I finally found some time to do some more detailed comparisons with all the headphones I currently have. Note that I photographed and noted any modifications to the headphone to "tune" the headphone to my liking.
Takstar Pro 82 “Stock”
Stock Modifications: Brainwavz MDR V6 fabric pads
Pixy Modifications: Brainwavz MDR V6 fabric pads, silver-plated wire from driver to 3.5mm jacks on both left and right channels
I know I’m using different pads on these stock Pro 82 headphones but since I’m using different pads on my “Pixy” and like it that way, why not use the same pads on both? Yeah, I compared them with full stock pads and I truly could NOT tell any difference. Okay, maybe…1% sound stage loss? Seriously, these pads are almost made for the Pro 82 and I can guarantee the pads sound virtually identical to stock pads as long as you extract the plastic rings from the pads and then snap them back onto the cups. And with that out of the way…
Yes, there is a difference when modifying the Pro 82 to have left and right channel inputs instead of using that cable that’s inside the headband (if I’m not mistaken it’s the Achilles’ heel of the Pro 82). The stock version sounds just slightly more “crowded”. Details and background sounds are easier to hear on my Pixy. I did notice that the bass hits about 2-3% harder on the stock Pro 82. The change is subtle, but present. Honestly, I think most of the change is credited to the silver-plated wires I used because at first I used some old speaker cable I had (which was aluminum – don’t even know if it was coated with any other metal) there was no difference between the two – both sounded the same. If you use copper-plated cable for the dual 3.5mm jack conversion chances are it will also sound the same.
NAD Viso HP50
Modifications: Balanced mod, silver-plated cable soldered from driver to 3.5mm connector, cups swivel extra 15 degrees, Krone Kalpasmos pads
I’ve tried to sell these off multiple times and somehow the deals always fell through. It’s funny when you suddenly can’t go around buying up audio crap left and right you take a good look at what you have…then realize you have something already good. That’s how it was with the HP50. If you can get around the weird fitting, bend the cups a bit past the stopping point, and then bend the headband a bit (or just get Krone Kalpasmos ear pads), it’s a fantastic headphone. It’s a bit on the warm side, but the treble is clear and present (though not sparkling). The midrange is what makes this special – it still has one of the best midranges on a closed back headphone I have ever heard.
And that’s why I’ll keep these around even with the Pro 82 – for what the HP50 lacks in clarity and sound stage it makes up with its midrange. Vocals are clearer on the HP 50 over the Pro 82. Remember Paul Barton’s marketing with the HP50 is “small room with nice speakers”. It’s kind of a gift and a curse to the headphone. Every time I go, man I wish the [attribute X] was like [headphone Y] but then little Paul Barton on my shoulder pops up and says, “Eh, remember the intended tuning.” It works on me every time.
Sennheiser HD600
Modifications: Lighter density foam protecting the drivers in the cups
This is another one of those headphones I still have and wonder why I do. It's mostly because everyone compares…well…EVERY headphone to the HD600 or some revision to it (650, Mass- sorry, Drop variants). It’s a good sound and reliable too.
Using the foam that had lighter density (it came from the Cooler Master MH752 box, LOL!) than the stock foam discs helped lift that infamous “Sennheiser veil” off of the HD600 a little. Even so, the HD600 is definitely “darker” than the Pro 82. I find the treble just a little too relaxed. Bass and midrange also sound more relaxed. That veil makes the sound stage on the HD600 surprisingly confining – especially for an open backed headphone. It’s like the HD600 is more two-dimensional while the Pro 82 is more three-dimensional. Now if someone were to go from the HD600 series to a Pro 82 I can see that person being a bit jarred by the Pro 82’s highly revealing sound.
Just a side note, I’ve heard from people that a lot of recording studios use the HD600. I’d really like to ask how music is mixed because I’d really love to get music that isn’t brick-walled (compressed). Maybe if more studios used Pro 82s, we’d have more balance to the sound universe or something?
Audeze Mobius
Modifications: None
If you have a Mobius, you probably are stuck on the Mobius as the entire headset has an ecosystem of its own. It’s got its own DAC, Bluetooth, and its party trick: NX Waves 3D audio with built-in head tracking. I was playing some WreckFest (PC) on it and the driving sounds were excellent – very realistic…that is until the game would wreck itself me and the audio would get all distorted until I switched back to 2 channel mode.
Honestly, I don’t know why people beat up on the sound quality so much on launch. People weren’t expecting an LCD-2 mini were they? (I actually heard those at a Head-Fi meet up back in early 2018 attached to a Chord DAC listening to Pink Floyd and I didn’t like it.) I consider the Mobius a good Audeze headphone overall. This headphone relies on EQ heavily. “Default” bass hits nicely yet politely, the midrange just slightly recessed, and the treble stops just short of sparkling. If you switch to “Flat” EQ, the midrange and vocals improve quite a bit. The sound signature stays fairly warm regardless of EQ setting. Oddly, I think the “flat” EQ is more appropriate for music than the “music” EQ setting is! Audeze added “Warm” on one of their first firmware updates. Not sure why they wanted to add a treble-killing EQ but following the forums here on Head-Fi after they launched it, people really liked it. Hey, if that’s their thing, I’ll let them be happy with it.
The Mobius does sound as open as the Pro 82 without the 3D technology if not just a little more open. My Pixy Pro 82 gives the Mobius a serious run for its money though on clarity and midrange and more or less matches it (Mobius edges out on full stock Pro 82). I’d give the overall sound quality to the Mobius over the stock Pro 82 just barely. I still prefer the Pro 82’s lighter bass response. I’ll be brutally honest about the NX waves thing. It’s… another DSP, albeit one of the better 3D DSPs I’ve experienced.
You can now buy NX Waves’ 3D DSP app for $10 USD (you get to try it for 30 days). Yes, I got it working with my Takstar Pro 82 plugged into my Topping DX7s and the 3D effect is nearly just as good between the Pro 82 and the Mobius…Now I just need a web camera so NX waves can see my ugly mug – err…properly head track.
Mrspea- err…Dan Clark Audio Aeon Flow Open-Back (1st Generation)
Modifications: None
The best way to briefly describe the sound on this headphone I believe is best compared to the HD600: The Aeon Flow Open sounds like a more spacious and revealing HD600. It’s quite the HD600 I want the HD600 to be.
Comparing this to the Pro 82 now, the Aeon Flow has a physical advantage – the cups and pads are significantly larger. So this does give a bigger sound stage in a way. But unlike the Pro 82, all the action is happening in between the drivers and my ear. With the Pro 82 I sometimes get a bit of that “hey where did that come from” feeling. I’m not going to exactly say which sound stage is better per se, but both give a different approach on what sounds “open”. I wonder what the open version would sound like without that foam in the grills but I’m sure Mr. Clark tried it and did not like it.
Oh, you want bass, mids, and treble? Actually…I have no real complaints on that with the Aeon Flow Open. Everything you hear on the Aeon Flow you can hear on the Pro 82, vice versa. People will likely find the Pro 82 more “exciting” and “revealing” while the Aeon Flow Open is slightly more relaxed.
Dan Clark Audio Aeon Flow Closed (1st Generation)
Modifications: My bro obliterated the pads
It’s funny when the closed-back sounds more open and spacious than its own open-backed counterpart. If you have ever wanted to hear what a headphone with a flat line frequency response sounds like, this is it. Because of that, I find this pair more fascinating than the open version. I wonder if there’s less foam (if any) between the drivers and the cups.
The sound stage gives the same sensation as the open-backed version but with a LOT more space. Yes, the extra sense of space it gives is significantly more than the Pro 82. If you like bass you can feel you probably will want to pass on these because the bass does not hit or slam at all on these. Hey, that’s what you get when you get a purely flat frequency response. Prior Pro 82 users may find this headphone lifeless and boring (and if I’m not mistaken, there were others that thought the same). I see it as an acquired taste that you don’t find in a headphone very often especially in a closed back so I like this headphone a lot – even though it’s not my daily driver.
One last note on the Aeon Flows: I do have two universal issues with these headphones. The first one is the pads. Three pairs of pads have gotten wrecked in two years. It must be the oils my brother’s skin produces. And then there’s the cable…The cable is comprised of four speaker cable wires from the DUMMER connectors to the 3.5mm plug (18-gague?). One wire is broken just at the solder point of the plug. Then it’s got this fabric sleeve that starts wearing down very quickly. Since the cable is out of warranty I’ll probably take the DUMMER connectors and solder some silver-plated cable onto them in the future.
Focal Clear
Modifications: None
The most money I’ve ever spent on a headphone (I see some of you Focal Utopia, Meze Emperian, and Abyss AB-1266 people laughing at me). Sadly, I may have to agree with them that…you do get what you pay for. These are clearly the best headphone I ever had the privilege of listening to, let alone buying and owning. Only one headphone connected to an old 80s NAD 7125 stereo receiver and a general Audio Technica turntable (with an Ortofon 2M Blue needle and cartridge) tricked me into thinking it was 1979 and I was there when Jerry Goldsmith and his team were recording the music for unveiling the new Enterprise for Star Trek’s silver screen debut. Guess Gene Roddenberry wasn’t kidding after all when he said time travel is possible and all you need is…headphones?
There’s a sense of space and clarity that only the Clear can give me. Those alone are going to pull the Clear far ahead and away from all the other headphones I have. But how does the Pro 82 hold up? Now this is where the fun begins. Bass is very clean and hits on the right spots but responds similarly to my Pixy Pro 82. So losing that small percentage of bass using silver cable worked to its advantage. Mids and vocals on the Pro 82 are just as clear and just as present as the Clear. The treble on the Clear rolls off at the right spot so it never sounds harsh but it’s just enough to let you know if you’re listening to a good or bad recording. The Pro 82 is more revealing – I have a hard time listening to 192Kbps MP3s on my Pro 82 but I can tolerate it on the Clear. The last thing I want to say is that if you listen to a Pro 82 first and then move up to a Focal Clear, I’m going to bet that you will never have a moment of “never heard that in the song before” because the Pro 82 should have taken care of that for you, especially if you mod your Pro 82 the way I have it. The Pro 82 has the ability to give you all the details in your music; the Clear just presents it better. But let me be perfectly clear: Pro 82’s performance is shockingly very impressive.
Koss KPH30i –
Modifications: Copper plated cables to 2 pin plugs
Only one word can describe the sound of this headphone.
I’ll give you three guesses.
The huge amount of bass is just bleeds into everything else and creates a very THIIIIIICC sound with very little treble or sound stage. These are really no competitor to the Pro 82 so why even bother with these? Unless suddenly you just now have associated these with Xenoblade 2’s Pyra and Mythra and you just gotta have it.
Koss KSC 75
Modifications: “Kramer Mod”, Yaxi ear pads, 2 pin plugs
Half of the price of the KPH30i and (nearly) double the treble? Yes, please. And I like how these sound better than anything Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Samsung, or SanDisk threw in a box. The bass is still prevalent but at least the treble is cleaner but never harsh, making the KSC75 sound quite nice and non-fatiguing yet surprisingly detailed…Almost as detailed as the Pro 82. Don’t bother with sound stage though. Even with the thicker Yaxi pads, you won’t get much extra depth (if any), but it does make them a bit more comfortable. Koss is still the king of budget headphones. Who knows when his reign will end?
Oh and you wouldn't expect it, but combining the KSC75 and an old Sansa Fuze shows the old tech holds up pretty well.
And that's all I have for now. Feel free to ask questions or wreck my credibility (as if I had any here) and I hope you had fun reading this latest episode in my Pro 82 journey.
And I'm sorry for using anime waifus in this post.
Nah, I'm not sorry at all.
