Same. I donāt like eqing. I like listening to headphones the way they are designed
Finally, it took a long time but I finally managed to snag one of these on order without the stupid return policiesā¦ should have it next weekā¦
3 Likes
Thatās cool. Excited to hear your opinion. So far i do enjoy them as an upgrade of the fidelio x2. Definetly not neutral, but they are fun and have quite good detail
Iāve heard great things so farā¦ I do think Iāll enjoy them just not sure if they are keepers on my wall lol. Though I like to check out all sorts of headphones and equipment
Iāll leave my thoughts on here later on what I think
As someone who owns a pair of harmonicdyne Zeus. There now is a affordable bucket list pair of cans. The harmonicdyne Zeus and literally the god of thunder i can not recommend them enough. I just reminded myself i still have to make a video on them because ive been putting it of for 2 months because i dint think i can do them justice.
Received notice that these will be in today. I have my doubts but we will see. Wonāt have any words about them for a few days
came in, case is greatā¦ those pads are fantastic, so far so goodā¦ havenāt listened to them yet busy with the aeons
5 Likes
I gave these one listenā¦ and since then they have stayed on my head for the past 3 hoursā¦ if that says anything.
Theseā¦ now im quite critical but theseā¦ may end up on my wall honestly. Not a fan of the build quality but the sound and comfort of these is quite something. Definitely not timbre headphonesā¦ definitely not super natural headphonesā¦ absolutely not detail monstersā¦ definitely not meant for competitive gaming(not at allā¦ they rumble on that bassā¦ less you EQ them which I will try out later on). Just super relaxing laid back signatureā¦ with a very wide and large depthy soundstage this is definitely a more āfunā headphone. More on this later, I want to give this some time
4 Likes
Definitely are a fun headphone. I honestly like the build and quality but I know how they kinda swivel around on their own is not something everyone likes. Doesnāt bother me. The rumble on the bass is interesting though because they lack in sub-bass. My TYGR have a better sub-bassā¦but either way both headphones sound great to me for āFunā listening.
Probably why I am ready to jump the gun and go for a hi-fi headphone so I know what that experience is like to compare to.
Playing Monster Hunter World with the Zeus is very fun for those roars you get. Cyberpunk tooā¦and it seems to play well with multiple genreās of music to just relax to as you said.
My problems with the build are in a few key areasā¦ First, itās the same build as the Heliosā¦ Your asking $150 extra for essentially a driver change and some different metal grills. Second, The top band doesnāt have enough padding for meā¦ likeā¦ at all, thought if I keep this maybe dekoni nuggets or just outright mod it by removing the headband and replacing it to something else. Third, bit too much clamp forceā¦ fine though its stretchable. Lastly, I donāt see a way to get replacement pads for these which is a bit of a deal breaker as these pads are fantastic and I donāt see why they would not sell these
It is very interesting but at the same time you can bump the sub bass a few decibels and it evens out quite nicely. Not bad, not bad at allā¦
just make sure you know your sound preferences so you know which hifi headphone to go after.
yeah, till you use a t1 third gen with all that warmth and mega bass, or argons that too, and you get a roar straight into the earā¦ yeahā¦ thats something else right there
itās definitely not bad at all, so far so goodā¦ I am very happy to listen to it whereas with helios I had some issues with the signature and quality controlsā¦ this is a very nice step in the right directionā¦ my current issue though isā¦ is it really worth the cost?
Iāve pondered that one too. I am very new to this stuff so I donāt really have comparisons yet to be fairā¦however for me I look at the whole package. Now if they didnāt have that case they definitely could drop them down in price. I do appreciate the build look of itā¦so perhaps that is part of it too more so than the qualityā¦idk. Iāll admit, it was a exciting unboxing experience. Hard to put a value on things sometimes depending on if you like or not. Are these worth 500ā¦yeah definitely not. Proabably 250ish would be better with cheaper to no case. Iām not upset at all with the purchase though. I do agree on the headband padding and clamp though. I need to take breaks from them from time to time as I have worn these in a bit.
Yes good call on knowing the signature to go after. Iāve done so much research and review watching on things that Iāve decided to go for some Clears. My one gripe about the TYGR was the sometimes peaky treble I would get though never bad enough to make me not like them. For that reason I am going to stay away from the Arya. I know I could EQ it but Iām lazy for one, and two want to appreciate what I get for what they are out of the box.
I know you have just listened to the Zeus but at some point would love to hear where you would rank them in your assortment considering all you have listened to.
I have tried plenty of warm headphones to compare this withā¦ and others of similar price points hence I am not sure honestly. At the very least, unlike the GL2K over there which I gave a pretty scathing set of remarks over, this on the other handā¦ honestly nothing but mostly positive sound wise but its definite a more niche headphoneā¦ it wonāt suit everyone.
honestly, if they kept the same look but just made it likeā¦ sturdierā¦ or a different shinier wood kind of like you see on other headphones like denon or fostex I would be happier with thatā¦ just something different to put itself apart and make it feel more quality I think would be betterā¦ not just the pads and a different grillā¦
yeah like, I opened up my box and saw the big caseā¦ like alrightā¦ this is one hell of a presentation but my biggest concern was ā¦ how do they soundā¦ how is the buildā¦ well the build let me down but the comfort absolutely did not outside of the headband. Soundwise, perfectly enjoyableā¦ I think they could do without the case though as I donāt think the headphone itself is worth $500+ not at all reallyā¦ $350? ehhh maybe? I need more time with it to gauge thatā¦ I will say this and get it out of the way, I enjoy them slightly more than the tygr as far as relaxed listening goesā¦ not sure on gaming though.
well considering you can get a helio at $100 yeah, I think $250 would be fair if it was usedā¦ $350 probably new
lol I have them stretching out over in the corner while burning inā¦ should sort out that clamp as I have foam blocks now for thatā¦ as for the padding, I got some material I can swing or some extra dekoni nuggets around here somewhere that can help with that.
You sure on that? I would recommend trying some other focalsā¦ they do have their own house sound, try to find a pair and give them a spin. Clears are quite neutral too, I own them myselfā¦ love them to death but thats one of those that absolutely depends on preferenceā¦ and above all, make absolutely sure you have an amp that agrees with the clearsā¦ they are picky as hell
it does have that slight peak, but after using 990s I can deal with thatā¦ my gripe was just that the mids werenāt present enough on the tygrā¦ least not to my preference.
if you feel the tygrs were bright yeah, steer clear of the brighter headphonesā¦ stay with harman if you can stand that as thats subtle treble like Aeons if you ever listen to those or something more neutral like the focals your looking at are fineā¦
I will be getting to thatā¦ I need to somehow find some more time to finish the write up tooā¦ people been blowing me up a bit on thatā¦ I will probably have some thoughts on this sometime this weekend, maybe because I also have Aeon RT, Aeon 2 open, Focal ELEX, and some others in house this week
1 Like
Can anyone tell me about the soundstage of this compared to something like DT 990/1990? Considering expanse and 3 dimensionality? From YouTubers Iāve heard diffrent opinions on that.
Really debating between these, the sundara and the M1070s. They would be for PC gaming mostly FPS and paired with an amp or amp/dac combo
I do own the zeus and the sundara and i listened to the m1070. For competitive gaming i would choose the sundara, because it has the most detail and a good soundstage. For allround or fun gaming i would take the Zeus, because of more bass and still good detail and soundstage. The m1070 is also quite neutral like the sundara, but with a tad more bass. The sundara has far more detail than the M1070. The m1070 is also pretty heavy, so i wouldnāt recommend it fir long gaming sessions. These could cause headache or neck issues in the long run
all of their headphones in this brand are heavyā¦ itās kind of annoying as honestly the 1570 sounds great but itās like a literal tank on your head to the point it gave me a neck cramp from about 2 hours of listening. I mean, I guess you could get used to them but still, I absolutely prefer lighter headphones especially while gamingā¦ I want maximum comfort lol
absolutely ^
going to go ahead and pull these out nowā¦ so I will be chiming in on here later with results on how Zeus performs in Hunt Showdown, Escape From Tarkov, Warzone, etc.
still though, in terms of comfort? I would take the zeus over that sundara anydayā¦ the comfort on these is really goodā¦ I have larger ears so sundaras a bit uncomfortable for me despite sounding fantastic
Alright, I think I have the gist of these headphones now.
Letās get into it. As usual when I write my thoughts out this is my opinion, as such itās subjectiveā¦ your more than welcome to disagree or agree.
So, letās get into a small little entry hereā¦ I had my doubts on this headphoneā¦ like big timeā¦ I had hoped like hell this would be the fix I needed to the helios. To let you guys know if you seen my last review on harmonics headphones from heliosā¦ it was a bit all over unrefined, and just relatively lacking at the time I really didnāt see it anything more than a cheap chi-fi headphone that was decent and looked pretty.
Well, to put it simplyā¦ itās still build like a cheap chi-fi piece of junk but the sound? well I will get into that oneā¦ no, this will not be negativeā¦ it will be a mixed bag this time around and a contemplation to go on the wall because these are extremely enjoyable. For context, I am wearing them now listening to them and just got done with a multi hour gaming session with them spanning multiple titles
Build Quality: same as helios but hey least it now comes in a fancy case. Honestly, Harmonicdyne could do well to change the design of their headphone if there going to jump the price like this. I know in my last review I asked for a case but likeā¦ come on. Zeus has a bit of heft to it, the top band padding needs more, and theres a bit too much force on my upper jaw line only on the right telling me theres some issues with weight distribution . They really need to go back to the drawing board and design a higher quality headphoneā¦ if this is real wood then it definitely is some extremely cheap wood and the overall design is a hardened plastic mixed with the thin metal grills and band over the top, of which still are huge fingerprint and dust collectors btw. I am not going to pull my punches on this oneā¦ people have already found a headphone thats astonishingly similar in build to the helios but dirt cheapā¦ come up with your own stuff there HD, donāt flea market my build quality thanks
Pads: why is it you cut corners on build quality and yet you can have these kind of pads? Why is it your not offering to sell these??? The pads on the zeus are fantasticā¦ some of the best suede pads I have had on my head bar none and I would argue are massively more comfortable than the beyerdynamics even on the higher brand models. The only other suede that came close would be something like dekoni or focal when it comes to comfort. Absolutely recommended if they offer a separate purchase on the padsā¦ to buy the pads, I sure as hell will order them
Cables: Very happy to see a high quality, what appears to be more custom, balanced cable for these with adapters alongside it to make use of whatever port you haveā¦ Cables donāt feel very cheap but not quite too expensive. I wouldnāt say they are better than my Hart or Periapt though. Still though, more companies need cables like these.
Sound Signature:
This particular sound signature is similar to the heliosā¦ brightness is still there, lows are slightly bumped still, but now the mids are more presentā¦ cleaner, more detailedā¦ everything sounds better and more refinedā¦ the signature is there itās present and itās very relaxing. This is -not- a headphone for timbre, analytical uses, reference, or monitoringā¦ no, this headphone is absolutely for those who appreciate this signature and want to enjoy the music while maintaining an admittedly very stylish looking headphone.
Lows: Raised further than helios, quite present in the mix and very deep and impactful, the bass resonates with the drum strikes and you can hear the snares and kick drum quite well with this one. Music and movies alike the bass is more explosive but not extremely rumblyā¦ itās at that point that someone like me who isnāt a basshead can truly enjoy which is just enough and bordering too muchā¦ at the same time I donāt hear this being boomy or muddy and it sounds rather controlledā¦ kudos to this. I personally like the low end here quite a lot.
Mids: not as present as the other two frequencies but around neutral, upper mid frequencies sound a bit more emphasized which is a nice touch, overall quite clean, there is some texture to the vocals but nothing amazing, I honestly have no complaints hereā¦ no itās not the level of sennheiser of 880 but perfectly respectable more so if your like me who really isnāt a big fan when it comes to midrangeā¦ to me as long as its present and doesnāt sound muffled, veiled, distorted, compressed, hollowed, etc I am fine with it. These are not however, the best representation of the mids I feel that still would go to a sennheiser in this regard due to the senn having more texture, more presentation, more center forward, more intimacy, among other things when it comes to vocal presentation
Highs: Hit or Miss: bright and for me personally, just right. This has close to the same level of brightness as my T1.2 but itās smooth and relaxing enough to not pose problems for me which is excellent. However, to some, this may be an issueā¦ those cymbals sizzle a lot, vocals can have very sharp tendencies, there is a lot of sparkle going on and itās easy to see in this case the treble has some of the most emphasis in the 3 frequencies. I would say the higher treble adds alot of what some would call āfakeā detail but not on the level of a beyerā¦ I think the more relaxive presentation to this one kind of takes away alot of the more serious levels of detail to this headphone which is fineā¦ as were not going for a very serious approach when it comes to studio related listening.
Sound Signature Overall: This is absolutely a more V shape or if anything a more Harman Like tuningā¦ the mids are perfectly present with this one and I donāt hear much recession at all. There is a very good balance going on here
Soundstage: This is something I was not surprised by not at all considering just how large Helios soundsā¦ now I am not sure how they achieve this much stage but itās quite niceā¦ there is a lot of width and depth hereā¦ more than my beyers just like the helios and may have something to do with the design and that metal grill. The entire signature has this deep resonating tone to it, which probably explains the name. Overall, I really enjoy the soundstageā¦ but I wonāt say itās as big and airy as something such as a Sundara as it definitely isnāt. It does have more air qualityā¦ if anything I would say aboutā¦ I want to say a 20% increase of stage over something such as a DT 990/Tygr 300r but add some air quality and depth
Imaging: Not laser accurate but accurate enough, I can pick things out easily enough but in terms of the competition the imaging here really doesnāt hold up. itās not bad just not greatā¦ I wasnāt expecting a lot from the imaging to begin with.
Gaming
Casual: these are quite enjoyable casuallyā¦ the treble is a bit much but if your okay with that or EQ it back a little these perform remarkably wellā¦ the weight is a bit much but overtime I grew used to it. The issue with the headband slightly digging into my head was annoying and disturbed my laid back listening and playing. RPGs do very wellā¦ this is a very good casual gaming headphoneā¦ honestly I can highly recommend this one in this use case.
Competitive: Varies by game but I know a few here wondering about Tarkovā¦ It performs well enough, the issue here is the bass is too much and the imaging isnāt completely on point. It is due to this I wonāt wager it better than tygr 300r in performance but it is a very close alternative and potential upgrade
VS Tygr: This headphone is more expensive than the tygr, yet doesnāt perform as good in gaming as the tygr can primarily in the competitive area. You can EQ the bass back on the zeus but its still the issue with the imaging where the tygr excelsā¦ however, if you need that extra clarity from a raised treble, since tygr is eq picky as hell, than this is a very solid alternative if your okay with the added costā¦ overall I would still take a Sundara over this use case if I wanted to go more competitive vibe or just stick with Tygrs.
Does it go on the wall? No, it goes on my head because this headphone is chill as hell listening and I quite enjoy it. Yes, this one will remain in my collection over the tygr 300r as I make use of the T1 2nd gen for my competitive needsā¦ This headphones very well rounded for just chill use and I really appreciate that
Notes to the company if they read this: change your build qualityā¦ seriously donāt sit there and rehash a headphone it makes you look like idiotsā¦ add more padding to your headband or change the headband to something more plush, donāt spend so much on a caseā¦ seriously we donāt need some crazy case like thisā¦ something cheap is fine. If your going to make a nother headphoneā¦ dial that bass back a bit and make something a bit more mid centric to go along with these bright tones I think that will agree with more people instead of something more niche like this
how to fix this headphone? Donāt really need any adjustmentsā¦ if anything add some dekoni nuggetsā¦ about it
Would I recommend this headphone? Sure why not, but not anything more than $350 as no offenseā¦ itās niche as hell despite my liking it and above that price pointā¦ I feel theres better options
13 Likes
Glad to see someone else agree with me that the cable is good. Iāve seen others think its too stiff or whateverā¦but to me its quality.
I found it interesting when you talked about the treble on it. Iāve not really noticed it much compared to my TYGR. Could just me my ears ābreaking inā to better sound then what I am used to.
Iām wanting to either keep these or the TYGRā¦but not both eventually. The only reason I may choose the TYGR over this down the road is because Iām one of the few that bought the Team TYGR set and use the Fox mic daily.
Thank you for the nicely done review once again. The Zeus are a fun HP for sure!
The later batches come with braided cables, not the stiff old one