[DervishD]

Hi all
 
I have an opportunity of getting a pair of TDK EB900 for less than 9 euros (they are genuine, a friend won them in a kind of raffle and don't want them because they're IEM).
 
In short: are they worth that price? I know that they come with Comply tips, but I'm worried about sound quality. More than 15 years ago I had a pair of TDK phones with a weird design (I don't remember the model) and they were darn good, but I don't know if TDK has keep the quality or if their phones are overpriced, overrated, or plain crap.
 
Can anyone give some advice?
 
Thank A LOT

 

[ClieOS]

I haven't heard any TDK yet, but I have read that several TDK IEM models are getting good review on some Hong Kong based headphone forums. EB900 should be around US$65 in HK, so I will definitely grab them for 9 euros even just for trying out.

 

[jwhitakr]

Will have a review of both the TDK EB900 (IEM) and the wireless headphone model from TDK (WR700) in the coming weeks.  Ask your friend to hold them for a couple of weeks while you decide.

 

[ljokerl]

They are really muddy for the price (~$60 here in the US) but for 9 EUR I doubt you'll find anything better. I haven't spent too much time with mine yet but so far I put them around Soundmagic PL21 level in overall SQ.

 

[DervishD]

Thanks, guys
 
Looks like for 9 EUR they are worth the price. If they are on par with PL21, definitely I wouldn't buy them at retail price (about 30 EUR here in Spain).
 
Thanks for the advice

 

[ljokerl]

Alright, I've spent a couple of days with these and they've kinda grown on me. Physical burn-in, brain burn-in, whatever. They are extremely bass-heavy, more so than the Hibbo VB and Meeleec M9 (I'm guessing "EB" stands for "Enhanced Bass") and for that type of sound they fare pretty well. If you equalize mid-bass down by 10-12dB the clarity and detail are actually pretty decent, on par with the Meelec M9. In stock configuration they're a pretty good basshead set - for the $55 or whatever they cost new, I'd be hard-pressed to find a set with more bass and a more well-rounded sound. 
 
Did you end up buying them, Dervish?

 

[DervishD]

Quote:

Alright, I've spent a couple of days with these and they've kinda grown on me. Physical burn-in, brain burn-in, whatever. They are extremely bass-heavy, more so than the Hibbo VB and Meeleec M9 (I'm guessing "EB" stands for "Enhanced Bass") and for that type of sound they fare pretty well. If you equalize mid-bass down by 10-12dB the clarity and detail are actually pretty decent, on par with the Meelec M9. In stock configuration they're a pretty good basshead set - for the $55 or whatever they cost new, I'd be hard-pressed to find a set with more bass and a more well-rounded sound. 
 
Did you end up buying them, Dervish?

Thanks, ljokerl, for sharing your valuable impressions about these phones I finally bought them and, although I've only used them for less than 10 hours, I think exactly the same as you: bass-heavy, which can be fatiguing after some time, but decent clarity and detail. Detail only appears if I equalize down at least the basses (first bar in my Sansa Clip EQ). Tweaking the second bar doesn't seem to affect detail much, but makes the phones much more comfortable after some time (although I could pass for a bass-head, after half an hour I start to be tired of the boom-boom).
 
The thing is that I find them very expensive. I mean, they sound quite good (except for the extra basses...) but not better than my M9s. The M9 are more balanced and cheaper. This said, for bass-heads the TDK are perfect for the price.
 
In Spain, they can be bought for 30 EUR. For the 9 EUR I paid, I think they're fantastic with a bit of EQ. Let's see what happens when I compare them with the M6 I'm waiting for!

 

[jwhitakr]

Full review of the EB900 is done:
http://www.topreviewshop.com/tdk_eb900_earphones
 
Overall a decent set of IEMs, but nothing extraordinary and you can find better clarity/detail at their price point.

 

[DervishD]

Thanks, jwhitakr, for the link
 
They're not a bad set of phones, of course, but they're too much bass heavy, so I don't really know if I would pay 70$ for them. A bit overpriced if you ask me.
 
But comfort and fit are great, really And the comply tips are just great. Don't know how much time will they last, but...