Thomas the Ant engine
1 Like
Another thing is this is a custom made driver made in Germany. Not China. So i think they ordered the housing from China but the rest is them.
DHL dropped mine on my doorstep this afternoon. Including the 10 sets of pads and DHL shipping upgrade put the cost at US$190 all in. I always try to give headphones 48-72 hours of burn-in before listening, but I couldnât help myself. Some initial observations playing off an old Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge thatâs handy at the moment, in no particular order:
- Certainly nothing majorly amiss right out of the box, regardless of where they ultimately end up.
- I understand the references to âshoutyâ, although that seems to be very source material dependent, some songs exhibit the characteristic more than others.
- I wouldnât call them âbass lightâ, but I donât feel theyâre overly impactful either, at least down deep.
- Very detailed, especially in the upper frequency.
- I wouldnât call the mids recessed, but also not the richest in the world with respect to body/texture.
- Soundstage is fairly wide but not overly deep, if that makes sense.
- Very unforgiving on certain recordings
On the manufacture:
- No complaints on build quality at all, at least upon initial inspection. No sharp edges, no misfit parts.
- Braided cable is decent, if not potentially prone to jankiness.
- Clamp is a bit tight fir my tastes; will have to play with it to see if it loosens up.
- While the headband has padding, it feels thin and insufficient⊠perhaps itâs my head shape.
- Iâve read some opinions of the design as gaudy/tacky, but candidly I like the design; wouldnât have gotten them otherwise.
Iâm going to take them off and let them play nonstop for a few days and then revisit on better eq, roll some pads and see if my opinion changes markedly. I donât think these will replace my Monoprice m570 or Takstar HF-580, but on first blush I wouldnât be upset to have to listen to theseâŠ
7 Likes
Have you modified the 580 any?
No I have not. Iâm not a modder. If cans to fit my needs as is, I move them on.
So looking on here Zeos recommends zmf Ori suedes which are ~100 buck (Iâm in Spain) 60 + 20 shipping plus import taxes.
Iâve read and heard lot about ZMF and Dakoni, and maybe two or three others but have any of you played around with AliExpressâŠgoing straight to source rather than literally 50 -100 for a set of padsâŠwhat is the difference/ has anyone tried?
I was thinking about it but i think if you get pads that are deep like the Ori its gonna change the soundstage. Also i noticed that these headphones dont seem to take well to leather like pads or sheep skin/protien w/e. Iâd stick with velour or something like it. The soundstage on these headphones seems to change on their own. iâm not sure how it works.
yeah just curious to try deeperâŠno seâŠid like to play with tuning with pads a little.
1 Like
Just chiming in. I got mine yesterday and am pleasantly surprised at the quality for $130. I think I prefer the HD 58X for $20 more but these are surprisingly decent. Several observations.
-
It does appear that the stock pads are thicker than the pads on the review unit that Zeos had and, all things being equal, the stock pads have the most agreeable frequency response for me.
-
I got the 10 pads for $50 bucks. I didnât think theyâd be amazing quality and but theyâre actually not made terribly. I thought it would be a cheap way to see what effect different pad materials had on different headphones. To that end they work pretty good. However, the stock pads that came preinstalled on these headphones are substantially better quality than the extra pads that they sold to backers.
-
I agree with Zeos that fenestrated pads do tend to bring up the highs a little too much (just a little) but more importantly for me, it tends to bring down the bass a little too much. I tried several about half of the pads I ordered with the headphones, ZMF Ori suede and fenestrated lambskins, a set of Brainwavz hybrid pads (which werenât bad) and a cheap no name velour set. Of all of them, so far I prefer the stock pads. But, I the fenestrated pads give these a lot more air. The stock pads feel closed in, like sitting in a very acoustically deadened listening room, whereas the fenestrated pads bring tons of air and detail back into the mix. Despite being a little too forward on the highs for my taste they werenât sibalent or too harsh, just hotter than Iâd like.
-
I happen to have a set of ZMF Ori Fenestrated as well as the Ori Suede pads. The Fenestrated brought up the highs just a touch too high for me and the bass down too a little too much. Itâs probably more neutral that way but I didnât buy these for accuracy. I bought them to be fun. The Ori Suede sound nice and emphasize that V shape that I was looking for in a fun headphone, but itâs not good with all music. I was listening to âDown in the Holeâ off of John Campbellâs album Howlinâ Mercy and noticed that it will bring up the bass/midbass too much and really muddies up everything above it. Iâm not sure of the exact frequencies but itâs the bass intro of that song. The Ori suede pads just make it sound really congested and muddy, whereas the stock pads that came on these headphones brings up the bass just enough but not so much as to make everything muddy. So, kudos to Linsoul for listening to feedback and for giving these a decent tuning out of the box.
-
I think I read a comment on Zeosâ review of these that thereâs a ringing. I agree. Certain mids bring this out. It was particularly noticeable when listening to a youtube video from New Record Day. Ronâs voice seems to be right at the ringing frequency. Putting my fingers on the center of the decorative grate on the outside of the cup effectively stops the ringing. Iâll take these off and stick a bit of blue tack or something on the inside to deaden that resonant response and all should be fine.
Iâm still burning mine in but they sound decent out of the box. The driver seems very competent and the detail retrieval is actually pretty amazing for the price point. Build quality is not bad. I actually like the cable. Itâs not prone to being kinked which is nice at the price point. I was a little disappointed that they didnât bother to include a 1/8" to 1/4â threaded adapter. I have some laying around but theyâre not threaded. It just seems like if youâre not going to include the threaded adapter you should just terminate with a 1/8" plug without the threads.
All in all not bad bad for an indiegogo gamble. At $130 theyâre decent but, for $170, the HD58x are a better choice in my opinion. At the non indiegogo MSRP of $180, I think the HE 400i is a better pair of headphone and theyâre going for $189 right now. I donât have the HE4XX but those are $160 and it looks like those are an HE400i in the old headband. I question if these headphones will survive in this market with that kind of competition. But Iâll give the aesthetic nod to the HarmonicDyneâs over the HE400i (build quality too likely), and possibily the HD58x too (although itâs hard to argue with the build quality of the Sennheisers, theyâre just bulletproof). My suspicion is that theyâre going to have to drop the price on these to the $100-130 to stay relevant with that kind of competition.
9 Likes
I noticed that as well and was pleased.
Thanks for saving me the investment for the Oriâs -maybe later if I get a 4th or 5th set that take them.
1 Like
Youâre probably right about the price point. Saw a couple pop up here and there on other forums being sold for about $120
1 Like
Yeah thats why i dont put too much stock in the reviews. I saw one review where the reviewer has leather pads on them. and they dont do well in leather.
BTW i have the HD 58x and HD600 and i would take these over those anyday. meh, different strokes for folks
1 Like
I have ended up enjoying them more than I expected to at first listen, as I tend to prefer warmer signatures. Switched over to the 58x this afternoon with hybrid pads and really am really loving that relaxed warmth, but the rolled off treble and lack of âairâ is much more apparent after the Helios. It wonât be my daily driver, but the Helios is a fun can for rotation, and by far my brightest and most aggressive set, which I now know I can enjoyâŠglad I picked them up.
2 Likes
They go really good with electronic music. probably pop. I noticed Lady Gaga sounded really good on them. Her Bad Romance and Stupid Love really sounded good. Also Chika Dance sounded really good on them
3 Likes
Honestly trying to decide between these or go with the porta pros for my walk around headphones
1 Like
i would assume chika dance would sound good on anything
3 Likes
man, koss is so good in general for portable tbh
3 Likes
Just been going back and forth from the Sendy Aiva and the Helios since they have similar signatures. V or U shaped with close soundstage. I got to say the Helios sounds better to my ears. its more open and the imaging seems better. Surprised to find similar detail. And treble not as sibilant on the Helios. Just cant believe how much detail these cans have. great speed too
Been testing them with the Elex. The Elex sounds a little tighter but the Helios sound more open. Listening to Africa from Toto. and when the Vocals come in sounds a little better on the Helios. Thing about the Helios is it sounds more open. Sounds like your listening to it in a larger room. This headphone can trade punches even with the Elex! This is an amazing headphone! for 180$? crazy. Maybe im missing something that other people are hearing but i think the reviewers are crazy.
Listening to the Kinks Come Dancing. I swear it sounds better on the Helios. more open more vibrant than the Elex, makes the Elex sound dark. When the hornes come in you can really hear them in both ears loud and clear like youre there. more alive than the Elex. I just cant believe it.