Audeze CRBN

[spritzer]

One of the sets I received had that issue and Audeze replaced it, it was far too touchy. 

[NyquistRate]

Audeze wasn't very helpful.  They sent a big letter about their design choice and tensioning on the diaphragm.  No offer to help remedy the issue.

[Iron_Dreamer]

On 8/13/2022 at 9:02 PM, NyquistRate said:

Audeze wasn't very helpful.  They sent a big letter about their design choice and tensioning on the diaphragm.  No offer to help remedy the issue.

 PM me with your info including serial #, let me know who you talked to. I think we can do better, I can get info about your headphone directly from the lead tech for CRBN.

[TammerDown]

On 8/13/2022 at 9:02 PM, NyquistRate said:

Audeze wasn't very helpful.  They sent a big letter about their design choice and tensioning on the diaphragm.  No offer to help remedy the issue.

All of the units have a warranty for 3 years from the build date. Tell them you want them to inspect it. Mine was faulty.

[NyquistRate]

On 8/17/2022 at 11:18 AM, Iron_Dreamer said:

 PM me with your info including serial #, let me know who you talked to. I think we can do better, I can get info about your headphone directly from the lead tech for CRBN.

Thank you!  I was on the road for business all last week.  I did get a response agreeing to inspect it after I responded to the generic email.  I'll send PM you with details but wanted to update the group.

[TammerDown]

Sadly, the conclusion to the CRBN "study" is that it's a great headphone that neither technically nor tonally is correct. Perhaps one day Audeze will make a headphone that is both exciting and accurate (and doesn't fart). After 6+ months, it's a zero recommendation from my side.

Big question mark as why spritzer was such a fan. Based on the posts, and early access, it seems he may have been influentially bias about the sound signature. I hope I'm wrong Spritzer!

[spritzer]

I don't really give a shit what you think but my views/impressions are never for sale.  The CRBN is flawed but still an excellent set of headphones with production quality rivaling Stax is many ways.  In terms of sound, that is always subjective, but it's clear, based on the market, that people are not happy with where Stax are going.  Used prices of 009's are now often below that of a used 007 (not even a rare Mk1) and the 009S's are headed that same way.  Also notice how little talk there is about the X9000 from the long term Stax owners, those that did buy a set, quietly sold them off as they just aren't good. 

[TammerDown]

5 hours ago, spritzer said:

I don't really give a shit what you think but my views/impressions are never for sale.  The CRBN is flawed but still an excellent set of headphones with production quality rivaling Stax is many ways.  In terms of sound, that is always subjective, but it's clear, based on the market, that people are not happy with where Stax are going.  Used prices of 009's are now often below that of a used 007 (not even a rare Mk1) and the 009S's are headed that same way.  Also notice how little talk there is about the X9000 from the long term Stax owners, those that did buy a set, quietly sold them off as they just aren't good. 

I don’t disagree with you on the 009/009s front nor on the 007 being great. I prefer the CRBN over the 009 line.

Yet the CRBN should not be a $4500 headphone. The mk2.xxxxx 007 does everything the CRBN does and then some. 

SRX9k is a different story (…significantly better than the crbn…) and not the subject here.

[spritzer]

Price is always tricky, the 007's should be far more expensive based on the parts and their quality but the true cost has been amortized over the last 25 years.  The CRBN without the forged carbon, CF headband and the fancy metal mesh could have been far cheaper. 

Then you have the issue of things being far too cheap so they aren't taken seriously.  They way I see it is CRBN vs. Voce, both made in the US and similar enough in price these days.  Voce is trash though... 

[rod]

I have a pair  of CRBN coming next week, I use Roon for non L.P. playback which has  a  DSP pre-set  provided by Audeze  for the CRBN, will be interested to see how much difference it makes compared to it flat .

Not sure how many of you on here use Roon and have already tried it.

Edited October 16, 2022 by rod
added CRBN

[gepardcv]

I wonder if the Audeze-provided EQ is the one from Bob Katz's review of the CRBN (https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/audeze-crbn-electrostatic-headphones/ and https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/audeze-crbn-headphones-part-two/). (Spoiler alert: he loves the CRBN, and his EQ is fairly mild.)

[rod]

15 hours ago, gepardcv said:

I wonder if the Audeze-provided EQ is the one from Bob Katz's review of the CRBN (https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/audeze-crbn-electrostatic-headphones/ and https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/audeze-crbn-headphones-part-two/). (Spoiler alert: he loves the CRBN, and his EQ is fairly mild.)

I don’t know, it doesn’t mention his name .

 

[rod]

My CRBN headphones arrived yesterday and I have noticed that I am getting  the e-stat fart(crackling) , quite a lot  louder  in the right ear than the left  even when adjusting on the head.  I have told the dealer about it, he said to run them over the weekend and see if they settle. 

 I  know Spritzer had to send a pair back for this as well as Tammerdown .

Even though these are brand new from my dealer  I have noticed that the cert of authenticity  date is 11-1-2021  which I guess as it a  U.S. company is  1st of Nov 2021  which I am surprised at being around 12months ago, even though I am based in U.K., not sure how long they have been held at U.K. importer .

  I assume things didn't improve for you which is why they went back but I wonder if anyone else had this and it improved  over short time.

Edited October 22, 2022 by rod

[Iron_Dreamer]

10 hours ago, rod said:

My CRBN headphones arrived yesterday and I have noticed that I am getting  the e-stat fart(crackling) , quite a lot  louder  in the right ear than the left  even when adjusting on the head.  I have told the dealer about it, he said to run them over the weekend and see if they settle. 

 I  know Spritzer had to send a pair back for this as well as Tammerdown .

Even though these are brand new from my dealer  I have noticed that the cert of authenticity  date is 11-1-2021  which I guess as it a  U.S. company is  1st of Nov 2021  which I am surprised at being around 12months ago, even though I am based in U.K., not sure how long they have been held at U.K. importer .

  I assume things didn't improve for you which is why they went back but I wonder if anyone else had this and it improved  over short time.

I'll send you a PM

[MatijaSever]

On 8/3/2021 at 1:39 AM, gepardcv said:

Wait! Does this mean Audeze finally managed to make a headphone that doesn't make violins sound like violas?!

@Beefy: Re: “electrostats seem to have stood completely still, while planars and dynamics have come forward in leaps and bounds” — my observations from attending numerous (large) meets for several years before covid have been that no TOTL planar or dynamic beats my SR-007 (v2.5 I guess?) and Carbon combo. Not the Utopia, not the LCD-4, not the piece of shit Abyss, nothing Hifiman (haven't heard their $6k thing though), not the Meze Empyrean (though that thing is pure catnip for bassheads). They're nice, sure, and most have the advantage of not needing much of a specialized amp. But they're not nicer than the current-https://spartan-agency.com 007 or the 1993 SR-Omega (which I don't have, alas, but have had the fortune to try once).

This opinion is unpopular on other forums. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Maybe this means there's a (local?) maximum in headphone japanese chef knives, and various manufacturers are slowly [URL=https://telegrambetting.club/telegram-sports-betting/tennis-betting-telegram/]https://telegrambetting.club/telegram-sports-betting/tennis-betting-telegram/[/URL] it.

@spritzer: What amps do you think the measurements are https://eldfall-chronicles.com/product/single-model-kitsune-spellmaiden/ from?

Wait! Does this mean Audeze finally managed to make a headphone that doesn't make violins sound like violas?!

@Beefy: Re: “electrostats seem to have stood completely still, while planars and dynamics have come forward in leaps and bounds” — my observations from attending numerous (large) meets for several years before covid have been that no TOTL planar or dynamic beats my SR-007 (v2.5 I guess?) and Carbon combo. Not the Utopia, not the LCD-4, not the piece of shit Abyss, nothing Hifiman (haven't heard their $6k thing though), not the Meze Empyrean (though that thing is pure catnip for bassheads). They're nice, sure, and most have the advantage of not needing much of a specialized amp. But they're not nicer than the current-production 007 or the 1993 SR-Omega (which I don't have, alas, but have had the fortune to try once).

This opinion is unpopular on other forums. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Maybe this means there's a (local?) maximum in headphone quality, and various manufacturers are slowly reaching it.

@spritzer: What amps do you think the measurements are coming from?

[Juansan2]

Any news or feedback about the CRBN2? Is there a release date and will you be auditioning a pair @spritzer?

[catscratch]

$6000? Please. All the cool kids are asking $8-9k for their new flagships. What, are they trying to tell us their headphones aren't as good as the new Hifimans or Raals?

Also, they should make the cables a subscription-based service and sell the bass separately as pre-order DLC.

[spritzer]

I won't be getting a pair try out but I might send one of the originals in for an upgrade.  I have an original set sitting with Kevin in the US so that's an option. 

The price is silly though... they were already pretty expensive to begin with. 

[Juansan2]

On 9/29/2024 at 12:52 PM, spritzer said:

I won't be getting a pair try out but I might send one of the originals in for an upgrade.  I have an original set sitting with Kevin in the US so that's an option. 

The price is silly though... they were already pretty expensive to begin with. 

Agreed about the prices. Hopefully the improvements will be worthwhile even though I doubt they will be justified at the new price. 
 

P.S.: the Audeze rep has stated “on that other site” that the very best amp that they have heard matched to the CRBN and CRBN2 is your Carbon CC. 

Edited September 30 by Juansan2

[Iron_Dreamer]

First shipments expected in late November, upgrades start in December.

@spritzer I'll message you.

Debates about the price aside, let me know any questions you all have, and I'll do my best to address them.  The sound quality improvement from the original is not subtle. And yes it does sound fantastic from the Mjolnir and HeadAmp gear we have at Audeze.

[aerius]

Finally got to hear the CRBN at the Toronto Audio Fest.  I camped out all morning at the Audeze booth and listened to the LCD-2, LCD-5, and CRBN since I wanted to know how they compare to my LCD-XC.  I have very little experience with 'stats since I don't know anyone in my area who has one, only ones I've heard was some entry level Stax (crap) at a meet like 20 years ago and a SR-404/SRM-717 combo a fellow head-fi member had.  404 was nice on some music, but dynamics, impact, and bass were lacking, it couldn't rock or boogie.

Show conditions so can't really tell much about low level detail or resolution, once I got to around the LCD-XC level it's all fairly similar, I'm not going to pretend I heard a bunch of details or room echoes in the LCD-5 or CRBN that I didn't on the LCD-XC.  But the good news is the CRBN can rock out to Black Sabbath and Motorhead, and it can groove to Bob Marley though I do wish it had a bit more bass & impact like the LCD-2 or XC.  Soundstage is nice, perspective seems to be a bit further back which I prefer, the LCD-XC sometimes puts me right in the conductor's position in an orchestra which can sound a bit wonky depending on the music.

Overall, it sounds like an Audeze which is a good thing.  I think the LCD-5, XC, and CRBN are more alike than different, being a closed headphone the XC has a sizable advantage in show conditions so I'd definitely want to spend more time with the flagships in a nice quiet room to hear how well they can resolve low level details, room boundaries, and all that other stuff that's hard to hear in a noisy room. 

Edited October 19 by aerius
typos