[Vonsid]

To try and answer your questions :

I live in France, not sure about Germany's import taxes but i'm gonna guess you can expect the same amount to pay more or less.

About the sound quality. Very honestly, i can't feel a huge difference compared to the Crusher Wireless. I had been pleasantly surprised with their sound quality, and i often thought they sounded better than their price. So at the KS price, yep, no contest between both headphones. Now, if you ask me if the Kannons are worth 3.5 times the price of the Crushers (because that's what you will have to pay if you add up the current Kannons price + EU shipping + import tax), i would have to realistically answer no. This said, if you want to treat yourself and money isn't an issue, go for it, they're the best in their category. Else, maybe you should wait for an unhappy EU customer to resell his pair to you to avoid extra taxes, or for another brand to include Taction's tech in a more widely sold product. But this might never happen if the haptic feedback market remains a niche.

Remember that i don't have a trained ear and that i didn't use them for music, where they appear to shine more. Also, and to answer Immortal's question, i use them directly from the integrated soundcard of my desktop for gaming and the result is pretty satisfying. But for movies i plug the Kannons straight into the 3.5" jack of my TV, and i have to set the TV volume to a very high level to hear properly everything, what makes me think i don't have the necessary gear to get the best out of the Kannons.

This said, i don't regret my purchase, just because it's much more convenient for me to use the kannons for movies watching and gaming than to have to set up the Subpac every time, because it's much more wires around. Even if the Subpac is much more powerful than the kannons when it comes to the bass feeling, but they're two different kind of products so the comparison isn't very relevant.

 

[Immortal]

thanks for your feedback! When you talk about KS price, do you mean with or without vat+tax? Or, to put it directly, what's the price that you would have spent to consider the kannons a true bargain? 250, 300, or 400€?

 

[Vonsid]

Let's say that i feel the headphones are 350/400 euros worth at the very top. Actually, that price is quite close to what is currently asked for them (499 dollars). They're better than what is currently on the market, and they're pretty unique. It's obvious there's a lot of work and dedication behind them. I like the "handcrafted" aspect, Jim's signature on the manual, all these little things makes me feel i own something really authentic. But if you add the shipping to the EU (i think i paid 40 euros if i remember well), and the hefty 90 euros of import tax, it becomes much harder to justify. I sold my Crushers to fund them and i wouldn't go back, but there's always the little inner voice to tell me this wasn't entirely reasonable. I guess that's a feeling a lot of audio fans can relate to.

Take this with a grain of salt, i just spent a few hours with them so my opinion is still subject to change.

 

[Immortal]

"there's always the little inner voice to tell me this wasn't entirely reasonable" --> Yeah, it's already inside my head and I didn't even press the "buy" button! For me it would be "only" 400€ / 499$, but it's still a lot of money. However they're really interesting, I've read all the 19 pages of the technical report and a lot more here and around the web. I'm also pretty sure that, as you said, you "don't have the necessary gear to get the best out of the Kannons", but it's really hard just to "imagine" how they sound

 

[Vonsid]

Something i forgot to mention and is important : they obliterate the Crushers when it comes to bass, and haptic feedback. I didn't buy them mainly for music as i said, as i'm more a nomad and mobile music consumer and i don't consider the Kannons to be portable, but i just plugged them straight into my phone out of curiosity and they gave quite amazing results. Clean, controlled but still powerful bass. WAY better than the Crushers in this area. So if you plan to use them for music, this is an important thing to take into account.

 

[Eselyx]

Yes, price is the main reason why I haven't already ordered them! 90 € is what I would have expected (499$ -> approx 410€ + VAT and import tax -> approx 499€) and it would be better if, at least, you can select the adapter according to the country you live in. Have you connected them directly into your pc/smartphone or did you use an external DAC? My main use will be music and movies!

Also note, according to Tactiontechnology, when using a third party wall adaptor (you will have to use one if you live outside the US), you might also need an USB isolator (=> 2 more things which you need to buy)

 

[Vonsid]

I missed that, will look into it. Also i might change the pads for some recommended in this thread. Thanks.

Oh and i'm more a rock than a hip-hop guy, and i gotta say that the drum kicks are awesome with those.

 

[Immortal]

Also note, according to Tactiontechnology, when using a third party wall adaptor (you will have to use one if you live outside the US), you might also need an USB isolator (=> 2 more things which you need to buy)

it depends whether the wall adapter supports 230V or not. If it does, I can just buy a cheap US->EU plug converter.

 

[Vonsid]

I simply replaced the provided charger by my phone's and everything seems to work properly, so i guess i'm ok in this area.

 

[Vonsid]

I also noticed that I hear more bass from the tactile drivers when I rest the back of my head on a pillow.

That's true, but the sound is also much more muffled. Not really an issue for me when listening to music, but when watching a show or a movie and you need clarity to hear the dialogs it can become an issue.

 

[Erik Garci]

That's true, but the sound is also much more muffled. Not really an issue for me when listening to music, but when watching a show or a movie and you need clarity to hear the dialogs it can become an issue.

Yes, louder bass can overwhelm the non-bass, and this can happen on any headphones. One way to mitigate this is to increase the Kannon's acoustic volume knob above 5, which has a side effect of making the non-bass louder relative to the bass.

 

[Kingston12]

Yes last year before the snow; it was there well over a week at Coventry. Then a lovely import fee!

Ended up at just under a week for me, and they arrived yesterday. I phoned Parcelforce to pay the customs charge which saved a couple of days.

How are you finding the Kannons? I am struggling with mine a bit at the moment. I put more detailed observations on the basshead thread, but basically I am finding it difficult to get them dialled in properly and there seems to be a lack of 'real' bass that makes the tactile effect seem quite false.

 

[jameswalker]

I haven't once felt there was a lack of real bass, nor do I find the sensation false. I came from a 2.1 setup (large sub) in my PC room and moved to the kannons and the effect is comporable. Obviously the real sub would get my entire body but this does a grand job considering they are only on my head.

 

[Kingston12]

I haven't once felt there was a lack of real bass, nor do I find the sensation false. I came from a 2.1 setup (large sub) in my PC room and moved to the kannons and the effect is comporable. Obviously the real sub would get my entire body but this does a grand job considering they are only on my head.

So you are using them mainly for films and gaming? I've yet to try them for that, my main use is going to be music and that is where they are feeling a bit disjointed at the moment.

Still lots of experimenting to do, and there is definitely a financial incentive to keep these. Even if I could return them, the shipping would be very costly and I'd lose the huge amount I have just paid to HMRC!

 

[jameswalker]

Their primary use is now actually gaming, with music listening coming in at a very close second. I currently have the volume set to 5 (neutral bass / highs split) and the taction at 6. I listen to primarily DnB, plus Trap. I have nothing but praise for them in these genres. The other night I had an evening of newer rock/metal like papa roach, disturbed etc and that was also great. Link me to a song that you are underwhelmed by and I will let you know what I think?