Hello,
Yesterday we did everything that needed to be done in a marathon and today it rained all day. What could be better than finally comparing headphones with a clear conscience?
The question was, how good is the Composer compared to my other models that I can operate here at the farmhouse?
The following chain is available to me here:
Fiio m17 with Roon ARC symmetrical in XDuuo TA20 plus (5Z4G plus TAD Ecc82) for the Composer and Hifiman HE1000 Stealth and for the Stax 700 the XRDX pro. All 3 headphones run at +3db in the range under 100hz - they all like that.
The Composer would be the only one that doesn't require an external headphone amplifier. Nevertheless, for me it runs through the tube amplifier - a matter of taste.
So far I haven't had any complaints about the sound of the Stealth. The large ear cups are just inconvenient to use when leaning against thick cushions. Then he quickly slides forward. But otherwise very comfortable. By the way, I use a Forza cable. The original ones are too reminiscent of infusions in the hospital.
In terms of price/performance ratio, the Stealth is probably the best Hifiman at €1350.
A direct comparison with the other two gives the following impression: center-focused; good deep bass with more quantity than quality; large, wide stage but unfortunately not very defined positioning. Upper mids and highs are good, but not radiant - an advantage for poor, sibilant recordings, but I'm missing something for piano, for example. Better to boost something in the 2khz range. Overall a very pleasant, balanced balance. It rounds out the tones a bit, which also makes it suitable for long-term use.
What does the composer do differently or better?
Construction and feel are a different class. The workmanship, brackets, the 3 cables and the magnetic pads justify the higher price alone. The composer gives the impression that everything was done right here.
But the sound is more important. The composer is immediately audibly ahead in terms of bass quality. No matter how deep, it always shows what kind of bass is playing.
Another advantage is speech intelligibility. The stealth likes voices too, but the text is simply easier to hear with the composer. This is due to a sharper demarcation of the individual tones, which also leads to better separation of the individual sound sources. The composer is clean and clear without being harsh. He reacts more sensitively to the quality of the recording and the chain. Maximizing it and tailoring it to your personal taste certainly requires more attention than stealth. For this he rewards you with absolute top quality.
As far as the stage is concerned, he reproduces what is on the recording. Nothing is artificially inflated and nothing is limited in width or depth. You're a little closer to the music than with stealth. With it, similar to the HD800, I sometimes had the feeling that the musicians were getting lost in the distance. (Funny when the pianist switches from left to right depending on the pitch.)
The Stax 700 is another step up in terms of clarity in the upper mids and highs. Because of their design, electrostats are world champions. The bass on the 700 is also surprisingly deep, but the quality doesn't match the other two. Wonderful (female) voices and piano just sounds right! The most beautiful reverb flags of the 3.
Bass clearly goes to the composer, the upper mids and treble to Stax. Hifiman scores best with “coziness”.
All three are fun, one more, the other more there. I didn't even go into the different styles of music, I just listened to jazz with natural instruments.
The one headphone for the island is definitely the Composer. I'm looking forward to hearing it at Paltauf and comparing it with 009.
P.S.: The Hifiman gets less rounded and more clearness when played on the Geshelli transistoramp. The distance to the Composer get's closer. Very nice combination Seems he don't like tubes.
I've encountered an odd noise problem with The Composer and Violectric v340 amp. The disturbing voices occur when I switch the gain dips of Violectric for +6, +12 or +18. This happens with 6.3mm se- and also XLR-connectors.
I wonder if someone else has this kind of noise problems with the Composer (cables) and high gain settings. With 300 ohm Atrium open and 6.3mm se no disturbances can be heard.
I've encountered an odd noise problem with The Composer and Violectric v340 amp. The disturbing voices occur when I switch the gain dips of Violectric for +6, +12 or +18. This happens with 6.3mm se- and also XLR-connectors.
I wonder if someone else has this kind of noise problems with the Composer (cables) and high gain settings. With 300 ohm Atrium open and 6.3mm se no disturbances can be heard.
This happened when I tried low impedance headphones on the original SPL Phonitor, which had an output impedance of 9 ohms. Beyerdynamic T1 Gen. 2 at 600 ohms - no noise - whereas the AKG K812 and Beyerdynamic T1 Gen. 3 at 32 ohms each had lots of noise in the background. I'd guess this was solved in the Phonitor 2 and 3, with their lower output impedances. I was never more sorry to sell an amplifier on - I loved its beautiful balanced faceplate industrial design and it put a Saturn 5 rocket booster under the Beyerdynamic T1 Gen. 2.
This happened when I tried low impedance headphones on the original SPL Phonitor, which had an output impedance of 9 ohms. Beyerdynamic T1 Gen. 2 at 600 ohms - no noise - whereas the AKG K812 and Beyerdynamic T1 Gen. 3 at 32 ohms each had lots of noise in the background. I'd guess this was solved in the Phonitor 2 and 3, with their lower output impedances. I was never more sorry to sell an amplifier on - I loved its beautiful balanced faceplate industrial design and it put a Saturn 5 rocket booster under the Beyerdynamic T1 Gen. 2.
At zero gain dip settings luckily the disturbances vanish. So by adjusting the good synergy of The Composer and Violectric remains. With higher gain sound is very much liking a vinyl record that's not in good shape.
It's funny, that although I also had read of these impedance mismatches many timed, it's so astonishing when you encounter that in real situation.
The Composer has been on my radar for a while. Lots of great reviews from sources I trust. My primary use case will be with Poly/Mojo2 or Cayin N3U, occasionally with my desktop rig.
I already have the Empy2. The FR graphs seem to be very close, but of course that's only a fraction of the story. What would The Composer bring to the table that I'm not getting from my Empy2??
btw--Why does this thread seem more trolls than usual in head-fi?? Are there more trolls on the other side of the pond?? I mean, really, 10+ pages about foam when the OP just had a very simple question and was satisfied?
The Composer has been on my radar for a while. Lots of great reviews from sources I trust. My primary use case will be with Poly/Mojo2 or Cayin N3U, occasionally with my desktop rig.
I already have the Empy2. The FR graphs seem to be very close, but of course that's only a fraction of the story. What would The Composer bring to the table that I'm not getting from my Empy2??
Higher sensitivity (efficiency), and lighter weight primarily. I auditioned both headphones at Audio46 in NYC off the Questyle M15, and thought each sounded great. The Empy2 probably had a more spacious soundstage, but both were very neutral and highly musical to my ears. In a desktop scenario, I'd probably lean toward the Empy2, but for portable use almost certainly the Composer. FWIW.
I think there is no way around Composer...., especially for portable use
(And if you like really good quality deep bass, just take a closer look at this model)
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