E-MU Wooden Series Headphones
Feb 23, 2019 at 3:20 PM Post #1,096 of 1,955
Anyone else have this problem?

I emailed, and it seems to have gone through. At least, it hasn't been rejected. I'll let you know if I get a response. If I do, I can pass your email address along to Chan, if you are comfortable with that. When I purchased my Teaks, it was direct through Chan, so I know I have the right address for him and all that. Fingers crossed.

With a one-man-show like Chan, there is always the possibility that he's closed up shop. If that's the case, there are other options.

Massdrop is the best in terms of price, but drops are rare and not easy to predict. https://www.massdrop.com/buy/e-mu-teak-headphones

Creative sells them for a hefty premium: https://sg.creative.com/p/headphones-headsets/e-mu-teak

There is also a used pair on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/E-MU-Teak-...s-Full-Size-Over-Ear-Closed-Back/253681807274

Should all those options fail, it's down to stalking the classifieds. They pop up occasionally.
 
Feb 23, 2019 at 3:35 PM Post #1,097 of 1,955
Thanks, yes could possibly do that with the email, how much did you pay for them? Also if I was going to swap my X00, I would want a removable cable, so the Ebay one is no use as it is fixed cable.

I am not sure it is even worth swapping considering the price difference, but I do like the Fostex wood headphones and would like the try what is apparently the "best" version of them. Not sure how much actual difference there is with the X00 and Teak, because I think they are same drivers and pads (?), just different cups.

Also The Teak looks brighter in the treble, which is not something I particularly want over the X00, but then also if the sound quality is significantly better then it might be worth it.
 
Feb 23, 2019 at 3:56 PM Post #1,098 of 1,955
Thanks, yes could possibly do that with the email, how much did you pay for them? Also if I was going to swap my X00, I would want a removable cable, so the Ebay one is no use as it is fixed cable.

I am not sure it is even worth swapping considering the price difference, but I do like the Fostex wood headphones and would like the try what is apparently the "best" version of them. Not sure how much actual difference there is with the X00 and Teak, because I think they are same drivers and pads (?), just different cups.

Also The Teak looks brighter in the treble, which is not something I particularly want over the X00, but then also if the sound quality is significantly better then it might be worth it.

Looking at my receipt, mine were $500 for the removable cable version of the headphone, $20 for the balanced cable upgrade, and shipping to my location was $30. That's $550 then compared to $420 for the TR-X00 Mahogany. Having heard all the TR-X00 variants, I like the Teaks much more, so at roughly the same price, it was an easy choice. To me, the TR-X00's sounded like prototypes compared to the Teaks. Not bad, just rough around the edges, a little exaggerated here, a little withdrawn or honky there, it was different from headphone to headphone, but there was always something I felt needed to be tweaked. Not so with the Teaks. They are simply so refined and well tuned. And this is despite decidedly not fitting in with my preferred sound signature. That's all very subjective, but it also tends to be a fairly common opinion. It's certainly possible, though, that the Mahogs or the Purplehearts are your perfect tuning.

The Teaks have more treble presence than the Mahogs, but they are by no means bright. I'm not even sure they reach neutral. But, they are less polite and less rolled-off in the treble than the mahogs. Likewise, the Teaks are a bit tamer and more linear in the bass, despite being in no way tame or linear. lol It's all about frame of reference.

I'll keep you posted about the Chan email. Best case scenario is a 2-3 day turnaround, so hopefully I'll hear something by the 27th.
 
Feb 23, 2019 at 4:53 PM Post #1,099 of 1,955
Thanks, yes could possibly do that with the email, how much did you pay for them? Also if I was going to swap my X00, I would want a removable cable, so the Ebay one is no use as it is fixed cable.

I am not sure it is even worth swapping considering the price difference, but I do like the Fostex wood headphones and would like the try what is apparently the "best" version of them. Not sure how much actual difference there is with the X00 and Teak, because I think they are same drivers and pads (?), just different cups.

Also The Teak looks brighter in the treble, which is not something I particularly want over the X00, but then also if the sound quality is significantly better then it might be worth it.

Just my opinions, having owned both the TX-00s & the Teaks...but here goes:
  • It is absolutely worth swapping the TX-00s for the Teaks. I quickly tired of the grating sound of the TX-00s, but found the Teaks to have a far more listenable, musical sound overall. Teaks have a more organic, cut-from-the-same cloth sound (you don't automatically zone in on bass vs mids vs treble); are somewhat more resonant (a good thing) thanks to larger interior space of Teak earcups; and have nearly as much sub-bass, but w/IMO a more impactful, tuneful bass overall.
  • The Teaks are not nearly as bright as the TX-00s. The differences in treble go beyond levels: I found the TX-00s elevated upper mids/lower treble to be grainy (opposite of smooth). It's not a pleasant thing to my ears. The Teaks' treble is smoother, more musical. There's still a little bite when recordings call for it, but I hear it as being in the service of the music, not laid on top of the music like a big blanket of brightness.
I would probably still have the Teaks if for discomfort w/pads -- but Teaks have exactly the same pads as the TX-00s, so if you're OK w/one, you're OK w/the other.
 
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Feb 24, 2019 at 9:24 AM Post #1,101 of 1,955
Also make sure to check your spam filter. For some reason all the replies kept going to my spam folder.

I haven't heard any of the other Fostex headphones (but I'm very curious!).

What I can say is the Emu Teak is a very solid headphone in terms of sound quality with really impressive sub-bass and very smooth, if slightly recessed mids. I don't see myself getting rid of these any time soon despite having a number of other headphones. They are just extremely fun and smooth headphones. The sound stage is actually the largest of any of my headphones despite the semi-closed nature.

I have auditioned LCD series briefly at CanJam and the Emu has a very different sound signature. There's something special about the Emu's tuning. It's both aggressive and non-fatiguing at the same time. The Emu definitely produces a dynamic driver sound signature with boosted mid-bass and some fall off in the sub bass (still tons of sub-bass though). There's mild distortion in the mids and treble so they will not be as resolving as the LCD planars. However, I don't seem to notice/mind as the tuning is very cohesive and pleasing. The LCD planar bass has more extension and the quality of the bass is much better. The LCDs are also much faster in terms of transient response. They also had a larger sound stage. Overall the Audeze headphones were too heavy for me I think.

If you get these you might need to swap pads and get a pilot pad as these weren't that comfortable in the stock configuration, so factor that into the price consideration.
 
Feb 25, 2019 at 10:52 AM Post #1,103 of 1,955
@nicholars Well, looks like bad news...

I don't know what any of this means, but I have been able to successfully email Chan through this address in the past, more than a dozen times. This definitively proves that something is wrong on his end of things. Not trying to be alarmist here, but this certainly makes me concerned that these headphones are no longer available.

Maybe @WillBright has some way of reaching Chan more directly and could check in with him?



Screenshot_20190224-143024.png
 
Feb 25, 2019 at 11:26 AM Post #1,104 of 1,955
I contacted the other email and he responded, I think it is only that email.

My other question is how much do these end up costing if ordered to UK including postage etc? Thanks

ctl.creative = OK
enquiries or support @ emu = not OK
 
Feb 25, 2019 at 4:26 PM Post #1,105 of 1,955
So if I was to swap from the X00 Mahog, to the Emu Teak, how much of an improvement would I get?

I see responses saying anything from "they are almost the same", to "the Teak is much better"...

They do sound like I might like them though, from what I have read they should have "smoother treble", "bigger soundstage", "more forward mids" and "less mid bass".... Also removable cables which is good.

To me this sounds like a perfect version of the X00, although depends if these are for example 1% different or 30% different! Difficult to know!

Another thing is, I ordered the Lawton driver mod, I was planning to use this on the X00, but if I was to swap for the Teak, I would save it for that... Does the Lawton mod (driver only) have a positive effect on the Teak as well?
 
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Mar 30, 2019 at 1:29 PM Post #1,107 of 1,955
I was able to reuse a 2m hd700 cable I had from ages ago. It's like a beefy version of the stock offering. I think the midrange is nicer compared to a th610 on these.

IMG_20190317_135637.jpg
 
May 2, 2019 at 2:25 PM Post #1,108 of 1,955
Converted my Longer cable to XLR and have it on the THX amp, EMU sound epic on this thing.

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May 2, 2019 at 2:36 PM Post #1,109 of 1,955
So if I was to swap from the X00 Mahog, to the Emu Teak, how much of an improvement would I get?

I see responses saying anything from "they are almost the same", to "the Teak is much better"...

They do sound like I might like them though, from what I have read they should have "smoother treble", "bigger soundstage", "more forward mids" and "less mid bass".... Also removable cables which is good.

To me this sounds like a perfect version of the X00, although depends if these are for example 1% different or 30% different! Difficult to know!

Another thing is, I ordered the Lawton driver mod, I was planning to use this on the X00, but if I was to swap for the Teak, I would save it for that... Does the Lawton mod (driver only) have a positive effect on the Teak as well?

Just seeing this post, 2 months after the fact. A late reply being better than no reply...

I owned the TX-00/mahogany and other than the head-crushing bass, really didn't care for them. I found the upper mids & treble to be hyped/sharp, and there was an annoying roughness/grain the treble that called attention to that frequency range even more. So I sold it.

1-2 yrs later I got the E-Mu Teaks, based on nice things people said, And despite the close physical similarity between this and the TX-00s, I found the sound to be different & considerably better:
  • Less upper mids & treble, not as bright
  • Still incisive in that range, but a different sonic effect: instead of "bright," more like "it hurts so good" when a particular rim-shot on drums or other big transient came through
  • That was also partly due to an overall quality of organic smoothness in the Teak, top to bottom. Music just flows better on it
  • The mids are not huge, but they're totally fine. No nits to pick w/the mids
  • And the bass is very satisfying, dynamic, impactful, deep, quite musical. I could more easily hear the difference between string bass vs electric bass, for example
  • Teaks may have a touch less sub-bass and a touch more mid/upper bass than TX-00s, but it's all in the direction of "musicality." It's terrific bass.
  • Finally, I found the Teaks to have a more expansive, information-rich soundstage than the TX-00 (which were somewhat cramped in that regard). This no doubt is due to the somewhat larger interior volume of the teak earcups, which have slightly different dimensions than any of the other cups use on this headphone or the TX-00s.
My only real complaint w/the Teaks is comfort. I couldn't handle the stock pads and also never managed to pad-roll w/o degrading this HP's good sound. Comfort is the reason I sold them.

It's a great headphone, well worthy having.
 
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May 2, 2019 at 2:38 PM Post #1,110 of 1,955
Love my Teaks...
 

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