Although the Hive lags behind the Omega or other super ES headphones (to some extent, HE-60 I have yet to experience HE-90 and HE-1), it is still better in Hi-Fi technicality than the Nova and most other headphones I have listened to. On the other side, however, for these superior Hi-Fi sonic effects, tonality and non-fatiguing listening enjoyment are often compromised with mountain-like treble peaks typically shown on FR of super headphones such as Omega, R10, Hifiman Shangri-la, etc. Stax Omega headphones remain to be the best ES headphones among what I have heard in terms of technical performance with their fast speed, precise definition of sound trace borders, sculpture garden-like stage/image representation. Resolution, speed, headstage, and imaging. The presence of bass is readily noticeable, and the bass lines are well-defined and easy to follow in all types of music I have tried with. Unlike many headphones with a mid-bass emphasis, the Hive has very good sub-bass extension.
BEST SMOOTH SOUND ON U HE HIVE DRIVER
While it is as not impactful as the Abyss 1266-CC I had before, the bass from Hive is among the very best out of all headphones I have heard, regardless of driver type. However, it could be me who is treble sensitive for others, it may be fine as it is.īass. Yes, it still needs minor EQ to my satisfaction. Now the Hive appears to be the most tonally enjoyable ES headphones I have ever listened to. I only keep the Nova because it has a meaty, rich sound despite that it is not nearly as resolving and precise sounding as some of the Stax headphones currently in production. Problematic tonality or timbre is a major reason that I let go most of them. I used to own a number of electrostatic headphones (Stax 009, 007, 404, Lambda Nova, and Perun) and auditioned more in various settings.
Violin, cello, and piano all sound natural and balanced. To my taste, this could be a preferred voicing given many song recordings are too hot, dry, or sibilant. But this is not to say that the mids are rather recessed through these headphones. With the Hive, that forwardness in her utterances is mostly gone, suggesting that FR in the presence region is tuned down to some extent.
In Come Away with Me, Norah Jones’s voice sounded a bit shouty with many systems I listened to, including some of mine. Both female and male voices sound fundamentally correct. Thus I lowered the trebles (centered at 8KHz for 3dB) via DEQ2496, which seemed to have improved the overall tonality close to my liking and I have since listened to the Hive with this EQ tuning. Trebles were somewhat too hot to my ears at my first listening session, which is consistent with FR measurements posted at SBAF. The Hive has a rather neutral sound signature. My early impressions are mostly positive. I have had a pair of Hive headphones for 10 days. I am even able to take off and put them back on with no problem. YMMV of course, but it is something people should try out. I am now using the 230V bias on my amp, and this has solved all the stator sticking problems and I don't find the sound impacted other than having to turn up the volume due to lower voltage. I found the 580V bias to cause a lot of stator sticking even when slight adjustments. On a side note, if anybody is having annoyance due to the sticking stator problem, I found running the headphones on a lower voltage seems to resolves this problem.
BEST SMOOTH SOUND ON U HE HIVE UPDATE
I have not tried and trying to source this foam from Sajeev at the moment, so will update as I can try it out. It seems that even when having this foam in while listening does not impact sound. I am enjoying them and they don't seem to be impacting the sound of the Hives at also seems to have created a foam that goes on the outside of the cup that will prevent dust from potentially harming the drivers. For anybody who have larger ears such as myself and found the stock pads to be too round and not fit right, I was able to get these pads to replace them and they fit much better to my ears.
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