Olimoronio
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2009
- Posts
- 896
- Likes
- 15
[size=9pt]Got my Eskimos today. Initial impressions...[/size]
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[size=9pt]They are quite a bit smaller than they appeared to me in the photos. They are VERY reminiscent of the Nippon America CD-5500 from Mat Electronics (sold as Reference #CD-5000) in build with a metal wire frame and additional pleather head strap. The only marked difference between the two in appearance is that the Eskimos have square-ish cups and the Nippon's cups are circular.[/size]
[size=9pt]The black plastic that makes up the cups doesn't look too bad but the chromed plastic that makes up the vents looks extremely cheesy. Something MUST be done about this - either vinyl dye it or remove it completely and replace with some wire mesh or something. [/size]
[size=9pt]Anyways, like my Nippon America's they are very sturdily built. I think I can safely say that these, along with the CD-5500's, could be used as anyone's beater phones. [/size]
[size=9pt]The adjuster is very limited unfortunately. I have a fairly large noggin and at their furthest extension they just barely fit properly. So if you have an extremely large head you may want to forget about it.[/size]
[size=9pt]I really like that the cord is covered in [size=x-small]braided[/size] cloth sleeving like the Maxell DHP ii's. I also like that they have two cord options - one for audio only and one with an inline mic.[/size]
[size=9pt]SOUND:[/size]
[size=9pt]lol Well, they're fresh out of the box and I've only been listening to them for about 30 minutes but the thing that stood out the most during my first few minutes was that they are very warm and that the bass is rather... rounded if you get my gist. The treble is good if a bit rolled off but I'd rather have this than harsh and hashy highs any day.[/size]
[size=9pt]The soundstage is acceptable for a phone of this size but nothing phenomenal. I like to play The Cars - Moving in Stereo as one of my tests for this. Well, not only do the vocals appear distant when panning left to right as on the Nippon's but also the ambient effects seem remote as well which is something the Nippon's did not achieve. Of course this is to be expected being that the Nippon's are closed phones and the Eskimos are semi-open.[/size]
[size=9pt]Good thing is even though the bass is quite prominent and there is a slight of bit bloat it is NOTHING compared to say the JVC HA-RX700's or their ilk and the bass does not interfere with the mids like it does on the JVC's. The mids are nice and smooth if not exceptionally detailed.[/size]
[size=9pt]Funny thing - like I said I’ve only been listening for about half an hour so far but the bass is already starting to tighten up. We'll see how good they get after a few days of burn-in.[/size]
[size=9pt]Summary:[/size]
[size=9pt]1. For those wondering - unless these cans improve dramatically with a couple of days of burn-in then the Maxell DHP ii's have nothing to fear. [/size]
[size=9pt]2. These seem OK but I am glad that I only paid $30 and not the regular $60. [/size]
[size=9pt]3. So far I feel the Nippon America CD-5500's for around $10 are a better deal.[/size]
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[size=9pt]
[size=9pt]
[size=9pt]They are quite a bit smaller than they appeared to me in the photos. They are VERY reminiscent of the Nippon America CD-5500 from Mat Electronics (sold as Reference #CD-5000) in build with a metal wire frame and additional pleather head strap. The only marked difference between the two in appearance is that the Eskimos have square-ish cups and the Nippon's cups are circular.[/size]
[size=9pt]The black plastic that makes up the cups doesn't look too bad but the chromed plastic that makes up the vents looks extremely cheesy. Something MUST be done about this - either vinyl dye it or remove it completely and replace with some wire mesh or something. [/size]
[size=9pt]Anyways, like my Nippon America's they are very sturdily built. I think I can safely say that these, along with the CD-5500's, could be used as anyone's beater phones. [/size]
[size=9pt]The adjuster is very limited unfortunately. I have a fairly large noggin and at their furthest extension they just barely fit properly. So if you have an extremely large head you may want to forget about it.[/size]
[size=9pt]I really like that the cord is covered in [size=x-small]braided[/size] cloth sleeving like the Maxell DHP ii's. I also like that they have two cord options - one for audio only and one with an inline mic.[/size]
[size=9pt]SOUND:[/size]
[size=9pt]lol Well, they're fresh out of the box and I've only been listening to them for about 30 minutes but the thing that stood out the most during my first few minutes was that they are very warm and that the bass is rather... rounded if you get my gist. The treble is good if a bit rolled off but I'd rather have this than harsh and hashy highs any day.[/size]
[size=9pt]The soundstage is acceptable for a phone of this size but nothing phenomenal. I like to play The Cars - Moving in Stereo as one of my tests for this. Well, not only do the vocals appear distant when panning left to right as on the Nippon's but also the ambient effects seem remote as well which is something the Nippon's did not achieve. Of course this is to be expected being that the Nippon's are closed phones and the Eskimos are semi-open.[/size]
[size=9pt]Good thing is even though the bass is quite prominent and there is a slight of bit bloat it is NOTHING compared to say the JVC HA-RX700's or their ilk and the bass does not interfere with the mids like it does on the JVC's. The mids are nice and smooth if not exceptionally detailed.[/size]
[size=9pt]Funny thing - like I said I’ve only been listening for about half an hour so far but the bass is already starting to tighten up. We'll see how good they get after a few days of burn-in.[/size]
[size=9pt]Summary:[/size]
[size=9pt]1. For those wondering - unless these cans improve dramatically with a couple of days of burn-in then the Maxell DHP ii's have nothing to fear. [/size]
[size=9pt]2. These seem OK but I am glad that I only paid $30 and not the regular $60. [/size]
[size=9pt]3. So far I feel the Nippon America CD-5500's for around $10 are a better deal.[/size]
