[BenF]

I

Cancelled my order from mh due to lack of stock. Will go look again in a bit but I would like to mention that the business does seem legit, however they seem to be holding for a certain quantity before shipping and considering shipping is 6 weeks anyway on the cheapest, (which could counter the non feedback argument above), its quite a wait.

Since this thread is leaning against them, I would like to note that they were quick to respond to queries, refunded instantly and gave a good impression even if I didn't go through with the order

The store is legit, but what they are doing with Pro 82 is unacceptable.
They are not "holding for a certain quantity before shipping", they simply don't have any...
Number of orders is 23 now - people keep buying...

The only seller that has proven stock right now, is https://headphoniaks.com/en/shop/takstar-pro82-2/

 

[BenF]

Hey BenF, I found a better version Taylor Swift's Red that I think you linked to once before. Also, could you take a look at my review/comparison of some headphones here and let me know your thoughts on it? I was surprised that I never saw any comments or responses to it.

I'm definitely interested in the Pro 82 especially after all the glowing reviews of the Pro 80.

It is better in the sense that it is it's not being introduced by a love child of Duffy Duck and Silvester, but I do prefer the actual live performance.
Hearing the audience instead of background stage noises is what seals it for me.
On Pro82 the background noise is too obvious.

Your comparison is very nice, but we are talking here about a whole other level of headphones.
Pro 82's clarity is in the area usually reserved for electrostatic headphones, or 4-digit priced dynamic headphones.

 

[BenF]

Good news - I have received 3 replacement cables for Pro 82 (all with mic)!
Bad news - one of them turned out to be 3.5mm on both ends... I guess it can be used on B8 instead.

 

[WaylandC]

Your comparison is very nice, but we are talking here about a whole other level of headphones.

Thanks. Yeah, I had no illusions about what kind of headphones I was comparing. I don't have any kind of standalone amplification for headphones either. I'm not even sure at what point it's actually necessary.

 

[Peicille]

Thanks. Yeah, I had no illusions about what kind of headphones I was comparing. I don't have any kind of standalone amplification for headphones either. I'm not even sure at what point it's actually necessary.

It's necessary when your headphones have high impedance. Most headphones below 80 ohms do not need amplification but some exceptions greatly benefit as some frequencies are more attenuated when power is not adequate (Example: Fostex TH-X00).

I believe IEM's are one of the few that rarely needs an amp since the drivers they come with are so small and efficient.



After a month and a half of having these, I've come to the conclusion that the signature is not for me, and gave them to my girlfriend to use. I felt they didn't have the bass I was looking for (never really quite tightened up), and felt that both my thinksound on2's and superlux 668b's had better clarity and details. I even bought a more powerful amp (providing 800mw of power at 32ohms) and that did not improve the sound that much. When I first started hearing them, I said that they're easily 200-300 dollar headphones. After having them for some time now, I'd say they compete at the lower 100 price point. I want to emphasize that this is purely my opinion and highly suggest you take what I say with a grain of salt.

All in all, to each his own and I'd recommend these if you want a relaxed signature with a slight bass bump that is emphasized in the lower mids rather than the sub region (you will hear this as the extension is not too great when compared to my on-ear pair of thinksound ON2's). I'm a bass-head however,I didn't really get these with bass-head intentions (there are a very finite number of headphones you could actually call bass-head worthy contrary to popular belief that you can find at the bass-head thread by hawaiibadboy).

 

[BenF]

I felt they didn't have the bass I was looking for (never really quite tightened up)...

Do you still keep listening with bass ports open? Bass ports make bass very boomy, even if you only open one.
And if you keep boosting 3dB on top(https://www.head-fi.org/threads/tak...iscussion-thread.849965/page-15#post-13582291) ...
Pro 82's bass is super tight - with the bass ports closed.
If you absolutely need to boost it - use Oppo HA-2/FIIO E12 built-in bass boost, but forget about bass ports - they affect the entire frequency range negatively.

I even bought a more powerful amp (providing 800mw of power at 32ohms) and that did not improve the sound that much.

Pro 82 is only 3Ohm lower and 3dB higher than Hifiman HE-400(I) - somewhat hard to drive, but more importantly in needs a high quality (not high power) amplifier.
The difference between Oppo HA-2 and FIIO E17 is dramatic - especially in the bass - even though E17 has plenty of power, it lacks quality.

 

[Peicille]

Do you still keep listening with bass ports open? Bass ports make bass very boomy, even if you only open one.
And if you keep boosting 3dB on top(https://www.head-fi.org/threads/tak...iscussion-thread.849965/page-15#post-13582291) ...
Pro 82's bass is super tight - with the bass ports closed.
If you absolutely need to boost it - use Oppo HA-2/FIIO E12 built-in bass boost, but forget about bass ports - they affect the entire frequency range negatively.


Pro 82 is only 3Ohm lower and 3dB higher than Hifiman HE-400(I) - somewhat hard to drive, but more importantly in needs a high quality (not high power) amplifier.
The difference between Oppo HA-2 and FIIO E17 is dramatic - especially in the bass - even though E17 has plenty of power, it lacks quality.

Do you still keep listening with bass ports open? Bass ports make bass very boomy, even if you only open one.
And if you keep boosting 3dB on top(https://www.head-fi.org/threads/tak...iscussion-thread.849965/page-15#post-13582291) ...
Pro 82's bass is super tight - with the bass ports closed.
If you absolutely need to boost it - use Oppo HA-2/FIIO E12 built-in bass boost, but forget about bass ports - they affect the entire frequency range negatively.


Pro 82 is only 3Ohm lower and 3dB higher than Hifiman HE-400(I) - somewhat hard to drive, but more importantly in needs a high quality (not high power) amplifier.
The difference between Oppo HA-2 and FIIO E17 is dramatic - especially in the bass - even though E17 has plenty of power, it lacks quality.

I hear ya man, I ended up using them for mostly acoustic instrumental stuff so I closed all the ports off and used them as intended from OEM (originally purchased hoping they'd be bass cans). But I ended up with a thinksound on2 which I found to be far superior for the use I had but the difference being that I thoroughly enjoyed the bass texture of the ON2's much more. Moreover, the ON2's had a decent mid range which I thought the Pro82's also lacked in. They were powered out of a cayin c5 amp and I think is pretty well reviewed here, especially it's hardware bass boost. All in all, I compared all the headphones I had and the takstar ended up being the odd one out for me which is why I gave them away. They are still good headphones in terms of overall clarity and signature in relation to some of the competition, not saying they're bad headphones by any means.

 

[BenF]

I hear ya man, I ended up using them for mostly acoustic instrumental stuff so I closed all the ports off and used them as intended from OEM (originally purchased hoping they'd be bass cans). But I ended up with a thinksound on2 which I found to be far superior for the use I had but the difference being that I thoroughly enjoyed the bass texture of the ON2's much more. Moreover, the ON2's had a decent mid range which I thought the Pro82's also lacked in. They were powered out of a cayin c5 amp and I think is pretty well reviewed here, especially it's hardware bass boost. All in all, I compared all the headphones I had and the takstar ended up being the odd one out for me which is why I gave them away. They are still good headphones in terms of overall clarity and signature in relation to some of the competition, not saying they're bad headphones by any means.

I don't have Cayin C5, but judging by this comparison with E12 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fiio-e12-v1-vs-cayin-c5-brief-comparison.754098/ it seems to sound slightly recessed in the mids, which is a bad match for Pro 82 - which is recessed in the mids itself. Makes it a perfect companion for the mid-forward On2 though - no wonder you liked it. At the end, finding the sound you like is what matters, so this story has a happy ending.
For the future, you may want to consider to buy the O2 amp - it's dead neutral, and will bring out the true character of you future headphones.

P.S. If you like mid-forward sound, check out BossHifi B8 too.

 

[Humblepie]

Was considering these, but are theu unobtanium now?

 

[Ossy_TK]

Hi all,
just received these,first impression-hard to tell,they sound bassier than my usuals (BD dt880,Shure SRH840),and little more rough,less sofisticated?Can't say much about details,yet.I saw somebody asked that question and i read the answer but being daft old p***k I didn't get much from it.Just wanted to try different earpads and can't figure out how to remove them.I can see white plastic ring(through the mesh inside) but don't know where (and from which side) to put a pressure/prod to remove it.Any help is welcomed,some pictures would be even greater.
Thank you.

 

[Adide]

I'm eyeing these as well, can you tell us how are you running them? Are you using an amp? If yes, what kind? Your post concerns bass modes off or on? Last two impressions (yours included) left me a bit puzzled. There is some uncharted space between BenF raving reports and other users. I can't find the middle ground feelings that are supposed to exist in (almost) everything.

Btw BenF if you're reading this, you got me wondering when saying that clarity and detail rivals estats. Are you guessing or from own experience (no malice, just asking)?

 

[Ossy_TK]

I'm using Aune T1SE DAC and Burson Soloist SL MK2 as amp.Bass ports closed.I'm not a basshead,so allways looking for some transparent sound.dt880 have great,detailed bass for me,just lacking a little "umph"I get from IEMs.Takstars are definitely heavier on bass than dt880,but it's not bloating.But it's just only 20 min.impression ,had no time to do more.But it wasn't OMG reaction.Maybe if I started at lower end?But practice shows it needs more time to adjust to new phones.

 

[Adide]

No bass head here either but I like to feel it when it kicks, same as you I suppose. The fact that you called them rough and less sophisticated got me wondering though. BenF calls them close to estats regarding this aspect so there's something missing in these reports. It seems that you know what you're doing but no harm asking anyways: are you playing flacs or better? Also, I'm 50-50 on burning in, can make a difference or not (technology says no, some people ears says yes).

 

[Ossy_TK]

Just FLACs,I'm not sure about burning in but I belive our brain adjusts.Takstars are def.good for the money,that much I heard.

 

[Adide]

Thanks for the input, nice chating with you. However, if you come from bdt880 and call these rough at first listen that's something to think about. Brain adjusting is what it is and it won't make it better for the rest of us, only for you. This is the second consecutive worrying report and I'm a bit startled. These might be good for the money but most of us in this thread are searching the holy grail of at least >2x for the money (wishfull thinking I know), otherwise we would be all sporting bey, akg, senns and so on at respective prices and call it a day. It's not (all) about the money, it's about the hunt, isn't it?