[Sp12er3]

What do you say the change of pads, especially with that added width between the driver and your ear, change its sound? Curious

 

[crazywipe]

The Phonon is coming next week!

I traded my Sennheiser hd600 to get them, yes I know maybe I am crazy! But with a newborn in the house, I can only listen with my portable setup: MacBook/dragonfly red or iPhone/dragonfly red so closed headphones is more welcome. Plus I had the massdrop 4xx that broke the headband (I got a refund from massdrop) and got the 58x as hd600 replacement (good because I did not like the 4xx much)

I was more inclined to buy the meze 99.. so... better this phonon will be good!
350 for a monitoring headphone like the m50x or 7506 is very steep. I guess this is the main reason why those are not popular.

Some headphone I have/had that I can compare: Denon 7200, ZMF classic V2, Audio Technica M50x, Sony 7506, Beyerdynamic DT 770 32, Beyerdynamic DT 150, Fostex t50rp mk3, Sennheiser hd380.

I found the review of Mike from Headfonia. He is the owner of the Headfonia store in Singapore, and also the founder of Headfonia.com. He is one of my favorite reviewer and very knowledgeable guy with huge experience on headphones. The Phonon is his main headphone. The video is mid-2018 so not old stuff.




Does anyone want to share some thoughts on the Phonon?

Thanks!

 

[Sp12er3]

I'd like to hear your impression on the Phonon when you received yours, a comparison to Denon D7200, M50x and DT770 would be appreciated.
I've come to Mike's brick and mortar store, but didn't manage more than a very very brief listen with the Phonon because while I came early, the SMB2 was being used as an object to talk in their video (sadly didn't do it in store, haha).
My impression was it has a pretty balanced tuning.
Build is very underwhelming tho, just changing to a better pads won't hide just how barebones it is.

 

[crazywipe]

I'd like to hear your impression on the Phonon when you received yours, a comparison to Denon D7200, M50x and DT770 would be appreciated.
I've come to Mike's brick and mortar store, but didn't manage more than a very very brief listen with the Phonon because while I came early, the SMB2 was being used as an object to talk in their video (sadly didn't do it in store, haha).
My impression was it has a pretty balanced tuning.
Build is very underwhelming tho, just changing to a better pads won't hide just how barebones it is.

Hi Sp12er3!

For the build quality, I am not expecting too much to be honest. It's all plastic. If we are on the Sennheiser hd25 level it will be very good, because despite it's all plastic it's very tough and scratch resistant.

Denon 7200 gives a flagship sound for a closed back. Big and wide. The driver is very detailed, more than m50x and dt 770. Anyway, the sound is a bit too warm and lacks bite. I am a huge heavy metal fan and they are not my cup of tea. Also, they are relatively heavy and bulky on the head.

Of course from the Phonon I expect something close to the 7200 levels of sound quality.

So, you were not that impressed with your brief listen?

 

[Sp12er3]

My friend and I got to catch up with friend's meeting, and we spent a bit too long than we liked to on Headfonia, so we rushed out to Jaben immediately after the Phonon just came back. So can't really judge it too much honestly, what I meant by very brief was like, 20-30 seconds of listen. on that small window of time, the Phonon didn't wow me for the price, it didn't exceeded my expectation like when I did a demo for my AH-D600 for example.

We went and tried a ZMF Eikon right after that at Jaben, again, as we're pressed with time, very brief but damn it wow me immediately the moment it start playing music. of course, wildly different price bracket, but still.... maybe i wasn't too enthused about the tuning and soundstage the Phonon has, that two thing are usually my no 1 wow factor when trying out gears.

 

[crazywipe]

Phonon smb 02 in the house!

This one is the dac edition that was available discounted in europe. I exchanged my hd600 for this with a good friend of mine, so the headphone is already burned-in.
First impressions are positive.
The headphone sounds very clear and clean, one of the best balance I had heard.
On the technical side, this smb02 is excellent in instrument separation and also the imaging is very good: I can pinpoint instruments easily, there is a lot of space between them. Take this and the flat sound profile I can understand why they are so popular in Japan. The only downside is that the sound is a bit on the lean side, looks like the miss a bit of bass extension, maybe the dac edition is more thinner sounding than the standard?

I very curious to know the difference between the two models, I shot an email to Phonon, let's see what they answer.

 

[crazywipe]

A quick update.
Still listening to the Phonon, the hype is real. These cans are a real hidden gem.
Still a bit lean on the bass, but maybe I realize the pads are a bit worn. Anyway, very cheap pads for this kind of fine headphone. I ordered the Yaxi pads from Japan. Those are much better quality and also suggested an upgrade from Phonon. I will update later with a full review.

 

[mgunin]

Anyone compared Phonon SMB-02 to Meze 99 Classics/Neo?

 

[crazywipe]

Anyone compared Phonon SMB-02 to Meze 99 Classics/Neo?

Unfortunately, I don't have a Meze 99 to compare. As far as I can tell from the fr graph, the 99 classic is more bassy. My smb 02 dac edition, it's quite a reference/flat sound signature (somewhat similirar to the hd600).
I bet the meze will sound more fun. Anyway, the smb02 is very hard to beat if you're looking for a reference sound.

 

[Vesperaudio]

Truly great headphones and we made it even better with new custom pads (perforated microsuede with memory foam, angled) and full recabling (headband included) with evo cl occ cryolitz cable and balanced 2.5 detachability mod (resessed socket for better grip).

 

[crazywipe]

@Vesperaudio very nice!
What are the benefit of the cable?
Did you test also the dac edition?

 

[alpha421]

Nice indeed. That's great for an option whenever the pads on my DS-DAC-Ed eventually deteriorates. Does the perforated pads effect the bass response and reduces the details? I would want to preserve its stock signature with maybe a slightly wider stage.

 

[crazywipe]

Nice indeed. That's great for an option whenever the pads on my DS-DAC-Ed eventually deteriorates. Does the perforated pads effect the bass response and reduces the details? I would want to preserve its stock signature with maybe a slightly wider stage.

Usually thicker pads makes the frequency response more V-Shaped.
I use the Yaxi pads on my smb02, also recommended from phonon. Anyway, pads rolling is a lot of fun!

 

[Vesperaudio]

@Vesperaudio
Did you test also the dac edition?

Yes, this is DAC edition actually, but since stock cable is the most significant part of difference between versions they will be very close to each other after being recabled.
Result was a bit more air at the upper mid/hf and more control at bass.

Nice indeed. That's great for an option whenever the pads on my DS-DAC-Ed eventually deteriorates. Does the perforated pads effect the bass response and reduces the details? I would want to preserve its stock signature with maybe a slightly wider stage.

Original signature is not affected and soundstage is really seemed wider and deeper due maybe to more sparkling upper mid/hf. No detail loss was and no reduced bass response. BTW, pads are not thicker in general, it is angled.

 

[crazywipe]

@Vesperaudio Thank you for chiming in! The smb 02 ds dac is a little bass shy compared to the original, as some peoples report. Do you think is true, maybe it's because of the different cabling?