[Joe Bloggs]

Thanks for the detailed review CashNotCredit!
 
Quote:

HIGH-MIDS: Exceptional. From 350-700 Hz, the MH463 is unstoppable. Airy, a bit sparkly, and right at the forefront, which is exactly where they should be. The high-mids truly set this headphone apart from everything else I have heard.

 
So true.
 
BBEG I'm wondering the same thing myself!  I know one pair that will fit, the Philips SHP2000.  They will be a bit loose on the Somics but won't fall off or anything.  The phones are like $15 and they come with thick cloth pads that are especially thick on the back side so they will clear your ears comfortably.  They will also reduce the bass a fair bit however.  I found the midbass reduction just right for me but the subbass was reduced too (<50Hz).  I've decided to mod the phones for maximum subbass (taped inside vents, stock pads with tissue mod) and deal with the extra midbass using EQ and pad up the stock pads using tissue to deal with the comfort issue for now.  Wondering where I'd find other deeper pads myself, with the added requirement that they be pleather like the stock pads or leather, since this seems to preserve the subbass response better!

 

[viralcow]

I just bit for $48 on eBay. Unfortunately it'll take... four weeks for them to arrive? I'll be sure to post impressions then unless everyone's lost interest in these.

 

[mechgamer123]

Yay, my pair arrived in America on the 18th, hopefully they will be here soon!

 

[Sniperbombers]

Quote:

I just bit for $48 on eBay. Unfortunately it'll take... four weeks for them to arrive? I'll be sure to post impressions then unless everyone's lost interest in these.

nahhhhh we'll be waiting.. in the shadows...

 

[BBEG]

Absolutely awesome for acoustic music, and by extensiona lot of newer country. Kenny Chesney's "El Cerrito Place" and Florida Georgia Line's "Black Tears" are somethin' else through these phones.

I have no idea why it quadruple posted me...

Edit: Gone back to double-post. Funny android phone.

 

[BBEG]

Delete

 

[mechgamer123]

Well, the SOMiCs arrived today... On Sunday... I guess the post office must be pretty slammed with Christmas deliveries to be working today... Oh well, like I care.
First impressions: the box is surprisingly not too bad considering the price and everything... After finally getting them out of the box, these are heavy! Heavier than my HD600s for sure. The build quality feels good too... Until I put them on my head and hear all the creaking... Strain relief on the cable from the headphone is almost non existent, and what's there is already loose... The 3.5mm connector side looks much better though!
Also, I have to have the headband extended all the way except for one notch, and the pads are small on my ears. I guess these were made for smaller people than myself...
On to the sound quality: These were pre-owned, so they should be burned in, if you believe in burn in that is, which I personally don't. These cost how much?!? Compared to the HD600s, the bass and treble are a bit more elevated (really only the bass, the treble is just a very small bit louder than that of the HD600s) and the mids are a bit recessed. The mids dont sound quite as refined as the HD600s either. No extremely weird tonal balance though, so that's good. But still, at 1/8 the price of the HD600s (roughly,) these deliver immense bang for your buck. They sound almost as good, just a bit more V curved, not as comfortable, and not quite as refined.
Further impressions to come later after I've listened to these a bit more. Just got them about 25 minutes ago...

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

Does anyone know M50-sized pads that would increase depth? It's not that the Uptowns have spoiled me, but a sizable part of my ears rest against the inside of the housing (that grate right in front of the driver that I still don't know the name of). This is partly due to the 463's pads collapsing and partly because they're just not that deep in the first place. Velour would be ideal, but I'll roll with anything at this point that's more comfortable.

Funny story about this, actually.
 

 
So my mom and I decide to have Christmas early, because why not. I open one of my gifts to see that it's a Turtle Beach X12. Yuck. Apparently, I was on the naughty list this year. 

Anyway, I also got Skyrim for PC from my dad, which I was excited to play, so I decided to dig out the Turtle Beaches so I could use Steam chat (and not use my MH463s and Zalman mic, as not to upset my mother, because it was a nice gift.) Then I looked at them a little closer and thought 'It can't be'. 

Well, it is.

 
Turtle Beach X12 pads fit the MH463. They also alleviate the problem that you're speaking of entirely.
 

 
 
(left - Turtle Beach X12 right- stock MH463.)
 
As the leftmost picture above shows, the X12 pads are about the same thickness the stock pads. However, they are much firmer and do not "give" as easily as the stock pads do (just look at the way they can take that can of olives and still keep their shape.) They are made out of "fabric mesh", which is codeword for "Turtle Beach is too cheap to use real earpad materials." However, they are still extremely comfortable, a bit more breathable than (p)leather, and make the headphone unquestionably over-ear (perfect for people who wear glasses, like yours truly).

But wait, it gets better. Not only are the X12 pads comfortable, but they completely alleviate all of the bass problems that the MH463s had before. Bass is now more prominent overall, giving them a hint of HA-S500-ness (no, I didn't forget to do the comparison. Unfortunately, I had an orthodontic procedure a few days ago, which made it very painful to talk, let alone talk in front of a camera for 40-50 minutes, given time for multiple takes. I'm working on it, I promise.) They aren't going to rattle your skull with bass while you're listening to Adele, but the X12 pads turn the MH463s into conditional thumpers. If the song calls for it (like a lot of electronic/rap music), these things will boom a bit. If not, then not. The midrange is still excellent, and the treble is still doing its gig and out of the way.

I think that this really goes to show where Somic had their priorities when creating this headphone. At a $50 price point, you can only allocate so much money to any particular component. Somic wisely decided to focus on the drivers, a very smart move. Spending money on fixing the creakiness, adding a better strain relief, and improving the earpads would have easily sent this headphone into the $70-$80 range, where the competition is much fiercer than at $50. However, for $13 bucks shipped from Turtle Beach's website, these headphones turn from great-sounding M50 slayers into some of the best sounding headphones out there under $250. Period.

The moral of this story? Mom always knows best and Christmas miracles sometimes come in the form of Turtle Beaches.
 
Edit: The EFi82-MT is in Illinois, so I'll definitely post impressions (a separate thread, maybe, if I think they're worthy.) once I get them. Given where I live, where they're at, and the fact that it's Christmas, I should have them by the 27th or 28th. Fingers crossed!

 

[waynes world]

^ Excellent stuff Cash! Thanks for posting that. And give your mom an xmas hug for me

 

[BBEG]

Awesome post cash. Thanks for costing me another $14. Pro: drop in the bucket, considered. Con: Turtle Beach doesn't start shipping again 'til Jan 4th. Sigh.
 
I need to ban myself from Head-Fi and Newegg...

 

[nick n]

When you get a chance and if you feel like doing so , can you post the measurements on those pads for us? I am always on the lookout for stuff, and finding this type of fabric covered stuff is hard, usually veloury type pads. Only ones i found like this before were this type of fabric on top of pleather pads, meant as replacements for the Sony 3000
 
Inner diameter and outer diameter(s) if you would be so kind.. and maybe height
 
Thanks ~N

 

[BlutoSlice]

The 463s do look like a fun purchase but I'm leaning towards getting the Somic EFI-82MT, no idea how they sound but this promo pic is great.
 

 
 
"No need to learn guitar as classic rock MP3 included with every purchase"
 
seriously tho' anyone heard these new cans and if they are replacing the Somic EFI-82 Pro or are they a sibling?  

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BlutoSlice

The 463s do look like a fun purchase but I'm leaning towards getting the Somic EFI-82MT, no idea how they sound but this promo pic is great.




"No need to learn guitar as classic rock MP3 included with every purchase"

seriously tho' anyone heard these new cans and if they are replacing the Somic EFI-82 Pro or are they a sibling?


I ordered some about a month ago. They should be coming in tomorrow or Friday. I'll keep everyone posted.

Edit: Quoting on the mobile site is a no-go, apparently.

Double Edit: The EFI-82 MT is about an hour away from my house, so I will definitely post impressions tomorrow. I'm also giving the Philips Uptowns a re-listen for the comparison, which should be up over the weekend.

Triple Edit: Apparently, the EFi-82 was designed in Germany. Reviews show that it's not very comfortable, a bit small (kind of odd for a headphone with 50mm drivers), and poorly built. Both the EFi M82 and the MH463 got an average of 3.8 stars from 30+ consumer reviews. If the MH463 is a 3.8, I'd love to hear what these people consider to be a 5/5.

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

When you get a chance and if you feel like doing so , can you post the measurements on those pads for us? I am always on the lookout for stuff, and finding this type of fabric covered stuff is hard, usually veloury type pads. Only ones i found like this before were this type of fabric on top of pleather pads, meant as replacements for the Sony 3000
 
Inner diameter and outer diameter(s) if you would be so kind.. and maybe height
 
Thanks ~N

Sure thing! 

The internal part for the ear measured at about 1 3/4 x 2 1/2 inches/ 4.5 x 6.4 centimeters. The external part measured 3 1/4 by 4 inches/ 8 1/4 by 10.16 centimeters. They measured to be about 1 inch/ 2.5 centimeters thick. 

(I am not the best with a tape measure, so take these for what they're worth.)

 

[CashNotCredit]

EFi-82 MTs came in the mail today, like I mentioned.

First Impressions: THESE > MH463 and that's saying something.

I'll post more up-to-the-minute coverage as I get more listening in, but WOW these are something else.