Well, the headphones arrived on Monday as Asr said they would. Of course, the fact that I wasn't home made getting to play with them a bit difficult :( But my sister had them waiting in my room for me when I got home a couple of days ago.
Initial Impressions:
Build Quality:
First off, build quality on these is amazing! I was very impressed by them pulling them out of the box. First off, with the exception of my purloined Grado SR-80, I haven't had a full size On-Ear/Over-the-Ear headphone for nearly 5+ years. Since 2004, I've toyed with the KSC-75, KSC-35, PortaPro, Sennheiser PX100, Sennheiser HD201, Koss UR29, JVC HA-FX33, FX66, Klipsch X10 , UE MetroFi 100 and Etymotic MC5. As one can see, mostly portable headphones and IEMs. This stems from having little to no money to invest in a primary source at home and now that I have a job, having no time at home to enjoy one (I do field work and a portable source makes more sense right now than a full time home source. Anyhow, the Koss UR29 ad HD201 were the last of the over-the-ear headphones that I had used full time before this. Now, anyone who has played with either of them knows that build quality and sound quality are not the primary discussion points when it comes to either of these two headphones (though I still do have a soft spot for my old modified HD201 pair that long bit the dust.
Anyhow, I had an idea what to expect when I saw the Phiatons online, but they surpassed my expectations when I got them out of the box. Good quality plastic used on the main housing cups and the headband, which is always a plus, not to mention use of screws to put parts together making it easy to take the unit apart if one ever wants to modify/fix something. The soft, foam packed pleather headband was very comfortable sitting on the top of the head. One of my favorite touches, coming off of the two headphones I previously mentioned above was the fact that the adjustable arms are made of sheet metal instead of plastic. I know most plastics today are resistant to breaking and wearing, but I've had those plastic adjustable arms wear out very quickly in some cases and usually much more quickly than metals ones in most cases. Also, coming from an Arctic environment, another feature that was greatly appreciated was the cloth covered cord. Much easier to spool up than the plastic coated cable. I love cloth covered cables on portable headphones up here because it tend to get less rigid in the cold weather. Though these will probably never see the outdoors, I have come to love the feature in general. The one feature that surprised me was the the removable pads. In the case of both the UR29 and HD201, the pleather ring needs to be removed so that one can access the screws that open the housing. It was always a pain to properly get the rings back on on these models. In this case both rings are already connected to a separate plastic ring that can slide into place and lock tight for easy replacement and access. A fantastic feature and one that I love. Overall, once again, very happy with the build quality.
Initial Sound Test/Fit Test:
As I stated before, I have been using IEMs for a while now, so I had to get used to OTE headphones again. Fit is easy. Find a good setting for the arm length, find a comfortable spot on the head, and go. This was the easy part. I pulled up a list of some of my favorite songs to listen to that I use to test out new headphones and started running it through the line. Initially, I was kinda disappointed. There was the mid-range and the high end clear as day, but where was the low end? Had using the Klipsch and JVC headphones for so long caused me to become a bigger bass-head than I originally was? Were the headphones just lacking of sound signature that I liked, What was it? I will say, that I managed to find a lot more sparkle in the high end than I was able to find with my other headphones, save the Grados. So I was definitely picking up new parts of my songs with the Phiatons but I seemed to be losing other parts. :(
Second Sound Test:
One of the worst parts of still living at home with parents? Being awake in your room right next to their room while they try to sleep. Every night, they call out for me to lower the volume when I'm watching a movie in my room late at night. Well, I hated using IEMs and portable headphones plugged into the DVD player, but I figured that this would be a great chance for the Phiaton to redeem itself. WOW did it ever. By far, my favorite pair of headphones for watching movies. Every part of the movie and the soundtrack and the BGM came through with flying colors. Explosions sounded real, music sounded great, placement was fantastic. And the best part - minimal fatigue! I used to use my UR29 for long listening sessions, and I used to have to take breaks every hour or so because they were getting hot and sweaty, but I had these on for a good three hours and other than the large amount of cable, they were a minimal distraction.
Third Sound Test:
The second test got me thinking: if they worked so well with movies why was I losing so much when I was listening to music? The answer hit me like a big 'Duh!' Maybe the Sandisk Sansa (primary portable source) didn't have the output to drive the phones! Took a few minutes but I was able to dig out my PA2v2, charge up some batteries and got back at it. Immediate difference! All of a sudden, the missing bass was back and better than ever. Wasn't quite the boomy bass that the UR29 used to have but it was punchy and it wasn't muddy. Clean and non-overpowering. Perfect. And even better, it was coming in without ruining the high end either!
Conclusion:
Dammit Asr! You gave me a good pair of headphones! And now, you've got me looking at new amps and getting back into looking for a full time home source! Aarrrggghhh, my wallet is gonna hurt again!
All truth though, they are an excellent pair of headphones. Still not sure about how excellent they compared to other headphones in their category and price range as I have nothing else that falls into that same sphere, but all in all, very happy with them. Thank You again Asr!
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