Warwick Acoustics APERIO $36,000 Headphone Review - The very best
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- Опубліковано 2 чер 2024
- The Warwick Acoustics APERIO is quite simply the best headphone I've heard.
Warwick APERIO: warwickacoustics.com/headphon...
This unit was loaned to me for review by Warwick Acoustics. I have no financial relationship with them or any other manufacturer and do not use affiliate links.
Content and analysis sponsored by headphones.com and patreon supporters on / goldensound
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Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
3:10 - Value/Who is this for?
5:15 - Build and Features
7:47 - I/O
8:45 - Features (continued)
11:20 - Comfort
13:00 - Sound
36:55 - Conclusion
38:04 - Outro
Intro Track: 'Man I is' by Logic - song.link/gb/i/1523964589
Testing Tracks:
'Harridan' by Porcupine Tree - song.link/gb/i/1592522265
'Letter' by Yosi Horikawa - song.link/gb/i/530796499
'Battle Lines' by Bob Moses - song.link/gb/i/1407682272
'Merry Go Round of Life' by The Grissini Project - song.link/gb/i/1463873106
'Evil Spider' by BENEE - song.link/gb/i/1469442568
'Death is the new sex' by Tunng - song.link/gb/i/1524708598
'Repeating' by John Frusciante - song.link/gb/i/693317898
The GoldenSound youtube channel, and all content is created and owned by GoldenSound LTD - Розваги
I would not pay more than $34,000 for those. $36,000 is too much 😟
I'm sure if you tell a dealer these they'll be happy to oblige ;)
I would pay 34000 Hong Kong dollars as well.
Y'all have 34000$ lying around?
Thirty four fifty!
@@ferdinandbardamu3945, make it 34,000 Philippine Pesos and it's a DEAL!
Man, you had me at the intro song... One of my favourite tunes for both chilling out to as well as critical listening 😍
Hi Goldensound! Love your channel keep up the good work! Wanted to ask your opinion on Ferrum OOR with Susvara?
The OOR is absolutely excellent with the Susvara, review is coming soon!
Great video as always, discovered this channel not long ago but love what you do.
Was wondering if you heard or are going to review the Arya SE?
Right on. Just keep going. Review all these great E-stats. Hope you do the T+A Solitaire PSE next. :)
I do quite like the solitaire p and PSE, though they're planars not estats.
Hope to be able to review them in future too
@@GoldenSound oh right! Jeeze, I think you mentioned that to me before. They are planars! Sorry. I’m a moron. I don’t know why I keep thinking they’re E-stats. 😒
Anyhow, maybe the Hifi-Man “Jade” would be reasonable to obtain to review. They look like a good budget pair. :)
Great review. Nice to dream! Could you tell me how you get the Spectrum analyzer on the screen? Would love it if roon could output it.
Please review Enleum 23R and Zahl HM1. I have seen a post about 23r measurements on your website. Looking foreward for your full review. Thank you for your awesome content.
Hi, just became a patron, appreciate the content and assistance. Can you respond to the question below thoughts? I am finding the analytic presentation astounding......but missing a bit of the musicality I had previous with other systems? The Woo33 / 1266 or Susvara I am thinking may in the end be more to taste......? I am kind of going back and forth the more I listen just looking for another opinion as you listened to both.
Interesting that the DAC section uses an ESS PRO x2. I know of your love for the Holo May and other non-chip DACS like Chord. Would love it if you would review the very reasonably priced but very high performing Topping LE90 (or SE90) based on the ESS PRO with their D90 Discrete headphone amp. This is a setup I use and love it. You should also like that Topping sells the LE90 DAC which is the same as the SE90 but costs $100 less because the fraudulent MQA circuitry and license are not included. Of course I opted for the non-MQA capable version. Hopefully, a less expensive opt out of MQA will become commonplace. I do not want to pay for a fraud.
Great review Golden, I hope to try this powerhouse one day
I’d love a comparison to the sennheiser HE1
Wonder wonderful review, you are a legend.
How do you think it would "Stax" lol, to the SR-X9000? Thinking along the lines of a DCS and a high end energizer like the T8000, Mjolnir, Grand Caman, LTA Z10E etc.
I almost wonder in the super flagship category can the Stax keep up. With maybe some EQ to match the frequent response of the Aperio. Just to isolate the technicalities from the tonal differences which are subjective. But can you match or more importantly exceed what the Aperio when price is no object.
A DCS LINA & clock, T8000 and SR-X9000 is sitting comfortably at the same price point as the Aperio. And I wonder if it would exceed it as the DAC on Aperio based on what Convince Me Audio said. Can be improved and elevate the performance even more.
So it makes me think what is possible when you assemble the very best of the best Electrostatic setup with Stax or maybe some other E-Stat.
A Month to the P/T concert in Chicago. The Blu Ray has all hi/res versions and the videos. What an opening track.
"Letter" is one of my absolute favorite tracks to test headphones with. It's just SO much fun to listen to, especially the beginning.
Yes, and I also like to listen to Trifonic - Lies.
I just can't get into that stuff.. Anime, Waifus, this type of Music.. like batteries to my tongue.
Thank you for introducing me to great music 🥲
Warwick acoustics is going to be at this year's Canjam in Socal...hope they'll have the aperio for demo there.
Might I ask, if you did connect an external Dac like my Lina, I assume I plug the ethernet cable into the Lina direct and just use the XLR interconnects from Lina to Aperio?
Have you evaluated DCS Bartok Apex or Lina? I’m curious how you feel they compare to Aperio? I’m currently evaluating Aperio.
I am thankful to the host of this channel not so for the content itself, but the actual music presented here. I collected dozens of albums in this manner into my Deezer. Taste of the host is immaculate.
Even the rap "MUSIC" at the start?
@TheVeganVicar that was chamber pop. You are a walking embarrassment. Calling rap not music, then failing to know what it is. LMAO
@@TheVeganVicarwhy did you write it as if rap isn't actually music? Sure there are tons of awful songs in the genre but the same could be said for any genre. There are countless rap songs with a beautiful message well delivered and honestly I think it's one of the more difficult genres to write songs in. There are a lot of artists that would likely blow your mind if you gave them a chance. Being close-minded you're missing out on a whole world of great music give something like at Tom McDonald a listen
Hi again. I’m interested in your opinion. I watched your Review of the Woo / 1266 combo and was quite intrigued as I am a fan of the sound of the 1266 .How would you compare Aperio to the Woo set up as to sound performance etc?
I owned 1266 tc phi with wa33 elite. Also tried Aperio. 1266 woo combo is amazing but aperio excels and gives you very different experience. 1266 sometimes gives strange vocals but Aperio is very clean and natural.
that jab at Schiit made me laugh
thanks for making me discover Yosi Horikawa :-)
I have an working pair of
B&O U70 if you ever want
to do a vintage review of a
historic pair of headphones.
Lowered Dac output to 2V, Howeve needed to go high gain both Aperio switches to get volume to more normal measurement. Like -10 db?
Hi, I have one coming. I sold several pieces . However I still have my DCS Lina Dac. Do you think this will be a good match, or would you sell and use the internal Dac?
How’d you go with the DAC pairing?
3 years ago, this was $24,000. The specs never changed AFAIK, so I'm not sure why the price jumped $12,000. Very strange.
"Don Better Audio" still lists them for $24,000. Again, I have no idea if there are differences between what is listed there, and what is shown here. The price difference of $12,000 is not insignificant, even for someone who can easily afford them, so it would be worth checking further into what exactly is going on here.
Hypeflation?
@@FabioKasper Moon-audio lists the silver finish for $32,000, and the "limited edition black" finish for $36,000. So, $4,000 more for a black finish. I think that is very revealing. Personally, I would stick with Stax.
adorama has the 24k version
it is a version change
@@ydid687 What is/are the change/changes?
I want to hear it so bad… I want my mind blown… haha thanks for the video!
17:09 i had this running in the background and was like wait did i hear that and i rewinded and listend and was like damn thats the first time he swore they must be on some god shit
Could they handle a 10dB bass shelf above flat?
One of these days you need to try out the Focal Utopia. Surprised you haven't yet.
Mysphere 3.1 on wa33 would be a sweet combo as well
Had a question about your comments here on the volume control. I posted it in discord as I’m not sure where you respond to questions??
I’ll buy it if you can tell me what Yosi wrote in that letter.
the headphones themselves look so similar to the Bravura, including the driver itself, to bad you can't connect the Bravura on the Aperio energizer/amp/dac, because i would like to know how much of the difference in sound quality is the drivers vs the electronics. Bravura is currently top on my list for my next pair of headphones, how much better are the Aperio's ?
Yeah this one was nuts!
Not gonna buy this, but generally, thanks for your reviews! Appreciate them.
Please review also the DCS Vivaldi Apex and the MSB select dac in a headphone system, there are no reviews on UA-cam!
I have reached out to both, but dCS doesn't respond to any of my communications, and MSB told me they were not interested in me reviewing any of their products unfortunately.
Some of these very high end companies don't tend to lend review units unless you either only ever put out positive reviews, or can be bought.
Id need to find a viewer or friend willing to lend one unfortunately
@@GoldenSound i don't know why everyone on yt review the Bartok but not the Rossini/Vivaldi for headphone use..
it would be very interesting
@@GoldenSound same speech for Hifiman, why everyone on yt review the Susvara when the real flagship is the Shangri-La Sr. , and of course sound better.
@@andreaaaaaaa574 sajid had a brief video on the dcs gear at munkong bangkok months ago
@@andreaaaaaaa574 bartok is made with headphones in mind the others are not
Three of my off road vehicles can’t nearly resolve that well! :)
When GoldenSound plays the music for us, are we listening to it through his mic? What exactly are we hearing?
Straight digital audio of the track edited into the video
@@one-rv2bx what is the point of that? Isn't the track completely unaffected by the change in gear on our end if it's straight digital audio?
If you buy the silver pair don’t you save $12k? Shang SR with better source gear will best this as it scales correct? I'm thinking Aries Carat Helane ($8k) + Woo 3es Elite ($8k) + Shangri-la sr ($11k).
Heyo where the hell can one find it for 11k?
@@haberdasherrykr8886 they come up a few times per year.
@@aceofspades6667 no he said its better than the he1, and people universally agree that the he1 is better than the Shangri-la.
@@enjoshi-godrez8775 headphones are always a matter of personal taste especially at this level. It’s not like he’s ab testing them against other similar priced headphones either. So he’s going off how he thinks he remembers something sounding rather than the actual thing. The only thing to take away from a review like this is, check them out if you get the chance.
@@enigmatwist6548 i mean, that's literally all you can do. Its always going to be subjectively flawed, so you need to infer based on other things. He asked golden sounds, who, im guessing preferred the he1 to the Shangri-la, because I said he's heard both in a previous video, but only bring up the he1 in this one. Of course there is the possibility he forgot, but I find that unlikely as there are only 3 headphones in this price sector to even talk about.
Is there anywhere that rents out these or other summit fi headphones? Really wish i could actually just try them and see what the difference is.
@@Gadgetmatchs scammer
I remember trying a Sonoma Model One, and it was possibly the worst estat I've heard. Would love to try this one and see if they've managed to turn their weird driver design around into something good.
Thank you for saving me money.. was just looking to buy a Sonoma.
@Pfnerch $2.5k used Sonoma vs $5k new bravura.
@Degru thoughts on a used Sonoma @ $2k USD or you thought it was trash? did you hear it at a show or in a quiet room?
@@aceofspades6667 quiet room. There's something really wrong with how the driver works, the timbre sounded incoherent. Both boomy and thin at random. Bad phase issues. I don't think it was broken either, both sides sounded the same and did not exhibit any typical damaged estat driver behaviors.
The design itself is a head scratcher. Only single sided stator (every other estat is dual sided including Bravura) which causes it to distort and limits output volume. 1% distortion in midrange is appalling for any hifi headphone, let alone a $2k estat. Panelized driver that very clearly doesn't work how they intended it to. It's a really first gen product where they tried new ideas and didn't implement them very well.
An old Stax Lambda (any model) with some eq destroys the Model One for 1/8 the money. And that's absolutely a fair comparison because the Model One uses DSP as well.
@@degru4130 thanks I’ll stick with my planars and dynamics then. Perhaps try the new raal hp.
How does it not use type c, why do all musical related companies always use the super old port? Does anybody know?
magnifico.
A decent headphone with the new DCS headphone amp/ DAC …and you’re there…
Thanks for the incredible video and much food for thought.
Electrostatic brrrrrrr
Nothing better than a headphone that will fucking kill you if you're not careful 😊
No removable pads? High clamp?
Streaming? Roon?
How about some drum and bass as test music?
F..n fantastic thats all you meed to know :)
WISH i had your setup. Must be amazing to have the freedom to live out your wishes in listenibg pleasure 😁👌
I mostly stream using Roon, qbuz, tidal. Your video's convinced me off MQA
I wonder how this compares to a $1000 speaker dac/amp system
nice
Letter by Yosi Horikawa - “When art and science blends together”.
Poggers!
seems like whats the value is the amplifier is tuned to the headphones
The only cans that could probably beat this are the Raal Sr1a/Susvara/Shang-ri la Sr/ or the original Orpheus He 90 on a crème de la crème speaker amp setup or T2 for estats, but we’re talking more than 36,000.
Why the Raal? Its too bass light
@@andreaaaaaaa574 Raal has the best imaging/biggest most adjustable soundstage/treble and sheer detail. Changes in interconnects and powercables are easily heard.
@@ellroye7529 but i don't think overall is on a level of electrostatic headphones
@@andreaaaaaaa574 It’s a matter of taste, but raal has been called “ the Stax killer” for a reason. The entry level Joutunheim R and base cable doesn’t do it justice.
@@andreaaaaaaa574 You need to try it with the RAAL VM1-a Tube amp.
Where do I apply for this position
Why don’t more reviews play clips of tracks like you do? (Fair use)
It was very unfortunate that these did not show up at canjam
The Shangri-La on £120,000 system sounded like ass
I genuinely preferred the blue Hawaii SE with it, I hope to bring this beast in for a review at some point, sounds freaking awesome
Very aggravating they did not make an appearance
Good work mate as usual 🐅
cost isn't a good absolute benchmark... try the Sr with a 3es elite or high tier t2 build and report back. BHSE is fine but limiting.
he's back Nice
Just saw your review for the Brevura now I'm going to have to go out and rob the bank again.
I did not like them at all when I auditioned them myself, lacked upper treble, channel imbalance was noticeable, overall a bit muddy unresolving character and what seemed like some strange resonance in bass. Decided to go with Stax SR-X9000 and now wondering about this new HeadAmp flagship amp - Grand Cayman
How can you simultaneously say what is and is not audible while being hyped for an overpriced energizer? You've just exposed your hypocrisy.
@@enjoshi-godrez8775 Do you have autism or something?
THIS IS A QUOTE FROM A COMMENT BELOW I COPIED TO ASK IF YOU HAD THIS EXPERIENCE Also, the drivers distort/clip on sub bass heavy tracks. Avoid. WOW Concerning as I just sold most (except in a DAC) of my gear to acquire the Aperio. Had Lina stack and HIFiman amp with Susvara and AB 1266
How's it going?
You may have mentioned this in some other video, but what is the cable on the Susvara? It’s gorgeous
vikingweavecables.com
37:55 Yes, I have the money but I can buy a piece of REAL ESTATE in my country for that amount.
Revolutionary ‘power switch on the front ‘ technology. Lmfao!
You cant' really put a price on the best of the best but since they had to, 36,000$ it is!
If I sold all of my Headphones and headphone amps I could probably afford this set up 🤔 ummmmmm
I've been saving up for a few years for a deposit on a house and currently have about 36k... 😶
You can live in your headphones but you can't listen to a house
Damn ..need lotto win money.
Ok, Moondrop Variations on an IFI Go Blue..and I’m done ✅
I better hear smells for that price
Well I don't HAVE to get a new car...
These for $36K or you could buy the $35 Dora the Explorer headphones at Target.... and then go buy a new Car.
The dora headphones just play .. I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map all day erry day.
Aperio puts the ‘A’ in Audio
And the "O" in Oh shit I'm broke now
Me using the review for browsing soulseek to listen to the songs on a 36 times cheaper headphone
Have you tried the Dan Clark Stealth headphones yet. I would value your opinion on those. May be hard to accept any headphones after this pair. $36,000, someone is on hard uncut freeze dried drugs. They would have to part the Red Sea to rate that level of expenditure!
🤤
The difference of 1 db is the same no matter the level because its on a log sacle 🤦🏻♂️ 6:54
Immanis review, when? I guess I'll have it before then if it's good enough, huh.
36,000 get a pretty good car for that much 🤣🤣
Do you guys know the Aperio system was £20K but it now costs £28.5K?!
Seriously?!
That is the absolute worst price hike I’ve ever seen in audio.
Ever!
Unacceptable.
Also, the drivers distort/clip on sub bass heavy tracks.
Avoid.
@Pfnerch "who listen to those tracks with a 28k system" lol! At THAT price, the most surprising thing is that it (apparently) can't play everything properly without clipping, which should be the bare freaking minimum.
TIL my 100$ headphones are possibly better in at least one way compared to a 20K system. Yes, most definitely better in only one way for more than obvious reasons. Still, that's unexpected.
@Pfnerch oh don't worry, I 100% know my 100$ headphones are "cheap". The important thing is, they don't distort. Because distortion is literally the definition of lo-fi.
Get this to asr right away please before I spend the money.
Garbage place
nearly 40 not 30
Well Stax lambda signature has improved over the years with less and less of it's 'weak' points. For example the SR 407/507 model has same resolution like the Lambda signature with better bass and even more resolving capabilities. You can buy them for 400-700 dollars second hand and they don't need a beefy amp either. $36000 for a headphone is just nuts, those who buy this are complete morons you can reach this kind of clarity with cheap second hand Stax headphones.
I owned lambda signature myself (two of them actually), they're not at the same level as aperio
if you have to ask for the price, you can't afford it. lol...
Unfortunately that's kinda the case with this one! I certainly wish I could afford it myself, but am happy I got to try it for a bit at least
rich ppl are the ones who ask for prices the most
🙄🤭...36k for Supermanns Ears...🤥
i suggest them to raise the price to $72k thus align to a good electric car. it will have no impact for me.
🤔🙄🤔
If anyone needs my I'll be on eBay with my fingers crossed.. 👋
So basically a harman tuned overpriced electrostat.
So basically you cant afford this and are malding.
Why I have the feeling if you hear the artist live during the recording session, still will not be as "resolving" as this headphones, lol, marketing, $36K is ridiculous with all the good reasonable-priced options out there. I see the affiliate link..hmm.. i wonder how much sale commission for 36k goes these days.
I do not use affiliate links. Ever. And have no financial relationship whatsoever with Warwick acoustics or any other manufacturer, as I made clear in the video.
No matter how good it sound the price is way over price. It just a million air big boy gadget
Rather get TWO pairs of Revel F328be loudspeakers
I doubt this is usually the two options, but a fantastic speaker regardless.
Audiovector is superior
@@haberdasherrykr8886 Not a fan except for the treble.
As always zero objective measurements and a lot of subjective nonsense.
You can find my objective testing on my site goldensound.audio. I generally do not include this in videos unless I feel there is something particularly relevant.
In this case however, testing the output of an electrostatic energizer would require a specialist dummy load which I unfortunately do not have, and it cannot be simply connected to the analyzer itself or a standard dummy load, so it was not possible to measure the output of this system.
If you have to ask what the price is you cant afford it.
That philosophy doesn’t help, rich people get rock by being calculating
At least those who didn’t inherit oil daddy money
So much time and money and 0 measurements. Pure marketing
I do not have a HATS to test headphones, and the output of an estat energiser cannot be measured with standard dummy loads
@Pfnerch If sound is personal, then such review as this is even more pointless and dishones, don't you think?
@@oscardziki4543 touche!, haha, but let us be fair, it is in the realm of scientific possibility the hearing of Pfnerch and the current reviewer exceeds what a precise electronic instrument can do, what bothers me is that they do not give any data proving it, a simple ABX testing can support their point easily and close the issue, but it is always conveniently lacking..
@@Lauren080508 Yeah, it's easier to say it's the best thing since sliced bread and call it a day:)
@Pfnerch Like i said, if sound is personal, what good it is if guy in the video clip tells you it sounds great for him?
Audiophile people are ridiculous.... 36k? Really? The amount of diminishing returns is to an astronomical scale
Is it sillier than a fancy car?
@@hartyewh1 Well, for starters many of us need a car... and so the standard car is basically 30k these days... but the value difference between a 30k normal vehicle and a 50k luxury vehicle is quite substantial... but I understand what you're attempting to convey. I'm merely just pointing out that a 3k system gets you 98% of the way there... so for 34k extra to achieve an additional 2% performance difference is quite absurd (in my opinion)
@@stopthecap2644 While the difference may not be substantial it's not 2%. Especially when comparing to a full 3k system. But, as it was mentioned in the video - if you start bringing up diminishing returns, this is not the product for you. I don't see anything ridiculous with that.
@@stopthecap2644 Yeah, the percentage benefit is likely quite small, but for someone it can be the difference between good and wow and if money is no issue then I can see the value. Like instead of a used 10-15k car to a sporty 50k one. It only offers a sleeker appearance and a bit more wroom wroom, but if it brings a smile daily then what better investment.
@@hartyewh1 yeah, fair enough I can respect that logic