jello
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Post by jello on Mar 19, 2016 20:16:12 GMT
Now available for $449.99 on MassdropSeems they've added a few new wood options too; rosewood and ebony as well as teak. Look much nicer now that they've remove the E-MU branding from the cups. The TH-X00 made these look awfully expensive so the lower price would seem a smart move (or perhaps the only commercially viable one?) on Creative's part. www.emu.com/images/headers/topbanner/Woodseries.pdf
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Post by psych0 on Mar 23, 2018 17:21:32 GMT
Hate to revive this thread, but has anyone here had a chance to listen to these? I find myself considering them lately.
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Mar 24, 2018 8:29:37 GMT
I think the TH-X00 series (Massdrop only) are better documented and one of them will sound much like the EMU. My findings (own one) are HEREThe type of wood has little to do with the sound b.t.w. and is more for the looks. Different wood versions (Massdrop) are actually all tuned slightly different to 'validate' the different pricing All of them have a similar 'character' close to the Denon D2000 of yesteryear. Warm bassy, slightly wooly, nice mids and all have some slight 'weirdness' in the soft treble I suspect due to break-up. I think it is shown by the 'ragged' high frequency response. The EMU series won't be much different in those aspects.
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Post by psych0 on Mar 24, 2018 9:14:38 GMT
Thank you, no idea how i missed your article of the TH-X00.
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jello
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Post by jello on Mar 24, 2018 9:22:43 GMT
In terms or internal damping I don't think there is a whole lot of a difference. Have opened up my 'troublesome' ebony a couple of times to tighten up the gimbal screws. There is no damping on the wood cups and the only damping I can see is a foam ring that sits around the front of the driver. Looks much the same as the one on the mahogany from memory, but I suppose thickness or density could differ?
Ebony cups are considerably heavier (denser?) than the mahogany cups. Perhaps the wood has some 'natural' damping properties?
Need to open them up again at some point to take a couple of pics before selling this pair on as spares/repairs. Can post 'em up if you want to take a look Frans?
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Mar 24, 2018 12:17:28 GMT
There is no difference in internal damping. Not even the shape or amount of air inside. The differences come from slight changes to the baffle damping and possibly the driver itself.
Wood indeed has a 'tone' depending on density and thickness as well as shape but as the wood is thick it won't vibrate (add tone) as much as it happens in instruments etc. Also the wood is behind the driver and not connected to the ears/skull so any vibrations will be very low in amplitude and damped by the baffle, driver and pads.
The plots of the various different 'models' show frequencies in the plots where the wood cannot possibly do anything. This leads me to conclude the tonal differences come from the driver/baffle ports damping paper.
A bit like the HD681-HD681B-HD681F. There are no visible differences (other than colour of the rings) not even in the drives and cups but sound and measure very different. I suspect the drivers have been 'selected' because of cheap (read high product variance) or made slightly different on purpose.
It's a shame Foster did not do anything about the known issues (gimbals)
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Mar 24, 2018 17:00:36 GMT
The 3 different TH-X00 versions as measured by Jude Mansilla (Head-fi)
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jello
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Post by jello on Mar 24, 2018 22:37:08 GMT
There is no difference in internal damping. Not even the shape or amount of air inside. The differences come from slight changes to the baffle damping and possibly the driver itself. Wood indeed has a 'tone' depending on density and thickness as well as shape but as the wood is thick it won't vibrate (add tone) as much as it happens in instruments etc. Also the wood is behind the driver and not connected to the ears/skull so any vibrations will be very low in amplitude and damped by the baffle, driver and pads. The plots of the various different 'models' show frequencies in the plots where the wood cannot possibly do anything. This leads me to conclude the tonal differences come from the driver/baffle ports damping paper. A bit like the HD681-HD681B-HD681F. There are no visible differences (other than colour of the rings) not even in the drives and cups but sound and measure very different. I suspect the drivers have been 'selected' because of cheap (read high product variance) or made slightly different on purpose. It's a shame Foster did not do anything about the known issues (gimbals) Cheers Frans. I know that a number of E-MU (& TH-X00) owners have bought some other cups from E-MU separately. They would no doubt tell you they hear a clear difference between the woods. Perhaps they do or perhaps they only think they do (if you buy something expecting to hear a difference then invariably you will). But so long as they are happy it probably doesn't matter either way. There are worse things to spend money on than some well crafted and very nice looking wooden cups....like pre-burnt in mains cables etc. It baffles me (no pun intended) why Foster didn't sort out the gimbals. Worse still replacements are hard to source and NOT cheap!! Fortunately, in my case the pesky right gimbal has only ever partially worked its way loose so no parts have been lost. But each time I tighten it up it starts to unscrew again eventually and I was loathe to keep doing this as the small screws that hold the cup in place are a pain to reinsert and have started to chew up a bit. However, I found an interesting post on SBAF this evening which suggests that the screws used aren't Philips screws as I thought, hence the chewing up. Seems they are in fact something called JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) screws which I'd not heard of before. I'd been reluctant to use thread lock but apparently Foster factory apply blue thread lock (medium) during production so guess mine had lost its seal. Decided to have one last go at a more permanent fix so have ordered a magnetic screwdriver set with some JIS bits and some thread lock. Fingers crossed that'll do the trick!
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Mar 25, 2018 6:40:44 GMT
Yes. very familiar with the blue thread lock. It does not work at all. Real thread lock works like a charm. Should you ever have to unscrew that screw just heat it up and the screw comes out easily.
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jello
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Post by jello on Mar 26, 2018 10:17:18 GMT
Well judging by my pair I'd have to agree with you on the usefulness of the blue thread lock!
Thanks for the steer. Will order the real stuff as I'd rather avoid having to repair them again in future.
Sorry for going off topic but I suppose if nothing else it might be useful info for any E-MU owners reading this who finds themselves in a similar predicament!! (unless Creative did a better job with the gimbals)
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Post by psych0 on May 10, 2018 19:12:58 GMT
They're here... Thanks Frans for everything. And Jello for the gimbals info (here and in the TH-X00 thread).
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jello
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Post by jello on May 18, 2018 12:30:15 GMT
Very nice! Really digging the cups. Is that the teak version? My one gripe with the TH-X00 (gimbals aside) is the long and heavy hard wired cable. Good to see that E-MU decided to offer the option of a detachable cable in later batches as the cable on yours looks much nicer and more practical. Hope you're enjoying them Vlad
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Post by psych0 on May 19, 2018 16:14:15 GMT
Yes Mark, this is the teak version with detachable cable. I'm trying to be really careful with them in order to avoid any gimbal issues. I've seen some hinges that cracked (on TH-X00 or other Fostex) but i'm sure that's just from drops and people not handling them properly.
They are quite amazing, running out of an Arcam rhead and dacmagic 100. Much lighter then they look, comfort is close to the HD650 for me. Really glad i decided to get them.
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jello
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Post by jello on May 21, 2018 16:15:49 GMT
Hopefully you won't experience any gimbal issues Vlad. But if you do then it's fairly simple to disassemble the headphones to rectify the issues. Just need to make sure to find any parts that pop off and store any screws you remove in a tub as they are tiny and have an amazing knack of disappearing! I've seen a few of the pics of the cracked hinges too. In most cases the damage does look more like its down to poor handling (or sitting?) by the user but I suppose there could be a weakness in the underlying design too that makes them more susceptible to damage.
Ah, you have an Rhead too. Bought one myself a few months back as I needed to replace my Lyr 2 with an amp that had a smaller footprint and could be stacked with my Modi M. Really decent little amp and I found it paired fantastically well with both the now departed Denon AH-7200 and my TH-X00 ebony. I imagine it'd be equally good with the E-MU teak. The volume control is great too and I love the way it gradually ramps up and offers a lot of fine control for more sensitive headphones and IEMs.
The headband design of the E-MU looks very similar to the old Denon AH-Dx000 range and also the Fostex. Comfort is indeed excellent and the weight is distributed well. I'd have no complaints if all headphones adopted that design, albeit without the gimbal issues. With the AH-D7200 Denon did fix that but in their wisdom also managed to muck up the comfort aspect as the headband creates a bit of a hotspot on the top of the head that many find bothersome. Especially to those with bigger heads as only a very small amount of the headband touches the top of the head and this reduces in size the further the headband is stretched. So close, yet so far..
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Post by psych0 on May 21, 2018 20:50:52 GMT
The headband seems very similar across all the Foster headphones and if there are any comfort issues, it's pretty easy to fix with the ZMF Pilot pad, many people recommend it for other headphones too. Also their pads seem to be pretty much the best around but at $60-$70 they are quite expensive. I'll try to get a second pair of original pads (just to have a spare) before considering ZMF pads.
Speaking of amps, i was considering the Lyr 3 but it's quite expensive. I got the rHead for about £160 and it seems like quite a quality amp for the price. Need to try a nice tube amp with the Teaks sometime in the future. Or maybe something like the ifi itube 2 as a tube buffer - i'm curious what it would add/change (in case i can hear it).
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