Audeze CRBN Electrostatic Headphones

[VSG]

Audeze and TechPowerUp both enter the untamed realm of electrostatic headphones with the CRBN. These $4500 headphones use patented transducers to produce one of the best bass responses I have ever heard, and this is paired with natural vocals reproduction inside a luxurious and highly comfortable chassis.

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[zlobby]

I stopped reading after I saw the specs. That much money for cans capped at 20Hz?

'Most people cannot hear below 20Hz!' Weeeell fook you, Audeze! Most people can't cough such money for earphones either! Catch my drift?

Sorry, @VSG , it's probably an excellent review but this time I'll pass. I suggest you do so the next time when such BS is present.

 

[VSG]

I stopped reading after I saw the specs. That much money for cans capped at 20Hz?

'Most people cannot hear below 20Hz!' Weeeell fook you, Audeze! Most people can't cough such money for earphones either! Catch my drift?

Sorry, @VSG , it's probably an excellent review but this time I'll pass. I suggest you do so the next time when such BS is present.

You can definitely feel under 20 Hz with this btw, the ratings are conservative if it helps.

 

[LabRat 891]

CRBN? Like, CBRN. But a bit dyslexic?

Chemical
Radiological
Biological
Nuclear
?

Can't tell if Incidental, or New Cold War era marketing.

 

[VSG]

CRBN? Like, CBRN. But a bit dyslexic?

Chemical
Radiological
Biological
Nuclear
?

Can't tell if Incidental, or New Cold War era marketing.

CRBN, Carbon, Carbon nanotubes.

 

[zlobby]

You can definitely feel under 20 Hz with this btw, the ratings are conservative if it helps.

I can hear pure tones up to 6Hz and feel it below through bone conductance. Not quite the same as with speakers ans subwoofers but for that price range of the earphones I expected more.

 

[Chrispy_]

I guess you need to be dissatisfied with some cheaper headphones before you can justify spending $4000 on a pair.

And let's define cheaper;

Both the Sony MDR-Z1R and Sennheiser HD820 are practically flawless. Not only could you buy both for under $4000, you could spend the rest on a nice headphone amp or a few sets of $200 headphones to throw into your instrument bags for practice or whatever.

 

[VSG]

I guess you need to be dissatisfied with some cheaper headphones before you can justify spending $4000 on a pair.

And let's define cheaper;

Both the Sony MDR-Z1R and Sennheiser HD820 are practically flawless. Not only could you buy both for under $4000, you could spend the rest on a nice headphone amp or a few sets of $200 headphones to throw into your instrument bags for practice or whatever.

Mate I was with you until you said the HD820 was practically flawless. That's the biggest regret in my purchase history ever.

 

[Chrispy_]

Mate I was with you until you said the HD820 was practically flawless. That's the biggest regret in my purchase history ever.

Really? Why do you hate them so much?

I've only listened to them in-store for about 5 minutes. They were very nice and I'd be happy with them, but I'm also a frugal audiophile. I use MDR-1As when I'm just practising because they sound decent enough and super-comfy. I know they don't have a flat response curve but they're good-quality, everyday headphones that have no major weaknesses.

I recently bought myself a pair of HD6XX and they're good enough for me. I was debating spending triple on the HD820 and my middle-age ears were struggling to discern differences between them. I could tell the difference, but it wasn't anything I didn't think some EQ or DSP could change on the HD6XX.

 

[LabRat 891]

CRBN, Carbon, Carbon nanotubes.

Ah.
My Mil-nerd outweighed my Sci-nerd.
Can't help but recognize all caps as acronyms.

 

[zlobby]

Ah.
My Mil-nerd outweighed my Sci-nerd.
Can't help but recognize all caps as acronyms.

SNAFU. RTB.

 

[Scrizz]

I love my LCD2 closed, and Euclids

 

[Footman]

Earpads glued on a pair of $4500 headphones! That's a deal breaker for me. Wallet closed. Better stick to my $110 Hifiman 400SE then..
After looking at your testing amp VSG I suddenly feel inadequate with my DX3Pro+.....

Great review.

 

[Space Lynx]

You can definitely feel under 20 Hz with this btw, the ratings are conservative if it helps.

I doubt it beats STAX with a Blue Hawaii amp? I am pretty sure you have heard that setup if I remember right.

 

[VSG]

I doubt it beats STAX with a Blue Hawaii amp? I am pretty sure you have heard that setup if I remember right.

The only STAX that I thought bested the CRBN was the new SR-X9000, which does cost more and is arguably the best overall headphones I've heard to date if paired with a matching source.

Earpads glued on a pair of $4500 headphones! That's a deal breaker for me. Wallet closed. Better stick to my $110 Hifiman 400SE then..
After looking at your testing amp VSG I suddenly feel inadequate with my DX3Pro+.....

Great review.

For what it's worth, you can get replacement pads from Audeze from what I know, they just come with the glued pads pre-applied on one side similar to 3M double-sided tape.

Really? Why do you hate them so much?

I've only listened to them in-store for about 5 minutes. They were very nice and I'd be happy with them, but I'm also a frugal audiophile. I use MDR-1As when I'm just practising because they sound decent enough and super-comfy. I know they don't have a flat response curve but they're good-quality, everyday headphones that have no major weaknesses.

I recently bought myself a pair of HD6XX and they're good enough for me. I was debating spending triple on the HD820 and my middle-age ears were struggling to discern differences between them. I could tell the difference, but it wasn't anything I didn't think some EQ or DSP could change on the HD6XX.

I first heard the HD820 at CES in the Sennheiser booth where I still don't know why I thought it was so good. I ended up buying a set for myself because I couldn't believe there was a closed-back set that could look as nice, be built well, and sounds as great as it did. It does get the first two right but the tonality on my retail set was really bad and that's unfortunately the trend across the board: https://crinacle.com/graphs/headphones/sennheiser-hd820/. EQ doesn't help much either since ultimately the drivers were just not as good with that particular assembly, and the HD800S thankfully showed otherwise. I sold them within a couple of months at a tangible loss. If you are unable to hear the difference between the HD820 (or do you mean HD800S that makes way more sense) compared to the HD 6XX, then I can't say much except that I am just glad you bought the better HD 6XX for a lower cost anyway.

 

[Space Lynx]

The only STAX that I thought bested the CRBN was the new SR-X9000, which does cost more and is arguably the best overall headphones I've heard to date if paired with a matching source.

Never heard of them, they are up for pre-order now. $6200, not including another 5k on an amp I bet. lol

Damn, I wish I was rich. Very few things in life that I wish I had extra wealth for, but some end game STAX is one of those few.

 

[zlobby]

I doubt it beats STAX with a Blue Hawaii amp? I am pretty sure you have heard that setup if I remember right.

I don't remember if squirelly guy did but I surely do. Trust me, the difference is day and night. I'm yet to hear anything beating electrostats.
With the Hive guy in the mix electrostats are closer to the masses than ever!

 

[VSG]

I don't remember if squirelly guy did but I surely do. Trust me, the difference is day and night. I'm yet to hear anything beating electrostats.
With the Hive guy in the mix electrostats are closer to the masses than ever!

HiveX is very impressive for the money, yes.

 

[zlobby]

The only STAX that I thought bested the CRBN was the new SR-X9000, which does cost more and is arguably the best overall headphones I've heard to date if paired with a matching source.


For what it's worth, you can get replacement pads from Audeze from what I know, they just come with the glued pads pre-applied on one side similar to 3M double-sided tape.



I first heard the HD820 at CES in the Sennheiser booth where I still don't know why I thought it was so good. I ended up buying a set for myself because I couldn't believe there was a closed-back set that could look as nice, be built well, and sounds as great as it did. It does get the first two right but the tonality on my retail set was really bad and that's unfortunately the trend across the board: https://crinacle.com/graphs/headphones/sennheiser-hd820/. EQ doesn't help much either since ultimately the drivers were just not as good with that particular assembly, and the HD800S thankfully showed otherwise. I sold them within a couple of months at a tangible loss. If you are unable to hear the difference between the HD820 (or do you mean HD800S that makes way more sense) compared to the HD 6XX, then I can't say much except that I am just glad you bought the better HD 6XX for a lower cost anyway.

Most Senns sound quite muddy and lacking in the low end to me. And although I have some variations in the perception from tone to tone, these variations are small, ranging from 1.5 to 2.5dB on the best of days. Auditory lab technicians surely hate me by now...

HiveX is very impressive for the money, yes.

View attachment 264639 View attachment 264640

Oooooh, come on, maaaaan!

 

[AhokZYashA]

how was this compared to the SR-009?
i know the 009 is old tech, but the sound quality for me is just so good, i still regards them as the best e-stat in the market today
(havent tried the HE-1 yet, so i dont know)

 

[VSG]

how was this compared to the SR-009?
i know the 009 is old tech, but the sound quality for me is just so good, i still regards them as the best e-stat in the market today
(havent tried the HE-1 yet, so i dont know)

Unfortunately I haven't heard the SR-009 and, given the non response from STAX marketing, it's unlikely I'll get a chance to demo it at my place and do proper A/B testing.

 

[zlobby]

Unfortunately I haven't heard the SR-009 and, given the non response from STAX marketing, it's unlikely I'll get a chance to demo it at my place and do proper A/B testing.

I've heard they can't keep up with the demand.
My take is that they hardly need the publicity and they certainly don't have spares lying around, waiting to make trips between reviewers... Which is a shame, TBH. I first got hooked on Stax while reading some reviews.

 

[VSG]

I've heard they can't keep up with the demand.
My take is that they hardly need the publicity and they certainly don't have spares lying around, waiting to make trips between reviewers... Which is a shame, TBH. I first got hooked on Stax while reading some reviews.

The SR-009 is long in the tooth now, no chance they are having production issues there since there are so many units easily in stock. The SR-X9000 on the other hand is definitely another case of STAX underestimating demand with a 4-6 month lead time even an year into release.

 

[zlobby]

The SR-009 is long in the tooth now, no chance they are having production issues there since there are so many units easily in stock. The SR-X9000 on the other hand is definitely another case of STAX underestimating demand with a 4-6 month lead time even an year into release.

Yes, exactly. They are clearing old stock for the new model, and the same time they are switching lines to manufacture new one. Or so I've heard. Either way, no free samples lying around.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

HiveX is very impressive for the money, yes.

View attachment 264639 View attachment 264640

Those cables don't look detachable...