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Showing 1 of 3 reviews about:
Spyro_Nier
66
Mar 12, 2023
checkVerified Buyer
Very Comfy, Cable is Good, and Sound is very Hifiman (in a good way)
These headphones ship in a pretty nice box. However the earcups (the whole cups, not the pads lol) came detached from the headphone which I've heard online some people mention. It takes about 4 seconds to reattach them to the headphone and theyve never even come close to detaching since I've owned them for several weeks. It comes with 2 cables: a 3.5mm 90° angled single ended cable and a 4.4mm balanced cable.
The sound is very Hifiman planar sounding, which is a great thing. It's neutral and has plenty of detail and treble, with the bass and mids also still very present and clear. The Venus is also very comfortable, way more than Hifiman's in this price range (Sundara, Ananda, Edition XS). I was able to wear them for a couple hours and my ears only got a little warm on the stock leather pads (the pad space for your ears is very spacious unlike those). The headband mechanism is also really well designed, I can't imagine anyone would find that part comfortable.
They're a little heavy, but nothing too crazy imo. If you have a really really big problem with heavy headphones, then yeah I guess skip these, but I think more important than weight listed on a scale is how the weight is distributed. These are distributed very well over the whole head, while something like the old Audeze headphones pre 2021 distribute a lot of weight and clamp towards the jaw and front of your head. I think these are more comfortable than those
These are an easy recommend. They sound very competitively for this price range, look really really nice in my opinion, are very comfy, and come with solid cables and box (no carrying case). These were a grade sidegrade to the other headphones I own to give my music a different flavor if I ever wanna change the sound as these sound very different :) (for reference, I also own an HD 560s, Focal Clear, Focal Celestee, Meze 109 Pro, Dan Clark Aeon Closed X, HD8XX, and an HD600)
Recommends this product? Yes
mensrea
11
Apr 3, 2023
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Spyro_NierMaybe describe the sound more? The “sound is very Hifiman” is useful but perhaps expand on that in your review. Other aspects of the headphone like build and packaging you’ve covered off well.
spamispam
6
Apr 3, 2023
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Spyro_Niercan you describe how it compares to focal clear? I wanted to get the Arya V3 (stealth) but maybe this can be up their (wishful thinking maybe lol)
Also nice username, my 2 favorite games
Deguello
14
Apr 3, 2023
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Spyro_NierI assume these are open back by the look, but nowhere is that listed. Confirm please.
Spyro_Nier
66
Apr 4, 2023
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spamispamThank you lol. Also I dont think the Venus are a 1:1 replacement for something like an Arya, which I have tried out before. Venus have great airyness to the sound and good soundstage, but the Arya probably has more resolution to the sound other than tonality. The Arya has a slight amount more bass from what I remember, and yeah it has more treble which definitely helped with that resolution and wow factor, but some have said it can be a little siblant depending on what youre listening to at what volume. I didnt have that problem when demoing the Arya, but it wouldnt surprise me if it was *slightly* too much treble depending on my mood. Either way, the Venus have a similar sound to the Arya while being just as comfortable. Arya I guess is a "better headphone", but that doesnt always mean you will 100% enjoy it more. For example my fav headphone is still my 560s, and I know many on here still love their 6xx, sometimes less is more when you find that perfect tonality and comfort for yourself.
As for comparing the Venus to a clear, its a completely different headphone. The Venus has that very fast decay sound to its notes, Resolve on youtube refers to it as a "plucked" quality which I agree with. Its the same quality you get on the Sundary, Edition XS, Arya, Ananda since this headphone also has that same airy quality. The Focal Clear has none of those attributes lol. It is more traditional in how you expect a headphone to sound, however it is extremely dynamic and punchy with a ton of resolution to make out even the quietest parts of anything youre listening to. You can hear the quietest whispers with a Clear and then hear how dynamic and loud the next note can be and its very engaging. I think the way I'm describing it makes it come off as more "alarming" than it does "enjoyable" lol, but I promise its much more on the enjoyable part of the Spectrum. But it is an entirely different headphone than the Venus or Hifiman headphones, not a 1:1 upgrade. The Focal Clear is more of an upgrade to the HD600 specifically (not the 6xx or 650 as those are much darker than the Clear) and more of a sidegrade to a planar magnetic like the ones I described. Also last thing, the Clear is a very intimate sounding headphone. Not good soundstage, but its got solid imaging so things still sound very realistic. The other Planars I mentioned dont have this quality, like I said theyre more of an airy open sound.
(Edited)
Spyro_Nier
66
Apr 4, 2023
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DeguelloYes they are open back, very very open lol. Very airy quality to them
Spyro_Nier
66
Apr 4, 2023
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mensreaNo problem, Hifiman has a ton of reviews so I figured most of the crowd shopping on Drop might feel that describes it well lol. My bad
The Hifimans overall in my experience (having listened to the Sundara, Ananda, and Arya) are a very neutral listen. They have bass, but theyre not booming with bass. They have the mids forward, but its never too forward where it sticks out too much. Then they have ample trouble, which give the sound a very detailed and open feeling to it. They also all have very fast note decay, so fast moving songs sound extremely detailed and energetic. Each of their headphones changes the tonality flavor a little bit, and obviously their more expensive stuff like the Arya will have more detail and resolution in it's sound, but that is what someone is referring to "Hifiman House Sound" or something like that, thats generally what they mean.
The Venus are very similar in doing all those things I described above. If you look at a graph, then yeah there will be changes in a couple areas like the treble or mids compared to an Arya or Ananda, but the feeling you get when wearing the headphone is very much the same thing. Open, airy, fast, resolute with bass that is good enough to not be something that you think about when using the headphone. The Venus has slightly more subbass and mids with a little less treble than the Hifimans, but this really just a slightly different refinement to that same sound that those other headphones have. The reason I own a Venus and got rid of my Ananda and Sundara is because those headphones are fairly uncomfortable, have pretty poor build quality, have awful cables, and yeah the overall presentation feels meh with them. The Venus has pads that have much more space to put your ears in, and the clamp/headband are much better, as is the cable. If I was just strictly talking sound quality and nothing else in a vacuum, then yeah the Edition XS or the Ananda are probably in the exact same tier as the Venus, with a couple things each do a little different that are pros and cons to each. But at that point, I feel like youre getting that exact flavor of sound already, and it doesnt make sense to own 2 of the headphones in that price range. I was able to get the Venus for $600 with $120 back in rewards from Drop, and that was plenty enough for me to get them over those other Planar options. Currently I see the Venus here is $540, and yeah thats definitely a fair price.
The only straight upgrade I can see to any of these is the Arya (unless were talking $2k+ headphones, which I dont have the wallet for and I never seen as worth it when trying them at CanJam lol). But even the Arya isnt 1:1 better in every area, like for example some say it has too much treble compared to the others. Either way, hope this was helpful.
mensrea
11
Apr 4, 2023
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Spyro_NierExcellent explanation. Thank you very much. I have the Arya’s and I was curious about the Venus more from the perspective of how ChiFi is evolving in its headphone implementation. They have obviously upended the game entirely for the iem market.
DERPFACELARY
61
Apr 9, 2023
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Spyro_NierJust wanted to ask since it seems you're the only one so far who has one in their hands, does the 3.5 cable connect on the headphones side with a proprietary connector or is it something standardized?
Spyro_Nier
66
Apr 9, 2023
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DERPFACELARYIts just regular dual 3.5mm cable! Same as the ones Hifiman and Meze use, among many other manufacturers. It comes with 2 cables: a 1.5m 3.5mm cable with a 90degree conector and a 2.5mm balanced cable. Also has a screw on 1/4" adapter for the 3.5mm cable.
I find the cable is very thin and lanky, but it holds no memory so its a pretty comfortable use and I didnt feel the need to change it. If you want something more glorious, then sure go wild. Some will call the cable "cheap feeling" because it isnt thick as a rope and using expensive shielding, but it works well and doesnt stick out aesthetically. Sundara cables are 100x worse and more uncomfortable to use lol
Muterecords
3
Mar 22, 2024
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Jeff0500China (Hi) Fi. A huge portion of audio equipments are made there.
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