[godmax]

After almost two years of owning the E-MU Teak its time for a short appreciation post!
These really are fabulous headphones, every time I put them on they bring a smile on my face. The bass qualities and overall tuning is really unique, engaging and pleasing while working with almost every genre well. This is really one of the few gems in the whole (crazy) headphone market.
If my collection would burn down in a fire, the Teak would be the first headphone I would immediately re-buy without hesitation!

 

[Wanny]

Agreed, at the price point its almost unbeatable if you are looking for an engaging headphone.

 

[bcaulf17]

Listening to my EMU Ebony right now. The bass on the new Kanye West album sounds satisfying (despite distortion from poor mastering quality)

 

[slowpickr]

Just got some E-Mu Teaks with ebony and teak cups. Ebony is installed so that's what I'm going with for the time being. These are exactly what I've been searching for in a HP. Big bass with great mids and treble and comfortable. The included cable is single ended 3.5mm. I typically run 2.5mm balanced out of portable devices. Would there be any advantages buying an adapter or balanced cable? The 3.5mm ended cable it came with sounds great. Thanks.

 

[Nino1026]

[Deleted]

 

[Skullar]

Just got some E-Mu Teaks with ebony and teak cups. Ebony is installed so that's what I'm going with for the time being. These are exactly what I've been searching for in a HP. Big bass with great mids and treble and comfortable. The included cable is single ended 3.5mm. I typically run 2.5mm balanced out of portable devices. Would there be any advantages buying an adapter or balanced cable? The 3.5mm ended cable it came with sounds great. Thanks.

Adapter is not going to make it balanced.
Buy a cable if you want balanced out I have always seen improvements when using balanced out be it iems of HPs. So cant see why E-mus wont benefit from balanced out.

 

[Joaquin Dinero]

Just got some E-Mu Teaks with ebony and teak cups. Ebony is installed so that's what I'm going with for the time being. These are exactly what I've been searching for in a HP. Big bass with great mids and treble and comfortable. The included cable is single ended 3.5mm. I typically run 2.5mm balanced out of portable devices. Would there be any advantages buying an adapter or balanced cable? The 3.5mm ended cable it came with sounds great. Thanks.

Depending on what specific portable devices that you have, the balanced out typically has double the volts, which gives you more power, which usually gives a noticeable bump in the sound, especially in the bass.

 

[slowpickr]

Thanks for the replies. There is a New Fantasia balanced cable on Amazon that looks decent. I might pick that one up.

 

[SovietPsychonaut]

Thanks for the replies. There is a New Fantasia balanced cable on Amazon that looks decent. I might pick that one up.

I just bought these for the emu teak. I really like it cuz its thick and soft and one problem ive noticed with aftermarket cables is almost no one sells cables with an L-shaped 2.5/3.5/4.4mm end, and coming from IEMs i find it silly since a lot of people use DAPs and a straight connector is dangerous if you wanna stick it in your pocket. I dont go out of my house with the teaks but i like to put em on and walk around the house doing errands or just pace around listening to music and throw my player in my pocket. Anyways this cable has it, it's 4.4mm though, personally prefer it to 2.5mm just cuz of the thickness

Micity 4.4mm Replacement Cable... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CKRJ43Z?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[slowpickr]

I just bought these for the emu teak. I really like it cuz its thick and soft and one problem ive noticed with aftermarket cables is almost no one sells cables with an L-shaped 2.5/3.5/4.4mm end, and coming from IEMs i find it silly since a lot of people use DAPs and a straight connector is dangerous if you wanna stick it in your pocket. I dont go out of my house with the teaks but i like to put em on and walk around the house doing errands or just pace around listening to music and throw my player in my pocket. Anyways this cable has it, it's 4.4mm though, personally prefer it to 2.5mm just cuz of the thickness

Micity 4.4mm Replacement Cable... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CKRJ43Z?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I use a Qudelix 5k and ES100 quite a bit so 2.5mm is what I prefer. The Teaks I got also came with a nice XLR cable which should be balanced. I can get a balanced adapter off Amazon for a little over $20 or one from Hart Audio for $24. I bought one back in 2018 for a Focal Elex I had at the time but I have no clue where it is now.

I wish I had bought these years ago and just called it quits. Amazing headphones. Put on some angled Brainwavz sheepskin pads I had on hand which improved comfort.

 

[slowpickr]

Has anyone compared brainwavz round pads to zmf eikon pads? The eikon pads look nice and heard it’s closest to stock sound but are way too overpriced imo.

If you search this thread, @ProfFalkin and @Pharmaboy did comparisons with several pads. I put BW angled sheepskins on but have since gone back to stock. I too, would like to find some alternate pads that were close to stock sound but didn't cost so much. Also, Amazon has Dekoni attenuation rings for $15. Still not sure if it would make a difference to use those on the Teaks. Guess it would depend on which pads are used.

 

[Skullar]

So, what was your worthy upgrade?

 

[angelus55]

Assuming both the lcd-2 fazor and emu teak were eq'ed to the same bass amount, would the EMU teak or fostex th-610 have a noticeable more amount of bass slam/impact? I am looking for something with more bass slam/impact, not necessarily more bass amount for around $500, and i see the EMU teak recommend a lot for those features as i mainly listen to dance music/edm and play single player games were i would like more slam/impact then what the lcd-2 fazor has if possible and if it does, is the emu teak or fostex th-610 in other areas just as good as the lcd-2 such as mids and treble quality?

and does anyone know the return policy on the EMU teak if they end up not being comfortable on my head or some other reason they might now work out?

 

[phthora]

Assuming both the lcd-2 fazor and emu teak were eq'ed to the same bass amount, would the EMU teak or fostex th-610 have a noticeable more amount of bass slam/impact? I am looking for something with more bass slam/impact, not necessarily more bass amount for around $500, and i see the EMU teak recommend a lot for those features as i mainly listen to dance music/edm and play single player games were i would like more slam/impact then what the lcd-2 fazor has if possible and if it does, is the emu teak or fostex th-610 in other areas just as good as the lcd-2 such as mids and treble quality?

and does anyone know the return policy on the EMU teak if they end up not being comfortable on my head or some other reason they might now work out?

The LCD-2F has a reputation for having soft impact in the bass, but I think it's more an issue of requiring an amp capable of good current output to get the most out of them. The Teaks are much easier to drive well as they require fairly modest power and respond more to voltage.

But, as you said, for the sake of this, I'll assume good power for both and that they are EQ'd to the same amount. In that case, the Teak would have noticeably more slam. They have a much more physical attack to the bass and a longer decay, giving bass both more initial impact and more weight. As a negative result, bass tends to smear more and can become boomy. The 2F has much cleaner and more detailed bass, but loses much of that physical punch. It can be EQ'd a ton without distortion, but that makes the bass louder without making it hit harder.

The Teak is surprisingly balanced in the non-bass part of the spectrum, more of an L-shape than a V-shape, and I find that tuning absolutely great. It doesn't try to use aggressive treble to cut through the murk of the bass. Which is great because the bass doesn't get murky. Slower and rounder and less defined than the 2F, but it never reaches the woolly mush or resonant buzziness that some bassy headphones have. Bass can become too much, but never because it starts to sound bad. That said, the mids on the 2F are decidedly better. More separation, more detail, more clarity, but without losing that naturalness that the Teak has. There is that upper mids dip which can blunt guitars a bit, but that also means nothing ever gets shouty or biting. Treble is a wash, as both are on the polite side, but with good detail. In both cases, the resolution on the 2F is quite a bit better leading to more defined imaging and contributing to its wider soundstage.

Personally, for EDM I'd take the Teak every time, but for gaming I'd choose the 2F every time. If you're also concerned about other varieties of music, then the 2F is a far better all-rounder as the Teak's bass tends to make most things sound like EDM.

 

[plmon]

Another pad rolling impression, this time the stock pads from the TH-610 (Fostex EX-EP-61).

Ever since I got the Hifiman Ananda, my ears felt too cramped in the stock E-MU pads. The ear hole opening is just a bit too small for me now, so it puts pressure on my earlobe. The TH-900 pads would be the roomiest, but I've noticed in my other pad-rolling attempts that the off-center oval shape attenuates a lot of the Teak's treble. I heard the TH-610 pads were just slightly bigger than the Teak's, so my hope was it'd be roomy enough without changing the sound too much.

The pad opening is indeed larger than the stock E-MU pads. It's still snug on the ears, but the difference is noticeable for me because I don't get pressure on my earlobe anymore. They are still shallow though, so if your ears stick out, these won't help.

There were a few more differences that I noticed. The stock E-MU pads have a more pronounced hump on the back side while the Fostex pads are flatter, so this can affect the perceived clamp force. The pleather material is different, the E-MU's have a smoother texture to them while the Fostex is more similar to Sheepskin. Both pleather materials are good quality though.

Sound-wise, there are changes. The Fostex pads add a touch more treble energy, though not as much as any of the other pads I tried. Bass loses a little quantity and gets tightened up so you lose some warmth in exchange for clarity. Mids don't seem recessed, but the soundstage presentation seems a little less intimate. Overall, I'd say these make the Teaks sound more neutral. The Accessory House pads are the closest in tonality, but they sound leaner than the Fostex and the ear holes aren't as roomy.

After these, I've decided to stop pad-rolling on the Teaks. The touch of warmth and intimacy is really on-point and making the Teaks even slightly more neutral kills that rich, full-bodied sound. It really is similar to the HD6XX in that regard. I'll be putting these pads on the E-MU Urushi though, since those do benefit from having the bass tightened up.