[zazex]

Thanks for the thorough and evenhanded review.
 
When I first listened to these headphones about a year ago,
the sibilance really jumped out at me and nearly destroyed
an otherwise excellent presentation.
 
It lessened considerably - all but disappeared - when I replaced
the cable with a silver plated OCC cable.  Very easy to do, as
the included cable has simple mini plugs on both ends.
 
Cheers.

 

[vlenbo]

  Agree its a fantastic pair of headphones.  Nearly bought a pair but opted for a set of Beyer T51's (better build quality and better control of highs).  A Fantastic buy nevertheless.

 
 

  I bought a pair last year and i pretty much agree with the reviewer on the sound qualiy.
Bass and mids were nice and the overall presentation was really clear.
 
However I was dissapointed by several factors.
 - The highs were indeed sibilant at time
 - The comfort was not that great, i could not easily keep them on for longer than an hour (I have an average sized head)
 - Another factor, difficult to describe, was caused by the swivelling of the cups. While i was walking, the wooden cups tented to separate themselves from the plastic part and then hit it right back, causing an irritating 'tak' sound. Not great for portability then.
 - Finally, but this is really nitpicking, the in line mic on the cable was placed at a length were it would get caught on the collar of my shirt whenever i made up and down motions with my head, causing the headphone to move a little, or almost fall at times.
 
That's really too bad because the headphones look great (that's why i bought them), and have a number of qualities.

 

  Agree its a fantastic pair of headphones.  Nearly bought a pair but opted for a set of Beyer T51's (better build quality and better control of highs).  A Fantastic buy nevertheless.

That's actually a better deal if you want a more portable headphone. Yet, I still think both would be worth keeping, especially since this is a wooden and somewhat balanced headphone.  
 
Indeed, it is a fantastic buy and I'm glad I bought this. The headphone may be the beyers.
 

  I bought a pair last year and i pretty much agree with the reviewer on the sound qualiy.
Bass and mids were nice and the overall presentation was really clear.
 
However I was dissapointed by several factors.
 - The highs were indeed sibilant at time
 - The comfort was not that great, i could not easily keep them on for longer than an hour (I have an average sized head)
 - Another factor, difficult to describe, was caused by the swivelling of the cups. While i was walking, the wooden cups tented to separate themselves from the plastic part and then hit it right back, causing an irritating 'tak' sound. Not great for portability then.
 - Finally, but this is really nitpicking, the in line mic on the cable was placed at a length were it would get caught on the collar of my shirt whenever i made up and down motions with my head, causing the headphone to move a little, or almost fall at times.
 
That's really too bad because the headphones look great (that's why i bought them), and have a number of qualities.

 
I agree with you about the highs, they are indeed somewhat sibilant, but now they sound better than before imo.
 
I want to update this review when I get the amp before I explain the treble in detail.
 
The comfort, did you not like the ear pads or the clamp force?
 
The swivelling does happen sometimes with me, but i barely notice it because of the good isolation. The microphonics kind of bother me though.
 
Indeed, it is unfortunate you couldn't enjoy them to the maximum because of these few issues. The clamping force can be dealt with, but if it is the ear pads, I'm terribly sorry.

  Thanks for the thorough and evenhanded review.
 
When I first listened to these headphones about a year ago,
the sibilance really jumped out at me and nearly destroyed
an otherwise excellent presentation.
 
It lessened considerably - all but disappeared - when I replaced
the cable with a silver plated OCC cable.  Very easy to do, as
the included cable has simple mini plugs on both ends.
 
Cheers.

You're welcome, thanks for sharing your impressions of them. The treble does improve with burn-in, and a control of the volume level as well. The soundstage is pretty wide and high, which is something I like.
 
What cable did you use with this headphone? I would like to purchase an awesome cable for my heapdhones.

 

[c61746961]

The sibilance can be managed with front damping (on top of the driver grille), I have not settled on a configuration yet to recommend but you can try using varying layers of toilet paper, different types and thicknesses of felt, thin (1/8"-1/4") open-cell foams, blocking the centermost area of the driver grille with foamie, etc...

A bunch of commercial headphones already come come with front damping.

 

[rgwrjs]

The phones look beautiful. Well written review. Thank you

 

[ericp10]

So what's the biggest difference between the On1 and MSR7 other than bass? And please forgive me if you wrote about this already and I somehow missed it. I was reading fast. Thank you sir.

 

[zazex]

   
 
 
That's actually a better deal if you want a more portable headphone. Yet, I still think both would be worth keeping, especially since this is a wooden and somewhat balanced headphone.  
 
Indeed, it is a fantastic buy and I'm glad I bought this. The headphone may be the beyers.
 
 
I agree with you about the highs, they are indeed somewhat sibilant, but now they sound better than before imo.
 
I want to update this review when I get the amp before I explain the treble in detail.
 
The comfort, did you not like the ear pads or the clamp force?
 
The swivelling does happen sometimes with me, but i barely notice it because of the good isolation. The microphonics kind of bother me though.
 
Indeed, it is unfortunate you couldn't enjoy them to the maximum because of these few issues. The clamping force can be dealt with, but if it is the ear pads, I'm terribly sorry.
You're welcome, thanks for sharing your impressions of them. The treble does improve with burn-in, and a control of the volume level as well. The soundstage is pretty wide and high, which is something I like.
 
What cable did you use with this headphone? I would like to purchase an awesome cable for my heapdhones.

 
eBay - bought a mini to mini cable from the vendor in China from whom I'd bought
OCC cables for my AKG K712 and Senn HD650.  Should be easy enough to find
using eBay's search function.

 

[mr.khali]

Just received a pair of these and I am loving them!  I am curious how they compare to the MSR7 as well.

 

[vlenbo]

  So what's the biggest difference between the On1 and MSR7 other than bass? And please forgive me if you wrote about this already and I somehow missed it. I was reading fast. Thank you sir.

 
No problem!
 
 
Okay, here's a quick synopsis of the comparison. The msr7's review will have a comparison with other headphones, but that's for another time.
 
 
 
 
The ath-msr7.
 
 
The lows - Tight as the ckr series, tighter than the on1's midbass, but it does have less midbass than the on1s, and of course, subbass. Decent texture, great quality.
 
Mids - To me, the msr7s mids and upper mids sound colored to the point where you can tell that they boosted it quite a bit. The on1s make the voices sound natural as they aren't that forwarded and are pretty much slightly, oh so slightly recessed. the mids are left untouched by the on1s. With the msr7s, it sounds like vocals are slightly nasally, but it's not that bad. What I find interesting is that both the on1s and the msr7s have similar timbre despite the nasal voices. I find the msr7s similarly airy with a better soundstage. Also, for some reason, the msr7s sound slightly thicker than the on1s.
 
 
Highs - The treble is fantastic on the msr7s. Best treble I've heard to date, except for a slight unnaturalness on the mid treble. the 10khz region is weird as the cymbals sound somewhat splashy, if not just straight out splashy. Other than that, it's a good headphone that competes with the on1s very well!

 
Just received a pair of these and I am loving them!  I am curious how they compare to the MSR7 as well.

They're similar in detail, good construction for both, but I believe the msr7 have better treble and bass quality, while the on1s have good bass quantity and great mid and treble quality.

 

[c61746961]

The perceived bass quality of the on1's improve considerably if you manage to lower the bass hump with mods.

 

[ericp10]

Thanks vlenbo.  Appreciate it.

 

[Stuff Jones]

Excellent sounding but the build quality on these is not very good.

 

[Kaeru92]

   
I agree with you about the highs, they are indeed somewhat sibilant, but now they sound better than before imo.
 
I want to update this review when I get the amp before I explain the treble in detail.
 
The comfort, did you not like the ear pads or the clamp force?
 
The swivelling does happen sometimes with me, but i barely notice it because of the good isolation. The microphonics kind of bother me though.
 
Indeed, it is unfortunate you couldn't enjoy them to the maximum because of these few issues. The clamping force can be dealt with, but if it is the ear pads, I'm terribly sorry.
You're welcome, thanks for sharing your impressions of them. The treble does improve with burn-in, and a control of the volume level as well. The soundstage is pretty wide and high, which is something I like.

 
Actually it was both. I thought the factory clamping force was too high, but this was resolved by stretching the cans a little. However I didn't really like the comfort of the pads. They did not turn too hot or anything, but I couldn't prevent from moving them from times to times, to adjust the fit ot something. But then I usually prefer over ear to on ear so that's probably my fault ^^
 
I agree with the microphonics as well, that did not make it a great pair to move around. I'm sure that the sound issues (sibilance) can be resolved with modding or burn in, but to me it's the portability issues that killed it. The thing is, the microphonics being quite bad as you mentionned, when the cup swivell back and forth and hit the plastic, the sound created will be heard "internally", so it's difficult not to notice it (that is if you're not listening to music at ear bleeding levels).
 
I will still check out new products from this company, because I think their eco friendly attitude is a great thing !

 

[vlenbo]

  Thanks vlenbo.  Appreciate it.

 

  Excellent sounding but the build quality on these is not very good.

 
What seems to be the problem with the build quality?

   
Actually it was both. I thought the factory clamping force was too high, but this was resolved by stretching the cans a little. However I didn't really like the comfort of the pads. They did not turn too hot or anything, but I couldn't prevent from moving them from times to times, to adjust the fit ot something. But then I usually prefer over ear to on ear so that's probably my fault ^^
 
I agree with the microphonics as well, that did not make it a great pair to move around. I'm sure that the sound issues (sibilance) can be resolved with modding or burn in, but to me it's the portability issues that killed it. The thing is, the microphonics being quite bad as you mentionned, when the cup swivell back and forth and hit the plastic, the sound created will be heard "internally", so it's difficult not to notice it (that is if you're not listening to music at ear bleeding levels).
 
I will still check out new products from this company, because I think their eco friendly attitude is a great thing !

oh then it is the earpads, I understand to be honest. On-ears are usually not comfortable. The mikros90 are a good example of that, even the audio technica re700. Yet, this thinksound on1 are definitely comfortable.

 

[Stuff Jones]

The plastic is weak. I've had 3 pairs crack on me.

 

[c61746961]

They are very comfortable for me as well, but not all heads are made the same.

They are not very sturdy, especially the gimbals, but they more than make up for it by being able to be folded into a sturdy case and occupying less space than seemingly smaller portables that don't fold.