GREQ
Headphoneus Supremus
Been tinkering with the EAH-820 a bit recently.
Anyone other owners out there?
Or has anyone else owned it? Just wondering what the general consensus on these are.
I own it. Based off memory, and while I'd hate to put words in peoples' mouths, no one's really a fan of the 820, especially if we're talking strictly SQ. Afaik, general consensus relating to SQ is severe low end drop off, full range coloration to the point it's not worth graphing or really talking about (it's just wrong), large amounts of treble roll off.
My opinions, fwtw:
Very comfy supra-aural! Granted I hand stitched myself some faux-leather replacements, but the ear pads themselves are adhered to the baffles only at their perimeters and there's a ~5mm gap between the baffle and front face of the front magnets. This gap effectively makes the supra-aural ear pads hammocks for your ears which, ime, drastically reduce pressure points on your ears. You'll still get the supra-aural fatigue, but it could be a lot worse, imo.
The stock ear pads hold this headphone back severely by failing to create a seal. Imo, unstitching the pads and replacing ONLY the front, vinyl-stripped pieces of fabric with thin, supple (p)leather is all that needs to be done (meaning I agree with Technics on this one, I think they rolled 'em out well tuned from the factory). More a restoration than modification.
Overall, a charming line of headphones that I wish sounded better.
As for perforations in the plastic magnet assembly there were six in mine, but two were effectively non-existent due to being plugged up by double sided tape (that Yellow stuff in the picture on the wiki) making it virtually the same exact thing as what Nick's got pictured.
Thanks for getting back to me on this one...
i'm still playing around with mine... and still having trouble placing it in my overall rankings.
I have to say my impression is similar in ways, but not the same as yours.
Mine doesn't seem to exhibit the same bass roll-off, and my pads are totally fabric - all the pleather has flaked away - but they're bassier than my modified RP18
Overall I don't hear much colouration.
The treble is certainly somewhat rolled off, but not in a bad way. I'm hearing plenty of good detail, but it's always lush, never harsh.
It's probably just a matter of taste, but they're my 2nd favourite behind RP18....
It just sounds more natural than others, like the HP1 which just sound more clinical and boring. *hides under desk*