E-MU Wooden Series Headphones
Apr 18, 2023 at 5:42 PM Post #1,891 of 1,965
Anyone try a set of Lawton cups on these? I wonder if they actually improve (or just change) the sound or if they are just for looks.
 
Jun 10, 2023 at 11:50 AM Post #1,894 of 1,965
Jun 11, 2023 at 9:43 PM Post #1,895 of 1,965
Anyone try a set of Lawton cups on these? I wonder if they actually improve (or just change) the sound or if they are just for looks.
I had some non-lawton teak cups that were made off market and found them quite nice. I think the wood type would alter the sound a bit if you strayed from teak. The cups were very similar in shape to what I'm seeing from the lawton cups, so were deeper than the emu cups. Perhaps a bit more soundstage, but that may have been placebo from just having larger cups as I was not able to do a head to head. Bottom line is they off market teak cups did nothing negative for me, and I feel (subjectively) that they improved soundstage.
 
Jun 13, 2023 at 12:34 AM Post #1,896 of 1,965
I am sure this question have been answered somewhere in this thread. Are the wooden series just the bamboo version of the teak?
 
Jun 13, 2023 at 2:29 AM Post #1,897 of 1,965
I am sure this question have been answered somewhere in this thread. Are the wooden series just the bamboo version of the teak?
The wooden series are basically all of E-MU's wooden variants of this headphone, whether it be the bamboo, teak, purpleheart, ebony, rosewood, palo santo, sapele, zebra. (I think that's all of them?)
 
Jun 13, 2023 at 9:54 AM Post #1,898 of 1,965
Hi all.
I've recently received a beautiful pair of EMU with PH cups. However, after several hours of listening I've noticed a slight channel imbalance. It's especially noticeable with vocals as they seem to play louder on the left side. Tried through different sources with the same results.
Anyone had channel imbalance issues on a new unit? I have a new cable on order to test out and determine whether or not this is a cable issue. Would rather avoid having to send these all the way back to Singapore..
Just thought I'd post an update regarding my EMU PH. I did end up sending them back to Singapore back in April for repairs. It has been a bit of a slow process however I've gotten my headphones back today with the channel imbalance seemingly fixed. Support was very friendly and the back and forth emails were answered quickly. (much quicker than when enquiring/purchasing).

Awesome headphones! Loving the timbre of these compared to my other cans. Very organic sounding. There's a slight resonance to the bass, which I'm guessing is due to the wooden cups, that adds texture to the overall sound. Easily my favourite headphones that I own so far.
 
Jun 13, 2023 at 10:43 AM Post #1,899 of 1,965
Just thought I'd post an update regarding my EMU PH. I did end up sending them back to Singapore back in April for repairs. It has been a bit of a slow process however I've gotten my headphones back today with the channel imbalance seemingly fixed. Support was very friendly and the back and forth emails were answered quickly. (much quicker than when enquiring/purchasing).

Awesome headphones! Loving the timbre of these compared to my other cans. Very organic sounding. There's a slight resonance to the bass, which I'm guessing is due to the wooden cups, that adds texture to the overall sound. Easily my favourite headphones that I own so far.
I, too, easily put my Teaks at the top of my favorites list. I e-mailed them last week about getting a hold of PH cups and haven't gotten a response yet. Guess I'll just keep waiting.
 
Jun 13, 2023 at 1:05 PM Post #1,901 of 1,965
I, too, easily put my Teaks at the top of my favorites list. I e-mailed them last week about getting a hold of PH cups and haven't gotten a response yet. Guess I'll just keep waiting.
I went with the PH purely for the aesthetics, however I definitely would like to try out other woods as well. The Teak seems to be getting a lot of praise and seems like the best all rounder according to most of the feedback on here.

They definitely aren't the quickest when it comes to replying to queries, however I've had a lot more luck contacting them via their support@emu.com e-mail address. Shoot them a message there.
 
Jun 17, 2023 at 2:57 AM Post #1,902 of 1,965
I would urge anyone into these EMU Wooden headphones to try out the Zebra wooden variant. It softens the highs of the Teak wood, focuses more on the mids, and has a more neutral character overall. The only real downside to the Zebra in comparison to the Teak is that the bass loosens a bit compared to the Teak, with a touch less slam. Other than that I perceive the Zebra to be the more detailed, neutral and better imaging variant. Though it's a notch darker with a smaller stage. I also own Purpleheart, Bamboo, Mahogany, Rosewood cups and did a thorough comparison review on all of them in this thread.
 
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Jun 18, 2023 at 9:09 AM Post #1,904 of 1,965
IMG_1077 Edited.jpeg


I must have owned seven or eight Teaks by now. I don't know, I've genuinely lost count. I certainly believe the reports of channel imbalance and unit variance, so I'm quite fortunate to report that I have not encountered any such issues.

This is easily one of the most euphonic headphones I've owned alongside the Grado GS3000x. I say this with reference to the likes of the Sennheiser HD 600, HD 650, ZMF Aeolus, Auteur Classic, etc.

I'm not sure this gets said a lot of the Teak: it is quite revealing of upstream equipment and, in my experience, has always scaled with better sources. I've driven them from an iFi ZEN CAN, FiiO K7, Jotunheim 2, Lake People G111, Gustard H10. The Teak with the Jotunheim 2 stands head and shoulders above the rest of the pairings (save perhaps for the Gustard H10) in terms of staging and tonality, with the G111 and ZEN CAN being much narrower and sharper sounding to various degrees (I have all three amplifiers on hand for reference). The Jot 2 has a a far more speaker-like presentation and a uniquely organic character.

I have the following headphones with me at the moment:
  • Hifiman Edition XS
  • Neumann NDH 30
  • Sennheiser HD 800 S
  • ZMF Aeolus
  • ZMF Auteur Classic
Here's how my pair sounds like via the Bifrost 2 + Jot 2 stack: incredibly taut, extended, defined, powerful, and nimble bass that perform as close to planars as any dynamic headphone I've heard. Fluid, vibrant, expressive mids. Crisp, natural treble. Fantastic speed and dynamics. I've also owned the Fostex TH900 MK2 (Lawton Level 1) and Klipsch HP-3 as well as the original Fostex TH-X00 Mahogany, and it ought to be said that the E-MU Teak is still the best tuned Foster variant I've heard.
 
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