Thinksound OV21
Thinksound OV21
Peludium:
Thinksound is a relatively small company dealing with sound. It has its headquarters in Canada, which means it presents an interesting and different approach to sound in its products. Although at the moment their portfolio is not huge, I prefer a few well-designed and well-thought-out products to releasing them every month without practically any changes. Thinksound most likely follows a similar philosophy to me and thus has only two models of headphones in its offer. One of them is the IN20 in-ear headphones, which you can read more about in my detailed review, and the other is the OV21 on-ear headphones discussed now. These are particularly interesting headphones because their current price is around 200USD, which gives us only 50% of the initial price.
Unbxing and ergonomics:
What delights and surprises most about the OV21 is the incredible beauty that lies in its simplicity. The headphones come to us in a cardboard package that contains all the necessary information. It is worth mentioning that the company focuses very strongly on ecology, which is not only visible, but also very emphasized. That is why the cardboard is completely biodegradable, and the headphones themselves are wrapped in paper material and packed in canvas bags. The headphones come to us with two sets of cables. Both are braided with specially reinforced plugs. One is a classic 3.5 mm and the other has been enriched with a microphone. It is a bit of a pity that one balanced cable was not used instead. The headphones themselves are extremely small and very solidly made. The pads are made of a special memory foam and eco-leather developed by Thinksound. The same material covers the headband, which guarantees us long and comfortable listening. The earcups, although small, securely and stably cover the entire ear, guaranteeing excellent acoustic insulation. The outer layer of the headphones is made of walnut wood, which gives them not only dignity, but also uniqueness in appearance. The plastic elements, of which there are really few, are made of a special cellulose material. The heart of the headphones themselves are specially designed and custom-made by Thinksound 45mm dynamic transducers. When it comes to noise reduction, the headphones guarantee very good isolation from the surroundings. However, despite the closed design, they are characterized by good ventilation and excellent sound pressure regulation. All this means that they not only sound great, but also provide excellent comfort even during long listening sessions.
Sound:
Low tones: In the Thinksound OV21 model, the focus was on combining a universal sound with neutrality and naturalness. Therefore, in accordance with this assumption, the low tones do not stand out, but instead show a natural and linear character with a very good balance. In many songs, this results in a beautiful musical and technical foundation. Importantly, these are not boring headphones, but they strongly focus on solid technical foundations. Personally, I like it when the low bands are not overly dominant and when the presentation encourages exploration of the music, and does not drown it out with the amount of low tones. Additionally, the smooth and balanced character of the low bands ensures no feeling of fatigue during long listening sessions or during everyday work. This is a compromise between sterility and monitor sound ideal for monitoring, and musical and engaging presentation of low tones. Which is exactly what Thinksound wanted to achieve in its philosophy and design.
Midrange: This is the area where the Thinksound OV21 maintain a balanced and linear character, the midrange is neither muffled nor excessively withdrawn. However, its upper range is slightly exposed, this elevation results in a huge amount of detail. At the same time, apart from a very large amount of information, very smooth and clean sound with a linear and balanced presentation, we can sometimes catch some sibilants. For this reason, I recommend using a darker amplifier. What is most impressive is the large, really large for closed headphones sound stage with pleasant depth and very good width. The headphones may not be masters in conveying emotions like, for example, my beloved Arye Organic from HifiMan, but they win with incredible detail and balance. Listening to Michael Jackson’s songs, we can easily catch each instrument separately and each element of the presented music. Here we have a great extension of the midrange and an even sound that goes beyond what we are accustomed to with closed headphones.
High tones: Although they break the linearity and impeccable balance profile a bit. Thanks to such tuning, they become easier to hear and this results in a very good sound on the go. It is worth noting here that although the Thinksound OV21 are headphones with an impedance of 50 Ohm and are relatively undemanding in terms of control, they scale very well with better and more powerful amplifiers. That is why I recommend using, for example, the neutral xDuoo poke II, which will not disturb the natural character of our headphones, or, for a change, the warmer and musical xDuoo link 2 bal, which will add great low tones to our headphones. Thinksound OV21 are headphones that really adapt to the source. Personally, I do not think that the high tones are lacking in these headphones, but their even and monitor character indicates that we will have a calm and balanced sound here, rather than spectacular and shiny as in musical headphones.
Comparisons:
Thinksound OV21 (200USD) VS Sivga robin SVO21 (169USD)
Sivga is a brilliant brand offering excellent and beautiful headphones, I respect their products very much, and the first one I had contact with was the SVO21 headphones. That’s why I approach them with special sentiment. The sound of the SVO21 is much more focused on entertainment, it offers a powerful and very clear bass, and a recessed but still clear midrange. The highs are also more exposed and much brighter. The earcups themselves are much larger, which will be appreciated especially by people with larger ears. However, the Thinksound OV21 offer better acoustic isolation and a balanced sound signature similar to that offered by the Oriole from sivga. So if you are looking for entertainment and strong bass then robins will be great, and if you prefer tonal balance and a more linear presentation then definitely listen to Thinksound OV21.
Thinksound OV21 (200USD) VS HifiMan sundara closed back (149USD)
Sundara closed back offers a much more direct and closer to the listener sound. The speed of the planar transducer makes the presentation of sundara closed back a bit more dynamic. At the same time sundara closed back has a much smaller stage and offers a less linear presentation. At the same time conveying more emotions. Therefore, when it comes to linearity and balanced sound then Thinksound OV21 will undoubtedly be the leaders, but if we are looking for a planar presentation with a closer midrange and a more emotional message then it is worth listening to sundara closed back from HifiMan.
Thinksound OV21 (200USD) VS HifiMan R9 (99USD)
R9 are headphones that focus very much on low tones and play on the Harman plan. This translates into a retraction of the midrange and a boost in the lower bands. This makes them ideal for electronic music, but they are not universal headphones and do not offer such wide versatility as Thinksound OV21. OV21 are smaller and offer slightly less depth, but also a much greater width of the music scene, which results in a more monitor character compared to R9.
For my tests, I used a stationary DAC/AMP: FiiO K11, Komo Earmen Tradutto+ Earmen Ch-AMP, and mobile devices: Earmen sparrow, xDuoo link2 and DAP iBasso DX170. I used my test playlist on tidal. I also decided to test the synergy with the EF600 from HifiMan, which resulted in a very good final effect and gave a very good result, so I recommend connecting the OV21 to warmer systems.
Summary:
Thinksound OV21 are very well-made headphones with an excellent price-quality ratio. They are really small and very comfortable. They are ideal both in urban spaces and in the comfort of your home. However, it is worth remembering that not every 3.5mm cable will fit them, because they have a deep implementation of the cable on the input side. However, this has a positive impact on the safety aspect and prevents accidental pulling out of the socket. When it comes to the musical presentation itself, the Thinksound OV21 offer a very linear and balanced sound with very high detail and an excellent technical layer. At the same time, the sound is full and engaging, it has not been deprived of life. The wide sound stage offers not only a large range in width, but also very good depth and sound separation. Thinksound OV21 surprised me not only with its excellent build quality and beautiful design, but also with its extremely refined tuning. These are headphones that perfectly combine naturalness and linearity with great technicalities. In all this, convenience and comfort have not been forgotten and the appropriate level of musicality has been taken care of. That is why I can only write a full recommendation for Thinksound OV21, which completely charmed me with their versatility and convenience, which perfectly combines the sphere of utility with a more purist audiophile approach to audio equipment. Importantly, these are completely unremarkable headphones. Overall, Thinksound ov21 offer beautiful and dense sound, which wins with its versatility, these are headphones ideal for listening to music, as well as for working with it. They will work great as a set on the go, but they also go great with our favorite amplifier in the comfort of home. For me, they sounded best with the r2r-based DAC/AMP EF600 from HifiMan, but at the same time they sounded great on any equipment they were connected to. This shows how much work Thinksound put into this project. Thanks to this, we get not only nice headphones, but also incredibly versatile equipment, which was already extremely profitable at its original price. Currently, taking into account the sale and the reduced price, these are headphones of even greater value. If someone likes closed items, these are very good and balanced headphones. It is worth adding here in conclusion that Thinksound OV21 are headphones that practically do not require greater synergy and one of their huge advantages is their enormous musical flexibility.
