[The Third]

I'm especially curious how the Zebra would compare to the Ebony which was supposed to be the most analytical from among the Fostex variants.

I would also love to compare those but there are users on reddit who already did: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones...medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3

I read also other opinions and the general consensus seem to be that Ebony has fuller bass but that the soundstage is smaller, some conflicting reports on detail however.

 

[Hallibart Aery]

I would also love to compare those but there are users on reddit who already did: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones...medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3

I read also other opinions and the general consensus seem to be that Ebony has fuller bass but that the soundstage is smaller, some conflicting reports on detail however.

I was thinking about a direct comparison between the Zebra and the Ebony.

 

[Philimon]

 

[Vaughn]

substantially different volume on those two, thanks for posting. I wonder if this has more to do with the different sounds between types of wood than any inherent tone?

 

[The Third]

All my cups so far have the same cup volume and shape as your teak's. These cups concern shipment of E-MU's cups post 05-2020 (Purpleheart, Mahogany, Bamboo, Teak, Zebra, Rosewood) Chan wanted me to review other wooden variants with the same inner cutting and wooden shape as the teak as of the aforementioned date. So far I find the Zebra variant a league above the rest in terms or technical ability (including the Teak). Rosewood I think is probably the most 'fun' variant of all. Will still be checking Ebony, Bamboo, Mahogany, Walnut and Palo Santo Artisan as well coming few months (as well with the shape and cutting of your Teak).

 

[The Third]

Bamboo is on, the two things I instantly notice is that as in comparison to the Rosewood, imaging and soundstage are improved. Where as the Rosewood has the more traditional X00 intimate presentation, the Bamboo cups have a beautiful soundstage. I have to put on the Teak after trying these cups in order to confirm which one has a bigger stage, but am atleast quite confident the Bamboo cups are very close. The upper midrange is better than the Rosewood. Highs also are also a bit better controlled than the Rosewood. Sub-bass is a bit less extended than the Rosewood but quite controlled and well bodied(maybe even a bit more than the Rosewood) non the less (as all other cups more or less are, this driver simply thumps). There is a particular coloration going on here with the Bamboo that I can't quite describe accurately yet, but it most likely has to do with a full/raised lower bass and midrange and specific regions in the upper midrange being accentuated that create this fun timbre that might not be as accurate as the Zebra wood but detail wise it get's quite close. These fun resonating areas in it's midrange combined with the big soundstage make it an excellent fun alernative to those who wish a smoother/coloured experience as compared to the Zebra. One area I think the Bamboo will score lower in than the Zebra is the quality and detail of the higher frequencies: Bamboo sounds thicker but less detailed, Zebra more transparant but less thick or intimate. However I got to test more tracks in order to confirm. While not the most exciting looking cups, the sound sure makes up for it and I suspect these cups will score quite high. More updates alongside the final scoring included coming soon.

 

[amoeba1126]

I would really like some white cups like those new limited edition ones for TH-900. Maybe white ceramic cups?

 

[The Third]

Little update, now that my mind has burned in with these cups my first impressions were right about some things and wrong on others. That's how it goes with a coloured headphone, some tracks can be better than others which can give a coloured first impression ;D The Bamboo cups have the biggest bass prescense of all cups. Rumble and thumping is definitely happening through most tracks. Though the upper bass is definitely raised above the rest and is coloured (almost like the hd25 is), making a bit of a boomy impression at times. Extension is excellent but the sub-bass is the rumbling physical type. The mids are quite coloured, kind of like the Purpleheart, but then in different areas (more upper mids less lower mids). Also it's smooth like the Purpleheart but then with tamed highs, allowing me to listen to the Bamboo at much higher volumes than other cups. The highs in fact, are also it's shortcoming, as they are pushed too far back into the track and at times lose quite a bit of detail as they are overshadowed by the bass and mids. Increasing volume does solve this to a degree, but you are then left with this huge bass body that for some genres, like rock or bass guitar, really are engaging and euphoric, but others like orchestra or classical can sound a tad veiled. The good part is that layering and soundstage are excellent and that the presentation is smooth and non invasive, it's just that the colouration does not always work as well with all genres. These are very euphonic cups though, and for entertainment purposes are hard to put down. I would place these cups in between the PH and Rosewood but then with a bigger soundstage and better layering and of course their unique euphoric coloration. Teak and especially Zebra are still a league above concerning overal technical ability.

 

[Philimon]

How do you order these cups?

 

[The Third]

How do you order these cups?

mtchan@ctl.creative.com , Chan from e-mu can help you further with that

 

[Philimon]

mtchan@ctl.creative.com , Chan from e-mu can help you further with that

Thanks. E-mail sent. Post the response asap.

 

[The Third]

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

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

Overall score
Teak: 49/65
Rosewood: 36/65
Purpleheart: 32/65
Zebra: 52/65
Bamboo: 34/65

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

*Update: Essentially it comes down to Zebra or Teak for jack of all trades detailed performance so far. Teak certainly has smoother/liquid mids as stated by Tyll Hertsens, I also find the highs slightly more detailed and smoother than the Zebra's. Teak's soundstage plays nicely with certain tracks though I find it's localization a tad bit off/unrealistic at times. What this last part means is that I am sometimes having a hard time telling how close or far a sound is due to a somewhat blurry image, maybe this is also partly has to do with the left/right nature of the Teak wood: Zebra sounds like the sound comes from the front, while as with the Teak this can be incossistent and can sound left/right. I am sure Teak's overall warmer character should be preferred by most though. I however, prefer the more analytical and dry character of the Zebra wood which taps slightly more into the upper midrange and allows certain textures to come forward and be exposed. Zebra wood also is a bit more neutral, especially sub-bass to it's mids. The highs are a tad bit less nuanced/detailed and not as smooth compared to the Teak's so they are more the tracking type (impact over detail). The Teak thus truely excells with it's higher frequencies, in fact I never heard such beautiful and detailed highs before in a headphone. Though concerning perfection, for my tastes, at times the highs of the Teak wood are a bit too forward into the mix. This is where the Zebra simply takes the lead for me, it's entire frequency response is so well balanced and integrated that it is for me, the jack of all trades and the master of bass. These above observations are all with the Sharp Roll-Off/no delay digital filter paired with the SMSL SP-200 AMP and Topping E-30. The digital filter mentioned above is supposedly provides the most neutral frequency response, a slow roll-off filter can make an analytical pair sound more organic due to sounds being able to linger longer in the headphone's chamber. In my own experience, the slow roll-off filter sacrifices some control in the bass and higher frequencies for a smoother listening experience. The Zebra cups are the only cups I enjoyed BOTH digital filters with, the other cups simply played better with the Sharp-Roll off filter.

 

[bigjako]

I bought my EMUs used, with the full Lawton mod and the Silk Maple Lawton cups already installed. I would be so interested in seeing your ranking with one or more of the Lawton cups against the EMU cups. The Lawton are much larger than the stock cups, almost comically so. I just can't bring myself to swap those Lawton beauties out, because I love them as-is so much - I always planned to get a second set to swap cups on, but the used prices have been so high these days, and then Stax happened.

 

[The Third]

I bought my EMUs used, with the full Lawton mod and the Silk Maple Lawton cups already installed. I would be so interested in seeing your ranking with one or more of the Lawton cups against the EMU cups. The Lawton are much larger than the stock cups, almost comically so. I just can't bring myself to swap those Lawton beauties out, because I love them as-is so much - I always planned to get a second set to swap cups on, but the used prices have been so high these days, and then Stax happened.

Would love to install those cups, but unless funded those cups are out of my budget right now. PS I will be writing an extensive review on all cups I mentioned in the aforementioned posts, including pics and a video review. That was the deal with Chan at least. Hopefully by then he will supply me with the rest of the cups Happy new year btw!

 

[The Third]

I tried to put the Mahogany cups on today and the classic shrinkage problem happened. I traveled with all my cups and headphone to Mexico, here the altitude is 2500m with a pretty dry climate. Looks like the Mahogany wood was the first to do this. Ironically though, I noticed the Mahogany was the only cup type I received which still had the old cutting on the inside of the cup. (see attachment, left cup is old cutting Mahogany and right cup is 'Teak-like' cutting of Bamboo). I will apply the classic solution as recommended by the legend Tyll Hertsens himself: Putting the cups in a ziplock plastic bag with a wet paper towel so the wood can absorb the moisture back so it expands back to it's original state(process can take a half a day).

Because these type of Mahogany cups are one of the most well documented variants out there it will make for an interesting conclusion to this initial batch of cups.

PS Switching from Bamboo back to Zebra, the differences in presentation is just incredible: These headphones truly transform with a different wooden variant which is not to be underestimated, this contrast is most evident going from Purpleheart to Teak or going from Bamboo to Zebra.