To my great delight, this week I got a chance to spend some time with a new headphone, the Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1! I had been excited to get my ears on this pair ever since I heard it was going to be released. So finally, I’m happy to share my experience with you. How does it sound? Let’s take a closer look with this Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 Open-Back Headphones Review.

Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 Open-Back Headphones Review

In the Box – Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 Open-Back Headphones Review

-Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 headphones

-Cable with 6.35 mm connector

-zipping protective case

-documentation

Specifications – Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 Open-Back Headphones Review

-Driver type: planar magnetic

-Driver size: 71 x 45 mm

-Impedance: 23 ohms

-Weight: 385 g

Design – Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 Open-Back Headphones Review

Headband

The headband of the Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 headphones is quite similar to the other headbands by Mr. Speakers. It has a two-tiered design. Two wire bands bend across the top, with a  strip of leather underneath them. As a result, the headband is flexibly, and will fit just about any head size. Additionally, the leather strip touches along the entirety of the head, and as a result, balances the headphones evenly. The leather strap connects at the base of the wire bands via piece of plastic. This smooth plastic piece sides up and down the wire bands to change the size of the headband overall. The headband attaches to an aluminum yolk that then attaches to either side of the earcups. Additionally, the yolk holds the earcups so that they can swivel more than modestly.

Earcups

The pair of Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 I’m using are open-back. There is also a closed-back version. However, these open-back headphones are pretty! They have a glossy honeycomb-style grill. A sparkly, navy blue coating circles the grill. This look is beautiful while maintaining a sense of class and elegance. Additionally, the earcups are large and circular.

Earpads

The earpads of the Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 are made of thick, soft foam. They have a bit of a memory foam feel to them, but maintain a sense of firmness in the middle. Additionally, the foam is coated in NAPA lamb leather. As a result, this leather is supple to the touch. The center hole of the earpads is rectangular. It is a large enough hole so that my ear fits comfortably in the middle of it without touching the earpad.

Cable

The Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 comes with a VIVO cable with your choice of connector. The one I’m using now has a 6.35 mm connector. VIVO cables consist of a silver coated OFHC copper cable. They’re coated in braided cloth and come with Neutrik connectors. Additionally, the cables follow the Y-style, attaching to the base of both earcups. They feel extremely well made, although they are a little bulky in thickness for my taste. Their length feels manageable yet practical.

Sound – Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 Open-Back Headphones Review

Low Frequencies

The low frequencies of the Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 have a sense of quickness and dynamic activity. As a result, low frequency rich instruments, especially transient instruments like kick drums, contribute to the groove and have a lot of wonderful detail. A small boost in the sub region gives a sense of extension to these instruments. Additionally, there seems to be a boost in the area near the fundamental frequency of a lot of kick drums. As a result, kick drums come through with a little bit extra energy than usual. It’s level isn’t dramatically boosted, but just feels slightly more forward than normal.

For example, when I was listening to the song Cleva by Erykah Badu, the kick drum and bass guitar had a dynamic danciness to them that contributed to the groove of the song. Additionally, the kick drum felt punchy, extended and spacious. As a result, both the kick drum and the bass guitar could live alongside each other without stepping on each others’ toes.

Middle Frequencies

The middle frequencies of the Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1 have a wonderful sense of vastness and fastness to them. A broad cut in the upper mids sort of pushes the shape of the midrange to the sides, creating even more spaciousness. This cut also affects the way vocals sit, creating a sense of relaxation for vocals and other high-mid heavy instruments. The body of vocals feels like it sits further back, leaving room for airineness in the highs. Additionally, there is a small boost in the low-mids. As a result, guitars, strings, pianos, and bass guitars come through with a sense of thickness while maintaining their clarity and separation.

For example, when I was listening to the song Matter of Time by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Sharon’s vocal sat a little further back in space than normal. The organ and guitars maintained both their roominess and fullness because of the fullness of the middle part of the midrange. The bass guitar had a lot of energy and dynamics. I feel like I could feel the tone of its amplifier in one of the clearest ways I’ve ever heard.

High Frequencies

The high frequencies of the Mr. Speakers Ether Flow 1.1, like the rest of the frequency spectrum, are dynamically moving. They contribute satisfyingly to the emotional impact of sweeping strings, strumming acoustic guitars, and the nuances of airy vocals. The highs seem to have a boost in the lower treble. As a result, vocals come through with added articulation despite the broad cut in the high-mids. Additionally, the upper octave has a sense of extension and airiness to it that gives vocals a sense of lift. I feel a cut in the upper treble. As a result, the headphones have a slightly relaxed sense of texture than they might otherwise. However this upper treble cut also contributes help these headphones avoid sibilance. As a result, they’re not too fatiguing and work well for long listening sessions. However, I after listening at different levels, sometimes I would come across a feeling of harshness when listening at louder levels.

For example, when I was listening to the song Daydreaming by Middle Brother, the rhythm acoustic guitar danced along to the groove of the song in a realistic and dynamic fashion. It had a lot of space around it. The lower treble boost gave it a wonderful sense of clarity and precision so that I could really hear the attack of the finger on it and the pick when it was picked. Additionally, John McCauley’s vocal sits forward and airy in the mix. However, some of the texture of his gravelly voice is relaxed a bit because of the upper treble cut. The lower treble boost, though, provides clarity, articulation, and detail to his consonants.

Soundstage

The soundstage of the Ether Flow 1.1 was entertaining and expansive. It’s sense of height, because of the low frequency and high frequency extension, feels exaggerated! It’s fun! Percussion, vocals, and cymbals all sit up high above the head whereas bass guitars and kick drums sit anchored down in the gut. Additionally, instruments panned out to the sides expand outward from the head. And despite this expansive quality, the phantom center feels exact and accurate. As a result, the separate speakers come across with a sense of unity. The sense of depth feels nuanced and realistic. Instruments placed backward in space maintain precision and clarity, while still feeling further away. And instruments that need intimacy in order to be emotionally impactful are upfront and present.

For example, when I was listening to the song Fever by Ray Charles featuring Natalie Cole, the fingersnaps, hand drum, and cymbals, and breath of the vocals sit up above the head. This contrasts dramatically with the lowness of the upright bass which feels anchored way down below my head. Additionally, the widely panned guitars and keys feel extremely spacious and leave lots of space for the moderately panned snaps, strings, and horns. Lastly, the sense of depth is powerful in this song. The vocals both feel extremely tight and intimate to the listener. This contrasts beautifully with the strings and keys in the background. These background instruments maintain their harmonic complexity while still sitting backward in space.

Overview

Overall, the Mr. Speakers Flow 1.1 is emotionally impactful because of its active dynamics and quickness. Additionally, it has a nuanced soundstage that gives live and energy to a wide variety of genres. It’s sound signature is for those that like a little bit of a bass bump, but with lots of clarity, especially in the high frequencies.

The Mr. Speakers Flow 1.1 is available for the best price here:

Audio 46 (Use our promo code, “majorhifi” to get 10% off)

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