Test of the ESS 422H
I just got my new ESS 422H AMT (32ohm) headphones yesterday and have put it through its paces. Listened to it on various amps (DIYA SE Class A and commercial Class AB) and compared against the rest of my phones: DT880 (250 ohms), HE400i planars (32ohms), Status OB-1 (55ohms), and Audio Technica ATH-M30x (55ohm). Build quality wise, they exceed all the others by several orders of magnitude. All walnut, heavy cast zinc or aluminum frames, either pleather or leather earpads and headband, textle covered cable with walnut grip on 3.5mm jack. They look and feel like $600 headphones, not $150 headphones. The detailing in the metal castings that hold the wires internally so there are no loose wires visible on the headband or yoke is really nice. The metal works looks like an investment cast piece of sculpture. They come in a nice box and there is a nice zippered compact carrying hard-case covered in ballistic nylon.
I listened to them on the Desktop Class A ( big PCA with 130mA bias current and 21v rail), a Fiio A5 (LME49600 Class AB with Muses opamp gain stage), and Aksa's Silicon Harmony (SE Class A with 1200mA bias current), and finally a Cavalli Tube Hybrid (CTH) with tube front end and SS output stage. All of the amps sound great but the Silicon Harmony wins here of course.
I let them break-in overnight playing some bass heavy pop music. Not sure if that did anything but wanted to give the suspension on the dynamic driver a chance to soften up. So far, they sound amazing and have more detail and resolution than any of the other headphones without being fatiguing. They will reveal flaws in the record that you did not hear before - mostly because they are 110dB/1mW sensitivity. Sort of like balanced armature IEM's in sensitivity which is crazy. Don't take much power - so the amp doesn't work as hard. Less distortion from the amp.
The sound is balanced and works for all genre's: jazz ensembles, girl and guitar, heavy metal, pop, dance/hip hop, classic rock, folk male vocals, folk female vocals, strings chamber orchestra, Hans Zimmerman movie sountracks, and orchestral classical. The bass is very powerful and doesn't sound boomy and boxy - and this is the first closed back headphone I have heard that sounds this open. The mid range is smooth and well textured - non sibilant, and the highs are clear and shimmering. Really the best of both worlds of dynamic and membrane drivers.
Technical details: source is Jriver streaming high resolution FLAC (96kHz) or WAV files. I also tried Amazon HD and that sounds very good too. DAC is SMSL Sanskrit 10. Most listening was done on Aksa Silicon Harmony, DCA, and Fiio A5.
Test Setup with other cans and Silicon Harmony amp:
Closeup of solid walnut wooden earcups and detail of walnut 3.5mm plug and gold jack. The cord includes a microphone and 3.5mm TRRS plug (for use with phone or for telecons) and 1/4in TRS adapter. You could use your own 3.5mm male-male cable if you wanted to - no proprietary connectors here. The cord is very short - great for use with a phone or portable amp, but probably in the studio you could use a longer cord. Easy to do with any longer 3.5mm to 3.5mm male/male headphone cable.
Here is a detail of the metalwork at the main hinge on the yoke, nice hex cap screws instead of usual Phillips screws, and metal has a satin texture. It feels like cast zinc - tougher and heavier than aluminum:
Here is detail of the backside of the yoke showing the channel for the wiring to pass through the headband, the telescopic springs, and the yoke. No external cables are visible except the main one that plugs into the left side from the amp:
Ergonomically, it feels very compact - does not stick out like the HE400i and the headband and yoke are low profile without protruding rods or other hardware like some headphones. The clamping pressure is firm, but can be adjusted somewhat by applying slight pressure on the headband outwards a bit. So far the comfort is fine and it applies enough pressure to seal the outside sound out and the music in. People cannot hear any sound escaping from the headphones when you wear them - cannot tell they are on. Some people have complained that they feel heavy. They are indeed a bit heavier at 417g vs 362g for the HE400i, but because they are compact, and there is a well padded headband and earpads, the weight is not uncomfortable. The quality of the metal work and wood and total absence of any plastic (except maybe the covering of the pleather - which might be real eather, I can't tell) make up for any issues witht the added weight. I like how compact they feel while being worn. The look is understated but exudes quality and has some gold and the solid walnut finish is superb.
So far, these are now my favorite headphones. They have sensitivity of my balanced armature IEM's, the bass of my OB-1's, and the hghs of my HE400i's, but eith more detail. Nothing about them is a negative thus far. I will continue to listen and see how the long term durability is and report back later.