Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
Showing 1 of 46 reviews about:
Saxelrod92
163
Jun 10, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Best headphone in its price range.
I used to own the old 2012 Denon d5000 model, have owned a Mr. Speakers alpha prime, and have heard a bunch of high end sennheisers. I currently also own the E-MU purplehearts for travel, and have tried a bunch of sub 200 dollar In-Ears.
In my opinion these teaks are probably the best sounding and built headphone you can buy for 400 dollars. There's maybe some open backs here or there that can do mids or treble a bit better, but for a whole package this is the one.
Bass: this variation of the classic foster OEM really refined the bass region a lot. It has much better transient response now so everything hits hard, cleanly, and quickly. Extension is very good, but it's not flat all the way down and I personally would prefer deeper sub bass extension overall. That said the thump and clarity in the sub bass these headphones do have is very satisfying. If these are your only pair, you'll not feel like something is missing at all here. If you happen to own a much pricier headphone that does bass better then you'll feel these aren't quite up to par, but also they are like 400-600 less dollars than the higher end headphone. Overall bass is fantastic, and impressively never bleeds into the mids (if your coming from lower end gear, with mid bass bleed, this will be the most noticeable change at first).
Mids: this is the biggest improvement over all the other versions of this headphone. Its not as recessed as it's other versions can be, in fact with sounds like electric guitar it's really incredible. It really gives guitar that nice full crunch sound, and lots of detailed clarity. Resolution as a whole is greatly improved, while still sounding smooth. That said if you want a mod forward sound, these won't cut it for you. Certain frequencies will dip a more than others putting certain vocals a but behind the rest of the sound. Overall really impressive, esp with guitar and has a nice full sound to most of the midrange.
Treble: again compared to it's counterparts it is much more refined overall in the treble. It stays consistently smooth, clean, and tilted warm. It has much more resolution than the other headphones, and it really brings out lots of small details without being overly sharp or bright. It stays on the warm side of neutral for sure, but it's airy and clear. The only part that becomes an issue is somewhere in the upper mids/lower treble it can get a tiny bit shouty with certain frequencies and sounds. But it never feels like the driver get overwhelmed when that occurs, and it never crosses into that shouty distortion area that can be painful. It just stays controlled, but depending on your ears can be a little annoying after a while. Its by far the least refined element of their sound, and the only area that tells you these aren't 700+ dollar headphones, bit instead 400 dollar headphones. Overall treble is nice, smooth, clean, and detailed.
Imaging and soundstage: they exhibit some of the more familiar imaging characteristics I've heard on the other foster OEM models. Which would be nice and wide, but not very deep, without much precision in the center image. The right and left though is very precise, and works great for gaming. Layering is also very good, so busy songs never sound like a jumbled mess of noise. I listen to a lot of metal, and these headphones never break a sweat keeping up with everything going on in those songs. The fast transient response really makes a huge difference here. Overall they image well, have a wide soundstage, leave plenty of air between instruments, but aren't that deep or the most laser precise ever.
Build quality/comfort: honestly they are built much better than my old d5000 was. These teaks are somehow much sturdier, no loose hinges or wobbles, and all the metal parts feel more precise and of better quality. Ear pads are on the small side, my ears fit inside though and even then it's a bit cramped. These will ship with the newer sheepskin pads, but I also ordered the old protein pads directly for comparisons/backup since the sound changes a good bit depending on your pad choice. That said the sheepskin pads are more luxurious in feel and build quality than the older protein leather pads. Have not tried them yet for sound changes, but it seems these sheepskin pads do a good job at keeping things relatively the same as stock. Comfort is always great for me with these models, light clamp, snug headband with no hotspots despite little padding. Also the cable is better built, but it is thicker and it holds it's coiled up shape unfortunately. It does not like to be straightened out at all, and I just use it coiled a bit. Its an attempt to solve the old Denon cable issues that my d5000 had. Where it was too flexible and eventually tore open breaking the wire. So E-MU seems to have used a thicker less flexible cable to prevent it from constantly being bent. I can tell you this cable is better for longevity but it is a little annoying to deal with it's coiled up memory.
Overall I love this headphone, it's just one of those models that takes the original foster OEM and refined every last drop out of it that you can. It has a sound that the most amount of people will enjoy, with comfort as well. All at a price high enough for this to be your end game, and low enough to justify buying on a whim. Either way you'll enjoy the headphones and even when you get very high end models you'll still want to come back to these every now and then.
Recommends this product? Yes
Saxelrod92
163
Jul 17, 2020
bookmark_border
lsrochaFixed it, didn't notice it, relied too much on the phone lol.
tkyc
63
Aug 21, 2020
bookmark_border
Saxelrod92I bought these to replace the DenonAH-D9200 headphones I sold because of the high cost. I sold my Focal Clears and Sennheiser HD-800S for the same reason. The D9200's were the best headphone I have listen to but the E-MU Teac's come close for a fraction of the cost. They probably are the most accurate but the bass is great and they are very fun to listen to. In my audiophile days we would call them "musical". Way recommended.
Saxelrod92
163
Aug 21, 2020
bookmark_border
tkycYeah for their price point they can do what most headphones up to 1000 dollars can do. Maybe not perfectly in one area or another like the others can, but as an all rounder it basically does the job at half the cost. At this point any time I'm looking at another pair to buy its really just headphones over 1000 bucks that seem to have any significant improvement to the sound and build. Seems like audio performance works in large price gaps. Like my 100 dollar headphones or in ears sound great compared to their competition. Then these teaks sound great in their price range, but that's like 4 times the cost now. After that a 1500 dollar+ set will beat the teaks, and that's another huge chunk more money to get there. Headphones similar in price just seem to be about sound preference because most good ones are of similar sound quality. Find your preference in each price range and you're set lol, just 3 pairs will fill the whole range.
tkyc
63
Aug 23, 2020
bookmark_border
Saxelrod92We are very lucky to have such great sounding headphones available. Even my Hifiman HE-400i make me smile. The Denon AH-D9200 blew me away in the $1500 range. The Sennheiser HD 800s and Focal Clears were also very good but not quite my taste.
JeromeC
1
Nov 1, 2020
bookmark_border
Saxelrod92Hi Saxel, which headphones do you recommend that has better bass and quality than these for 500 more?
Saxelrod92
163
Nov 2, 2020
bookmark_border
JeromeCAt that higher price point I'd say focal is a great choice any of their models really. Esp the clear. Zmf is also a fantastic choice starting close to that price, just a bit over. There's other brands at that price as well that do other sound signatures like more treble detail and bright, or more mids but bass light, or more sound stage, etc. Once you get to a 1000 dollars and up you'll get headphones that specialize in doing something really well. 1500 and up and you get end game headphones that do everything really well, and it just becomes a matter of sound signature personal preference. There's diminishing returns of course, but for those in the hobby with the money, 1500 and up is where they shop.
Related Products
Drop Refurbished
Like-new products you can trustDrop Rewards
Get $5 for every 500 points you earn! Learn more
Drop Keyboard Club
Become a member and expand your keycap collectionCollaborate With Us
For Brands & DesignersFollow Drop