Dan Clark Audio
ETHER 2 Planar Headphones
$2,199.99 USDFeatures
Made of titanium, aluminum, and carbon fiber, the ETHER 2 weighs 290 grams, making it one of the lightest top-of-the-line planar headphones on the market. It also has an open-back design that's suitable for home listening.
Drivers
The ETHER 2 has a proprietary TrueFlow driver, second-generation motor, and patented V-Planar driver processing. The driver is 70% lighter than the ETHER Flow driver and features a new diaphragm for improved detail retrieval. The TrueFlow driver is designed to optimize sound quality with smoother tone, lower distortion, and greater detail retrieval. The V-Planar driver processing textures the driver surface for improved diaphragm stability and superior low frequency performance.
Comfort
The ETHER 2 has an ergonomic ear pad and an enhanced webbed head-strap for comfort and ergonomics. Some say they're the most comfortable headphones they've ever worn.
Sound
The ETHER 2 is designed to deliver a realistic acoustic signature with a deep and wide soundstage. Some say they're supremely dynamic and powerful, allowing you to feel the music deep in your body.
Customization
The ETHER 2 comes with three different ear pads that offer unique sonic signatures, allowing you to customize the sound and fit in seconds.
What's in the Box?
Warranty
At only 290grams, ETHER 2 smashes the weight barrier for top-of-the-line headphones, ensuring it feels as good as it sounds and looks.
ETHER 2 is Dan Clark Audio's top-of-the-line open-back planar magnetic headphone with a new driver, motor, baffle, and headband all designed to synergistically blend stunningly lifelike sound with the industry-leading comfort and reliability that are the hallmarks of Dan Clark Audio products.
Putting the Pedal to the Metal
ETHER 2 has an entirely new motor designed around the concept of TrueFlow technology. Instead of designing TrueFlow into the motor, we designed the motor around the TrueFlow technology to realize a major improvement in linearity, dynamics, and detail. And we didn’t stop there.
To make the most of the increased resolution of the motor we developed an all-new diaphragm that’s 70% less aluminum trace weight than the original ETHER driver. As a result, ETHER 2 delivers incredible clarity, powerful, fast bass, liquid mids, and a smooth, balanced top end that’s incredibly resolving yet not at all bright to deliver a coherent, dynamic and remarkably balanced performance.
Shedding Weight, Not Strength
ETHER 2 is light. Really light, almost 90 grams or 3.75 ounces lighter than our comfortable ETHER Flow headphones. Amazingly, this weight drop didn’t involve switching from metal to plastic components, which would compromise sound and reduce product life. Nope.
ETHER 2 sports an all-metal headphone cup and headband, with a carbon fiber driver baffle, so it’s built to last, in style. At under 290g, ETHER 2 is not only the lightest full size planar magnetic headphone on the market and it may be the lightest top-of-the-line headphone from any high-end vendor.
Ultralightweight design with a new ergonomic ear pad and an enhanced webbed head-strap combine to make ETHER 2 the new standard in high-performance headphone comfort and ergonomics.
Get Wired with VIVO!
We didn’t stop at upgrades to the headphone, either. While our original DUM (Distinctly Un-Magical) cable was a great performer, it was a bit stiffer and more microphonic than we wanted, so we set out to upgrade the cable.
Meet VIVO, our new flagship cable! For sound quality, this fully-custom cable design incorporates silver plated OFHC copper and top-quality connectors available in 6’ and 10’ 1/4” and 4-pin XLR terminations, and portable-friendly 3.5’ 2.5, 3.5, and 4.4mm cables. VIVO projects a wide open and holographic soundstage with precise imaging and tons of smooth detail.
And VIVO feels as good as it looks, and sounds. VIVO has a remarkably supple feel and is so light you’ll hardly notice it’s there and careful construction means it’s non-microphonic for comfortable and “quiet” listening.
"When factoring in their $2000 price while most competitors ask two to three times for their offerings, which puts the Ether 2 in a league of its own."
Scott Lombardo, Enjoy the Music
ETHER 2 System: Three Ear Pads, Three Unique Experiences
ETHER 2 supports 3 ear pads each offering a unique sound and comfort experience. That means ETHER 2 is one headphone but has 3 distinct voices. You can now purchase the ETHER 2 with all 3 ear pads as the ETHER 2 System. The great part is you can peel the pads off and change them anytime.
So what’s the effect on the sound? With the stock earpad as the reference, the suede pad is offers a little more output in the bass region and a little more sparkle on top, while the perforated pads deliver the largest soundstage and increase relative bass and treble for a more fun and lively voicing. The stock earpads put the midrange a bit further forward compared to the perforated and suede pads.
ETHER 2 Ear Pad Comparison
Relative levels of Ether 2 with Original, Perforated, and Suede ear pads
As you can see in the chart above, the original ear pad (blue) offers the most forward midrange, while the suede pads (green) deliver a somewhat warmer bottom-end and a little additional sparkle up top. The perforated pads, red, deliver the strongest relative bass and treble for a more “fun” tone.
Ear pads may be purchased separately or in a special bundle including the perforated and suede pads for a discounted price through October, 2020. The Ether 2 Headphone will come with the perforated pads instead of the original design once existing stock is sold.
“And now with this new package, you don’t just get one world class reference headphone, but three with a profile to match pretty much any listener.”
Gary Allen Barker, Headphone Guru
What’s in the box?
- ETHER 2 Headphone
- 3 Ear Pads: Perforated, Suede, and Solid
- IVO Cable with termination of your choice
- Carrying case
- Manual
- Cleaning Cloth
Press and Reviews
Moon Audio
by Staff
Nov. 2020
Headphone.Guru
by Gary Alan Barker
Nov. 2018
Headfonia
by Linus
Dec. 2018
Major Hifi
by Gabby Bloch
Dec. 2018
Headfonics
by Marcus
Feb. 2019
The Verge
by Vlad Savov
May 2019
CNet
by Steve Guttenberg
Apr. 2019
Inner Fidelity
by Grover Neville
Apr. 2019
Audiophile Style
by Josh M
Jul. 2019
Hi-Fi News
by Christopher Breunig
Sep. 2019
Fair Audio
by Benjamin Baum
Apr. 2019
Headfonics
by Marcus
Nov. 2020
Technical Features
- Type
- Planar Magnetic Driver
- Size
- 71x45mm Impedance 16 ohms
- Weight
- 290g
- Pad Type
- Synthetic Protein
- Shipping Dimensions
- 11x9x6 inches
- Shipping Weight
- 3 lb
- Frequency Response
- Yes*
*The industry has no standards for measuring or publishing results and many published specs wildly overstate the headphone's potential. We prefer not to play the "spec game" for this reason.