I bought the Amperior from the Apple store yesterday, and while the price seemed high for a small on-ear headphone, the sound is very rich and detailed. Based on test curves I've seen I didn't expect it to sound this good, but I got confirmation of my impressions from a second set of expert ears. Both of us had a first impression of "wow", and it hasn't diminished since.
Sennheiser Amperior first impression
- Thread starter dalethorn
- Start date
I paid $350 USD at the Apple store in the U.S., and my impression of pricing in the U.K. which includes VAT is to multiply the USD price by 0.8 to get GBP. That's not a currency conversion (which is $1.57/£1.00), it's just the usual sell price ratio. So I would estimate the average British sales price to be £280, which I think corresponds to your experience.
Video review on Youtube. The comparisons were new - performed just prior to the video review.
http://youtu.be/wT10JVXWZuo
http://youtu.be/wT10JVXWZuo
Here is the full text review with some surprises:
http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/forum/headphone-reviews/1751-sennheiser-amperior-stereo-headphone-review.html
http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/forum/headphone-reviews/1751-sennheiser-amperior-stereo-headphone-review.html
I found the following quote on the PC Advisor U.K. site. My first impression of the headphone was something like this, but PC Advisor's words express that impression more eloquently than mine, so I thought I'd repeat it here.
"...It's as if the Amperior adds extra emphasis between each layer of sound it delivers..."
"...It's as if the Amperior adds extra emphasis between each layer of sound it delivers..."
Great review Dale! I am really interested in these headphones as I used to have the HD25-1 ii's but foolishly got rid of them when I got the VModa M-80 because for me that was a nicer sound in the bass and treble.
I miss seeing pictures in your reviews, great work though, have a great weekend
I miss seeing pictures in your reviews, great work though, have a great weekend
I owned the 25s and loved them. The Amperiors sounded promising on first accounts, easier to drive than the 25s and less resonant cups. But when i tried them on in the Apple store they didnt sound to good. Perhaps the source material wasnt good quality. Look great though.
When you try a headphone at the Apple store, you really should bring your own player. Firstly, the iphones and ipods at the store may have EQ turned on, volume limiting, etc. And the source material is tuned for Beats headphones.
Why hi-fi is complicated: Comparing the $350 USD Amperior to the $700 Shure 1840, the Amperior has the obvious weight or emphasis in the lower midrange, whereas the 1840 is light enough there to have an almost hollow quality (not really hollow, just by comparison). But while the 1840 has an obvious advantage in soundstage (yes?), the Amperior may sound "bigger" because of the extra weight in the lower mids. I was playing Hazel O'Connor's "Will You", which highlights those differences pretty well. This experiment suggests to me that comparing headphones on soundstage may not be so straightforward as some reviews indicate.
Well, I've ordered the Amperiors. I was torn between the HD25 I II and those. I thought I would always be wondering what the difference was between them if I bought the HD25s, so I've bought the Amperiors. The wife had a listen yesterday whilst shopping (she is a pretty good judge although doesn't really know anything about headphones or hifi) and she liked them.
Buying from the Apple shop online, I have 14 days to return them just in case.
I've had the Amperior since August 27 and it's still my no. 1. I will never forget that session at the Apple store, with myself and 2 others. I wasn't shopping that day necessarily, but I was familiar with Innerfidelity's review, so when I checked the Apple headphone stock and spotted the Amperior, I had to hear them (there were none on display then and for several weeks afterward). They did the usual agony/hand-wringing about taking a new set out if I wasn't serious about buying them, so after all that they did and I plugged them into my iPhone and fired up my test tracks. These are tracks where I can pick out 95 percent of a new headphone's signature in about 30 seconds. I didn't have to get picky, in spite of having several other headphones on current rotation and many more in memory. No pickiness necessary. Well, maybe a little, but that didn't last long. I thought the sound was the second coming of the Grado PS500, only better. So I handed them to my wife (who is picky) and who uses the P5. She has about 10 thousand digital tracks and has even done some recording. She was very pleased. "Ooooh - these are good." Then the third person ditto.
Now, in the past 47 days there have been moments when I'm listening and I think "Wait a minute, Dale - shouldn't you be listening to something with more accuracy, like a Senn 800 or the next best thing?" - Then the feeling passes quickly and I get back to enjoying the music.
Now, in the past 47 days there have been moments when I'm listening and I think "Wait a minute, Dale - shouldn't you be listening to something with more accuracy, like a Senn 800 or the next best thing?" - Then the feeling passes quickly and I get back to enjoying the music.
Well, they arrived at 9:00am this morning. Took the day off work! Box and packaging is superb. Build quality is very impressive, solid, weighty and ooze quality. The cups are bigger than I expected, which is a good thing. Fit is great, not too tight but secure.
Test tracks so far (at 320 kbps rip from PC via an Arcam rPac):
Counting Crows - Good Time (separation of the instruments is superb, stereo imaging fantastic, bass tight, bright treble but not fatiguing, vocals sound 'in the mix' and part of the song rather than forward on my AKG450s)
Rammstein - Rammleid (heard some detail here I've not heard, controlled slam of this very heavy track, superb)
Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (bass run I've not heard before, power of the bass drum really kicks here but tight, and turns the track into a really foot tapping monster)
Fleetwood Mac - Never Going Back Again (acoustic strings very clear)
Jethro Tull - Thick As a Brick Part 1 (nice treble, clean)
Rush - The Garden (strings are vivid, 12 string guitar sounds great)
Ludovico Einaudi - Oltremare (piano keys sound weighty, thick, real)
Node - Clock (detail is superb, bass tight, some detail not heard before)
Synth.nl - Antartico (perfect bass)
Nicola Benedetti - The Lark Ascending (RVW) (sublime)
Rush - Tom Sawyer (perfect - a track I've been playing since 1981) The Spirit of Radio (ditto 1980 - super)
Bon Iver - Perth (unbelievably good, horns are so clear)
Fair to say I'm keeping these. The wait is over. They're a Baumgartner from the AKG450s, ATH-M50s, Senn HD558 and Senn HD600s in my opinion - one giant leap!.
Thanks for the advice chaps.....esp. Dale.
Very happy.
Test tracks so far (at 320 kbps rip from PC via an Arcam rPac):
Counting Crows - Good Time (separation of the instruments is superb, stereo imaging fantastic, bass tight, bright treble but not fatiguing, vocals sound 'in the mix' and part of the song rather than forward on my AKG450s)
Rammstein - Rammleid (heard some detail here I've not heard, controlled slam of this very heavy track, superb)
Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (bass run I've not heard before, power of the bass drum really kicks here but tight, and turns the track into a really foot tapping monster)
Fleetwood Mac - Never Going Back Again (acoustic strings very clear)
Jethro Tull - Thick As a Brick Part 1 (nice treble, clean)
Rush - The Garden (strings are vivid, 12 string guitar sounds great)
Ludovico Einaudi - Oltremare (piano keys sound weighty, thick, real)
Node - Clock (detail is superb, bass tight, some detail not heard before)
Synth.nl - Antartico (perfect bass)
Nicola Benedetti - The Lark Ascending (RVW) (sublime)
Rush - Tom Sawyer (perfect - a track I've been playing since 1981) The Spirit of Radio (ditto 1980 - super)
Bon Iver - Perth (unbelievably good, horns are so clear)
Fair to say I'm keeping these. The wait is over. They're a Baumgartner from the AKG450s, ATH-M50s, Senn HD558 and Senn HD600s in my opinion - one giant leap!.
Thanks for the advice chaps.....esp. Dale.
I don't remember if I mentioned it, but speaking of rock music, I got suggestions recently for an artist Franz Ferdinand who does some interesting things, and a band called Porcupine Tree. I like to listen around the edges mostly, non-mainstream, and some of their music was worth buying
FF were ok, I saw them live one time, terrible sound! Some good CDs though. PT are the 'band' of one man - Steven Wilson. Many Rush fans rate PT. He is quite varied though and can cross genres, which you might enjoy. If you like around the edges have a listen to Mark Kozelek, Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon, all vehicles for Mark Kozelek. 'Slowcore' and 'Sadcore' are the genre, but varies between acoustic, electric and a bit of both.....
Some electronic music (which I love) make excellent test tracks - Ian Boddy, Redshift, Arc, Mark Shreeve, Andy Pickford, Synth.nl.
Massive Attack's Angel (a favourite on here for testing) really stretches the bass.
Massive Attack's Angel (a favourite on here for testing) really stretches the bass.
I got a 256k copy of Angel from Amazon - pretty amazing bass tones at the end. Also got Protection featuring Tracey Thorn - seems like she shows up everywhere - this track sounds a lot like Everything But The Girl doing Before Today.
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