I got my M1060's a little over an hour now. Keep in mind I am new to this "Hobby" and not an audiophile by any means. I enjoy music, but I am probably not the best at picking out details when it comes to sound. I am using a Mangi V2 and Modi V2 for AMP/DAC. My first impressions:
Build quality:
Built quality is pretty much what I expected. It's not amazing, but it's pretty good. It's hard to surprise me after having experienced the build quality of Fidelio X2's. The headband system could be better, there's already marks on the metal band itself from the adjustment mechanism, as well as shreds of plastic on the metal. I could see the adjustment band being an issue down the road. That being said, I am sure the built quality and materials used are superior to any HiFiman headphone in the $300 price-range.
The panels on the side of the headphones are sharp, but it's not really an issue since you're not really going to be touching the headphones there at any point in time. The wood is...well wood. Being wood, there's imperfections, but considering it's wood it's to be expected. Oh and yes, it has that smell that everyone seems to like.
Those connectors:
The connectors were a concern for me. After multiple reports of ear cups disconnecting I nearly panic cancelled my order. With that being said....I haven't ran into such an issue, at least, not yet. I could see these connectors being an issue down the road however. I've never had any headphones or IEM's with MMCX connectors, but I have noticed that the connectors don't seem to fit all the way inside my headphones. They have a distinct shape that makes you think they're supposed to snap in securely one way, however, they freely rotate once snapped in. The cable is the perfect length for me because I keep my AMP and DAC near the front of my desk. You may have an issue if your AMP is pushed near the back of your desk.
Comfort:
The more and more I get into headphones, the more and more I've come to the realization that comfort is really subjective. The shape of your head, ears, etc is going to shape the way you feel about comfort on headphones. As someone with a larger head and average sized ears, I personally think these headphones are really comfortable. They aren't the most comfortable that I have worn personally (That has to go to the Fidelio X2's as well) but they do completely encompass my ears and I think they'll encompass yours as well, unless your ears are very very large.
The headband has "cushions" on it, but they aren't extremely soft and don't appear to be any sort of memory-foam material. I can feel the headband on the top of my head, but it's not applying very much pressure at all. I will say, that it does take some fiddling with the headband adjustment to get it adjusted to where I really want it. It's not really as seamless as I had wished, but it's not terrible.
Sound:
Okay, so this is arguably going to be the part that most audiophiles and headphone enthusiasts on this website are going to care about, however, it's also going to be the part that I am the absolute worst at explaining. As mentioned above, I am new to higher-end audio and not an audiophile by any means. I primarily listen to modern rap/hip-hop, which is terrible genre to benchmark just about any headphone with the exception of beats and bass-cannon/bass heavy headphones. Given the circumstances, I opted to listen to songs from other genres that I listen to every-so-often.
Something that really stood out to me was when I started playing "One" by Metallica. The first 25 seconds consists of gunshots and a helicopter flying over. I've listened to this song numerous times and I think this the first pair of headphones I've listened to the beginning of this song and really felt something. I could "feel" the sound the gunshots and felt like the helicopter was actually flying over me. It's hard to explain, but if you've ever heard the song and listened to it on a basic sound system or sub-par headphones, I'd give it a listen.
Being someone who listens to a lot of hip-hop, I feel like I am fairly decent as paying attention to bass. The bass on these headphones sound and feel unique. I'm assuming it's the "planar bass" that I have heard referenced several times. The bass isn't overblown by any means, it isn't overwhelming and it's not underwhelming. If anything, I would describe it as "Accurate and punchy." One thing I did try, was listening to metal music with a lot of pedal-bass in it and I found it's extremely easy to hear each individual hit. It doesn't really meld together.
One of the things that stood out to me the most with these headphones was the sound leak. Now, I've owned a lot of open headphones, but these headphones leak more sound that any other pair I have ever owned. If you live in tight living quarters with somebody else, have a roommate in a small college dorm, want to use these in a cubicle surrounded by other people or intend to use these headphones in public...I would advise you look elsewhere, unless you don't mind everybody else hearing what you hear and or bothering other people. The sound leak is so significant, it may be a deal breaker for some people. I have to give it time to see if it proves to be an issue for me, because while I need to have some openness on my headphones to hear people that want to talk to me, I don't want them hearing everything I listen to.
Overall feelings:
Are these headphones worth $300? As of now, I am going to say yes. It's hard to argue with headphones that have a mostly metal and wood construction, 106mm planar drivers and a 5 year warranty at that price point.
While I am not blown away by these headphones, I am not underwhelmed either. I definitely need to spend more time with them to provide final opinions. I really do like the sound and their comfort, but I really don't like the amount of sound they leak, I am still skeptical of the MMCX connectors and how well parts of the headphone are going to hold up over time. I'm going to give them more time before I make a final decision whether or not to keep them, return them, or sell them.
