or two as it is hand made. I couldn't wait and bought HE1000 Stealth but these Tungstens are something special - if you have the amp to drive them.
I don’t own a He1kse but the Susvara. On my May Bliss chain the Tungsten can sound better than my Susvara. Susvara isn’t worse than the Tungsten but the extra dynamics that Tungsten brings and the extra mid bass makes the rock music I listen to far more engaging.
Susvara does have better space around the instruments but high end amps and cables can do the same for Tungsten. Tungsten loves current and if you can feed it that current it will surpass Susvara due to its frequency response.
Interesting, one would think that this combination of impedance and sensitivity places crazy voltage requirements for a headphone amp and solid state devices struggle with remaining linear
I don't get that these adapters diminish the subbass while some people on headfi claim that adding washers or rotating the pads to break the seal actually increases the subbass. Any thoughts?
They have different shaped heads. Different strokes for different folks.
Plus DMS showed measurements confirming the increase in sub bass.
Why do the spacers have the honeycomb in the middle ? Wouldn't a horseshoe shape or a set of small washers around 2 of the screws have a similar effect without additional reflections directly in front of the driver ? Are the honeycomb structures like Audeze fazors ?
The sound you described reminds me of what I hear with my Argon Mk3s. I am going to put a cocktail straw or a toothpick between the frame and the pad to see what happens to the sound.
Interesting. I commented on your original review, stating I was relieved and that I could continue to build my chain around my HEkse. I have done this since and feel I have reached endgame (WA22 + Schiit Gumby MB). Listening to your new comments, I still feel like I made the right decision, further, I feel that I couldn't make a wrong decision - I would have been happy with either.
that sounds like a very nice combination of gear! happy listening!
I prefer them with the cloth removed on the pads. Makes them significantly better. Both with the Ultra Perf and the Hybrids IMO. Using a KT88 TS120 speaker amp with 8ohm adapter box and they are excellent. Trades blows with Susvara.
Thanks for the video, do you still think Arya is better in detail and technicalities than Tungsten SS?
What about taking the cup off and putting it back on slightly misaligned so they don't click back into place ?
It’s not a lie if you believe it.
2:48 I thought pressure buil-up would only be an issue with unvented IEMs.
What does the spacer do when using the perf pads? I don’t think I heard you cover that.
It simulates what DMS demonstrated and measured in his Tungsten review video when he rotated the pads - it increases the sub bass while allowing the pads to stay more fixed to the magnets.
Should boycott mimic audio as they operate a music piracy ring
I'm not sure if I can trust this channel anymore. Nothing about Tungsten was true.
Unsubscribing. Sorry.
Time to give the Empy II another shot now?
Empryan 2 came out at the worst time, it's not better than tungsten according to anyone's opinion except for those who are past the 30 day return policy and are stuck with it, trying to cope for their extra $1000. Even DMS's glowing review of the empyrean 2, only owns a tungsten because it's just better.
@@JohnnyADi There may be other reasons. Tthe added cost on the ridiculous amp required and 6months to a year wait times and not really being available overseas has put a lot of people off the Tungstens. If the Empy is actually that good, just way easier to get that and forget about the Tungstens.
@@chungang7037who cares, if you have the money and if you're not impatient, tungsten are far more worth it, go wear the empyrean 2 in public, you'll be laughed at for having a Chinese futuristic over the top vibe from all the normal people around you, and both are open back, not like you can wear it in public. And for $1000 more on a better Amp for the Tungsten to make it $4000, it's a better product that not only looks more normal, but is more customizable, has a more passionate friendly CEO that you can actually contact, you can swap with audeze and zmf pads of all kinds (massive benefit), you could paint it whatever color you like, comes with a better cable, does better on more expensive amps than the empyrean, and nobody prefers the empyrean over the Tungsten, and even worse, the empyrean will never get much better, when you can afford a better amplifier the Tungsten will reward you.
@@chungang7037 if you can't get it øverseas, have an American do it for you and ship it to you, big deal. I've waited 4 years for my osmose expressive e, now it sits right in front of my monitor, thing is a gem of evolution.
Hay Wave Theory and Raion? - As I see it those metal spaces are obstructing free flow of the sound originally only conditioned by the magnets only in the original deisgn and could impact the sould properties. You can solve that problems by slotting the spacer metal plate exactly in the shape of the magnetic scaffolding. In future iterations you could solve the issue by cutting permanent slots on the base magnet? itself on which the pads rest and making corresponding aligning orifices on the outer shell of the headphone. Yet another way is to make indentations on the metal plate inserted to the pads so that when the pads are placed on the headphone base those indentations would keep a space between them and the magnet. Please let me know if I was any help. I wanted to buy a pair of them and I am looking for the amps that can drive these, please put a link here to them, thanks.