[Pharmaboy]

I owned both the E-Mu Teak & (a couple years ago) the Massdrop TX-00 Mahogany. Sold both for very different reasons.

IMHO, the Teaks were a better sounding headphone in just about every way except possibly sub-bass. For the true basshead, whose attention is most drawn to the bass (and the deeper/harder the better), the TX-00 (w/any wood) would be preferred. But for those who want to appreciate a range of different music on the headphone, the Teak is simply more musical--better mids and distinctly better upper mids & treble, which have a delightful "organic" quality that's hard to describe but easy to hear (not really bright, certainly not rolled off--yet lively and satisfying). The TX-00s were deficient in these areas; to me, they sounded grainy, rough, and often, flat-out bright.

A point that has been made in this thread before--but bears repeating--is that the Teak earcups are slightly different in outside & inside dimensions than any of the other wood/earcups for either E-Mu or TX-00 HPs (same exact frame, really). The slightly deeper/larger internal space of the teak apparently combines w/qualities of the wood itself to produce this satisfying sound signature many have commented on.

 

[darmanastartes]

Anyone looking to Sell their E-MU?

I'm probably going to be listing mine for sale in the next week or so, moving to a speaker setup.

 

[iliketowrap19]

I'm probably going to be listing mine for sale in the next week or so, moving to a speaker setup.

Haha what price. I was about to pull the trigger on a pair of 900s idm buying in advanced lol

 

[darmanastartes]

Haha what price. I was about to pull the trigger on a pair of 900s idm buying in advanced lol

I was thinking $425 with two extra cables. One is a plain black 3' cable and the other is a DIY custom pictured here.

 

[iliketowrap19]

I was thinking $425 with two extra cables. One is a plain black 3' cable and the other is a DIY custom pictured here.

Looks like a great deal. If you don't mind me asking , why are you selling? And would you mind putting up the classified sooner than later? I'm rarely on here so I don't really want to miss it.

 

[darmanastartes]

Looks like a great deal. If you don't mind me asking , why are you selling? And would you mind putting up the classified sooner than later? I'm rarely on here so I don't really want to miss it.

I moved into a house and am no longer constrained by a noise-sensitive SO, meaning I can use speakers regularly. Don't really have a need for higher-end closed back headphones now. I'll see about putting them up by the end of the week.

 

[iliketowrap19]

I moved into a house and am no longer constrained by a noise-sensitive SO, meaning I can use speakers regularly. Don't really have a need for higher-end closed back headphones now. I'll see about putting them up by the end of the week.

Alright! I really hope I can jump on them first before anyone else..

 

[dpump]

iliketowrap19: Run a Want-Ad in the classified section 'Headphones For Sale/Trade' for the E-MU Teaks. Then darmanastartes can respond to your Want-Ad and you can purchase his E-MU Teaks and you won't have to worry about someone else getting them. darmanastartes won't even have to list them if you decide to purchase them first.

 

[iliketowrap19]

iliketowrap19: Run a Want-Ad in the classified section 'Headphones For Sale/Trade' for the E-MU Teaks. Then darmanastartes can respond to your Want-Ad and you can purchase his E-MU Teaks and you won't have to worry about someone else getting them. darmanastartes won't even have to list them if you decide to purchase them first.

I have a wanted Ad there already.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/looking-for-e-mu-teak.883121/

 

[Àedhàn Cassiel]

EXACTLY how close does the E-mu come to the TH900? From many descriptions it sounds like it's almost identical and the reasons you'd go for the TH900 instead are mostly accessory. Can it come even closer to the TH900 with EQ?

How does the overall sound compare to the Eikon? If I could "downgrade" from the Eikon I could afford to have a fourth headphone in rotation. Going from my setup (HD800, LCD3, Eikon) would the Emu feel like a drop in SQ? Or is it likely it would come close enough and the bass would earn it time in rotation?

 

[Pharmaboy]

I owned an E-Mu Teak (since sold); listened to a friend's Eikon at great length/multiple times in my system; never heard a TH900. So I'm qualified to answer your 2nd paragraph.

The ZMF Eikon & E-Mu Teak are roughly aligned in terms of overall sonic profile (ie, excellent bass from closed-back/wooden earcup design; good treble). But they differ in many ways, too.

The Eikon is a more resolving, accurate headphone. It's also twice the size of the Teak. You pay 2-3X the $$ and you get a bigger/better sound, including:

• The best sub-bass I've ever heard
• Excellent, impactful/strong bass all the way up to the midrange (but not intruding at all). World-class bass
• Midrange is masterful for a closed back. There is so much information here. Highly resolving, also quite musical
• Treble is very fine, as well--lots of detail, but only rarely is it "pushed" at you, sounding forward
• And among the best soundstaging I've ever heard, period, Certainly the best I've heard from closed back designs. I find the Eikon comparable to some of the better open-back designs for soundstaging (quite a compliment)

The Teak doesn't scale the same heights of resolution & soundstaging as the Eikon. It doesn't have as much sub-bass (few headphones do); and its mids, while more than sufficient, is not equal to its bass & treble. And yet...there's something very appealing about the Teak's sound. People call it "organic," and I would agree. There's a slightly warm, soulful quality to this sound. It's musical & very enjoyable I liked the way the treble stood right on the dotted line between "not enough" and "too much." It's a very entertaining headphone. Also smaller, more compact, lighter than the Eikon--yet less comfortable (everyone who owns the Teaks comes to grip w/those frustrating earpads, so hard to swap for something sonically equivalent).

IMO these 2 headphone designs complement each other--one is not a drop-in replacement for the other.

Another complement for the Eikon is the wonderful ZMF Ori (which I own)--another closed-back design w/beautiful wooden earcups, fairly heavy (like the Eikon). But it's a planar driver, which to my ears has certain qualities (smoothness, explosive dynamics & bass when needed) that differ slightly from dynamic drivers. Comparing the Ori vs Eikon was lots of fun. Eikon (again) is a more resolving, technically proficient design w/even better soundstaging--but the Ori comes close & has its own sonic virtues.

 

[Gambitek]

I've heard the Auteur described as an "open Eikon", but I guess maybe not if the Eikon rumbles harder than an EMU TEAK, which out rumbles the Auteur by a giant margin (talking about sub-bass).

 

[phthora]

EXACTLY how close does the E-mu come to the TH900? From many descriptions it sounds like it's almost identical and the reasons you'd go for the TH900 instead are mostly accessory. Can it come even closer to the TH900 with EQ?

I found the TH900 to have more bass texture, impact, and presence, wider soundstage with more accurate imaging, and slightly better detail/resolution than the E-MU Teak. However, the hot and occasionally harsh treble and difficulty of pairing that heavy-hitting low-end with all genres makes the Teak and much better all-rounder with its rounder bass and much smoother treble. In other words, the TH900 wins on technical ability, the Teak wins on tuning. Opinions differ, of course, but for me, the E-MU is exceptionally well-tuned and out of all the Fostexes that I've heard (including the whole TH-X00 line-up) it is the best-sounding on a purely visceral level. It's one of those rare headphones that required no brain burn-in for me, just perfect immediately. And, as a person that switches headphones frequently, that is a very appreciated attribute.

 

[Àedhàn Cassiel]

I found the TH900 to have more bass texture, impact, and presence, wider soundstage with more accurate imaging, and slightly better detail/resolution than the E-MU Teak. However, the hot and occasionally harsh treble and difficulty of pairing that heavy-hitting low-end with all genres makes the Teak and much better all-rounder with its rounder bass and much smoother treble. In other words, the TH900 wins on technical ability, the Teak wins on tuning. Opinions differ, of course, but for me, the E-MU is exceptionally well-tuned and out of all the Fostexes that I've heard (including the whole TH-X00 line-up) it is the best-sounding on a purely visceral level. It's one of those rare headphones that required no brain burn-in for me, just perfect immediately. And, as a person that switches headphones frequently, that is a very appreciated attribute.

That's about what I'm getting from most of the descriptions. As amazing as the Eikon is, I just feel like I'm not able to give it its due.

I'd roughly describe my predicament like so: the HD800 is like a pane of glass where some glass is actually magnifying glass, but some glass is just a bit dirty. For the right scene, that magnifying glass turns up the best parts. The LCD-3 inverts the placement of dirt and magnifying glass.

So the HD800 does some tracks at a 10/10, and some at an 8/10. The LCD-3 does the HD800's 10s at an 8, but it does its 8s at a 10.

Meanwhile, the Eikon is like a clear pane of glass with no magnifying glass but less dirt that does everything at a solid 9. If I could only have one phone, I genuinely would consider them. But with 3, there just isn't any particular track that stops me and makes me think this is a job for the Eikon in a way that would make me switch over to it.

At $1-2000, the HD800 or LCD3 doing so many tracks at an 8/10 is arguably unforgivable. But when I do listen to the Eikon, as much as I enjoy its tonality (I compare it to butter pecan, sweet-tasting with the earthiness of nuts mixed throughout it) I end up stumbling into something I want to hear on one of them instead within a couple hours.

Long term, I'll probably only want to keep a closed back for very rare emergencies. So a more novelty "fun" tuning would probably suit my closed back decision. Even if it's only 2-5% of my music, I like headphones that make me think this is a job for the ______ when I hear a track, even if that comes along with weaknesses at something else.

I can admit this all means I'm quite guilty of using music to listen to my headphones sometimes, instead of the reverse. But I don't really see a problem with that. The reason a musician plays a sequence of sounds on a guitar instead of a piano is because the timbre makes that sequence of notes more enjoyable. Seems fair to me for the headphone choice to play a similar role.

In any case, when I ask what would give a closed back a comparative advantage that would make some tracks its "thing" that an open back couldn't achieve, well... that's probably just specifically the attribute of bass impact, is it not?

 

[Phantaminum]

Received the Gilmore Lite MK2 at work and immediately opened up the box. I previously enjoyed the Teaks from Schiit's Jotunheim but had an issue with the upper end treble sharpness.


The Teaks paired with a Mimby and The GLMK2 sound great. It was mentioned that this amp has a tube like quality to the sound and does it! Gives great reverb, leans warm, and expands the sound stage slightly more than the MCTH. The MK2 is more forgiving with music with treble that would have me turn it down on the MCTH. Bass hits hard but never overbearing. Fills out the Teaks. I can see this combo being a tad too warm for some people. I think I enjoy this combo more than the MTCH+Mimby combo.

Personally, I think it's a great pairing with the E-Mu Teaks if you happen to be looking for an amp.