Headphone Reviews

Sound Quality
To my ears, the Ether C Flow is neutral to slightly "U" shape sounding. Measured frequency response shows a headphone that is quite close to the Harman target response. Bass is boosted about 5dB above flat below 150Hz; the boost does not intrude into the mids but is slightly excessive in the mid-bass. Though following the target response quite closely, by ear it sounds somewhat too emphatic in the mid-treble area.

Dynamics are quite good, but not great; imaging is fairly good, a little shallow, but not great; resolving power is fairly good, but not great. Overall, other than the one flaw of a slight peak at 6-7kHz the Ether C Flow is rather like a KLR motorcycle: it's capable of doing just about anything you could ask a motorcycle to do, but it doesn't do anything really well.

For me this headphone is a bit of a revelation. With measured response so close to the Harman target it allowed me to spend quite a bit of time getting a feel for a headphone with that response...and figuring out whether I liked it or not.

I think this is a worthy exercise for serious headphone enthusiasts. I think many of us have grown used to responses that are roughly flat to 1kHz, and I think it's well worth the time to use a good EQ to boost the bass 5dB from 150Hz down, and induce a gentle rise from 600Hz to about 1500Hz before the quicker rise to 3.5kHz in the raw response. At this point the added bass and presence does seem more correct to me. The problem now is fine tuning that response to discover exactly where neutral is.

What I'm hearing with the Ether C Flow is what I would broadly consider as a neutral response, but I also hear some slightly distracting brightness. Measurements do show a small peak at 6-7kHz, which is not a good place for emphasis as it can be quite disturbing—the HD 800 has a larger peak here that is quite annoying. When I tune it out with EQ the headphone becomes more enjoyable for me. Here's my EQ settings for the Ether C Flow.

The interesting thing is that even when the spike is tuned out, I still find the Ether C Flow lacks smoothness and the integrated and coherent sound I hear, for example, on the Focal Utopia. The C Flow lacks the refinement of killer open cans, even though it may be more tonally neutral than many. This may be evidenced by the somewhat rough looking response—lots of wiggling about there.

When I compared them to the previous Ether C, I found them again to be more tonally neutral, but not necessarily more enjoyable as the Ether C has a more integrated sound to my ears, and lacked the slight emphasis at 6-7kHz. I prefer the older Ether C to the new C Flow if allowed to use EQ. When I compared it un-EQed to a raft of other sealed headphones (ATH-M50x, ATH-MSR7, SRH1540, NAD VISO HP50, Focal Spirit Pro, E-Mu Teak, and Oppo PM3) it was pretty clearly a more neutral sound, but it was also sometimes the case that I would have preferred listening to the other cans, though less neutral, for their somewhat smoother and gentler on the ears character (ATH-M50x, NAD VISO HP50, and Oppo PM3).

The lesson here might be that neutral and really good sounding sealed headphones will be very hard to create. It seems likely to me that the best performance will eventually come from headphones that are designed to give very well behaved, smooth responses, which are then EQed with DSP to deliver a neutral response. Forcing a headphone to have the Harman Target Response acoustically may introduce unevenness and distortion.

On the other hand, the Ether C Flow is extraordinarily neutral right out of the box, and I think would serve audio pros needing a sealed headphone very well. Other than a very slight propensity for a bit of excess brightness at 6-7kHz, this is a tonally honest sealed headphone—something very hard to come by in a closed can. It's probably a better choice than the Ether C with it's more neutral sound, and a much better sealed alternative for pros than the LCD-XC, or EL-8 Closed, or many others. But I also have to say that for many pros the Audio Technica ATH-M50x at less than 1/10th the price may work just as well. Basically, sealed headphone performance is extremely variable. Buyer beware.

For headphone audiophiles my conclusion may be somewhat more depressing. MrSpeakers in an excellent maker; the Ether C Flow is, by comparison with other sealed headphones, an excellent performer. The problem is that it just may not be as satisfying as we would like. We've known for a long, long time that sealed headphones just aren't as good as open cans for refined listening. The Ether C Flow just reaffirms that for me. The take away point may be that you're just not going to find world class listening with a sealed headphone...and maybe you should even try. My recommendation may be to simply get one of the less expensive headphones mentioned above when you need isolation, and spend the big bucks on and Ether Flow open headphone to use at home...which is a truly excellent headphone.

Flow Upgrades
After hearing all four headphones, I would say that upgrading an Ether to Ether Flow is a good value. Going from the Ether C to Ether C Flow will get you more bass and a bit more presence, but you get a little less refinement and a small peak at 6-7kHz. That's a tougher call, it's more of a side grade.

Summary
The MrSpeakers Ether C Flow is a superbly styled and built headphone that is very comfortable to wear. Included cables and case are likewise excellent.

Sound quality is superbly neutral for a sealed headphone, but a small peak at 6-7kHz and a generally unrefined sound prevent it from achieving audiophile quality sound commensurate with its high price. For that I'd suggest the Ether C and a bit of bass boost. Audio pros, however, may find its honest presentation makes it an excellent tool when speakers are not an option. This is a trustworthy, though expensive, headphone.

I like this headphone very much, and will give it an InnerFidelity "Wall of Fame" recommendation largely on its excellence as a monitoring headphone for audio pros. For audiophiles it's a tougher call. It's not that I think the Ether C Flow is a poor performer—it's not, it's a very good sealed headphone—it's just that I think audiophile sensibilities are not well served by sealed headphones at this time, and you'd be better served by a much lower cost sealed headphone when you need the isolation, and save the big money for open headphones when you can listen in quiet spaces. If you are intent on an expensive sealed headphone that performs well, I love the Ether C with a bit of bass boost.

Editor's Note: This headphone was initially given a "Stuff We Like" award. Subsequent to this review, Tyll decided it warranted a "Wall of Fame" slot based on its excellent tonal balance and application in the pro audio world, and the sense that it was a reference level headphone even if his personal tastes had him preferring the previous Ether C. Click here for the full explanation.

Video
Click here to view on YouTube

Resources
MrSpeakers home page and Ether C Flow product page.
SBAF threads here and here.
Head-Fi reviews and thread.