[Shane D]

Same here, still loving mine. Still my daily driver. Still prefer them over my 6XX. Got the oval angled hybrid pads on them.
I prefer a warmer sound. My Senns 560s were too thin and bright for me.
Ghost is on sale at Linsoul at the moment. $103.
EDIT: Shane D, I see that you have Focal Clears and Radiances, and the Ghosts will not replace those headphones. But for $103 the value is exceptional!

Oh, I don't think they will knock out my favourites (Grado GH2's, Focal Clear's or HiFiman HE6se V2's), but I am always curious about a product that brings something else to the table. Two other headphones really growing on me are my Senn HD660S2's and iBasso SR2's.

Just wondering if the Ghosts, with different pads, could fall into the "special" category?

I have no doubt it is a competent headphone and great bang for the buck.

 

[Okcerg]

Wether they are "special" or not is very subjective, I guess. I only know that I have no itch to replace them.
Yet.

I get some bloat with my pads, but they take eq well and I lower 200 Hz to clean up things. I also add some subbass and sometimes some treble depending on gear. But overall the sound with my pads is bigger and punchier and more dynamic than stock.

 

[Condocondor]

Just wondering if the Ghosts, with different pads, could fall into the "special" category?

Only one way to find out. Take one for the team. Get some spare pads, experiment, and report back right here and we'll all learn something. Thanks for volunteering : )

 

[Shane D]

Only one way to find out. Take one for the team. Get some spare pads, experiment, and report back right here and we'll all learn something. Thank you for volunteering : )

I was just going to buy the Brainwavz pads recommended earlier in the thread. Amazon.ca sells these pads and the Ghosts.

 

[Okcerg]

"Dark grey cloth", my new favourite earpads for Ghost. Adds just the right amount of bass (for me) and not doing much else to the sound. Some sort of thick grey cloth and the inner part is made of perforated pleather.

"Skin-Friend Ear Pads Cushions for BRAINWAVZ HM5 For Many Other Large Over The Ear for AKG for Sony MDR V6 ZX700 Headphones Pad"
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33017093774.html

(Also bought "sport net" version, but too bassy for me.)

Edit: The link to the pads seems to change, but searching for the title on AliExpress will help you find them.

 

[Condocondor]

Posted my review of this surprisingly good headphone
https://www.audiodiscourse.com/2023/05/thieaudio-ghost-headphones-review.html

I really like your review and feel your image of the frequency response would be helpful to post by itself here:

Update 11-3-23: Ghosts continue to be my daily driver after 8 months of solid use. Running them in balanced mode out of my Jotenheim2 with Beyerdynamic 3.5mm-->4pin XLR cable. Each day I take these cans off/on my head dozens of times. 240 days of ownership x 18 times per day = 4320 times on/off my head. They've performed flawlessly with zero signs of wear or fatigue. There are no weird creeky sounds of cheap plastic as I pull these from my head. So, their lightweight, seemingly cheaper build, is none-the-less very robust. "Don't judge a book by it's cover" is what I'd entitle a book about this headphone. Pads are still perfect. Clamp is still very firm and secure. Sound is better than ever after 1200hrs of play. And I want to report that the Ghosts hardly leak sound even though they are open-back. I'd say they're more like semi-open/semi-closed. I don't disturb my wife who sits 8' away from me while I have my headphones on. And, I can still pretty much hear everything I need to hear in my surroundings if I don't have the volume up too loud. These Ghost headphones have been a pleasurable experience--everyday as my daily driver. I don't want for anything and I've owned some expensive $1000+ Beyerdynamic headphones in the past. $129 is a ridiculous price for this performance.

 

[olinko]

this will be available only on Nov 14 on Linsoul.
Seems like a great deal... I'm still deliberating, I wasn't planning on getting the Ghost, I've been back and forth between the Sivga Luan and the Harmonicdyne Zeus Elite but I'm thinking this is probably the better value for money, idk... I don't have any open backs and I like the idea of getting a Luan but this is just so cheap

 

[Kerry56]

Wish I had known of that sale. I would have waited.

My Ghost came in today, and I've been testing them for an hour and a half this afternoon, so this is very much a preliminary evaluation. My first impression was that these headphones are very light in weight. I've been using my modified Hifiman HE-R9, where I installed wood cups, so the switch between the two was quite noticeable. The second thing that jumped out at me was the lack of adjustment. I must have a large head, because I have to extend the yokes almost all the way to get a comfortable fit. Only a 1/4 inch or so of slack is left.

Once adjusted, they are reasonably comfortable. Ear space is a little tight, but hasn't proved to be an irritant yet.

I'm using the Ghost with a Grace Design SDAC and Cavalli Spark amp. The Spark handles this headphone easily, and on low gain, I can't turn the knob past 10 o'clock without blasting myself.

I started listening with some favorite songs featuring female vocals. Everything was crisp and clear, and tonality was ok. I tend to like warmer headphones, and the Ghost was bordering on bass-light for me, even with songs that don't feature a lot of bass.

So, I switched to a couple of songs where bass impact is important. The first was from Spinerette, called Ghetto Love, and it was a little lacking in the bass. The Kills, Doing it to Death had a lot less thump than I'm used to also. Bass is tight, no doubt, but not extensive. Most open back headphones I've heard don't hit hard in the bass, and even my Fidelio X2 doesn't deliver as much as many closed back headphones I've used, so this wasn't a surprise.

My modified HE-R9 still has a lot of bass even though it is now a semi-open set, but the bass with it is slow and syrupy, which can cause problems in certain songs. The Ghost handled the song Hug of Thunder, by Broken Social Scene much better than the R9. That song has many layers of sound blended together and the R9, even in modified form, turns it into a mess. The Ghost just seems much quicker, and allows you to pick out the different instruments. What it lacks with this song is expanse. It is much more closed-in than my X2, especially side to side.

I don't think I'm going to remove the foam from the center of the pads, or switch pads soon. Cymbal hits are a little sharp, and I'm afraid I might make it worse by removing it. I tested for sibilance with the album Chutes too Narrow by The Shins. This album gives me problems with my Fidelio X2, and it is one of the few that can do that, but the Ghost didn't have this issue.

And, that's as far as I've gotten. Male vocals are next, and I think the Ghost will be fine there.

 

[Condocondor]

Wish I had known of that sale. I would have waited.

My Ghost came in today, and I've been testing them for an hour and a half this afternoon, so this is very much a preliminary evaluation. My first impression was that these headphones are very light in weight. I've been using my modified Hifiman HE-R9, where I installed wood cups, so the switch between the two was quite noticeable. The second thing that jumped out at me was the lack of adjustment. I must have a large head, because I have to extend the yokes almost all the way to get a comfortable fit. Only a 1/4 inch or so of slack is left.

Once adjusted, they are reasonably comfortable. Ear space is a little tight, but hasn't proved to be an irritant yet.

I'm using the Ghost with a Grace Design SDAC and Cavalli Spark amp. The Spark handles this headphone easily, and on low gain, I can't turn the knob past 10 o'clock without blasting myself.

I started listening with some favorite songs featuring female vocals. Everything was crisp and clear, and tonality was ok. I tend to like warmer headphones, and the Ghost was bordering on bass-light for me, even with songs that don't feature a lot of bass.

So, I switched to a couple of songs where bass impact is important. The first was from Spinerette, called Ghetto Love, and it was a little lacking in the bass. The Kills, Doing it to Death had a lot less thump than I'm used to also. Bass is tight, no doubt, but not extensive. Most open back headphones I've heard don't hit hard in the bass, and even my Fidelio X2 doesn't deliver as much as many closed back headphones I've used, so this wasn't a surprise.

My modified HE-R9 still has a lot of bass even though it is now a semi-open set, but the bass with it is slow and syrupy, which can cause problems in certain songs. The Ghost handled the song Hug of Thunder, by Broken Social Scene much better than the R9. That song has many layers of sound blended together and the R9, even in modified form, turns it into a mess. The Ghost just seems much quicker, and allows you to pick out the different instruments. What it lacks with this song is expanse. It is much more closed-in than my X2, especially side to side.

I don't think I'm going to remove the foam from the center of the pads, or switch pads soon. Cymbal hits are a little sharp, and I'm afraid I might make it worse by removing it. I tested for sibilance with the album Chutes too Narrow by The Shins. This album gives me problems with my Fidelio X2, and it is one of the few that can do that, but the Ghost didn't have this issue.

And, that's as far as I've gotten. Male vocals are next, and I think the Ghost will be fine there.

 

[Condocondor]

Wish I had known of that sale. I would have waited.

My Ghost came in today, and I've been testing them for an hour and a half this afternoon, so this is very much a preliminary evaluation. My first impression was that these headphones are very light in weight. I've been using my modified Hifiman HE-R9, where I installed wood cups, so the switch between the two was quite noticeable. The second thing that jumped out at me was the lack of adjustment. I must have a large head, because I have to extend the yokes almost all the way to get a comfortable fit. Only a 1/4 inch or so of slack is left.

Once adjusted, they are reasonably comfortable. Ear space is a little tight, but hasn't proved to be an irritant yet.

I'm using the Ghost with a Grace Design SDAC and Cavalli Spark amp. The Spark handles this headphone easily, and on low gain, I can't turn the knob past 10 o'clock without blasting myself.

I started listening with some favorite songs featuring female vocals. Everything was crisp and clear, and tonality was ok. I tend to like warmer headphones, and the Ghost was bordering on bass-light for me, even with songs that don't feature a lot of bass.

So, I switched to a couple of songs where bass impact is important. The first was from Spinerette, called Ghetto Love, and it was a little lacking in the bass. The Kills, Doing it to Death had a lot less thump than I'm used to also. Bass is tight, no doubt, but not extensive. Most open back headphones I've heard don't hit hard in the bass, and even my Fidelio X2 doesn't deliver as much as many closed back headphones I've used, so this wasn't a surprise.

My modified HE-R9 still has a lot of bass even though it is now a semi-open set, but the bass with it is slow and syrupy, which can cause problems in certain songs. The Ghost handled the song Hug of Thunder, by Broken Social Scene much better than the R9. That song has many layers of sound blended together and the R9, even in modified form, turns it into a mess. The Ghost just seems much quicker, and allows you to pick out the different instruments. What it lacks with this song is expanse. It is much more closed-in than my X2, especially side to side.

I don't think I'm going to remove the foam from the center of the pads, or switch pads soon. Cymbal hits are a little sharp, and I'm afraid I might make it worse by removing it. I tested for sibilance with the album Chutes too Narrow by The Shins. This album gives me problems with my Fidelio X2, and it is one of the few that can do that, but the Ghost didn't have this issue.

And, that's as far as I've gotten. Male vocals are next, and I think the Ghost will be fin

The bass needs time to break in. Surely, you didn't buy this headphone thinking it was going to be bass heavy? I will say this, the bass is clean and well textured & tight which doesn't spill into the midrange. The quality of bass is very good. That is what is important to me...low distortion.

 

[Kerry56]

The bass needs time to break in. Surely, you didn't buy this headphone thinking it was going to be bass heavy? I will say this, the bass is clean and well textured & tight which doesn't spill into the midrange. The quality of bass is very good. That is what is important to me...low distortion.

As I said, I'm not surprised that they lack bass. It is a common trait of many dynamic, open-back headphones. And I don't believe in break-in with headphones, except in the perception of the person using them. It is possible to have the sound change over time as your pads wear down and compress, but that is not a factor with a new set.

I seem to recall that Thieaudio recommends different pads if you find the bass to be insufficient. From comments in this thread, pleathor and leather pads were mostly rejected by others, so I'm curious if there are other options that can achieve that end. Some recommended the angled Brainwavz hybrid pads earlier. I'll have to go back and read through their posts to see what results they got.

Male vocals haven't been a clear win for these headphones so far in my testing. And I'm getting some sharp peaks in the upper midrange/lower treble that I didn't expect. These are not as smooth as I hoped.

 

[Kerry56]

Ah, I notice Okcerg found some other options on Aliexpress. Thanks for that post sir.

 

[Okcerg]

Ah, I notice Okcerg found some other options on Aliexpress. Thanks for that post sir.

You're welcome! No need for cutting any foam on the replacement pads, as there's just thin fabric inside them.

-"Brainwavz angled hybrids" gives a bit more recessed treble and a warmer thumping bass. Overall a warmer sound than stock.
-"Grey cloth" is closer to stock but with a slight addition to the bass and a tad less treble.
-"Sport net" turned them into bass cannons.

They're all cheap, so my advice is to get them all and have a time fun testing them.
(I'm not a basshead so I never use "Sport net" though.)

 

[olinko]

this will be available only on Nov 14 on Linsoul.
Seems like a great deal... I'm still deliberating, I wasn't planning on getting the Ghost, I've been back and forth between the Sivga Luan and the Harmonicdyne Zeus Elite but I'm thinking this is probably the better value for money, idk... I don't have any open backs and I like the idea of getting a Luan but this is just so cheap

(slight correction, the bundle is available already throughout the sale period, but on Nov 14 there's an additional bundle discount code, not sure what that means exactly tho)

 

[yeldarb17]

Today, $5 off and free shipping, with "Bundle1114". The mark of how much you like something, is buying it again. I just ordered a backup Ghost.