Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
Stereoguy
66
May 6, 2017
I think I share the initial impressions of other reviewers. Pleasantly surprised and they don't suck.
Build quality? Cheaply made, and several have commented to me they didn't believe the wood cups were actually wood. Tapping on them produces a "plasticky" sound. Disappointing, as these were the highlight and one of the main reason to purchase these. Cords tangle easily and could be a foot longer and still be practical as portable.
The ear cups are just large enough to encapsulate my ears and are just deep enough too. I do find that I fidget and constantly adjust them and long term comfort is not an expectation. The Pleather pads will become "ear ovens" when the weather gets warmer adding to my expectations of overall comfort.
However, they are lightweight and stay in place. The headband adjustments have good definition and articulation. The hinge points have reasonable tension (unlike the floppy and flaccid joints on my HIFIman400s).
The sound is pleasant but not overwhelming in any aspect.
Bass is full and present with reasonable extension and bottom end without being overwhelming or annoyingly resonant. They don't have as much punch as other headphones I own but they are fine ($75 for gosh sakes).
Despite my fears, the bass does not overwhelm or veil the vocals (mid). Horns and guitars had an edge to them and they did not sound too forward or recessed - so nicely balanced. The trebles had decent sheen making cymbals shimmer and adding the the detail of guitar string strumming but on certain tracks adding an overwhelming sibilance. If you listen to music where the singer(s) have a lisp or have strong "essssss-es" in the lyrics these headphones will supersize these flaws and will become unbearable. I attribute this to perhaps an uneven frequency response curve in the 2khz to 8khz range with peaks and dips at certain frequencies. What I am hearing from some of my music are the portions in the "peaks" which exaggerate them. So, if you listen the lispy music, don't use these headphones.
I have them connected to something that is playing mixed content on a continuous stream and breaking them in right now - currently over 50 hours. I expect the bass to improve and hope it takes some of the edge off the mids/highs.
Overall, as I stated earlier, they don't suck. After they break in and when I have time, I will compare/contrast against my AKG K553s and Sony MDR-V6 which are similar In cost (actually costing a little bit more then the $75 EMUs)
They are easy to drive and I have been listening mostly to mp3s from an old iPhone. I must add that if this is how you will be listening to the EMUs, feel proud that that these blew away my AKG K7xx, Beyerdynamic DT990pro 250 ohms (both are $200 headphones) which sounded weak and flaccid by virtue of the fact they require a better source and more amplification. It's not a fair comparison, but it is something to boast about.
Please excuse any typos and occasionally questionable, sometimes hilarious autocorrections as I am writing this review from my phone while waiting for my car in service 🤗
PRODUCTS YOU MAY LIKE
Trending Posts in Audiophile