Pharmaboy
Headphoneus Supremus
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.
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.