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It's not often that you can see how a new premium brand is trying to enter the headphones market, especially if it's a company that has already proved itself as an excellent producer of inexpensive but high-quality solutions. This is the situation we can observe now, when Fischer Audio together with Swedish partners introduced new headphones under the Kennerton trademark. One of their first models were Kennerton Algiz liners, which will be discussed.
In general, the idea of allocating a premium line to enter the Western markets looks very reasonable, personal audio is experiencing a stage of another upsurge in the world. On the market of headphones manufacturers are tightened, the level of solutions offered and the average price tag are growing by leaps and bounds. Some 10 years ago, the Sennheiser HD650 with its price of $ 500 was quite a top model. The current "tops" easily overcome the price tag of 1000, and many even with a large margin, but despite the price, similar products continue to be in high demand. In the territory of the former USSR, the opposite picture is observed: a quality portable sound is interesting to enthusiast units, and even they are forced to look for more and more budgetary solutions because of the crisis.
In Fischer Audio they decided to collect their best practices, rework them taking into account the basic requirements for top models and to go out with them to foreign markets, in this they are helped by Swedes Kennerton, with their vast experience in creating Hi-End solutions. Some models of this line of headphones look familiar, some are designed from scratch, but in fact all products have been heavily modified, they use other materials: wood, natural leather and others with it give a completely different sound and perception of models. I hope in the future I will be able to get acquainted with Kennerton headphones, while we return to Algiz.
Unexpected, but reasonably reasonable move of the company was the decision to use only one radiator in the flagship model, and dynamic one. Despite the modern multi-turn hybrid boom, single-driver models have a right to life. First, due to the development of technology, the radiators are getting better, and sometimes there is no need to use several receivers. Secondly, the use of one driver removes the need for reconciliation and phase problems, which positively affects the resolution of headphones and their "fastidiousness" to the source. In general - a typical situation, when both options have their pluses and minuses and both have the right to life.
A pleasant feature of this model is also the price factor. "Foreign" price of Algiz in the branded online store
Specifications
- Emitter: 10 mm, dynamic
- Frequency range: 20 Hz - 20 KHz
- Sensitivity: 100 dB
- Impedance: 100Ω
- Maximum input power: 50 mW
- Cable: replaceable, 2 cables in a set of 1.4 m each
Packing and delivery kit
Packing immediately makes it clear the level of the headphones. By removing the outer "cover", we get access to a box of unusual cubic shape. It is made of a material resembling velvet, silver stamping and quilted stitches along the edges complement the image. The box opens in the middle like a casket, opening access to the contents. In the special grooves on the top cover are placed the headphones themselves, in the lower part all the complete accessories are stored.
Together with Algiz you will get: two replaceable cables, with and without a headset, three pairs of silicone attachments of different sizes, a pair of foam nozzles, a pair of replaceable filters for tuning the sound, an adapter for a 6.3 mm plug, instruction and a snake cover. The cover is unrealistically classy, from brown leather, perhaps the best of the covers that I've ever seen.
Design and comfortable wearing
The appearance of the headphones is severe and brutal. The body is all-metal, almost cylindrical with interesting spiral notches. The outer side of the headphones made of shiny golden metal. The brass nozzles with filters that allow changing the sound signature are screwed onto the sound-guides. Unfortunately, the filters do not differ in any way, the only way to distinguish them is to look at the lumen, the filter in one of the pairs looks more transparent than in the other.
The build quality is very good, ALgiz gives the impression of a whole and expensive product.
In my opinion, all headphones more expensive than $ 200 should be equipped with replaceable cables, and this model was no exception. Unfortunately, the company used its own, incompatible connector, so it is difficult to select a third-party cable (although it is possible, for example, an excellent cable for them makes
Because of the large size of Algiz, not everyone can approach, the owners of very small ears can not plant them, but already with an average ear size there are no problems. Headphones can be worn and wire down, and behind-the-ear, with the right selection of attachments, headphones are very comfortable, they can be used for a long time without the slightest discomfort.
Sound
The following equipment was used for listening:
- Yulong DA8 as a DAC and amplifier
- CEntrance Mini-M8 as DAC and Amplifier
- Apple MacBook Pro Retina 2013 as a source
- Fidelia as a player
- Fiio X3-2 and QLS QA360 as portable players
- VSonic Gr01 and HiFiMan Re600 as headphones for comparison
- High Definition Records in Lossless-formats (Dr. Chesky The Ultimate Headphone Demonstration Disc and others)
Before listening to the headphones were warmed for 120 hours, as the manufacturer recommends them a long warm-up. Really changes in the sound are audible after 4-6 hours warm-up, further warming up the results to my hearing did not give.
Headphones are very dependent on the tips, both pairs give a noticeably different result. As with most dynamic headphones, a mandatory requirement is total isolation, otherwise the level of bass degrades. Also, judging by the reviews, with foam nozzles they give a more neutral sound, but since the "foam" did not give me a firm fit, I could not verify the statement. Most of the time, the headphones were obeyed with the largest silicone attachments.
In general, the sound of this model surprisingly combines the flavor feed with excellent detailing. Something they remind a little of good hybrids - the dynamic dynamic bass is combined with the worked out average and high frequencies. Due to the presence of two filter options, you can get two quite different sounds.
More dense filters give a darkened sound with dominant low frequencies. They slightly clamp the area of the upper midrange and the beginning of the HF range, removing so much unloved by many brightness, while the MF range slightly decreases in density, and the sound is perceived closer to the monitor. In this version, I liked more heavy genres, especially well-written ones.
The filters "lighter" make the sound more flavorful, the HF sound brighter, and the SCH - more vigorous and emphasize the vocals. With these filters, I prefer the live recordings with a small number of musicians (for example, enchanting Musica Nuda).
After spending some time comparing different filters and realizing that constantly twisting them back and forth is not an option, I stopped on a more dense version, because I prefer heavy music, and the sound in this case for me gets more volume.
The bass at the headphones is almost at the limit of the capabilities of modern dynamic radiators, it's not deafeningly high, so the bassheads will be upset, but it's deep enough, very well controlled and nicely textured. This kind of bass is needed for most of the living genres of music, when besides "pumping" you need to hear what exactly is playing.
Medium frequencies are detailed and emotional. In the version with a transparent filter, they are somehow strongly underlined, but a dense filter corrects this. Emotions are transmitted very well, also excellent the headphones can show the nature of the instruments.
The high frequencies also depend on the filter, but in both cases they please with good detail and control. If you are completely panic afraid of sibilants - these headphones are not for you, because if the sibilants are in the record - they will play them, but this is a necessity for the correct transmission of the high-frequency range.
Very well Algiz manages to construct an imaginary scene (again - to my ears), periodically by the nature of the sound they resemble "big" headphones. Is that the big headphones do not try to fall out of the ears under the weight of the cable.
Compatibility
Impedance of 100Ω makes these headphones very heavy load for most "simple" sources. Against this background, a complete cable with a headset looks like a subtle irony, because no smartphones or tablets close the potential of Algiz. From my technique, the CEntrance Mini-M8, QLS QA360, the new Fiio X3-2 (albeit worse than the older comrades) came well to these headphones. In addition, some kind of correction filter seems to be used in the headphones, that's why they are also a capacitive load, and some sources simply break into the cutting sound (for example, from what I had, so I was led by HiFiMan 901 and the D-Zero MK2 amplifier from iBasso).
Due to the nature of the sound of Algiz, of all genres for them, those that rely on live instruments and vocals, as well as rock music, are best suited.
To recordings, headphones are very critical, all the shortcomings are audible well, so the media library may need to be reviewed.
conclusions
Kennerton Algiz belong to a very narrow niche, in the segment of expensive headphones models with one dynamic radiator - very, very little, this makes them even more interesting. Despite some problems with wearing, caused by the desire to provide high-quality audio to headphones, the Algiz are very, very good. Driving and musical sounding with very high detail make this model a good choice for owners of top-end sources, who love flavoring not to the detriment of detail.
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