LSTN Sound LST23 Zebra Wood Fillmores with Mic

Wiljen

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Good looking, folds well for travel, Better sound than deserved for what I paid.
Cons: Build quality - plastic everywhere, Adjustments may work loose over time.
I bought these from another head-fier after finding very limited reviews and information on them.   I figured for the asking price I couldn't really lose.  Instead, I won.
 
Build quality: 
 
The cups are nicely finished without any rough spots in the wood, and the fit of all parts is well done.  No big gaps, odd angles, etc.  That said, the headband is entirely plastic and not extremely durable looking.  The hinges are plastic with a metal center pin driven through which operates well but may work loose with use. Time will tell.  The adjustments are a notch and post design.  This works well but is a more gross adjustment than some others so fit may not be as precise as liked by some. I have some concern that this could work loose over time and use.  Left and right are only marked on the cable (which with a removable cable makes some sense since theoretically you could cross them). Build quality should not be judged as poor, they are well put together in the overall, I just feel it is best to point out any shortcomings others may find.    
 
 
Fit:
The swivels for the cups work well and allow a full 180 degree range of motion for the cup in both the front to rear and the vertical angle of the cups themselves.   The adjustments had no trouble fitting both my over-sized noggin and my daughter and her friends much more petite versions.   The vegan leather pads were comfortable with glasses for an extended listening session of 4+ hours probably in no small way due to the lack of weight.  These are extremely light.
 
Sound:
 
(Disclaimer:  I am not a sound engineer or even close. I'm a middle aged music lover with a habit of listening while I work so I get long stretches of time in which to audition headphones.  My views are those of an untrained individual and your mileage may vary).
 
Listening:  I am a rock and popular music kind of guy with a smattering of Jazz thrown in to my daily mix.   At the office, I use a HTC m9 loaded with 128gb MicroSD and USB Audio Player Pro connected to a Fiio E9/E17 combination. Office headphones have been monoprice 8323s, Superlux 668b, Grado 325is, and Fostex t50rp.   Files are mostly flac with some 320bit Mp3.   At home I have a good home system that I love to listen to (Infinity Rs-2b, Dynaco Mk IIIs) but my family would prefer I not drown out the TV so I have started working toward a set of headphones that I like as well as my home system.   So far that has led to Sennhieser HD600s, Grado 325is, and a pair of Fostex 00 showing up at the house.  I am currently running them through either a modi/asgard or a Fostex HP-A4 coming from an HP Laptop running windows 7 and Foobar.
 
All review notes are based on modi / asgard as dac and amp.
 
Treble:
 
The highs are somewhat rolled off with no discernable peaks which is a nice change from a lot of the sub-$100 class headphones.  I don't want to give the impression that the highs aren't present as they are actually very nicely done.  They just aren't in your face and abrasive.  I found no sibilance in any of what I listened to. 
 
Mids:
 
This is definitely the focal point of this headphone.  Without doubt the thing that jumps out at you is the upper mids.   They are definitely a bit beyond neutral, not to the point of being an inverted V profile but they are mid-forward.  Male vocals in particular are nicely rendered and very pleasant.  Female vocals depend on register as those that reach into the treble seem somewhat less engaging while lower voices share the lush presence of most of the male vocalists.   Even with the slightly rolled off female vocals they still manage to be an engaging sound.
 
Bass:
 
Good bass extension and even some sub-bass presence which I find almost odd for an on-ear.  The bass is present in good quantity and is nicely done, not boomy or loose.   It does yield to the mids making for a rather warm presentation.
 
Soundstage:
 
Soundstage is reasonably large due to the ported design.  What makes this really interesting is each cup has 5 roughly 2mm ports along the upper surface of the cup hidden under the gimbals.  This makes for a open sound profile with a closed leakage profile.  Neat trick.   These leak far less than even the closed back monoprice 8323s and yet provide a soundstage similar to the Superlux 668.  They are not quite as open as the HD600s or the 325is but nobody expects that with a basically closed design. 
 
I can see these being my office headphones of choice.  Comfort is good even for long periods with glasses.  Leakage is minimal so I wont be annoying anyone, and sound is good enough that I wont be annoyed with unnatural treble or missing bass.
Cinder
Cinder
Good review. Do you find the headphones to be easy to drive off of your phone? Do you notice a significant difference when listening from higher/lower quality sources?
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