Wow, I say wow
Those headphones really know how the music should sound! I expected good sound but surely not *that good* :-o
I'm writing this since somebody mentioned Sony MDR-1A in comments earlier. Almost twin to Takstar I have to say. See pictures.
I've done business with MH Recording Music Store in September, and I'm one of the poor souls which... well... ...was not satisfied (note the original listing has been deleted from Ali, but you can still find the link in this thread). I've got some extensive discussion with the seller afterwards and decided to reorder headphones -- understand, I'm manager for 15 years and still keen on to learn the ways people think
In the end, I received my headphones, second [re]try was a success. And I'm glad I did. Chinese clearly have different mindset than we EU/US.
BUT - in the meantime I bought Sony MDR-1A as a replacement for my broken Beyerdynamic DTX-501p (the reason I was looking for a new headphones). It was an Amazon warehouse deal, were returned by an unhappy customer in a "like new" condition. Which I have to confirm. My humble guess is that a customer returned the item since there were many siblings and overall the sound was harsh. You might easily guess the cause -- not burn-in headphones
So for me this was a deal hard to refuse (about 120$). Now I've got two similar headphones to compare!
My best closed headphones are small Beyerdynamic DT-1350, the new version with 67mm pads. They are *little bit* demanding ones, both for position on head and music source. On-ear design. Not that much comfortable. But razor sharp. I understand curious reviews all over the internet, they surely require somewhat special handling and about 100, maybe 200hrs of burn-in. I love their detailed sound, especially bass and its extension is fantastic. I'm using mostly Hidizs AP100 as a player or DAC, and I've used it for comparision also.
Compared to DT-1350, the sound of Sony is much more relaxed, smoothed, U-shaped (while DT-1350 are mid-forward). Less detailed than DT-1350, bass is not extended as such (almost anything from Quincy Jones production is a little bit dumb - MJ "Smooth Criminal", "The Places You Find Love" etc.), vocals are not that forward. Probably also design choise to avoid problems with closed cups - which are apparent in DT-1350 (and surprisingly non-existent in Takstar). Sony trebles got relaxed after some 50-100 hours of burn-in. Their rather smooth sound and veiled middles can easily fool you to think "hi-res audio", and yes, frequency response is quite big, just missing details here and there and very low bass is lacking. Of course result depends on used comparision and one's taste, they offer quite nice and *easy* listening experience, not demanding on sound source and ready to use with any portables. There are some vent openings you can cover DIY way to make them sound flat (and boring, I must say).
Now compare the Takstar to Sony (and DT-1350), which might be interested to users of this thread.
Those are very different headphones as sound goes. Takstars apparently don't require burn-in, for instance (although I'm getting impression bass is extending bit by bit). Maybe soundstage is comparable, and both are "airy" compared to DT-1350 (which is understandable since they are over-ear after all). Takstars are much more analytical, VERY neutral, compared to DT-1350 lacking somewhat deepest bass (but you have to listen carefully and compare them to understand), shining in trebles section on the other hand. Detail is very close to DT-1350. There are no siblings to speak of, and so far all music sound "just right". Right soundstage, right separation, right amount of bass, trebles, middles, right vocals, everything pretty detailed. No fiddling with bass ports needed. With Hidizs AP 100 (itself a very neutral DAP) a pleasure to use. They require a little bit more power, but just a little bit. Can be powered from portables, but reveals bad sources easily -- which Sony masks with a grace. Comfort wise, they are the same. Transport is also comparable, same folding design, only in opposite direction.
So those are my impressions. For 70USD or so I cannot imagine a better deal on closed full sized headphones. Hey, you can save on Sony and buy a decent DAP instead -- because Takstar's only "drawback" is the sound source you are about to use -- U-shaped Sony makes most of the players sound better than they are, while not achieving full potential of excellent ones.
Hm, this way, term chi-fi would eventually replace hi-fi.
Myrra
[edit]: attached images since I can do this now.
