[B9Scrambler]

My final review of the year!
 

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thinksound On2​

 

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[dalesky]

I received my ON2's a coupe of weeks ago, and have been using them exclusively ever since. I have spent quite a bit of time with them plugged into my CD player (no amp needed) and have been really impressed. I listen to a lot of old jazz (Miles, Bird, etc) plus some instrumental holiday music, and a bit of classical voice.
Because of my familiarity with the music I have been listening to, I can say with certainty that they are very accurate, and revealing, and have a great depth of treble and plenty of bass for me.
 I also have used them a bit with a portable setup- MP3's and a FIIO amp. Either way, and without enough time  to consider them burned in, I have absolutely been happy. The isolation from my surroundings is significant, and there is no sound leakage to speak of. The ear pads are very form fitting, the provided cords are fantastic, and the build quality overall is exemplary. Very high standard for all the materials used.These are my first headphones with wood, and I think the material contributes quite a bit to the accuracy I am hearing. I don't usually think 40MM drivers are satisfactory, but with these I have rethought this. They also look like high quality phones, especially the nice soft quality of the finish on the wood. They don't seem heavy on my head, perhaps due to the very comfortable cushioned ear pads. 

 

[B9Scrambler]

@dalesky Glad you're enjoying them

. I'm truly enamored with the On2 and feel it's a complete package; sound built comfort, etc. The only thing that could be added to improve the experience, imo, is a compact hard case. Love these things to death.

 

[Dsnuts]

I feel it is one of those cans that if you dont own one you just dont know. Recent massdrop deal for $130 had to be one of the best deals for money. Still a bit overlooked. Which is a damn shame.

 

[B9Scrambler]

I feel it is one of those cans that if you dont own one you just dont know. Recent massdrop deal for $130 had to be one of thest deals for money. Still a bit overlooked. Which is a damn shame.

 
For sure! The On2 and BeB Model 1200EX are 2016's sleeper hits imo. 

 

[Grayson73]

How do the On2 compare to the Fidelio X2?

 

[Dsnuts]

I am gonna guess wider stage on the X2. I have the older X1. ON2 is a portable on ear. Though comfortable and will isolate much better than the X2. One of the best passive isolating headphones I own actually. Sound will be tighter on the ON2 due to closed design but will again have the more intimate stage in sound. I bet the sound profile,balance besides stage will be similar.  My X1 is more V shaped in sound profile. 

 

[dalesky]

I'm going to play the money card- the price difference is pretty substantial here, so often comparing 2 headphones based on the large price difference automatically tends to favor the more expensive ones. I'm saying that it is on the face of it an unfair comparison.Do you have the Philips?
2ndly, One is on ear and one over ear. Once is closed and one is open back. 
Given all that, I do have both, and I think the 'little' ON2s compare nicely, but not equally, if that makes sense. I think the ON2s are a great value, and if I wanted to just get very good headphones, and spend the least amount of money, that would lead me to the ON2s. If I'm sitting at home with my headphones, and not using them for travel I would definitely favor the Philips. 
Hope that makes sense.

 

[Grayson73]

  I'm going to play the money card- the price difference is pretty substantial here, so often comparing 2 headphones based on the large price difference automatically tends to favor the more expensive ones. I'm saying that it is on the face of it an unfair comparison.Do you have the Philips?
2ndly, One is on ear and one over ear. Once is closed and one is open back. 
Given all that, I do have both, and I think the 'little' ON2s compare nicely, but not equally, if that makes sense. I think the ON2s are a great value, and if I wanted to just get very good headphones, and spend the least amount of money, that would lead me to the ON2s. If I'm sitting at home with my headphones, and not using them for travel I would definitely favor the Philips. 
Hope that makes sense.

 
Thanks for both reponses.  Yes, I have the X2 and listen mostly at home, so I think I'll pass on the ON2.

 

[Raketen]

Picked up used On2's, pretty nice portables for the massdrop price which puts them in similar tier to the u-Jays I'd been using- u-Jays a little more immediately appealing with better presentation and somewhat 'u' shaped sound, but find ON2's darker sound to also be more tonally accurate and genre versatile. DT1350 and HD25 still tops for me, but On2 and u-Jays seem solid on-ear choices for different niches and get bonus points for being extra portable friendly .

 

[drbluenewmexico]

On 2 scale beautifully. You don't need amp but when you feed them more power and better sources they keep getting better. Way better

 

[B9Scrambler]

I really love these things. Such a nice headphone. 

 

 

 

[loplop]

I'm a big fan of the ON2's. I picked up a pair some time ago on Massdrop; I had a need for a portable 'phone that I could drive with a phone, ipad, or my ZX2, and although I also bought the E-MU Purpleheart's, I wanted something to "tide me over" in the meantime. I have a pair of B&W P5s2 I use for that purpose at work, and while I think they are decent, I don't love them enough to buy a 2nd pair.

The ON2's have been a big surprise to me. I use them a LOT--I've even spent more than one enjoyable evening with the ON2's plugged into my ifi iCAN Pro... I could have grabbed any number of other phones instead (LCDX, LCD3, TH-X00, HD650) but wanted to see how the ON2's reacted in a stationary environment and I never felt cheated listening to them. They won't replace those headphones for me, but they are an enjoyable flavor that's all their own, and quite fun to listen to.

They need a lot of burn in IMO (hundreds of hours to sound their best), there's a bit of grain in their sound, and they have a peak somewhere around 7k I'm guessing that can annoy on some recordings... But all those flaws are really nothing in comparison to the wonderful, engaging sound of the ON2 that just grabs me and draws me into the music. If I quickly switch over to something like my LCDX you realize the ON2's are vastly less superior from an objective point of view... but you know what? When you're listening solely to the ON2 you don't notice or care.

They're fantastic!

Because of my positive experience with the ON2's I joined the recent Blue Box drop. I got a pair of MS02 and Rain3. Just working to burn them in now...

 

[Dsnuts]

I like the MS02 more so than the Rain3 but I agree with you 100% on burn in. I heard the slight grain on first listen as well which went away with some time on them.
 
Again the ON2 is one of those phones. People don't know until they own a pair. It is surprising how good they actually are. 

 

[Raketen]

I'm a big fan of the ON2's. I picked up a pair some time ago on Massdrop; I had a need for a portable 'phone that I could drive with a phone, ipad, or my ZX2, and although I also bought the E-MU Purpleheart's, I wanted something to "tide me over" in the meantime. I have a pair of B&W P5s2 I use for that purpose at work, and while I think they are decent, I don't love them enough to buy a 2nd pair.

They need a lot of burn in IMO (hundreds of hours to sound their best), there's a bit of grain in their sound, and they have a peak somewhere around 7k I'm guessing that can annoy on some recordings...

Never really heard the graininess, definitely hear the peak, but i got mine used

I would gladly take these over either of the B&W cans I've heard... though to be fair those were only in short demos. I rotate through a number of headphones with different signatures but they sounded pretty bizarre to me, ON2 immediately sounded much more "correct" and didn't really take any brain burn-in to adjust to.

Haven't heard Thinksound's IEMs. I do find the Panasonic RP-HDE10-S inears sound tuned in a similar spirit (with the right tip selection at least).