levap
100+ Head-Fier
So, impressions about Kennerton Arkona. I started listening and mostly listened with leather ear pads – with perforations, more depth than on previous Kennerton headphones. Soft and comfortable, despite the massiveness of the headphones (heavier in comparison with Rognir), it is very comfortable to listen, I have no complaints. Velour ear pads were also included, we'll talk about them separately.
About the sound signature of the headphones. It's different from anything I've ever heard from Kennerton. At the exhibition, it seemed that it resembled Snorri's products, but later it became clear what exactly it only seemed. When listening at home system, as the closest to my ear, it probably looks like LCD-4 (without other letters, the original LCD-4). Only without overflow of LCD sweet endorphins, cleaner and more neutral. But the power, volume and weight of sounds, physicality – that's all there.
By elements of sound signature. The bass is perhaps the iconic and most "special–effects" generating part. If it is possible to reproduce the effect of a "blow to the chest" with a bass on headphones, here it is obvious that the closest approach to this effect is possible in real conditions. At the same time, the impact is not a soft cotton pad, details and speed are at the highest level, there are no "questions" about the resolution on the woofer. The bass creates a feeling of power and large, tactile sound images. Mids – with all that has been said about the bass, mids are not obscured, not blocked, quite balanced with both highs and bass. They are clear, clean, without sweet coloration or "roughness". They flow freely and easily. HF – without "veils" and muffling, there are no attempts to mask details. Arkona does not reach the analyticity of the supermicroscope, but it will miss nothing. The size of the soundstage, looking at the depth of the ear pads, you expect a special one, but apparently the concept of large images does its job and the result is average for TOTL closed headphones, there is no feeling of compactness, closeness of space, but the latitudes characteristic of open headphones are not achieved. A record punch on the bass does not lead to compression of the soundstage, which in itself is surprising, and especially interesting for closed headphones.
With velour ear pads, the overall sound signature becomes noticeably lighter or rather "mids-centered". Arkona plays calmer and more relaxed. The bass "macroscope" does not work so deliberately. And it becomes even more noticeable how well the headphones can work on mids. It's obviously not in vain that paper is used in drivers. Although perhaps it's more psychology, but I can't get away from the audio ghost of the Audio Note that visits when trying to listen to mids of Arkona in velour. For elegant genres, perhaps, such an assembly is more preferable. Yes. And it is very pleasant to take this velour in your hands - just a touch, as it were, adjusts for impressions following.
But my use case for closed headphones is to listen to energetic genres without injuring others, so for the rest of the review, let's go back to the leather ear pads.
Let's compare Arkona with Rognir. Rognir has a more dynamic and airy general character relative to Arkona. A little softer treble and not so focused, crushing bass, mids of the Rognir with a slightly velvety "analog" texture. In short - Rognir is warmer, Arkona is darker, it cannot be said that they are noticeably higher in level, the others are lower. And some of them are probably the top of the line, but they have different lines, both have their own character.
Let's compare it with Dan Clark Audio Stealth. Stealth is a perfectly neutral device compared to Arkona. Arkona – in all respects, the "involvement" parameter seems to be slightly twisted up. Arkona has a slightly more sparkling treble (or Stealth has a small veil), a slightly more transparent and more open mids (or Stealth has a bit laid-back midrange in comparison), a slightly more energetic bass (Stealth is more than OK with the bass, but not SO punchy). Arkona's soundstage is positionrd slightly in front of listener and perceived bigger than Stealth's (obviously as a result of the shape of the ear cushions – Arkona's "bevel" is more pronounced). Right now, after listening to such outstanding devices, which certainly both Stealth and Arkona are, one is tempted to embark on deep discussions on the topic of neutrality, naturalness and involvement. But let's leave it out for now. In my own humble opinion, leaving the palm tree in "neutrality" – for Stealth, in "involvement" – for Arkona.
Let's express our impressions by genres.
Metal.
Where it is good and very good. Black, Death, Grindcore – darkness, power, punch and aggression, maximum catharsis, something more synergistic is very, very difficult to find. Doom, Sludge, Stoner - also a 200% hit zone in profile, the thickest dark bass waves gently rock. Industrial - another subgenre with the maximum matching profile, the sub-bass kicks on all accesible and unaccesible internal organs, energizing the body whether it wants to or not. Goth – the level of longing required is achieved without difficulty, thanks to the absence of sweet colorations. Heavy Metal, Thrash – Arkona can play rock, energy and protest in a moderately serious and moderately self-ironic way.
Where you can be a little naughty. Power, Alternative – concentrated heavy power presses a little too seriously, longing to open the window a little (with velour ear pads, by the way, it will be what you need, but we will remain consistent in the review with leather pads). Progressive, Symphonic – there is enough space, but it is filled with dark matter, I would like more open emptiness.
By the way, we add that there is a Russian metal band Arkona, which sounds quite synergistically in Arkona.
Electronics. Fast and technical, with a pronounced bass/subbass punch, cool, darkish sound signature is a description of the best possible headphones for electronics, at least in my coordinate system and Arkona are very close to the maximum approximation to the embodiment of such a profile.
Jazz. At the end of the review, we will change into velour ear pads for jazz. Velour and paper – tactile and textural set the right mood even before the music is turned on. And with the first sounds of jazz vocals, the "deja vu" of the times when I had Audio Note speakers and amplifier. Not that any direct parallels were born. And my headphones system is purely solid state. But there is something in the sound "code", some magical runes from these times, or rather noospheric spaces, seep out and are embodied in sound. To put it a little more human language, a combination of a surprisingly sincere mids, tactful and at the same time not so very modest treble, not "rushing into the embrasure" of the bass with the genre come into relation. They twist the maximum return from the sections of neural networks in the brain responsible for jazz perception.
And as a short summary - one of the most certainly the best among the TOTL closed headphones on planet Earth. Adjusted for taste preferences, they may well be just very best in the personal standings.
About the sound signature of the headphones. It's different from anything I've ever heard from Kennerton. At the exhibition, it seemed that it resembled Snorri's products, but later it became clear what exactly it only seemed. When listening at home system, as the closest to my ear, it probably looks like LCD-4 (without other letters, the original LCD-4). Only without overflow of LCD sweet endorphins, cleaner and more neutral. But the power, volume and weight of sounds, physicality – that's all there.
By elements of sound signature. The bass is perhaps the iconic and most "special–effects" generating part. If it is possible to reproduce the effect of a "blow to the chest" with a bass on headphones, here it is obvious that the closest approach to this effect is possible in real conditions. At the same time, the impact is not a soft cotton pad, details and speed are at the highest level, there are no "questions" about the resolution on the woofer. The bass creates a feeling of power and large, tactile sound images. Mids – with all that has been said about the bass, mids are not obscured, not blocked, quite balanced with both highs and bass. They are clear, clean, without sweet coloration or "roughness". They flow freely and easily. HF – without "veils" and muffling, there are no attempts to mask details. Arkona does not reach the analyticity of the supermicroscope, but it will miss nothing. The size of the soundstage, looking at the depth of the ear pads, you expect a special one, but apparently the concept of large images does its job and the result is average for TOTL closed headphones, there is no feeling of compactness, closeness of space, but the latitudes characteristic of open headphones are not achieved. A record punch on the bass does not lead to compression of the soundstage, which in itself is surprising, and especially interesting for closed headphones.
With velour ear pads, the overall sound signature becomes noticeably lighter or rather "mids-centered". Arkona plays calmer and more relaxed. The bass "macroscope" does not work so deliberately. And it becomes even more noticeable how well the headphones can work on mids. It's obviously not in vain that paper is used in drivers. Although perhaps it's more psychology, but I can't get away from the audio ghost of the Audio Note that visits when trying to listen to mids of Arkona in velour. For elegant genres, perhaps, such an assembly is more preferable. Yes. And it is very pleasant to take this velour in your hands - just a touch, as it were, adjusts for impressions following.
But my use case for closed headphones is to listen to energetic genres without injuring others, so for the rest of the review, let's go back to the leather ear pads.
Let's compare Arkona with Rognir. Rognir has a more dynamic and airy general character relative to Arkona. A little softer treble and not so focused, crushing bass, mids of the Rognir with a slightly velvety "analog" texture. In short - Rognir is warmer, Arkona is darker, it cannot be said that they are noticeably higher in level, the others are lower. And some of them are probably the top of the line, but they have different lines, both have their own character.
Let's compare it with Dan Clark Audio Stealth. Stealth is a perfectly neutral device compared to Arkona. Arkona – in all respects, the "involvement" parameter seems to be slightly twisted up. Arkona has a slightly more sparkling treble (or Stealth has a small veil), a slightly more transparent and more open mids (or Stealth has a bit laid-back midrange in comparison), a slightly more energetic bass (Stealth is more than OK with the bass, but not SO punchy). Arkona's soundstage is positionrd slightly in front of listener and perceived bigger than Stealth's (obviously as a result of the shape of the ear cushions – Arkona's "bevel" is more pronounced). Right now, after listening to such outstanding devices, which certainly both Stealth and Arkona are, one is tempted to embark on deep discussions on the topic of neutrality, naturalness and involvement. But let's leave it out for now. In my own humble opinion, leaving the palm tree in "neutrality" – for Stealth, in "involvement" – for Arkona.
Let's express our impressions by genres.
Metal.
Where it is good and very good. Black, Death, Grindcore – darkness, power, punch and aggression, maximum catharsis, something more synergistic is very, very difficult to find. Doom, Sludge, Stoner - also a 200% hit zone in profile, the thickest dark bass waves gently rock. Industrial - another subgenre with the maximum matching profile, the sub-bass kicks on all accesible and unaccesible internal organs, energizing the body whether it wants to or not. Goth – the level of longing required is achieved without difficulty, thanks to the absence of sweet colorations. Heavy Metal, Thrash – Arkona can play rock, energy and protest in a moderately serious and moderately self-ironic way.
Where you can be a little naughty. Power, Alternative – concentrated heavy power presses a little too seriously, longing to open the window a little (with velour ear pads, by the way, it will be what you need, but we will remain consistent in the review with leather pads). Progressive, Symphonic – there is enough space, but it is filled with dark matter, I would like more open emptiness.
By the way, we add that there is a Russian metal band Arkona, which sounds quite synergistically in Arkona.
Electronics. Fast and technical, with a pronounced bass/subbass punch, cool, darkish sound signature is a description of the best possible headphones for electronics, at least in my coordinate system and Arkona are very close to the maximum approximation to the embodiment of such a profile.
Jazz. At the end of the review, we will change into velour ear pads for jazz. Velour and paper – tactile and textural set the right mood even before the music is turned on. And with the first sounds of jazz vocals, the "deja vu" of the times when I had Audio Note speakers and amplifier. Not that any direct parallels were born. And my headphones system is purely solid state. But there is something in the sound "code", some magical runes from these times, or rather noospheric spaces, seep out and are embodied in sound. To put it a little more human language, a combination of a surprisingly sincere mids, tactful and at the same time not so very modest treble, not "rushing into the embrasure" of the bass with the genre come into relation. They twist the maximum return from the sections of neural networks in the brain responsible for jazz perception.
And as a short summary - one of the most certainly the best among the TOTL closed headphones on planet Earth. Adjusted for taste preferences, they may well be just very best in the personal standings.
