Impressions after using Palavox Akasha over the weekend:
TLDR: Mid-forward, extremely wide-sounding, shrill air-maxxing pos with literally no mid-bass.

>Timbre
Akasha has this really clean and analytical tuning to it as a result of having zero mid-bass impact. Upper-mids and treble energy causes the Akasha to be shrill-sounding with lots of air/shimmer. But it is not lean-sounding, A/Bing with something like the Helios, you can tell the Akasha does have relatively thick lower-mids to it, but most of the time it is overpowered with its shrillness.

>Bass
No idea why Palavox even bothered putting a DD. Akasha has zero mid-bass. As for subbass, the Akasha does have BCD drivers which gives a slight hint of subbass rumble and texture. Bass on the Akasha is best described as ‘rumble with no slam/decay’.

>Uppermids/Treble
Akasha is quite the shrill pos, but because of its late pinna gain, it’s not shouty – female vocals have this breathy texture, and the midrange has this glassy sheen to it. The Akasha has tons of air and is very extended – much better than the Helios.

>Soundstage
One of its strong points. Very wide-sounding. Comparable to Storm in that regard.

>Cons
Noteweight for lower-register instruments is a real problem area: the lack of mid-bass punch and slam makes bass guitar sound really anemic; you can barely make out the strumming. It’s impossible to hear the initial “thump” on the jazz drums so all you get is the constant shimmering of cymbals/snares.

I wouldn’t use the Akasha for instrumentals because Akasha just lacks that initial slam to give instruments authority.

>Pros
Detail monster with great separation for busy/fast electronic tracks or female poison genres like jpop/kpop. Transients are sharp and fast, and the lack of mid-bass bloom/decay allows you to scrutinize details in the music.

Verdict: Very unique tuning and worth demo-ing for the experience. Canjam goers should make an effort to audition this pos if possible.