Chinese / Asian Brand Info Thread (On or Over Ear Headphones)
Sep 3, 2018 at 12:21 PM Post #4,336 of 7,153
I think he might have meant "Why did Superlux remove the detachable system in the first place?"

Oh, got it. Yeah, I agree. I despise fixed cables. It only saves the manufacturer less than $1, yet angers customers and needlessly fills landfills when the cable goes bad on an otherwise perfectly good headphone.

I mean, take this superlux for example. With its silicone pads that will never wear out, what’s the 1 thing that statistically will go bad 1st (sending it to the landfill)? The cable.
 
Sep 3, 2018 at 1:38 PM Post #4,337 of 7,153
A super long fixed cable that does not allow portable use, inline music control, a mic, or replacement when it goes bad is amazing? Maybe for some people.

Adding a removable jack allows ultimate flexibility:
  • Using a cable of any length, and the ability to switch between them at will (short for portable use or long for TV watching for example)
  • Using upgraded cables such as silver plated or braided cables
  • Use of heavier conductor cables for amplifier use
  • Use of balanced cables (with the appropriate jack and wiring)
  • Replacement of stock cables in cases where the manufacturer used a poor quality cable or high impedance cable
  • Use of cables with inline music/volume controls
  • Adding a boom mic such as BoomPro or ModMic for gaming
  • Temporary removal of the cable for more compact storage in a case
  • To replace a damaged or proprietary stock cable
  • Extending a headphone’s life significantly, by replacing the part that goes bad most often
I’ve done it to numerous headphones, and I have never looked back.

Besides, if the stock cable is really nice I just terminate the end with a plug once it is removed from the headphone and keep using the cable (but now it is removable).
I was talking about their pepe system with the dangling male connector, not a disgusting long wire.
 
Sep 3, 2018 at 1:41 PM Post #4,338 of 7,153
Oh, got it. Yeah, I agree. I despise fixed cables. It only saves the manufacturer less than $1, yet angers customers and needlessly fills landfills when the cable goes bad on an otherwise perfectly good headphone.

I mean, take this superlux for example. With its silicone pads that will never wear out, what’s the 1 thing that statistically will go bad 1st (sending it to the landfill)? The cable.
But won't people be swapping out for leather or velour pads instead of keeping those silicon pads (I hate them).
 
Sep 3, 2018 at 2:03 PM Post #4,339 of 7,153
But won't people be swapping out for leather or velour pads instead of keeping those silicon pads (I hate them).
Frankly I find the decision to use the silicone and fixed cable quite baffling. But I will stand by my opinion on the sound as I think it is outstanding.
 
Sep 3, 2018 at 2:13 PM Post #4,340 of 7,153
Frankly I find the decision to use the silicone and fixed cable quite baffling. But I will stand by my opinion on the sound as I think it is outstanding.
Yes, sound wise they rock but comfort? Nah I would just buy a pair of leather pads and DIY that cable. BTW I think I see a lot of mods coming to these headphones.
 
Sep 3, 2018 at 3:11 PM Post #4,341 of 7,153
I was talking about their pepe system with the dangling male connector, not a disgusting long wire.

Gotcha.

Yeah, I agree. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
 
Sep 4, 2018 at 5:18 PM Post #4,345 of 7,153
Well I have completed my on ear "round-up" with the Grado SR80, OKCSC M1, and OKCSC M2 headphones. Here are a couple of pictures of them all lined up. One with and one without flash.

1Jk5iB0.jpg


vnUkmzR.jpg



So about the headphones. All these headphones are stock as they come. No mods have been done to them yet for the testing and review. I'll go in the ordered pictures left to right. First, the Grado's

Grado's are pretty well known on these forums. So there is some references out there to get from the many other reviews out there. They are a polarizing headphone in that you love them or hate them. Why are they so polarizing? Treble. They are clear, detailed, responsive, and have a ton of treble energy. Mids, mid-treble, treble, and high treble regions all come through very strong on these. Mid-bass, bass, and sub-bass roll off hard. There are various mods out there to change the sound signature to improve the bass. That being said, so long as the music works with these, then they sound good if you like clear, airy, sparkly detailed music. If you like to make your ears rattle off the sides of your head with shaking bass then these are not going to get that job done. I am leading with the sound quality part of the review on these as they are going to the be the reference point of comparison to the other two. So for the overall SQ, I don't mind these headphones for some types of music, but they aren't my personal favorites go to headphones for everything. Not even close.

Comfort wise though, the Grado's are the best of the bunch. The earpads are soft, squishy, but dense enough foam to keep your ears from feeling the drivers. The headband is the most contoured to the human head out of the bunch and is the most comfortable because of it. The problem is, while it is the most comfortable out of the three, I could feel it was still touching un-evenly on my head. That would be a problem if these things had any significant weight to them. So while they aren't the most comfortable, they are definitely good enough to wear for long periods of time without discomfort at least because of how lightweight they are.

Build quality the Grado's feel cheap. The look cheap. They even leave concerns about long term durability. Which has been a concern among Grado owners for a long time. Especially the plastic caps on the side of the hinges. Even the left one on mine is starting to separate with very light usage. I'm sure a little epoxy will fix it out, and there are a ton of DIY solutions out there to fix these permanently at least. Still it is a concern. Then there is the cable. It is not detachable, it's long, heavy, thick, and can be somewhat janky. It is the opposite of what you want for a portable solutions headphone. Which is exactly what these are designed to be, minus the cord. They are designed to be a light weight ultra portable slim profile audio headphone solution. The cable ruins all that.

One last thing to mention, out of the 3 the Grado's are the easiest to drive. Although all the are easy to drive, the Grado's are noticeably louder at the same volume dial settings on my amps. They are meant to be used off phones and really don't require a dedicated amp to sound good. Speaking of which, they sound a bit "better" from crappier built in device amps that tend to be more skewed into the bass region. It starts to balance out the sound signature for some reason.



Now on to the OKCSC M1. These things are beautiful in their own way. They look and feel much better than the Grado's. The cord is a lightweigfht portable length and detachable cable. It's perfect for it's intended usage. The headband isn't really contoured to the head, but being metal can take a little flexing to bend it a bit. The earpad foam is thick, dense, and very firm. The earpads are the least comfortable of the three in this roundup. That with the headband puts the M1 as the least of the three in terms of comfort. However, since these are lightweight and easy to bend to shape headphones, they are still comfortable enough to use for long periods of time without a problem for me.

Sound wise the M1 is like the Grado SR80 with a little less in the Mid-treble region. It has the same rolled off bass region it sounds like. The only real difference is the mid-treble is less forward. So while the Grado's make female vocals sound like they are in your face intimate, these make them step back a few steps. They have a similar timbre as well. The biggest problem with the sound on these is the mid-bass region. I think the earpads are too thick/dense and it muddies this up a little. I guessing a pad change may fix both the mid-bass and mid-treble regions of these. This also leads to this region sounding more veiled and lacking some detail/texture of the SR80. Other than that, they sound very close to the SR80.




Finally the OKCSC M2. These things are BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Best looking of the bunch. The earpads are right in between the super soft cushy-ness of the SR80 and the firm denseness of the M1. The headband is exactly the same as found on the M1. The only real difference is the yokes are made from brass. Like the M1 they come with a very nice proper length detachable cable. Also both the M1 and M2 come with a very nice semi hard case to carry them in. Nice touch there. Build quality on the M1 and M2 look to be exactly the same which is a step up from the Grado SR80. That being said, even these looks to have their weak point in the build quality at the plastic caps on the side of the headband. I've seen more than a few pictures of these broken in other places. Mine still look pristine, unlike the Grado's, and hopefully they stay that way. Still based on build, style, and comfort: the M2 beats the M1 and SR80 hands down.

Now for the sound. All the mid and treble the SR80 has. All detail. All the sparkle. One thing it has OVER the SR80 is better bass. MUCH better bass. These aren't bass head can's at all, but the stock configuration of these is still way better than the stock configuration of the SR80. These also have much better sound stage too. Although they all have relatively the same soundstage (which isn't that wide or much outside my head). Still which the SR80 and M1 made the sound stage just barely extend past my ears, these made the sound stage go a little further than that.


So in conclusion? If you are looking to get any of these and leave it stock, get the OKCSC M2 if you can. It's a toss up between the SR80 and the M1 though for me. Mods and earpad changes can fix the problems I have with all 3 of them I hope. They may all then be basically the same in terms of sound and comfort at that point. Still the beauty of the M2 is a big factor then if everything else with these headphones are the same. Even the M1 is much nicer than the SR80 in terms of looks.
 
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Sep 4, 2018 at 9:45 PM Post #4,347 of 7,153
So what is the fix for reinforcing the chincy plastic headband side pieces? You mentioned there were various fixes.

On the Grado? Most just epoxy the inside of the plastic and put in better o-rings. There are some various replacement gimbals out there too for that part. There are also different DIY headband assemblies. Seen some previously for sale on aliexpress.
 
Sep 6, 2018 at 4:49 AM Post #4,349 of 7,153
Sep 6, 2018 at 1:06 PM Post #4,350 of 7,153

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