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KaiS
77
Jun 22, 2019
To give an idea to those who don't know about the EMU Teak, what quality can be gained - a little description and comparison of the sound. This all under the premise that the sound did not change since the 2016 drop. First I suggest to read Tyll's review on Innerfidelity, I did not always totally agree with him in other reviews, but this one is spot on. The basic sound signature is slightly V-shaped with punchy bass and detailed and natural, uncolored treble. The upper midrange is slightly recessed, but not overly so, and very natural too. The midrange is not overblown by the bass. This was about quantity, talking about quality the EMU Teak can absolutely hold a candle against top of the line headphones: Hifiman HE 1000, Focal Clear, AUDEZE LCD2rev2, Sennheiser HD 800S to name a few of the ones that I do own. It easily beats most of them for the fun factor. Here's a measurement showing EMU Teak 2016 Drop vs. HIFIMAN HE 1000 V1. Note the ruler like down-tilted response from 40 Hz to 3 kHz which gives the EMU a full and punchy bass without any honks or other resonances. Measurement was done on Bruel&Kjaer Artifical Ear 4153 without any compensation.
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Comfort is good, I can wear these for hours. The EMU Teak is clearly around ear, not partly on-ear like claimed somewhere below, maybe except if you have exceptional big ears. The lambskin earpads may even improve on this, compared to the original PU-"leather" ones. (I'd like to try those on my set too some time if they are available separate). I cannot say much about the suggestion of some cheap headphones further down in this discussion, I don't know them, but I have doubts that they play in the same league. Regarding the fixed cable: I'd prefer to have a fixed cable instead of making sound compromises to get a removable one for that same price. If this thing sounds good it sounds good, no matter how the cable is attached.
(Edited)
zep483
656
Jun 23, 2019
KaiSThink the bamboo option is a horrible idea? I'd like to save the 50 bucks...
KaiS
77
Jun 23, 2019
zep483Following chan_emu's description, although bamboo seems to be interesting, my decision were Teak if I would only buy one type. The reason is, in my experience every change I tried on this combination negatively affects the sound. Maybe Teak just hits the sweet spot, no improvement possible - maybe! But I did not have the chance to test different cups, Tyll did and preferred Teak. If you like experiments you could buy the bamboo cups too (Tyll didn't have these), and hear how the combination with lambskin earpads works. At least different cups have magnitudes more influence on the sound of the EMU Woods then different amps, not to mention the nonexistent sound differences of costly cables (I'm always here to prove the latter in a true A-B-X blind test).
(Edited)
zep483
656
Jun 24, 2019
KaiSYeah I thought about buying both and I would if it was 80 bucks on top of the 350 but 80 on top of the 400 is just too much for me. Especially without a removable cable.
KaiS
77
Jun 24, 2019
zep483Go for Teak. I paid 500$ and got just Teak either, and no lambskin. And I am really happy with it. I wouldn't say the removable cable in the 2016 drop counts for 100$ extra. For me it's just another little aggravation when I pack the headphones away, removing the cable and pack it separate - which is necessary, because it's relatively stiff, sticks far out and would otherwise be bent too much and break over the time. Plus, I was lucky that mine clicks in place and stay there without rattle, which is not the case for all that were delivered. The removable cable then looks and feels like an afterthought, which it probably is. Hey - now you get rid of it, save 100 bucks, enjoy the sound 😂
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