[tattoou2]

Using mine out of a DX50 for the last month or so.  Sound quality overall is very nice with my mixture of FLAC and WAV files.  For the price, this is a bargain with excellent mids, really nice highs and good bass. I use these around the house out of my laptop, desktop, and the DX50 non-amped.  Secret:  extremely comfortable. 

 

[Toothless]

Sorry for digging up this old thread. But I, as a complete newbie to the serious audio world, would like some advices to deal with the ever increasing annoyance of my newly bought HI2050 (I got it at only 32 USD by the way since I'm from Vietnam, right next to China). It's my first full size can ever, and I like everything about it, except for its tendency to go sibilant whenever a male vocal is present. I've tried eqed it with the Realtek Audio Manager (decrease frequency around the 2k-4k-8k range) but to no avail. Is there any other method that I could do, some magical break in tracks that will help me get rid of, or just simply loosen that harsh sounding a bit? Thank you all!

 

[dirtythekid]

I feel ya. I'm very sensitive to sibilance as well and that's the HI2050's major glaring flaw to my ears. I recently got the FiiO E10K DAC/amp and it helped, but there's still some harshness in the highs. If you're going the EQ route, you can set up a parametric equalizer and create a high shelf EQ node to bring down the high end and tweak from there. This will definitely get rid of your sibilance, but it'll also steal some of that precious high-end detail, so you'll have to tweak it and play around with EQ humps in those frequencies where sibilance isn't an issue for you. I use the high shelf option because it's really hard to isolate which frequencies produce sibilance without lots of critical listening. The good thing about this is that the HI2050's are naturally a little weak on the low end, so when you tone down the high end and turn up your volume to compensate, you'll get a nice boost in your bass. This makes the HI2050's sound much more neutral to my ears.
 
foobar VST plugin: http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=84947
Parametric EQ (get the free posihfopit version at the bottom: http://www.savioursofsoul.de/Christian/vst-plugins/eqs-filters/electri-q/

 

[Folex]

I have a pair of highly modified hi2050 and new pads helps tremendiously. The HM5 velour or pleather work amazing. The company is based out of china so I think it might be easy for you to get your hands on a pair. In US they are about $20 a pair. 
 
This is how the velour ones look on my highly modified hi2050's
 

 
And this is the pleather pair.
 

 

[Toothless]

Thank you dirtythekid and Folex. By the way, Folex, how do you compare the original HI 2050 and the Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250 ohm, both unamped? I'm laying my eyes on a 165$ used DT990 pro, but not willing to spend extra cash on a dedicated dac/amp anytime soon. The main source therefore is directly from my laptop. Will I encouter any problem with that? Thanks!

 

[Folex]

  Thank you dirtythekid and Folex. By the way, Folex, how do you compare the original HI 2050 and the Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250 ohm, both unamped? I'm laying my eyes on a 165$ used DT990 pro, but not willing to spend extra cash on a dedicated dac/amp anytime soon. The main source therefore is directly from my laptop. Will I encouter any problem with that? Thanks!

 
The 990 are far superior to the 2050 (stock). The sound is very precise but also very fatiguing. After about a week your ears will get used too it. Also the 990's are one of the most comfortable pair of headphones I've used. Very light and the pads don't heat up or itch after long listens. There are 3 different version of the 990, 32 ohm, 250 ohm and 600 ohm. If you get the 32ohm you should be able to use them directly out of your laptop. If you get the 250 and 600 ohm version you'll need an amp. 

 

[Toothless]

   
The 990 are far superior to the 2050 (stock). The sound is very precise but also very fatiguing. After about a week your ears will get used too it. Also the 990's are one of the most comfortable pair of headphones I've used. Very light and the pads don't heat up or itch after long listens. There are 3 different version of the 990, 32 ohm, 250 ohm and 600 ohm. If you get the 32ohm you should be able to use them directly out of your laptop. If you get the 250 and 600 ohm version you'll need an amp. 

The DT990 pro version being offered is 250 ohm. But normally I only listen at a moderate volume (40-50%). At that volume will it be sufficient for it not needing an amp? It would be easier for me if I could just listen to it and judge for myself; however, the seller lives in a different city, so your advice is really necessary. Thanks!
By the way, before replacing the HI2050 driver, did you try removing the 4 white sponge pads inside the cups? I did write some of my impression after doing so, in the main thread for Takstar here http://www.head-fi.org/t/585356/the-takstar-technical-pro-gemini-greathon-cyberx-qpad-thread/2490#post_11015371. Wondering if you did and felt the same way as I did too?
Edit: My music are mostly metal/rock 320 kbps compressed MP3s. Only some classical stuff and DnB are in flac format.

 

[Folex]

 
The DT990 pro version being offered is 250 ohm. But normally I only listen at a moderate volume (40-50%). At that volume will it be sufficient for it not needing an amp? It would be easier for me if I could just listen to it and judge for myself; however, the seller lives in a different city, so your advice is really necessary. Thanks!
By the way, before replacing the HI2050 driver, did you try removing the 4 white sponge pads inside the cups? I did write some of my impression after doing so, in the main thread for Takstar here http://www.head-fi.org/t/585356/the-takstar-technical-pro-gemini-greathon-cyberx-qpad-thread/2490#post_11015371. Wondering if you did and felt the same way as I did too?
Edit: My music are mostly metal/rock 320 kbps compressed MP3s. Only some classical stuff and DnB are in flac format.

 
I do think for metal/Rock the 990's would be perfect.  The beyer 990's 250ohm are a REALLY good pair of headphones overall.  To give you an idea. I have a cheap amp and an expensive amp. The cheap amp $23 I have to turn up to 90% and the desktop volume at 90% to get the music where I want.   On my expensive amp I have the amp turned to 20% and my desktop volume about 30%. I can not stress enough that the 990's when you first listen to them for over 30 minutes will makes your ears sore. I almost returned them because of this. But I liked the sound so decided to give them a couple of weeks. After that time period my ears got used to them and I could listen to them without my ears bothering me.  The 990's if they are under amped will have no bass and the music will sound lifeless. 
 
My modified 2050 I put a pair of Audio Technica ad2000 drivers in them for $110 a pair. These drivers were made for DnB and electronic music. They are so insanely fast and give really good bass without distortion. 

 

[Toothless]

   
I do think for metal/Rock the 990's would be perfect.  The beyer 990's 250ohm are a REALLY good pair of headphones overall.  To give you an idea. I have a cheap amp and an expensive amp. The cheap amp $23 I have to turn up to 90% and the desktop volume at 90% to get the music where I want.   On my expensive amp I have the amp turned to 20% and my desktop volume about 30%. I can not stress enough that the 990's when you first listen to them for over 30 minutes will makes your ears sore. I almost returned them because of this. But I liked the sound so decided to give them a couple of weeks. After that time period my ears got used to them and I could listen to them without my ears bothering me.  The 990's if they are under amped will have no bass and the music will sound lifeless. 
 
My modified 2050 I put a pair of Audio Technica ad2000 drivers in them for $110 a pair. These drivers were made for DnB and electronic music. They are so insanely fast and give really good bass without distortion. 

Just to have a general understanding of how important dedicated amps are for high impedance cans, I went to the audio shop near my place and put on the Senn Hd 650 300 Ω, plugged directly to my laptop. Horrid experience

. Not only the volume is small, but it's also less detailed than even my 15$ Sony Zx100. I guess if I plan to buy this beyer can, I'm gonna have to save up more...
On the other hand, the seller there let me try a Grado Sr325i through a 100$ Nuforce USB Amp/Dac. Oh my, I was completely blown away. The Grado Sr125i I currently own is nothing compare to that combo
Nonetheless, thank you so much for giving me these valuable advices. Cheers!

 

 

[krishtrinity1]

Check out my review of Tackstar HI 2050
http://www.krish-tech.com/2014/12/tackstar-hi-2050-headphone-review.html

 

[Jim McC]

I'm thinking of the HI-2050 to use mainly for movies, plugged into my A/V receiver.
 
1) How is the clamping pressure? I wear glasses, so I need LOW clamping pressure.
 
2) Is there a good amount of ear space and depth in the cups?
 
3) Is there good bass and vocals for movies?
 
Thanks very much.

 

[krishtrinity1]

  I'm thinking of the HI-2050 to use mainly for movies, plugged into my A/V receiver.
 
1) How is the clamping pressure? I wear glasses, so I need LOW clamping pressure.
 
2) Is there a good amount of ear space and depth in the cups?
 
3) Is there good bass and vocals for movies?
 
Thanks very much.

hi 2050 is the most comfortable headphones i have ever used and i wear glasses,earpads will not be in contacts with your ear bass is punchy with amazing detail and soundstage for the price,i made my friend compare this headphone with ath m40x,he definitely prefered this over M40X..also note that M40X is 60$ more expensive than takstar 

 

[Jim McC]

  hi 2050 is the most comfortable headphones i have ever used and i wear glasses,earpads will not be in contacts with your ear bass is punchy with amazing detail and soundstage for the price,i made my friend compare this headphone with ath m40x,he definitely prefered this over M40X..also note that M40X is 60$ more expensive than takstar 

 
Thanks. I assume the clamping pressure is low then? I had to return the Senn. HD558 because it clamped too hard over my glasses. Do you know if it clamps less than the HD558?

 

[Music818]

Hi anyone can tell about the isolation? Is it comparable with DT770 PRO?

 

[krishtrinity1]

Thanks. I assume the clamping pressure is low then? I had to return the Senn. HD558 because it clamped too hard over my glasses. Do you know if it clamps less than the HD558?

Earpad material is that of what we see in old sofa cushions while it look boring it's insanely comfortable.I am very sure that there is only a slight clamping force in takstar hi 2050,you can invest in a hm5 velour or pleather earpads for even more comfort.Just buy them it's less than half the price of sennheiser 558 with same audio quality.Try the parametric equalizer in jriver media player to reduce a particular frequency that brings a slight harshness into treble.Just search in google