[oldmate]

Duplicate Post.

 

[BenF]

Got my pair today -- quick impressions, out of my Mac Mini to Roland UA-M10 DAC to Samson QH4 4-channel amp (makes it very easy to A/B), with bass ports fully closed, playing Daft Punk's "The Game of Love" from Random Access Memories:

• Comfort -- just great!
• Pro 82 has a very clean, detailed sound, just sounds "right" immediately to my ears, bass is tight and fast, hear no bleed into miss
• Highs are definitely noticeable, not fatiguing to my ears, though, sound is balanced overall to my ears
• But then comparing to Shure SRH940, I find that the vocals sound slightly less in front on the Pro 82 than they do on the SRH940, and the sound of the snare sounds a little thinner and less "real" in timbre to my ears than on the SRH940. As a reference, I listened also on my Sennheiser HD 600, which I tend to trust most of my headphones when it comes to timbre of acoustic instruments, and the Shure's sounded closer to the HD 600 than the Pro 82.

Overall, though, just with a little bit of listening, I am rather impressed with the Pro 82 -- it has a very clean, detailed sound that reminds me actually a lot of the SRH940, and it's only A/B'ing that the differences emerge.

Because I have too many headphones, frankly, I've found that it is easy to adjust to most of my headphones and the "good ones" all sound right to me after I "tune my brain in" to the right "headphone preset" that my brain has stored for that headphone, but this is easier for some headphones than others, though -- for example, when I pull out my Putin-crafted (j/k!) Russian woodies, the Fischer FA-011 semi-open, it takes my brain a bit to adjust because it first hears the sound as muffled and too thick, dark, bassy.

I can tell with the Pro 82, if I've come from listening to bassier headphones (say, RBH HP2 or aforementioned Fischer FA-011), I might first find the Pro 82 a little thin, but because there's so much right to my ears with it, I quickly adjust and it sounds very "right" and enjoyable.

Also, I did briefly listen to the Pro 82 on a tiny FiiO K1 DAC/amp from my MacBook at work, and that sounded great, really, same for the Schiit Fulla original, little DAC/amp, and also from my FiiO X1 DAP.

Excellent impressions, added the link in post #3.
The vocals will step forward with Idea+O2 - but I bet you already knew that!

 

[BenF]

@oldmate Do reviews from "more well known reviewers" actually matter at this point? Aren't we talking about a $80 headphone here? The fact that they are being compared to headphones that costs 3 or 4 or more times what they cost says it all. I would hazard a guess that if someone has enough interest in headphones to participate in this forum they fully understand that $80 is but a drop in the bucket. I'm about the order a set. The worst that could happen is I get a nice headphone worth $80. After reading this thread so far I suspect that I'll be getting a $80 headphone that compares favorably with headphones that cost much more. Either way it seems like a win.

@BenF, thanks for the heads up

You are welcome!

As for the "more well known reviewers" - I'd prefer Pro 82 to fly under their radar.
I'm more interested in impressions/comparisons by people who paid the full price and bought Pro 82 to enjoy their music -they didn't get free samples/discounts, and they didn't write the review to gain reputation in the community by getting it on Head-fi's front page.

Even someone like Tyll would be limited in what he could say about Pro 82.
Let's say he likes it a lot, and thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread (purely hypothetical!) - can he put it on top or near the top of the "Over-Ear Sealed" WOF (still purely hypothetical - I'm not saying that's where it belongs!)?
That would endanger his ad revenue...
I don't think he would bash Pro 82 - I respect him too much. He would probably write something like "sounds darn good" and "punches well above its price range", he may even put it somewhere on the bottom of WOF - probably in place of his current 70$ champ - HD471.

Although most reviewers on Head-fi (except for staff members) aren't affected by ad revenue, they do rely on the flow of free samples/discounts in exchange for "honest review".
If they like Pro 82 too much, those free samples may dry up very quickly for them.
Let's say a manufacturer of a new 300$ headphone is looking for reviewers - will they send it to someone who may possibly like the 70$ headphone better in their review?
And even if the reviewer likes the 300$ one better - whoopty-doo, so it's better than a 70$ headphone - hardly a great endorsement...

That's why I value opinions of regular people more - they have nothing to gain or lose, they just share their experience with Pro 82.
I even value the Porta Pro guy's opinion just as much as opinions of people that compare Pro 82 with TOTL headphones.
After all, all of them point to the same thing - Pro 82 is only as good as the rest of your sound chain.

 

[BenF]

Alright...Against my better judgement I shall order a pair and see for myself how they stack up against my M50X's and MDR1A's. I'll bet pounds to pence they come nowhere near my Focal Classics. And I guess if I'm left disappointed it has something to do with my "chain".

I hope the hype is real because if it's not and is just hype and confirmation bias I'm going to be pissed at you lot and if they are the hidden gem I shall eat humble pie and PayPal enough funds to BenF to buy a 6 pack of his choice of beer.

And when you put up your Fostex cans on eBay be sure to post a link.

I's a bad idea to go against your own better judgement. Whenever I did (not just with headphones) - 99% disappointment rate.
You are most likely to be disappointed with Pro 82, regardless of the chain.
If you haven't placed the order yet - please reconsider.

 

[oldmate]

Even someone like Tyll would be limited in what he could say about Pro 82.
Let's say he likes it a lot, and thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread (purely hypothetical!) - can he put it on top or near the top of the "Over-Ear Sealed" WOF (still purely hypothetical - I'm not saying that's where it belongs!)?
That would endanger his ad revenue...
I don't think he would bash Pro 82 - I respect him too much. He would probably write something like "sounds darn good" and "punches well above its price range", he may even put it somewhere on the bottom of WOF - probably in place of his current 70$ champ - HD471.

Although most reviewers on Head-fi (except for staff members) aren't affected by ad revenue, they do rely on the flow of free samples/discounts in exchange for "honest review".
If they like Pro 82 too much, those free samples may dry up very quickly for them.
Let's say a manufacturer of a new 300$ headphone is looking for reviewers - will they send it to someone who may possibly like the 70$ headphone better in their review?
And even if the reviewer likes the 300$ one better - whoopty-doo, so it's better than a 70$ headphone - hardly a great endorsement...

What a load of rubbish. The hole is getting deeper!!

You are most likely to be disappointed with Pro 82, regardless of the chain.

Oh I'm quite sure if I like them you will be shouting see, I told you and if I don't I'm sure you will come up with some outrageous reason as to why given some of your claims regarding this headphone.

If you haven't placed the order yet - please reconsider.

If it's as good as you say I should have nothing to worry about.

 

[oldmate]

As for the "more well known reviewers" - I'd prefer Pro 82 to fly under their radar.

I'm bet you do but not for the reasons you have stated.

 

[Roderick]

How sensitive is pro82 to impedance mismatch of The amplifier output? My amp has output impedance around 9. I't Works perfectly with 64ohm headphones and most 32ohms too. Most of The Time importance of damping Factor is exaggerated imo but some headphones are More sensitive to it (Grado).

 

[BenF]

...I'm more interested in impressions/comparisons by people who paid the full price and bought Pro 82 to enjoy their music -they didn't get free samples/discounts, and they didn't write the review to gain reputation in the community by getting it on Head-fi's front page...

Just noted that @ahmadfaizadnan's review made it to the front page!
That's pretty cool!
Ironic, I know

I guess we are about to see a lot more activity in this thread, for good and for bad.

 

[BenF]

Ok, now I'm sure that oldmate is trolling this thread.
Well done, had me going for a few days
I guess I'm not as smart as I thought...
"Ignore" button to the rescue!

 

[heavyharmonies]

I'm bet you do but not for the reasons you have stated.

What the hell does that even mean?

Oldmate, you've been jaded and hyper-cynical since square one in this thread. You obviously don't believe the hype... so why are you here? Are you wanting to be contrarian because the "hype train" annoys you and you feel someone has to stand in the face of prevailing sentiment; the "voice of reason" so to speak? Or do you have a personal beef with BenF?

 

[oldmate]

Ok I have been overly critical and my apologies to BenF. I have high hopes for these headphones however some of the claims by the voice of reason as you put it are a little over top IMHO. I will be happy if they sound like $200 headphones and I do need a cheap gaming set should they be not suit my sound signature and musical tastes.

Don't forget to post that eBay link for your Fostex cans - I might buy them.

 

[thizito]

I have Sabaj Da3 which is basically same as SMSL Idea(i believe)
i bought takstar pro82 and i want to have it well amped,dacced..

Should i invest and buy ifi idsd nano BL or Fiio A5. I want to have a multi purpose amplificator.. i will 90% use on my PC but i wanna have the option to go somewhere with it for example..
My pc is high end good chip.

Ideas? Is nano BL too colored,warm and will not be appropiated to Pro82? Is fio a5 a good option since have no dac?

 

[joeq70]

Order placed! But after I made the order, I noticed that the OP has Baldoor earbuds mentioned in his signature...please don't let the Pro 82 be another meme in the making. At least it was only $75.

 

[BenF]

Well, after another solid day of listening and A/B with my Fostex Mahoganys... I've just ordered another two Pro 82 from Takstar so I can have one at home, one at the office, a third set to keep in the car, and one as a backup. At $75 shipped including hard case, these are just too stupidly cheap not to. They're virtually disposable at that cost... the headphone equivalent of champagne taste on a Coors budget. And I've decided to put the Fostex Mahogany on eBay to defray the costs.

I'll never be able to afford the $1500 or $2000 headphones that some people refer to, but I've listened to enough $400-$1,000 headphones to be perfectly content with the Pro 82 as my endgame for the foreseeable future. So there's no reason for me to keep the Fostex.

I'm keeping my Koss ESP-950 though, since they're just unusual enough to not give up.

I've jumped on some of the hype trains before, but unlike the others, this one has actually held up to the promise... at least for me.

Oh, maaaaaaan....
You sure raise the limit of really loving Pro 82 - 4 headphones vs. my 2.
Now I feel under-qualified to drive this train.

 

[BenF]

Hello, im new here and read about this headphone. I ordered one but the left side is silent ;( (where the connection is). Does this come from the cable or is the headphone damaged?

If you've made sure that both ends of the cable are fully inserted, don't take any chances and arrange an immediate replacement - while it's in stock.