[Miguelbazil]

Please post a review here as well: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/takstar-pro-82.22388/

Will do, I'd like to actually have the O2 to add that to my review there.

Added them, although TakstarAudio is cheaper, especially without the case.

Thanks for adding them. I went to check TakstarAudio on Aliexpress and they have a lot of restrictions to Europe. I tested a couple of countries, and they don't deliver to Portugal, Germany, and then France, Spain only had options for shipping costing over 9€. Italy, Austria and the UK have free shipping on china post, with the over a month wait time (33-49 days, 23-36 days and 20-40 days respectively).

Headphoniaks will allow for any European country as far as I know, so there's that, it's an alternative I'd say that if someone wants a faster arrive time in Europe, Headphoniaks; if they want the cheapest possible price, they should check Aliexpress and see if they have the free shipping.

 

[BenF]

...Thanks for adding them. I went to check TakstarAudio on Aliexpress and they have a lot of restrictions to Europe. I tested a couple of countries, and they don't deliver to Portugal, Germany, and then France, Spain only had options for shipping costing over 9€. Italy, Austria and the UK have free shipping on china post, with the over a month wait time (33-49 days, 23-36 days and 20-40 days respectively)...

I think there are two main reasons for people buying not from TakstarAudio:
1) Greediness
2) Laziness

Most buyers of 63$ Pro 82 are from the same countries as in TakstarAudio, so it's not about the shipping.
They just want the cheapest price and are too lazy to read this thread or do their own research of the sellers' history with Pro 82:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/tak...iscussion-thread.849965/page-30#post-13871997
The ones who buy from "Volemer High-end Life Tech Store" are also mostly from the same countries, but they buy there because Zeos linked that store in the review, and they are too lazy to search Aliexpress for alternatives - so they end up paying even more than in TakstarAudio - despite that store also having a checkered past with Pro 82.

At this point, it's really hard to say if anyone beside TakstarAudio and Headphoniaks has actual stock.

As for the shipping estimates, they are just that. Usually, if the seller ships immediately (as is the case with TakstarAudio), the shipment is delivered in 2-3 weeks in most countries.
The delay is usually in the receiving country's customs/post office, as the packages leaves China within a few days.

I have asked TakstarAudio to open shipping to the countries you mentioned.

 

[Miguelbazil]

Yeah, I understand perfectly what you mean with why people tend to buy from that store, but the reality is that most consumers on ALL markets do that. And that's why I feel that the role of influencers is more important than ever, to help people make informed decisions.

I have asked TakstarAudio to open shipping to the countries you mentioned.

Hopefully they will do that, I don't quite get why they'd require higher shipping costs to Spain actually. Spain has a very open trading policy with China as far as I can tell, as they are one of the big bases for chinese warehouses in Europe, so it makes little sense. And if they have it, well, Portugal is right around the corner.

Also, here comes my next pair:

Silver this time

I received Pro 82 on Wednesday. Placed order for another pair about 10 hours ago

Seems like Ben's right about the desire for more on those who like them!

 

[elkosith]

I think there are two main reasons for people buying not from TakstarAudio:
1) Greediness
2) Laziness

Most buyers of 63$ Pro 82 are from the same countries as in TakstarAudio, so it's not about the shipping.
They just want the cheapest price and are too lazy to read this thread or do their own research of the sellers' history with Pro 82:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/tak...iscussion-thread.849965/page-30#post-13871997
The ones who buy from "Volemer High-end Life Tech Store" are also mostly from the same countries, but they buy there because Zeos linked that store in the review, and they are too lazy to search Aliexpress for alternatives - so they end up paying even more than in TakstarAudio - despite that store also having a checkered past with Pro 82.

At this point, it's really hard to say if anyone beside TakstarAudio and Headphoniaks has actual stock.

As for the shipping estimates, they are just that. Usually, if the seller ships immediately (as is the case with TakstarAudio), the shipment is delivered in 2-3 weeks in most countries.
The delay is usually in the receiving country's customs/post office, as the packages leaves China within a few days.

I have asked TakstarAudio to open shipping to the countries you mentioned.

My order from Volermer was being delivered today, but my house was empty, so the courier took the parcel back with him. I think they will re-deliver it on monday.

 

[BenF]

TakstarAudio replied to me:
"We ship to France and Spain not free shipping, it is because aliexpress doesn't allow us to ship goods to these Countries by China post, we can only ship by DHL . "

Edited: More countries were opened:
We have opened shipping for Portugal and Germany now.

About stock:
"We know the factory does not have this headphone in stock at present, we only have about 40pcs in stock now, the factory says maybe it needs to wait for about 10 days before can supply more."
I hope the factory will really deliver in 10 days, the second batch came 3 months after the initial estimate...
My FOMO is kicking in again...

Good news - extra 5$ discount for head-fi members for Pro 82 purchases starting 7 AM PST December 9 - so the price is down to 70$ (after store discount):
"For all Head-fi members, when they make orders,if they'll leave a message in the order saying they are from Head-fi, we will give USD5 discount, ok ?
After they submit the order, they need to wait for us to adjust the price for their orders, then they can pay. If they don't need the USD5 discount, we will add a 16GB memory card as gift"

 

[BenF]

My order from Volermer was being delivered today, but my house was empty, so the courier took the parcel back with him. I think they will re-deliver it on monday.

Makes sense that Volemer has stock, their price is even higher than TakstarAudio.
However, they don't list actual stock - I doubt they have 593 Pro 82s.
So you should check with the store if they have stock before placing an order.

 

[heavyharmonies]

Well, I'll admit that I'm one of the idiots that didn't perform due diligence before choosing an Ali Express seller to purchase from (I had never used Ali Express before). I shopped based on price... apparently that is a big mistake, as it would appear that Ali Express is no Amazon. Had I read more before purchasing, I would have discovered that Ali Express can be a minefield, closer to eBay in terms of seller reliability than Amazon.

I ordered the Pro 82 from the seller "Original Brands Market" for US$63.62 shipped (no hard case) at 5PM on Thursday, Dec. 7.

At 8:33PM on the same date I received an email saying that my item had shipped; no other communication.

As of today, December 9, the tracking number provided shows no activity, lending credence to the likelihood that it is a scam.

I'll eventually get a refund, so I'm not worried in that regard. However, shortly after placing that order and reading further in this thread, I discovered true nature of the seller and still wanting a set of these cans, I subsequently placed an order for a pair later that same evening, this time with case, from seller "Takstar Audio Store" for $84.89 shipped with hard case.

In contrast with the first order, within an hour I received a message from "Ellie Wu" asking if I could provide a street address, as they could not ship via epacket to a post office box (further indication that the shipment notification from the first seller was bogus). Approximately an hour later I received an email that my order had shipped.

The difference is that the tracking number supplied by Taskar Audio Store is showing activity/movement in the postal system, unlike the tracking number from Original Brands Market.

So yes, definitely caveat emptor when it comes to Ali Express.

 

[Miguelbazil]

It's understandable that one would go for the cheapest price, as long as you don't lose your money, the rest is nothing but banter Hopefully, you'll get them quickly.

 

[BenF]

It's understandable that one would go for the cheapest price, as long as you don't lose your money, the rest is nothing but banter Hopefully, you'll get them quickly.

Most people aren't as self-deprecating as @heavyharmonies , they will end up writing bad comments everywhere, hurting Pro 82's, Takstar's and Aliexpress' reputation.
Bad sellers can be found on Ebay and even Amazon too, no platform is perfect.
Aliexpress is just as good as Ebay and Amazon in refunding money for products that weren't received, Amazon is clearly better than the other two in returning faulty/damaged goods - they are more likely to make a decision in your favor and usually take care of return shipping.
@heavyharmonies will either get his 63$ back, or even better - will get 2 Pro 82s, so he'll end up being happy.

It can be hard to identify bad sellers - the 2 stores selling 63$ Pro 82s have around 98% rating, and their recent rating is just as good.
Granted, TakstarAudio has a 99.5% rating, but it's an unachievable dream for most stores I bought from.

 

[Rezeta]

"For all Head-fi members, when they make orders,if they'll leave a message in the order saying they are from Head-fi, we will give USD5 discount, ok ?
After they submit the order, they need to wait for us to adjust the price for their orders, then they can pay. If they don't need the USD5 discount, we will add a 16GB memory card as gift"

Thats cute.
I just ordered mine yesterday. I have a pro 80 currently, but i dont like them because they not comfy for me. After seeing the Zeos review how comfy these are i just had to order it.
Also the pro 80 is falling apart, the pleather is horrible quality. I hope the Pro 82 pleather will last longer.

 

[involuntarysoul]

i would not blindly follow zeo's recommendations

 

[BenF]

Thats cute.
I just ordered mine yesterday. I have a pro 80 currently, but i dont like them because they not comfy for me. After seeing the Zeos review how comfy these are i just had to order it.
Also the pro 80 is falling apart, the pleather is horrible quality. I hope the Pro 82 pleather will last longer.

Pro 82 pads are a lot more comfortable and durable. You can see how they look after 6 months of use:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/tak...iscussion-thread.849965/page-31#post-13881821

 

[heavyharmonies]

i would not blindly follow zeo's recommendations

No one should blindly follow ANYONE's recommendations, including reviews/commentary posted on this forum.

As polarizing as Zeos' reviews are, what they accomplish is to draw attention to certain pieces of equipment. Personally, I find his review presentation entertaining, and his sense of humor aligns with my own; they're fun to watch.

Case in point: these cans. They were not on my radar at all, as for the most part I've not actively been seeking new cans to play with other than the occasional deal that sparks my interest or trips my "OOH! HAWT DEAL" gene. Since I am subscribed to Zeos' videos, I got the notification that the revew for the Pro 82 was posted, watched and found that it hit enough sweet spots (comfort, sound signature, cost) to warrant doing more research. First place I started was this thread. Read through about 2/3 of the thread, saw enough consensus of opinion to warrant an impulse purchase, and leapt.

Now granted, had I bothered to read through the ENTIRE thread before purchasing, I would avoided a slight fustercluck, but it is what it is.

No, no one should ever take any SINGLE review as gospel, but rather form consensus across numerous resources and platforms. That said, his reviews are fun and they accomplish a great deal by nudging certain items more clearly into the spotlight of collective awareness.

 

[OscarPaz]

No one should blindly follow ANYONE's recommendations, including reviews/commentary posted on this forum.

As polarizing as Zeos' reviews are, what they accomplish is to draw attention to certain pieces of equipment. Personally, I find his review presentation entertaining, and his sense of humor aligns with my own; they're fun to watch.

Case in point: these cans. They were not on my radar at all, as for the most part I've not actively been seeking new cans to play with other than the occasional deal that sparks my interest or trips my "OOH! HAWT DEAL" gene. Since I am subscribed to Zeos' videos, I got the notification that the revew for the Pro 82 was posted, watched and found that it hit enough sweet spots (comfort, sound signature, cost) to warrant doing more research. First place I started was this thread. Read through about 2/3 of the thread, saw enough consensus of opinion to warrant an impulse purchase, and leapt.

Now granted, had I bothered to read through the ENTIRE thread before purchasing, I would avoided a slight fustercluck, but it is what it is.

No, no one should ever take any SINGLE review as gospel, but rather form consensus across numerous resources and platforms. That said, his reviews are fun and they accomplish a great deal by nudging certain items more clearly into the spotlight of collective awareness.

Agree.

 

[OscarPaz]

Pro 82 pads are a lot more comfortable and durable. You can see how they look after 6 months of use:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/tak...iscussion-thread.849965/page-31#post-13881821

Mine are also still in an excellent condition. Used since May.