I'd like to thank Mr. Chan from Creative/EMU through and through for doing this for me. Coordinating with him was silky smooth, and his support throughout was great. He gave me options to choose from and thoroughly followed the whole order and delivery process. More people like him and EMU will have a great audience.
Alright guys…
These are custom-made, E-MUs; Ebony ear cups (chose this over rosewood and teak) with my own chosen finish and wood grain. These are hands down, the best headphones in my inventory, and for all good reason. It’s actually a Foster Electronics/Fostex OEM with improvements. (People do actually say Teak wood is the best bet, but I like the rarity and the dark, dense look of Ebony. In the end, it doesn't sacrifice much, but indeed is more bling).
Fun fact 1: No two wood grain patterns are alike, so every wooden cup is entirely unique.
Fun fact 2: Ebony is the only wood that sinks in water. It's that dense.
These were shipped from Asia-Pacific and I got them the next day here in Dubai. Thanks to FedEx, shipping was lightning fast.
SPECIFICATIONS:
50mm neodymium magnets with bio-cellulose/fiber diaphragm drivers.
Circum-aural (over-ear) design
Sensitivity: 103-106 dB
Impedance: 25 ohms
Max Input: 1800 mW
Cable: 3M OFC
Weight: 370 grams (without cable)
Magnetic Flux is between 1 to 1.2 Tesla. Yes, similar to those Beyer Dynamic Tesla drivers.
Aluminum + Magnesium Alloy frame, steel headband. Metal is incorporated in the band, the yolks, and the cups. The only plastic parts are actually the driver baffle and ear cup frame.
Non-sealed design.
PACKAGE CONTENTS:
Not much. 1) A pair of custom headphones. 2) A 3.5mm to 6.5mm jack. That’s it. But of course, I couldn’t ask for more.
Packaging was minimal. The headphones were well protected inside the package though. Foaming was nice, no bumps at all.
REVIEW:
The first thing any person would immediately notice after putting these on is how delightfully comfortable these are, despite the contained and relatively narrow room for your ears. How they’ve achieved this is with egg-protein based ear pads with a lot of smooth, comfortable cushioning inside the pads. It isn’t quite memory foam, but still very, very comfortable. The foam is much thicker at the back end, kind of fluffiness that helps even more. The pads are breathable... of sorts. They don't block the ear up completely, which helps reduce sweating.
The headband is thin and pretty straight, but again, I hardly felt any pressure of their weight. It’s astounding what they’ve achieved without any extra padding, and it’s simply not needed.
The second most obvious thing a listener will notice is that they’re… almost open back. You’d be amazed by the openness and airiness of the sound-stage. So, even though it apparently looks closed-back, it’s not. I’m yet to find out exactly where the ports are (probably around the edges of the frame cup and ear cups), but it’s ingenious. Interestingly enough, they combine the openness, natural tone and sound-stage of open backs and the bass texture and punch of closed backs. It’s an excellent, hybrid design – best of both worlds.
I did check the Hifiman 400i at one time, and a lot of other AKGs, Beyer Dynamics and Sennheisers. Even the Audeze LCDs (2, 2.5), though equally great sounding, have sound-stage and comfort issues. The Hifiman HE-560, HE-X and HE-1000, have great sound but still lack that bass-ey punch. Most other closed-backs will have a much narrow sound-stage and sound less natural in the mids and highs.
These seem more long-lasting and much classier. The metal + wood finish is very eye-catchy and aesthetically put together, and as practical as it is much visually appealing. Although there are more competitive headphones out there, but that’s the $1000+ league.
BUILD:
Needless to say, the build is great. The hardwood Ebony ear-cups are nice looking with a dark finish, and are strong and dense. The metal frame is solid. The wire is so thick and braided; such heavy cables are not quite rare headphones of this price anyhow. Great from start to finish. These aren’t mean for taking too much abuse, so care must be taken. I don’t think any owners would want to test their limits anyhow, after the money they’ve paid.
SOUND:
This is where the buck stops. How do they sound? Phenomenal. I must tell you that I didn't have any burn-in on these. Apart from that, I have always witnessed that a good product is good, regardless of burn-in time. It should be great out of the box. If a product is bad, it'll be terrible out of the box and will remain terrible forever, so burn-in obviously makes only a slight bit of difference, sometimes not even noticeable or audible to a lay man or a stray dog
. I will just shed light on how they sounded in the very first few minutes of use. Obviously, according to burn-in theory (how true is burn-in or not is another story. I'm a non-believer though, sorry), they will only improve.
The sound is indeed very tight because of the superior drivers as well as the high magnetic flux. Vocals are bliss. Sound stage is fantastic. It’s so good, it’s almost deceiving sometimes. Now again, good open backs may still have a more open sound stage but at the price of good bass, so it's a trade-off really. These do fight very hard to be on par with openness though. They attempt to satisfy all urges and never fail. The highs are great. The sound overall is indeed Hi-Res. The highs are a tad bit sibilant, but in a good way. No frequencies are fatiguing, which is great. The sound is very natural compared to any closed-back headphones. People would suggest that the sound may be similar to some good Beyer Dynamic cans. I wouldn’t disagree. But most of their build are plastic-y, and I’m a sucker for good build. Bass is great. Just great. I have the JVC HA-SZ1000s which are… bass-gods. These are almost there. In extreme cases, the JVC will win, but I don’t miss much of the bass or punch with these on.
With almost an open back sound (better than some semi-opens, for that matter), bass-head bass and almost monitor sound, though a bit warm (yes, these aren’t flat by audiophile standards), they’re just fun and glorious to listen to.
Listening to most music that I have, regardless of the genre was great. Movies were great. Vocals are quite forward. Instrument separation is great. Stereo separation is extravagant. You can easily tell when the sound is in the middle, sideways or completely around in the ambiance.
UPDATE: The single best thing about the fostex/foster OEM phones is the driver. A bio-cellulose/fiber/paper cone composite (depending on which one it is) driver is being used in these and those Denons, new ones and old; they're all using similar diaphragm-based drivers and not those standard PP or mylar ones. This diagram and the driver as a whole is simply superior. The build of the phones is nice, I admit. Metal and wooden backs. But the acoustics being used are nothing extra-ordinary or too different from standard engineering designs. It is the drivers playing the most important and critica role and dominating the science behind the sound here. I've had A/B listening with these and all my other cans. These are like miniature speakers. I couldn't tell if my speakers were playing or if it were these. Well part of that was because of their non-sealed design... but the sound resolution was very high. The sound and feel was like that of the paper or Fibre or Kevlar cone of speakers. With these diagrams, it's like they've the shrunk speaker sound into headphones. I believe those other walnut ones by emu as well as two good cans Denon still makes have this may have that speaker-like punch at the bass and great hi-res sound.
I think even the hd600/650 may remain slightly inferior as they don't have these cones. These cones help with the bass... the kick... the resolution... the vocals; instrument positioning and separation is simply stunning on these. It's like having surround sound, and during moments when bass was punch, quick and dead centre, it felt like they had a dedicated bass unit or a sub. But the bass was never too slow. The kicks were thick and tight. Bass on my other cans... even if I raise the volume on them... is simply thin. And the resolution is different and a lot inferior. The mids are either veiled or too piercing otherwise. The smoothness and naturalness in the bio-cellulose drivers is simply... Oh la la.
I will not abstain from recommending looking into Denon AHMM400, AHMM300, EMU Walnut for your next upgrade, tomorrow or next year or ever.
I remember when I once demo'd the AH-D7100 at a meet. I felt this in the sound. And now listening to the fostex/emu I'm reminded of that speaker-like sound feel. Due to 1) such drivers, 2) an open/leaky design and 3) Tesla magnetic flux, the Massdrop Fostex x00/Fostex th-600/emu teak conquer the best of both, open and closed worlds. I believe it will be hard for Hifiman cans even other planars to compete with these at this price-point whether they're open back, OR closed.
These are end-game class headphones. The sound and the build is so nice, you may not be wanting to upgrade for years on end once you have these, unless you really mess them up somehow. They will ask for some respect and careful handling though, as they don't seem indestructible, even not up till V-Modal standards. Nevertheless, they're one hell of a purchase and well-worth the money.
COMFORT/ISOLATION/LEAKAGE/PORTABILITY/AMPING:
Due to their non-sealed nature, there would be sound leakage, though still less than actual semi-open or open-back headphones. The passive isolation is below average. They will not block outside noise. Comfort is great though. These certainly are wear-and-forget type. Besides the weight, the balance and design is comforting enough for several hours of continuous, scot-free use. Though some sweating may occur in warmer weather; the pads are not quite breathable.
The stock cable is really, really thick and heavy. It’s quite long too. Portability with this cable is simply out of the question; too long, too heavy. Though cable can be modded (which I will later anyhow) for a more convenient use.
Amping is quite receptive on these. Run okay off a reasonable phone. The sound is adequate off my Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Without an amp though, the true experience will be missed. The lack of portability clearly makes it obvious these are a desktop/studio/home solution. So at least an average fiiO to any higher, more powerful amp would be recommended, though not a lot of power is needed, so don’t worry even if you don’t have one. Furthermore, you don’t have to spare out a too powerful amp as you do for planar-magnetic cans. For instance, my Xonar DX/XD through a fiiO e07k at 0 gain is good enough to do the magic. So, amping requirements are not too high, contrary to popular belief.
TAKE-AWAY:
If you’re an electronic music enthusiast, look no further. These, or the Massdrop/Fostex x00, even the TH-600/TH-900 (though much pricier), or the bloody Mr. Speakers Ether (the pinnacle) are just too good for electronic music. But like I said before, anything besides these, if better, is the $1000+ league. I can proudly say that the x00 are ideal and best bang for the buck at this time in the whole, wide world for electro/dance fans, and can be dropped off Massdrop at $399 + shipping, with the options of mahogany, purple heart or rosewood. There is a wait time on them though; the purchases take more than a month to about three to eventually ship.
Compared to my ATH-M50x, Takstar Hi-2050s, JVCs, Sennhieser HD8DJs, Symphonized Cherry wooden and my other less cheaper cans, these certainly are the best. Hi-Res sound, as they say it, shouts out loud. Is the money worth it? Definitely. Sound and build both vouch for it.
At the end of the day though, sound is a very subjective domain, and my review and opinion is strictly to be taken with a grain of salt. Some may find solace in something else, but reality couldn’t be too farther from the truth. Though I’m certain they’re almost as good as I say they are.
Guess what you’d need after buying this kind of stuff though: A damn good looking headphone stand; probably one of those wooden ones to suit this masterpiece.
Alright guys…
These are custom-made, E-MUs; Ebony ear cups (chose this over rosewood and teak) with my own chosen finish and wood grain. These are hands down, the best headphones in my inventory, and for all good reason. It’s actually a Foster Electronics/Fostex OEM with improvements. (People do actually say Teak wood is the best bet, but I like the rarity and the dark, dense look of Ebony. In the end, it doesn't sacrifice much, but indeed is more bling).
Fun fact 1: No two wood grain patterns are alike, so every wooden cup is entirely unique.
Fun fact 2: Ebony is the only wood that sinks in water. It's that dense.
These were shipped from Asia-Pacific and I got them the next day here in Dubai. Thanks to FedEx, shipping was lightning fast.
SPECIFICATIONS:
50mm neodymium magnets with bio-cellulose/fiber diaphragm drivers.
Circum-aural (over-ear) design
Sensitivity: 103-106 dB
Impedance: 25 ohms
Max Input: 1800 mW
Cable: 3M OFC
Weight: 370 grams (without cable)
Magnetic Flux is between 1 to 1.2 Tesla. Yes, similar to those Beyer Dynamic Tesla drivers.
Aluminum + Magnesium Alloy frame, steel headband. Metal is incorporated in the band, the yolks, and the cups. The only plastic parts are actually the driver baffle and ear cup frame.
Non-sealed design.
PACKAGE CONTENTS:
Not much. 1) A pair of custom headphones. 2) A 3.5mm to 6.5mm jack. That’s it. But of course, I couldn’t ask for more.
Packaging was minimal. The headphones were well protected inside the package though. Foaming was nice, no bumps at all.
REVIEW:
The first thing any person would immediately notice after putting these on is how delightfully comfortable these are, despite the contained and relatively narrow room for your ears. How they’ve achieved this is with egg-protein based ear pads with a lot of smooth, comfortable cushioning inside the pads. It isn’t quite memory foam, but still very, very comfortable. The foam is much thicker at the back end, kind of fluffiness that helps even more. The pads are breathable... of sorts. They don't block the ear up completely, which helps reduce sweating.
The headband is thin and pretty straight, but again, I hardly felt any pressure of their weight. It’s astounding what they’ve achieved without any extra padding, and it’s simply not needed.
The second most obvious thing a listener will notice is that they’re… almost open back. You’d be amazed by the openness and airiness of the sound-stage. So, even though it apparently looks closed-back, it’s not. I’m yet to find out exactly where the ports are (probably around the edges of the frame cup and ear cups), but it’s ingenious. Interestingly enough, they combine the openness, natural tone and sound-stage of open backs and the bass texture and punch of closed backs. It’s an excellent, hybrid design – best of both worlds.
I did check the Hifiman 400i at one time, and a lot of other AKGs, Beyer Dynamics and Sennheisers. Even the Audeze LCDs (2, 2.5), though equally great sounding, have sound-stage and comfort issues. The Hifiman HE-560, HE-X and HE-1000, have great sound but still lack that bass-ey punch. Most other closed-backs will have a much narrow sound-stage and sound less natural in the mids and highs.
These seem more long-lasting and much classier. The metal + wood finish is very eye-catchy and aesthetically put together, and as practical as it is much visually appealing. Although there are more competitive headphones out there, but that’s the $1000+ league.
BUILD:
Needless to say, the build is great. The hardwood Ebony ear-cups are nice looking with a dark finish, and are strong and dense. The metal frame is solid. The wire is so thick and braided; such heavy cables are not quite rare headphones of this price anyhow. Great from start to finish. These aren’t mean for taking too much abuse, so care must be taken. I don’t think any owners would want to test their limits anyhow, after the money they’ve paid.
SOUND:
This is where the buck stops. How do they sound? Phenomenal. I must tell you that I didn't have any burn-in on these. Apart from that, I have always witnessed that a good product is good, regardless of burn-in time. It should be great out of the box. If a product is bad, it'll be terrible out of the box and will remain terrible forever, so burn-in obviously makes only a slight bit of difference, sometimes not even noticeable or audible to a lay man or a stray dog
. I will just shed light on how they sounded in the very first few minutes of use. Obviously, according to burn-in theory (how true is burn-in or not is another story. I'm a non-believer though, sorry), they will only improve.The sound is indeed very tight because of the superior drivers as well as the high magnetic flux. Vocals are bliss. Sound stage is fantastic. It’s so good, it’s almost deceiving sometimes. Now again, good open backs may still have a more open sound stage but at the price of good bass, so it's a trade-off really. These do fight very hard to be on par with openness though. They attempt to satisfy all urges and never fail. The highs are great. The sound overall is indeed Hi-Res. The highs are a tad bit sibilant, but in a good way. No frequencies are fatiguing, which is great. The sound is very natural compared to any closed-back headphones. People would suggest that the sound may be similar to some good Beyer Dynamic cans. I wouldn’t disagree. But most of their build are plastic-y, and I’m a sucker for good build. Bass is great. Just great. I have the JVC HA-SZ1000s which are… bass-gods. These are almost there. In extreme cases, the JVC will win, but I don’t miss much of the bass or punch with these on.
With almost an open back sound (better than some semi-opens, for that matter), bass-head bass and almost monitor sound, though a bit warm (yes, these aren’t flat by audiophile standards), they’re just fun and glorious to listen to.
Listening to most music that I have, regardless of the genre was great. Movies were great. Vocals are quite forward. Instrument separation is great. Stereo separation is extravagant. You can easily tell when the sound is in the middle, sideways or completely around in the ambiance.
UPDATE: The single best thing about the fostex/foster OEM phones is the driver. A bio-cellulose/fiber/paper cone composite (depending on which one it is) driver is being used in these and those Denons, new ones and old; they're all using similar diaphragm-based drivers and not those standard PP or mylar ones. This diagram and the driver as a whole is simply superior. The build of the phones is nice, I admit. Metal and wooden backs. But the acoustics being used are nothing extra-ordinary or too different from standard engineering designs. It is the drivers playing the most important and critica role and dominating the science behind the sound here. I've had A/B listening with these and all my other cans. These are like miniature speakers. I couldn't tell if my speakers were playing or if it were these. Well part of that was because of their non-sealed design... but the sound resolution was very high. The sound and feel was like that of the paper or Fibre or Kevlar cone of speakers. With these diagrams, it's like they've the shrunk speaker sound into headphones. I believe those other walnut ones by emu as well as two good cans Denon still makes have this may have that speaker-like punch at the bass and great hi-res sound.
I think even the hd600/650 may remain slightly inferior as they don't have these cones. These cones help with the bass... the kick... the resolution... the vocals; instrument positioning and separation is simply stunning on these. It's like having surround sound, and during moments when bass was punch, quick and dead centre, it felt like they had a dedicated bass unit or a sub. But the bass was never too slow. The kicks were thick and tight. Bass on my other cans... even if I raise the volume on them... is simply thin. And the resolution is different and a lot inferior. The mids are either veiled or too piercing otherwise. The smoothness and naturalness in the bio-cellulose drivers is simply... Oh la la.
I will not abstain from recommending looking into Denon AHMM400, AHMM300, EMU Walnut for your next upgrade, tomorrow or next year or ever.
I remember when I once demo'd the AH-D7100 at a meet. I felt this in the sound. And now listening to the fostex/emu I'm reminded of that speaker-like sound feel. Due to 1) such drivers, 2) an open/leaky design and 3) Tesla magnetic flux, the Massdrop Fostex x00/Fostex th-600/emu teak conquer the best of both, open and closed worlds. I believe it will be hard for Hifiman cans even other planars to compete with these at this price-point whether they're open back, OR closed.
These are end-game class headphones. The sound and the build is so nice, you may not be wanting to upgrade for years on end once you have these, unless you really mess them up somehow. They will ask for some respect and careful handling though, as they don't seem indestructible, even not up till V-Modal standards. Nevertheless, they're one hell of a purchase and well-worth the money.
COMFORT/ISOLATION/LEAKAGE/PORTABILITY/AMPING:
Due to their non-sealed nature, there would be sound leakage, though still less than actual semi-open or open-back headphones. The passive isolation is below average. They will not block outside noise. Comfort is great though. These certainly are wear-and-forget type. Besides the weight, the balance and design is comforting enough for several hours of continuous, scot-free use. Though some sweating may occur in warmer weather; the pads are not quite breathable.
The stock cable is really, really thick and heavy. It’s quite long too. Portability with this cable is simply out of the question; too long, too heavy. Though cable can be modded (which I will later anyhow) for a more convenient use.
Amping is quite receptive on these. Run okay off a reasonable phone. The sound is adequate off my Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Without an amp though, the true experience will be missed. The lack of portability clearly makes it obvious these are a desktop/studio/home solution. So at least an average fiiO to any higher, more powerful amp would be recommended, though not a lot of power is needed, so don’t worry even if you don’t have one. Furthermore, you don’t have to spare out a too powerful amp as you do for planar-magnetic cans. For instance, my Xonar DX/XD through a fiiO e07k at 0 gain is good enough to do the magic. So, amping requirements are not too high, contrary to popular belief.
TAKE-AWAY:
If you’re an electronic music enthusiast, look no further. These, or the Massdrop/Fostex x00, even the TH-600/TH-900 (though much pricier), or the bloody Mr. Speakers Ether (the pinnacle) are just too good for electronic music. But like I said before, anything besides these, if better, is the $1000+ league. I can proudly say that the x00 are ideal and best bang for the buck at this time in the whole, wide world for electro/dance fans, and can be dropped off Massdrop at $399 + shipping, with the options of mahogany, purple heart or rosewood. There is a wait time on them though; the purchases take more than a month to about three to eventually ship.
Compared to my ATH-M50x, Takstar Hi-2050s, JVCs, Sennhieser HD8DJs, Symphonized Cherry wooden and my other less cheaper cans, these certainly are the best. Hi-Res sound, as they say it, shouts out loud. Is the money worth it? Definitely. Sound and build both vouch for it.
At the end of the day though, sound is a very subjective domain, and my review and opinion is strictly to be taken with a grain of salt. Some may find solace in something else, but reality couldn’t be too farther from the truth. Though I’m certain they’re almost as good as I say they are.
Guess what you’d need after buying this kind of stuff though: A damn good looking headphone stand; probably one of those wooden ones to suit this masterpiece.
Last edited:
