Hello, I just joined, primarily for the audiophile products. Looking at purchasing the NHT C3 speakers for our new living room. Space is about 15 feet wide by 33 long and they will fire long ways. Space is just for general listening, music room with all equipment is downstairs, so hoping they will fill it with sound nicely. Cheers.
Mar 18, 2024
Audio is terribly subjective but I love my Ebony. If anything happened to them they'd get replaced immediately. If I could only keep two of what I've got now the Ebony would be one.
I can say without question that if you're not buying these to be EDM or hip hop specialists you'll like the Ebony better. Don't even think the Ebony lacks bass though. It has better bass if less overall than the Mahogany.
Metal571's review basically mirrors my opinion of them. And he says it better than I can. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pFM_hW33bw
One good thing about limited edition stuff like this is that it retains value pretty well. If you hated them you'd lose money selling them but not a huge percentage. I paid about $350 for my HD 650s and thanks to the HD6XX I'd be lucky to get half that if I sold them.
E-Mu Teak -> Mahogany -> D2000 -> Ebony Yes suprise surprise, E-Mu Teak is actually the most mid bassy and warm and Ebony is actually quite neutral (in Fostex terms). Most Bass -> -> -> Least Bass
E-Mu Teak -> Mahogany -> D2000 -> Ebony The bass thing is kind of tricky because E-Mu Teak is the most mid bassy so it will give you the impression of the most general bass but doesn't reach that deep. As for Ebony it reach the deepest but at the same time it's more cleaner sounding. Ebony started out really bassy but I find as it burn in the bass got cleaner and less bass. Though for the most part they cater towards different part of bass. Most Treble -> -> -> Least Treble
D2000 -> Mahogany -> E-Mu Teak -> Ebony D2000 in general is just a bit thin and sharper sounding while the Mahogany has energetic treble. Ebony and E-Mu Teak has smoother treble. Though this is heavily depending on preference, personally I like treble so I find Mahogany more exciting to listen to and guitar string is a bit more pronounced. Most Forward Vocal -> -> -> Least Forward Vocal
Mahogany -> D2000 -> Ebony -> E-Mu Teak This is the part that confuses, all the review I read people are saying Ebony has more forward vocal, but to me I think Mahogany has more forward both male and female vocal. I've been scratching my head the last 3 days and even now I'm listening to my Ebony and still don't think the vocal is that forward. Also I find it really odd that Ebony and E-Mu Teak has this weird tonality where I feel it has a bit of strained vocal, it's almost as if the person is trying to sing really loud at a far distance. Most Sound Stage -> -> -> Least Sound Stage
D2000 -> Ebony -> E-Mu Teak -> Mahogany Sound stage and separation by far Ebony is amazing. D2000 maybe because in general is a bit more thin sounding so as a result just feel more airy. E-Mu Teak is kind of in the middle and Mahogany has the poorest sound stage out of all the Fostex variants I've tried (though should still be better than most closed back headphone), also gets a bit congested when the music gets too busy. In summary, I think D2000 is great value but at this point might have been out classed by the other 3 in terms of technical detail / smoothness / overall tonality, but it's definitely not far off. Between Mahogany and Ebony I'm still not sure which I like more. In general I listen to a lot of rock, pop with a lot of female vocal and to me I find I like Mahogany a bit better. The vocal is just a bit more forward and guitar string / snare drum sound a bit more pronounced and overall sound a bit more exciting. Maybe Ebony is too neutral for my taste...???? Though as I said I only own it for 3 days so my opinion could change. E-Mu is kind of like half way in between it has the sound stage of Ebony and warmness of Mahogany, but the vocal just too far for my taste. I think the only gripe I had with Mahogany is the least amount of sound stage, if there was more sound stage I think it would be perfect for me. My goal is to pick 1 as my favourite one and sell the rest, though I still don't know which one I like the best yet LOL. Sorry for the long essay, hope this helps. UPDATE: So it's been 1 month I think I'm getting closer to reaching conclusion, I've revised this notes a little bit also scroll down for my updated post.
I prefer vocals on the Ebony though. You might see a difference with some burn in.
If you put some light on the Ebony the grain comes out.
I'll find out one day.
I'll keep listening and hopefully by the end of this week I'll have a better idea. :D