[BenF]

I disagree almost entirely.

The most important metric is how it sounds on your head. Engineering headphones is a science. Enjoying them is not.

The only practical use I've found for FR graphs is for quickly determining if a headphone is tuned to your tastes. For instance, I'm a basshead, so if I see a headphone with an FR graph that shows lacking bass, I'm not going to look into the headphone further, I already know it's not to my taste. Outside of that simple information, FR graphs are meaningless.

100% agree. FR can tell us about the sound signature of the headphone, but not the sound quality of the headphone.
You can tell that GM200 and TH900 are for bassheads, and Pro 82 v2 isn't.

However, you couldn't possibly tell by this FR how the quality of the bass on GM200 relates to TH900 (it's better).
There are many bassy headphones that have elevated bass close or even exceeding TH900 levels, but their bass quality is horrible,

 

[dstarr3]

So what single measurable or quantifiable factor is more important than FR then?

Why does there need to be a measurable or quantifiable factor? Taste in headphones is as subjective as taste in music itself. And like music, there are plenty of things you can measure or quantify, but none of them are the be-and-and-end-all metric of "I like this song," except just listening to it and liking it.

 

[Plumbus the Wise]

Why does there need to be a measurable or quantifiable factor? Taste in headphones is as subjective as taste in music itself. And like music, there are plenty of things you can measure or quantify, but none of them are the be-and-and-end-all metric of "I like this song," except just listening to it and liking it.

Because that is the claim I was making that you disagreed with lol

We dont disagree...not sure why you and BefF keep telling me how FR isnt everything...I agree. But to act like FR isnt the most important measurable factor would be silly.

I can use FR to rule out headphones I KNOW I wouldnt like. Does it garentee they will sound good?...no. For instance if I see massive treble spikes or 5-10 db less bass than a prefer, or a huge cut to the mids...then its an easy way to not waste my time researching them further.

Its like a restaurant menu. I can easily rule out many options I wouldnt like due to the ingredients. However just because I like the ingredients on paper doesnt mean their implementation is good.

 

[dstarr3]

But to act like FR isnt the most important measurable factor would be silly.

Okay, maybe FR is the most important measurable factor. But measurable factors altogether are largely meaningless with something as subjective as audio enjoyment. So we've established that FR is the most important meaningless thing. Great.

 

[Plumbus the Wise]

Okay, maybe FR is the most important measurable factor. But measurable factors altogether are largely meaningless with something as subjective as audio enjoyment. So we've established that FR is the most important meaningless thing. Great.

Again, they are not meaningless at all. They tell you what amounts of what frequencies are in the product.

Perhaps that is meaningless to you, but not using that information as part of a larger story would be simply handicaping your own knowledge.

To use the cooking metaphor again, it would be like finding a dish to order and not considering the ingredients or foods in the meal. It can be done successfully, but why deprive yourself of helpful crucial knowledge.

Maybe people could simply look at the gm200 graph and know with 100% confidence they wouldn't like it due to the midbass presence.

 

[jasswolf]

Again, they are not meaningless at all. They tell you what amounts of what frequencies are in the product.

Perhaps that is meaningless to you, but not using that information as part of a larger story would be simply handicaping your own knowledge.

To use the cooking metaphor again, it would be like finding a dish to order and not considering the ingredients or foods in the meal. It can be done successfully, but why deprive yourself of helpful crucial knowledge.

Maybe people could simply look at the gm200 graph and know with 100% confidence they wouldn't like it due to the midbass presence.

The thing is, that would also depend on the construction of the headphone, and the quality of the driver.

Some people might associate a mid-bass lift with increase distortion in the bass, but what if the driver is engineered so well that the distortion is minimal? Would sound largely fine.

This is where FR measurement currently can fail: you're measuring test tones in isolation, nothing more acoustically complex. One day we might have ML-based techniques that are able to break this down similar to how - with a little training - a human can.

 

[Plumbus the Wise]

The thing is, that would also depend on the construction of the headphone, and the quality of the driver.

Some people might associate a mid-bass lift with increase distortion in the bass, but what if the driver is engineered so well that the distortion is minimal? Would sound largely fine.

This is where FR measurement currently can fail: you're measuring test tones in isolation, nothing more acoustically complex. One day we might have ML-based techniques that are able to break this down similar to how - with a little training - a human can.

.....yes, I agree. Who are you telling this too?

 

[jasswolf]

.....yes, I agree. Who are you telling this too?

I was addressing your final statement, that someone could avoid something just because of a bass lift. Really would depend on the quality of the sound.

Likewise, you might enjoy something flatter despite being a basshead.

 

[Miguelbazil]

Hello again guys, long time no see. Has any of you had problems where the headphones clamping force reduced? Is there something that can be done to improve this?

 

[Cosita]

Just in case there are more curious people that don't want to wait for a review before purchasing FLIT - don't forget to use the promo code "XBRLTX7RMT6X" when placing your order for a 6$ discount (only in the TakstarAudio store): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001048891903.html
Same discount should be applicable to ML850 when it becomes available.

I have both FLIT and ML850 on the way, should get them in a couple of weeks.

How does FLIT sound compared to GM200?

 

[jasswolf]

How does FLIT sound compared to GM200?

FLIT is basically the Takstar Pro 80 in terms of the driver, but @BenF has previously clarified that it's a crap implementation.

He had slightly nicer things to say about the NOUS model, which uses a different driver. But here's a good summary:

I tried NOUS and FLIT, they are garbage compared to GM200.

You can take this to include the RISE headset too.

Takstar Pro 82 would be the decision here, and if you need a mic get a separate implementation or a desk mic.

 

[Cosita]

I have bought some HyperX cloud and after testing them thoroughly I can say that the GM200 are rubbish.

It is not the fault of the headphones, it is the fault of the cable with microphone, with the cable without microphone the headphones sound much better.

It's amazing how that can affect.

 

[Plumbus the Wise]

I have bought some HyperX cloud and after testing them thoroughly I can say that the GM200 are rubbish.

It is not the fault of the headphones, it is the fault of the cable with microphone, with the cable without microphone the headphones sound much better.

It's amazing how that can affect.

Yours is defective then. Mine has no audible difference with the stock mic cable or the 2 different mic cable adapters I use.

 

[BenF]

FLIT is basically the Takstar Pro 80 in terms of the driver, but @BenF has previously clarified that it's a crap implementation.

He had slightly nicer things to say about the NOUS model, which uses a different driver. But here's a good summary:


You can take this to include the RISE headset too.

Takstar Pro 82 would be the decision here, and if you need a mic get a separate implementation or a desk mic.

Yep, both FLIT and NOUS are complete crap compared to GM200/Pro 82 v2.

I wonder if the engineer responsible for GM200/Pro 82 has left the company, and we'll only see the average chi-fi coming out of Takstar from now on. Well, as long as they will keep making GM200/Pro 82, we can still be happy.
I only wish they would have made the proper Bluetooth version of GM200/Pro 82 - just shove BTR3K in one of the cups

 

[Cosita]

Yours is defective then. Mine has no audible difference with the stock mic cable or the 2 different mic cable adapters I use.

You are right, I bought some from a local seller and my cable with microphone is defective, but I like the HyperX cloud Sound better.