Perun started of as a Russian DIY – product being tweaked on Russian forums for years before going commercial. The fact that this headphone is made in Russia makes it a bit problematic for me. Why should we buy anything Russian these days? Russia have broken every rule there is and are actually trying to occupy Ukraine. It is totally madness from a crazy leader and he’s machine of false propaganda.
There is a sculpture in Stoke – on – Trent, England that celebrates the famous Christmas truce of 1914. The rival soldiers left the trenches and played soccer instead for a short amount of time. We are all human and music is something that truly unite us. Arthur, the creator of Perun makes headphones and that´ s a good thing. A review is basically a recommendation or the opposite to buy a product. All i can say is that this headphone was bought before the war in Ukraine.
Perun
Perun is the old Slavic god of Thunder, lightening, war, justice and physical realm. Much like the Norse god Thor. That’s a name you must live up to. Makes me think of a friend that named he’s son Storm Alexander. I looked into the crib and saw that cute and tiny baby sleeping. I was thinking that I wished he would grew up to carry that name. He’s parents didn’t give him a name to become a tiny and shy boy collecting stamps. And when I saw the Perun Rock I knew I had nothing to worry about. Perun only makes electrostatic headphones and you need a proper driver to use them. They have a bias voltage of 580v which is the standard for all the Stax headphones and amplifiers. This voltage bias have been a standard for most electrostatic headphones these days. But you have the exceptions like Sonoma Acoustics and they make brilliant headphone systems. I say systems, because you have to buy their amplifier with the headphones to use them. Like Apple this drags you into their system and you have buy and sell the system as a package you are locked into. I really appreciate that other headphone makers are adapting the Stax bias as the standard for electrostatic headphones. Nowadays more and more manufacturers makes electrostatic headphones and amplifiers. I would recommend Headamp or Mjølnir audio. The Stax driver units are always disappointing in my ears compared to higher end electrostatic amps that has more power. Stax is making the finest headphones in the world but it is a mystery why their amps are so bad compared to others. But I’m talking myself away again. On to the review.
Build
The Perun Rock is one of the largest headphones I have had the honour to review. The cups is so large you need to be unfortunate to not find room for you’re ears in there. They have the largest leather pads i have ever seen. They are incredibly soft and seals well. The pads are made of real leather that looks, feels and even smells good. They reminds me of a pretty version of Jacklyn floats. Okay, pretty is not the best word. They look kind of simple. The first thing i noted is the metal head assembly. Looks like a bent metal clothes hanger and indeed it could be. As I noted before, this is a DIY project gone commercial like Nectar and Kaldas. The Perun Rocks feels surprisingly good. Besides the old school Russian Lada looks, the build quality feels good. I have used them for some time now and I must say that they feel very well put together. The sliders of the headband is tight and they are fastened by two philips screws each. I like simple solutions that are easy to fix. When I see pictures of the drivers it seems more like a modular system that makes repairs easy. But I really don’t know. The wooden cups are sturdy and looks good with a clear coat glossy finish. I think a little more thought on design would do, but it doesn’t really matter for me. I think the Abyss 1266 looks like a device for torture. But finally, sound is all that matters to me. The cable is the only thing i felt a little worried about. It got some shrink plastic out from the cups and it looks fragile. But I soon found out that the cable is fastened by a clamp and two screws inside the cups. The cable is ledcenter litz wire made of 49 litz wire with monocrystal copper connector. The plug looks home made and cheap, but better then Nectar Sound sorry excuse for a plug. They have started to use modified Stax – cables that looks more confident quality wise.
All I can say is that I got no complaints over the build quality other than the home made plug on this version. From what i understand, other owners have no complaints..
Comfort
The Perun website is totally useless. Enjoy the magic of electrostatic sound from hand made headphones is the essence of the information on there. I used a kitchen scale to weigh the large Perun Rock on. One of the first things I noticed is how light they are, because the cups is so large i thought they would weigh a ton and then some. 360 grams is what i get on my scale! That is very light for most high end headphones. I later found that they actually weighs in at 350 grams. Pretty impressive for such a large headphone! The soft pads is truly comfortable and the headband is disappearing on my head. I didn’t notice any hotspots on my head. They got perfect clamp force for my head. I got nothing to complain about, so I look out the window just to see snow coming down in the first days of spring. I can always complain on the weather!
Drivers
The Perun Rock consists of two drivers. One large and one small that are angled towards you. I first thought this was there to bring out the stage. Like angled drivers used in HD800, and it sure is. The smaller driver is a closed driver for high frequency while the large driver is for midrange and bass. To use more than one conventional dynamic driver in the headphone is more advanced to get right. Sennheiser is using single dynamic drivers on they’re IEMs to avoid the issue. This is something new in the world of electrostatic headphones.
Sound
Dan Clark Voce
I started the session with one of the best built electrostatic headphones there is, the Dan Clark Voce. Im so burnt in with the Perun Rock that I need time to compare other headphones. The first thing I noticed was the more distant voice. The mids on Perun is spot on to a little forward. The Voce is more analytical on top. I really like the Voce on a good amp bringing forward the dynamics the dynamics they have to offer. The soundstage is better on Voce but the Imaging can be confusing at times. I wonder why Dan do this on all he’s newer creations. I sold the original Ether a few months ago because someone else on my headfi – group wanted to buy it. I thought the original ether was a bit bright at first when i heard the prototype. But it has been one of the stayers in my collection. It didn’t have that diffuse stage going. Newer Dan Clark creations reminds me of my Meridian DSP7200 when I played too damn loud with the DSP trying to force the elements to play clean, making it all sound weird.
The Perun Rock have a more intimate soundstage with the feeling of a big rig of speakers just pumping into my ears. It is pretty awesome!
The small high frequency – drivers integrates perfectly. The measurements will tell, but I can’t hear any annoying peaks. Using two drivers is difficult to crossover, and I didn’t notice this being a high frequency driver before I did some serious research using google translate. The soundstage is kind of small and the angled driver doesn’t quite work as intended. I talked to a fellow headphoneer and he said the imaging was better on computergames. It sounds like I’m just beside the instruments. That makes less illusion of room and air. It makes up for it by being so engaging that I could not stop listening. Especially electronic music and rock favours the intimacy of the Perun, that bears the name Rock for a reason.
Voce is a very good headphone but I prefer the dynamics of the Perun. Perun is darker, but have this sweet sounding midrange and punch. If the Voce was a pair of really good floorstanding speakers, the Perun is Infinity IRS or Adytons with large woofer towers.
Stax SR404 Signature
The Stax 404 Signature is legendary and one of the better headphones by Stax in my opinion. The profile is more on the darker side with a good bass slam and the sound is faster than Perun Rock, making it slightly more organic. The voices on SR404 rivals Perun, but lacs the sheer dynamics of the Perun. The treble is simply a little better pronounced with a more convincing timbre. The Peruns feels more flat on the frequency response. Perun Rock never exaggerate and feels a little congested vs 404 Signature. The Perun is more fun listening experience. The experience of a live band suddenly exploding from nothing to everybody playing together creates a dynamic only heard on very large speakers. This is convincingly played on the Peruns and that is truly fantastic in a pair of headphones. Headphones..I should call them earspeakers cause that what they truly are. I would recommend to try the song Airbag – Homesick and turn up the volume.
Other Headphones
I tried L700, The Hive and L500 with my playlist and went back to the Perun Rock. I wished I had SR-007 here to compare. But I have spent many hundred hours with the SR-007MKI and I think it feels a little dull compared to Perun Rock. The things I feel missing with the Peruns compared to others is bigger soundstage and sharper imaging. Maybe a little more color on top would make the timbre better on acoustic instruments. The Nectar sound Hive beats Perun in the bass slam department, but not in the dynamics of the mid bass.
Measurements
The first is a measurement of Hifiman Susvara in green vs Perun Rock in red. Second is ESlab 1a in yellow vs Perun Rock in blue. The third is a measurement of Perun Rock. I have to note that the large earpads was hard to seal well with miniDSP ears. You have to take the rolloff in the bass with a grain of salt. The miniDSP ears – measurements is just to get an idea against other headphones.
The ¨ IT¨
Im talking about the IT – factor and this headphone got it. My gosh, it’s a fun headphone! I’m immersed in sound with as much dynamic and drive I didn’t knew where possible for electrostatics. This headphones with the oversized drivers have something I never heard before. It’s going up on my IT – list of great headphones.
Conclusions
Try some drum & base on the Perun Rock and you will never go back. The sound is so immersive and fun, but feels correct and clean. This headphone belongs in the big leagues along with the best electrostatic headphones in the world. If you don’t believe me i urge you to try it! If the occupation of Ukraine stops i will recommend to buy it. It’s hitting far far beyond the price point on 1500$. It’s almost scary that a Russian DIY – project can rival and beat the big companies like this! Two thumbs up.
Edit: The drivers section was updates with the right information.
