Dan Clark Audio ETHER 2

I am all about the ETHER 2 for classical, blues, and some classic/hard rock. I really enjoyed the bass extension; warm, atmospheric vibe; and detail retrieval that was enhanced through a Silver Dragon Cable. The ETHER 2 has a warm, romantic sound signature that lends emotional and engaging quality to vocals. I got a lot of enjoyment out of my music with this headphone, and my enjoyment grew the more I listened. While the ETHER 2 a good job with detail retrieval, I would say the overall sound signature lends itself to relaxing or zoning out as opposed to standing at attention and mentally identifying all of the musical details.

Now, I’m a big fan of the jam band genre. Sometimes delight in picking out the details in all of the layers of music, especially looking for subtle differences in the same song jammed out in different ways on different days. Other times, I want to float along and get lost in a jam. It’s all a matter of preference and what I’m in the mood for, really; neither of those qualities is better or worse than the other. That being said, I would reach for the ETHER 2 when I’m in the mood for the latter experience.

Dan Clark Audio always has a trick up their sleeve with affordable modifications such as these. The Ether 2 responds dramatically with the switching of the pads, painting very different aural pictures that should cater to a much broader set of preferences than the stock pads alone.

They are darn easy to roll also. I am not the most gifted when it comes to DIY mods and alterations but they are super easy to apply, much more so than the video further up in this review which was on the original Ether pads. You can change them in literally 2 minutes and they will stay on very tight from the very minute you stick them.

The new pads are also much comfier with that bigger earwell opening, especially the suede pads which I think I am going to leave on moving forward. Why? That smooth natural tone and just the right balance in terms of timbre coloration makes the Ether 2 an incredibly easy and airier listening proposition than before.

An easy no brainer recommendation to existing and potentially new Dan Clark Audio Ether 2 owners.