[Philimon]

At the moment I am the most active in this thread but I think this has to be said. I feel the difference between my Teak and the X00 PH is too big and doesn't match other anecdotal reports. I suspect that it might just be that I got a real strong magnet in my Teak and a much weaker one in the PH. The spread of the X00 was believed to be 0.8-1.0 Tesla and 1.0-1.2 Tesla for the Teaks if I am not mistaken. But I digress, if that is not the cause then here are my current conclusion between the two.

Link to information regarding Tesla specs?

 

[The Third]

Link to information regarding Tesla specs?

I don't have a scientific measurement for this statement sadly, only anecdotal reports in this thread...

 

[Skullar]

So ive applied Lawtons tune up kit and pads and am really happy with results. Espesially with pads.
Significant improvement in sounstage. And the kit makes it sound cleaner, especially felt on higher volumes.
In general it takes away some warmth and midbass in return for spaciousness and clarity. Subbass is less affected.
So for me its exactly what i wanted.
I now am really considering throwing on Lawtons cups. By the looks they are slightly deeper so might give it even better soundstage.

 

[The Third]

Slapped on the Rosewood's. No, more like carefully engineered them on: putting on these wooden cups remains a careful and tedious process. But I digress, I immediately noticed an improvement in timbre and imaging compared to the PH. Certainly a lot less resonating peaks in the frequency response present here. Sounds have a more accurate positioning compared to the PH, comparing it to the Teak or Zebra I still have to listen more down the line for me to conclude anything. Another thing that instantly stands out to me with the Rosewood, is the slightly raised lower sub-bass compared to the other cups. With other cups, I mean all the other cups I tried (Teak, Purpleheart, Zebra). I am quite sure the sub-bass of the Rosewood is the most pronounced (even if ever so slightly compared to the teak and Zebra) and has a bit more rumble in turn. I wouldn't go as far to say it has the best controlled sub-bass, but it certainly is tight and that in great volumes, very fun indeed. The kick is less pronounced as in comparison to the Teak and Zebra but is still tightly present. Best news here though is that the mids are very smooth: quite warm and very detailed indeed. However so far I prefer the Zebra's due to their fantastically textured and more neutral/slightly more forward upper mids. The highs remind me a lot of the Zebra's though: well extended, excellent timbre neither harsh nor surpressed. Perhaps the highs are a tad bit more harsh than the Zebra's. Soundstage is on the same level as the Zebra (which is more than fine), Teak still easily wins the soundstage game here. Curiously though, I haven't listened to the Rosewood's long enough to conclude anything yet. I am aware of how day to day sound impressions can vary just because of moods/state of mind or hydration levels or energy levels. Thus these are early impressions, I still need more time with them. But so far, the Rosewood's are an excellent alternative to the Zebra if you prefer a warmer and more sub-bass rich sound or especially if you prefer the undeniably mesmerising aesthetic pleasure the Rosewood coloured cups provide. More impressions coming soon.

PS. I ordered these beautifully braided balanced XLR cables from skyaudiocables (ebay) as my cat bit through the stock ones. These will probably pair better colour wise with the Rosewood's than they would with the Zebra's. I will not let this desire bias me in deciding which sounds better, and eventually the one that comes out on top will stay on these drivers. If you want to customise and order such a cable, you can find one here (while E-MU is not officially written these work 100%): Custom Headphone Cable - 2 x 2.5mm HE-350 HE400i HE560 HE1000 HD700 Nighthawk https://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-Headphone-Cable-2-x-2-5mm-HE-350-HE400i-

 

[Skullar]

Slapped on the Rosewood's. No, more like carefully engineered them on: putting on these wooden cups remains a careful and tedious process. But I digress, I immediately noticed an improvement in timbre and imaging compared to the PH. Certainly a lot less resonating peaks in the frequency response present here. Sounds have a more accurate positioning compared to the PH, comparing it to the Teak or Zebra I still have to listen more down the line for me to conclude anything. Another thing that instantly stands out to me with the Rosewood, is the slightly raised lower sub-bass compared to the other cups. With other cups, I mean all the other cups I tried (Teak, Purpleheart, Zebra). I am quite sure the sub-bass of the Rosewood is the most pronounced (even if ever so slightly compared to the teak and Zebra) and has a bit more rumble in turn. I wouldn't go as far to say it has the best controlled sub-bass, but it certainly is tight and that in great volumes, very fun indeed. The kick is less pronounced as in comparison to the Teak and Zebra but is still tightly present. Best news here though is that the mids are very smooth: quite warm and very detailed indeed. However so far I prefer the Zebra's due to their fantastically textured and more neutral/slightly more forward upper mids. The highs remind me a lot of the Zebra's though: well extended, excellent timbre neither harsh nor surpressed. Perhaps the highs are a tad bit more harsh than the Zebra's. Soundstage is on the same level as the Zebra (which is more than fine), Teak still easily wins the soundstage game here. Curiously though, I haven't listened to the Rosewood's long enough to conclude anything yet. I am aware of how day to day sound impressions can vary just because of moods/state of mind or hydration levels or energy levels. Thus these are early impressions, I still need more time with them. But so far, the Rosewood's are an excellent alternative to the Zebra if you prefer a warmer and more sub-bass rich sound or especially if you prefer the undeniably mesmerising aesthetic pleasure the Rosewood coloured cups provide. More impressions coming soon.

PS. I ordered these beautifully braided balanced XLR cables from skyaudiocables (ebay) as my cat bit through the stock ones. These will probably pair better colour wise with the Rosewood's than they would with the Zebra's. I will not let this desire bias me in deciding which sounds better, and eventually the one that comes out on top will stay on these drivers. If you want to customise and order such a cable, you can find one here (while E-MU is not officially written these work 100%): Custom Headphone Cable - 2 x 2.5mm HE-350 HE400i HE560 HE1000 HD700 Nighthawk https://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-Headphone-Cable-2-x-2-5mm-HE-350-HE400i-

So youre saying teak cups are still best at sounstage?
And thanks for cable link. Will need one when getting balanced amp.

 

[The Third]

So youre saying teak cups are still best at sounstage?
And thanks for cable link. Will need one when getting balanced amp.

Yup Teaks win in Soundstage, but the Teak cups have a strange localization artifact that make tracking sounds their exact original location more difficult. For music listening this is less important but for gaming I found it hard to track and localize enemies through the sound of their footsteps or gunshots. I am not entirely sure what causes this artifact for the Teak cups but I suspect it's because of a scoop somewhere in it's lower mids which removes a bit of weight or impact to certain sounds and increases it's transparency too much. Another theory is that it's highs are massively extended that the drivers just don't image too accurately.
*It seems there was some cross talk caused by the old cable I had, or the source/drivers were acting up while I listened to the Teak before. Localization is better now though still not the best.

 

[Skullar]

Yup Teaks win in Soundstage, but the Teak cups have a strange localization artifact that make tracking sounds their exact original location more difficult. For music listening this is less important but for gaming I found it hard to track and localize enemies through the sound of their footsteps or gunshots. I am not entirely sure what causes this artifact for the Teak cups but I suspect it's because of a scoop somewhere in it's lower mids which removes a bit of weight or impact to certain sounds and increases it's transparency too much. Another theory is that it's highs are massively extended that the drivers just don't image too accurately.

Well i personally found lower mids a bit too warm already and Lowton pads solved the problem. So i guess it can work both ways. If you ordered some thick pads that seal better than stock or whatever you are using im sure the lower mids will get accentuated and treble will take a step back. But it will be at cost of soundstage and bass might get bloated.

 

[The Third]

To summarize (I will keep slightly tweaking the scores as I keep swapping around cups):

1.Sub-bass quantity: Rosewood/PH, Zebra, Teak
2.Sub-bass quality: Zebra/Teak,Rosewood, PH
3.Upper-bass quantity: PH, Rosewood,Zebra, Teak
4.Upper-bass quality: Zebra/Teak, Rosewood, PH
5.Lower-mids quantity: PH, Rosewood/Zebra, Teak
6.Lower-mids quality: Zebra/Teak, Rosewood, PH
7.Upper-mids quantity: Zebra, Teak, Rosewood, PH
8.Upper-mids quality: Zebra, Teak, Rosewood, PH
9.Highs quantity: PH, Teak, Zebra, Rosewood
10.Highs quality: Teak , Zebra, Rosewood, PH
11.Timbre: Zebra, Rosewood/Teak, PH
12.Soundstage: Teak, Zebra, Rosewood, PH
13.Sound localization: Zebra, PH/Rosewood,Teak
14.Layering: Zebra/Teak,Rosewood, PH
15.Overall perceived detail: Zebra, Teak, Rosewood, PH
16.Potential genre specific fun factor (due to colouration): PH, Rosewood, Teak/Zebra

Overall score
Teak: 40/55
Rosewood: 33/55
PH: 30/55
Zebra: 44/55

Personal choice ranking:
#1 Zebra
#2 Teak
#3 Rosewood
#4 PH

 

[Philimon]

@The Third

Do you mind sharing any advice on changing cups. Sounds like it was not so easy. I read in Tyll’s review that he surmised some shrinkage and that remoisturizing (i think he suggested a ziploc bag and moist towel) over a few days could help with cup installation.

 

[The Third]

@The Third

Do you mind sharing any advice on changing cups. Sounds like it was not so easy. I read in Tyll’s review that he surmised some shrinkage and that remoisturizing (i think he suggested a ziploc bag and moist towel) over a few days could help with cup installation.

Concerning the shrinkage, I haven't experienced that phenomena yet, I do keep the cups in a dry dark place without any temperature fluctuations. I am sure some wood types or more prone to breaking or shrinking and I think following that advice of Tyll would be beneficial in case they do shrink.

And concerning the actual unscrewing process: Be very patient and not rage quit would be my first tip, use screw drivers with magnetic tips ofcourse, use new screws after unscrewing the screws twice as they wear easily, never try to force a screw in if it simply doesn't go, don't tighten it too much and lastly don't put pressure on the joints of the headphone as they seem to snap for some people. I also perform the surgery under a desk light so I can carefully see what I am doing. Good luck!

 

[AT Khan]

Concerning the shrinkage, I haven't experience that phenomena yet, I do keep the cups in a dry dark place without any temperature fluctuations. I am sure some wood types or more prone to breaking or shrinking and I think following that advice of Tyll would be beneficial in case they do shrink.

And concerning the actual unscrewing process: Be very patient and not rage quit would be my first tip, use screw drivers with magnetic tips ofcourse, use new screws after unscrewing the screws twice as they wear easily, never try to force a screw in if it simply doesn't go, don't tighten it too much and lastly don't put pressure on the joints of the headphone as they seem to snap for some people. I also perform the surgery under a desk light so I can carefully see what I am doing. Good luck!

Yes please do follow Tyll's advice. I can attest to the fact that I didn't and I put my ebony cups (supposed to be one of harder woods) aside and left them there just like that (inside some box etc or something, not bare open) and the did change their 'shape' a little. They became a bit oval-ly, and it became a little difficult to put them back on again. With a closer inspection, you can see they're not perfectly round anymore. Now I have been away from my cups for a long while now, and yet I still didn't check again how they are now. Probably not in a good shape I fear. Will update you soon as I check them again.

But I think Tyll was right. I do live in the parts of Asia where we have ample humidity, yet this still happened.

 

[Philimon]

 

[amoeba1126]

Ebony is still the best!

 

[Hallibart Aery]

Ebony is still the best!

Now that I have got my teaks, I'm thinking really hard about reordering the emu ebony cups. I think I prefer those on 90% of the tracks I listen to. I'd definitely keep both if they could be easily swapped out, though.

 

[amoeba1126]

Now that I have got my teaks, I'm thinking really hard about reordering the emu ebony cups. I think I prefer those on 90% of the tracks I listen to. I'd definitely keep both if they could be easily swapped out, though.

There are really tiny screws to unscrew and re-screw which makes it really annoying to swap cups. For me, I can't even swap to new cups without some woodwork due to the cable mod I had have done. That said, I love the way mine sound so not something I am unhappy about at all.