Leonardo Drummond

My points are: 1 - The process of buying customs is very different than regular headphones since reselling them to upgrade is a lot more difficult, especially if you live outside the US like I do. So I’d much rather save for longer and get the best I can. 2 - Jerry clearly stated that the Roxys were going to be the top of the line CIEMs in this new range. This was one of the reasons why I got it. Then, the very next model he launches, less than a year later and after a lot of serious problems and delays with the Roxannes that made a lot of costumers receive the IEMs after more than half that time, contradicts that. 3 - Apparently, this new model – which may indeed have a different sound signature, but nevertheless – fixes one of the things that bothers me in the Roxannes, something about which I spoke here when I received them. 4 - While I do like my Roxannes very much, maybe I would have liked to have been spoken to HONESTLY in the first place so that I could have been given a choice. If I knew that I would have to wait 4/5 months for my Roxys and that in less than a year there would be a new TOTL maybe I would have preferred to wait, and I highly doubt that many here would do otherwise. And you see, this isn’t as if I went blindly into it. It was told by Jerry that that wouldn’t happen. And in any case, even if I didn’t have a Roxanne I’d think that this is just not a good strategy to run business. It may well work while you’re FOTM, but the number of people who are seeing this case as dubious, at best, at the other place already shows that this kind of behavior can and will be damaging in the long run. This in itself (even if you put the ethics of this out of the equation) already defines what they did as wrong in terms of brand management. If you’re ahead of a brand, your word has value. As I said, as I designer who studied and worked a bit with branding, IMO the most important (and hardest) thing for a brand to achieve with its consumers is trust. If Jerry stated that the Roxannes would be the TOTL in this range, then even if at the time he honestly thought that were true (which I doubt) he shouldn’t even have begun to work on something better for a while. Maybe it would've been best to just not say anything. That way, people who got into the Roxanne train woulnd'nt have anything to complain about. I certainly wouldn't be. That’s what any serious and ethic person/company would do. That's my main point. Maybe I'm coming across as angrier than I am – I'm just a bit annoyed by the situation –, it's just that I'm trying to prove my point. By the way, I'm amicably chatting indeed (dunno about you, JP), I have a thick skin.

Those were'nt my points

Can't argue with that!

Peter, I don't think I'll be able to find it as the Roxannes' topic now has about a million posts, but when presenting the Roxys in a few shows he stated clearly, more than once, that the Roxannes were going to be the top of the line earphones in this new upcoming Siren Series, so it's a very specific comment. I think it's actually on video, I'll try and look it up for you. It's not like he can't make anything better ever, but as a designer who studied a little bit about branding, I think that what most brands try to achieve nowadays (and it's also the thing that's the most difficult to achieve) is trust. And this sort of thing is precisely what destroys trust. I highly doubt that you can come up with some new earphone like that quickly, so it must have been in the works for a while. In any case, if he made that remark, then he should concentrate on lesser models for a while until the line is mature before he starts working on a new TOTL, not make a new one right away. If you're a company like JH Audio, IMO you can't just change your mind like that. Your word is (should be) valuable, and is what makes or breaks trust... Really important, difficult to achieve but very easy to lose, I think!

Good point, but the thing is that now I just doubt that Jerry was being sincere when he made that comment on the Roxannes - plus, it gets worse when I consider that the Laylas cost a lot more, so it's not like the freqphase technology on the JH13 and JH16. This is what looks like a fix.

Well, no, I just expect honesty from a serious company. Don't say that something is going to be the top of the line in a new series if the very next announcement in this series is going to contradict that. And as I said, as much as I'm happy with the Roxannes, there are one or two things I don't like about them and these are precisely the things that this new model seems to fix. Edit: forgot to quote, that was for Grawk, Peter

Indeed... to clarify, it's not that I'm not happy with my Roxannes, but I guess with customs the whole thing is a bit more complicated. As reselling is difficult, I'd much rather save for longer and go for the the best according to my tastes (as long as the cost is reasonable to me) than to start small and build my way up. This is what I did with the Roxannes anyway, in part precisely because it was guaranteed to be the best sounding of the bunch for a long time. But well... maybe not.

I'm quite annoyed by this. Even though I love my Roxannes, it's not that they're without their limitations – sometimes I want a more analytical presentation, something that I thought would happen with the bass knob down and precisely what the Layla seems to be offering. But then I remember having spent 1.600 bucks and waiting several months for something that was guaranteed to be the top of the line in the upcoming Roxanne family only to be presented, not many months later, with a new TOTL. If I knew that, maybe I would have waited and gone for it. Like someone said at the other place, I feel kinda cheated. On the other hand, $900 more for a universal? For what, exactly? I feel that the prices are starting to get a bit ridiculous.

Guys, I had decided to go for a Calyx M (really liked it, it was the only DAP that I found to be worth the extra cash over a regular player on SQ), but I gotta say the poor battery life turned me off a little bit. I just found out that the new AK100 II is about $100 less than the M – any thoughts? This might be a long shot, but has anyone been able to listen to both?

I recently went for the full aggression mode

More worryingly (to me, at least), apparently they're dropping the iPod Classic... I might stock some.

Thanks a lot, guys! tin ear, I was amazed with how large (and beautiful) it is in person. Ed, you'd be more than welcome, let us know before you come! Lately we've been trying to organize a meet once a year. About the Leben, I guess it's just like Mario said: some people did like it, but I didn't! In any case, it was in meet conditions, so who knows! Emooze, it's Fabio's credit. He really was an incredible host!

It was a fantastic time indeed! Mário and Faithless spoke well! Also about the Leben – while I didn't like it, some did and it was in meet conditions, so maybe I would think of it a bit differently. But I have to say that I didn't really like what I heard there. I'd have to agree

You know what Antonio, that was really surprising for some of us, but the amount of people who didn't like it wasn't small and I had high expectations for this amp. Didn't know it was considered a POS around here, but now I'm not surprised. Me and Hugo especially didn't like it. While it did soften the HD800, the mids were somehow distant and the total balance was weird. The result with the HD650 was especially wrong, it had so much bass! Also, I first heard the LCD-XC with it and didn't like it because it sounded too harsh in the treble and the mids were sucked out. The DNA solved the issue to a large extent. I think the fact that I forgot to say what I thought about it says much...

There's a group of Brazilian hobbyists on Facebook that we sometimes actually call the "Brazilian Head-Case" because it's a small and closed group of actual friends who are more experienced in the hobby and some of the traits that we find here (irreverence and occasionally some hostility ) are also found there. It's a place we really treasure. Recently we decided to get together in a meet and this is the result! The pictures are not mine, they're courtesy of Matias. Impossible not to start with Hugo's Orpheus set (although that's not his DAC), always a fantastic joy to listen to. ^ The whole point of it all! And now, to some brief impressions: Sennheiser HD800 I never liked it, but recently got a pair, understood it and I'm a convert. I get fantastic results with the GS-X, but it's undeniably rather cold so I guess I like it a lot mostly because it has a role to play in a more complete system. I wouldn't be able to live with it as my only headphones with the HeadAmp, but I thought both the DNA Stratus and the Leben CS300XS made it a lot more musical. HiFiMAN HE560 and HE6 The HE560 was a nice surprise mostly because of the upgrade in its physical qualities. Fit and finish is a lot better but the biggest improvement is the weight. It's really light and a lot more comfortable than the other models. Soundwise it seems more correct than the HE500 (although not as fun) but still clearly a step behind the HE6 in authority, resolution and transparency. JVC DX1000 Nice headphone, but IMO not worth the price tag. Audio-Technica W3000ANV I always thought that pairing it with a more musical amp would be too much of a good thing but I was wrong. I reckoned the result with the DNA Stratus was utterly incredible. AKG K1000 Again a surprise with Felipe's set – DNA Stratus and Yulong DAC. It really made it sing. It was never this good in my system. Unique Melody Demos (Merlin, Miracle and Mentor) Curiously I prefered the Merlin to the Miracle because it had smoother mids, but while I liked them, the treble was a bit pearcing for me after becoming accustomed to the Roxanne. The Mentor, however, is in a class of its own compared to the other two. Still no Roxanne, but to me it's a JH13 (pre-freq) beater. Grado SR200 w/ Black Star HP1000 Drivers Somehow it sounds a lot different than an actual HP1000 (which was present but didn't make it to the pictures). There's a lot less body, but there's also a lot more transparency. Audez'e LCD-XC After testing it with the Leben I thought it wasn't all that (still sounded like a closed headphone with somewhat sucked mids and piercing treble), but the Stratus changed that. I much prefer it to the LCD2, which I never liked. Audez'e LCD-X Even better! This I like. Ultrasone Edition 8 Sounds good, although a bit too energetic and I think it's weirdly positioned in the market. Too expensive and in the territory of much more capable headphones. Parrot Zyk Big surprise! It's obviously not an audiophile headphone, but it sounds good enough for portable use, it's supremely comfortable, wireless and massively convenient. DNA Stratus As you can probably tell from what I already said about other equipment, this to me (and to most other people there) was the surprise of the show. I know they don't get much love around here but I thought it was an extremely musical and engaging amplifier. I'm usually a SS guy, but I really could see myself living with it. Plus, that blue paint is bloody incredible. Calyx M Portable Player In the past I've had a HiFiMAN HM-801, an iBasso DX100 and a Sony ZX-1. I sold all of these because to me they just weren't worth the extra over an iPod in sound quality terms, especially since the former two offered big compromises in terms of UI. Well, the Calyx is the exception and I thought if offered a pretty substantial upgrade in SQ, IMO well worth the money. BMC PureDAC Already posted a review, so I guess some of you already know what I think. Great DAC, not so great headphone amp (even though it's technically a no-amp). Schiit Magni How on earth can something so small and cheap sound this good?

Indeed! But then a little bit of doubt and skepticism should not only make you get a better grip on reality but also help your wallet, I guess

Well, it is Synergistic Resarch... the lot that go for the string theory to explain their cables. I love how a fully understood and established hypothesis to explain the difference in perception (placebo) is not even considered by so many hobbyists, but a full paradigm shift in physics and electronics somehow is. I also love how some random guy making electronic components has this revolutionary physics all figured out, but physicists, electronic engineers and huge corporations with massive budgets don't – and, lastly, how the sound properties of cable materials magically match their aesthetics (silver is bright and thin and copper/gold is warm and veiled). Nice.

Why don't you go for one of the lesser Senns then? I've also tested the PC151s and – while that may be a bit too far at the other end – they sounded rather nice for the price, but then they look really bland and the build quality is very much on the simple side. It think it keeps the rotating mic with an auto mute feature, but then it doesn't have the handy volume control. Much more low key than the PC360! I also keep the any-headphone-plus-Zalman-MC1 recommendation though, might well be your best bet cause it gives you a lot more freedom and doesn't loose much in other areas compared to regular headsets.

^ is that what they did to it?? Another possibility would be to add something like this to any headphone you like. Seems pretty convenient, and is a constant recommendation in Brazilian forums for the gaming crowd!

I know it doesn't fit some of your criteria (no ActiveGard nor wireless), but I once tested a Sennheiser PC360 and liked it a lot. It's a HD5-something with a mic, so you get the traditional relaxed and laid back Senn house sound and it's also supremely comfortable.

NICE!!! Finally!

Aaaaand another.

The funny thing is that not even when a great team plays with a shitty one this sort of thing happens.

Me neither. I think the team thinks they're training.

The truth has surfaced! This is a joke.