[RikudouGoku]

Shanling M6 I think? Not the Thieaudio open back dynamic driver. That is still a prototype

So its still a long way before the dynamic thieaudio releases? Been wanting to buy the phantom but been holding for 11/11 and maybe the new dynamic version.

 

[RikudouGoku]

what is the sound on the phantom like? v-shaped,u-shaped or neutral/harman target.

 

[MartinDF]

If anything, it's like a sickle

It's flat until you get to around 1khz, then it takes a big dip coming back up after 4khz, with a spike at around 6khz; at least that's what graphs show. Empirically, it does sound like the upper mids are way way recessed and the headphones are dark and veiled. Definitely something that can appeal to a variety of people, as the sound is dark but detailed.

If you appreciate splashes, cymbals, and lively female vocals, but won't be EQ'ing, I wouldn't recommend these. If you can EQ then they're very competitive and can definitely make you happy.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

I have O.C.D ? mild Asperger, and cymbal crashes and high hat strikes are spot on. There are several graphs showing lots of stuff. Human's doing human.

My grlles are on the way today....fffffffffuu yeah!

 

[antdroid]

what is the sound on the phantom like? v-shaped,u-shaped or neutral/harman target.

If anything, it's like a sickle

It's flat until you get to around 1khz, then it takes a big dip coming back up after 4khz, with a spike at around 6khz; at least that's what graphs show. Empirically, it does sound like the upper mids are way way recessed and the headphones are dark and veiled. Definitely something that can appeal to a variety of people, as the sound is dark but detailed.

If you appreciate splashes, cymbals, and lively female vocals, but won't be EQ'ing, I wouldn't recommend these. If you can EQ then they're very competitive and can definitely make you happy.

Martin's comments are pretty spot-on, at least in whatever revision I have. If you open it up and remove all the foam and stuff from the cups, it does bring back the treble and upper mids, but they are still recessed. The unfortunately downside of this is that there's a bit of ringing on some songs and when played at a louder volume.

I just bought the Monolith M570, which is apparently and looks like the BLON B20 and Sendy Aiva and measures actually pretty much the same. They are not as dark and recessed like the Phantoms are, but still have some recessed mids, but have some nice treble sizzle to them.

 

[jsmiller58]

Martin's comments are pretty spot-on, at least in whatever revision I have. If you open it up and remove all the foam and stuff from the cups, it does bring back the treble and upper mids, but they are still recessed. The unfortunately downside of this is that there's a bit of ringing on some songs and when played at a louder volume.

I just bought the Monolith M570, which is apparently and looks like the BLON B20 and Sendy Aiva and measures actually pretty much the same. They are not as dark and recessed like the Phantoms are, but still have some recessed mids, but have some nice treble sizzle to them.

My exact experience as well w/Phantoms. I think it is a sound signature that will appeal to some, but not me so much. Will keep them for when I am in a "dark" mood!

Still need to do one more set of mods... I had already moved the square foam to the grill side (and removed the nylon cloth of course), removed the little circular foam pieces, and swapped pads for ZMF suede pads. Now I need to remove the square foam from the grill side, stretch out and adhere speaker cloth to the inside of the grills, and apply a patch of speaker cloth to the ear side opening to the driver (that latter one to take some of the zing off of the strange treble peaks) I think that will be as good as it gets and I will live with that configuration.

To those who have and love these headphones, I am happy for you!

To those who don't have these headphones, take note, some people love them, some don't. Don't assume these are giant killers. For you they may be, or they may not even stack up against others in the same price range. Buyer, as always, beware. Or, at least buy from some place with a generous return policy!

 

[RikudouGoku]

Martin's comments are pretty spot-on, at least in whatever revision I have. If you open it up and remove all the foam and stuff from the cups, it does bring back the treble and upper mids, but they are still recessed. The unfortunately downside of this is that there's a bit of ringing on some songs and when played at a louder volume.

I just bought the Monolith M570, which is apparently and looks like the BLON B20 and Sendy Aiva and measures actually pretty much the same. They are not as dark and recessed like the Phantoms are, but still have some recessed mids, but have some nice treble sizzle to them.

gonna check out the Monolith M750, I had the chance to check out the quad era-1 if anyone can compare that to the Phantom or the Monolith M750 would appreciate that. I likedd the sound of it but not the price (800 usd or something)

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

Got 2 sets of grills coming from 2 different folks.
I rec these as much today as the day I did my first vid.
Miller, sell yours and stop trying. Find something you like.

 

[jsmiller58]

Got 2 sets of grills coming from 2 different folks.
I rec these as much today as the day I did my first vid.
Miller, sell yours and stop trying. Find something you like.

I might, I might! But I will give these that one last shot (the mods described above) before I make that call.

@Hawaiibadboy I am thrilled you like yours! I have to admit that takes me a little by surprise since these are pretty much at the opposite end of the spectrum from something like the S8F that you highly recommended, and that are my current gold standard for sound signature (along with the Aten). I know, over ears vs IEM, but to me it’s all just sound reproduction. In over ears I like the similarly priced Sundara and higher priced Elex. These give a sense of my personal sound signature preference and why the Phantoms aren’t doing it for me. I also did not like the sound signature of the very popular Sennheiser 650 / MD 6XX, so that tells everyone more about my preferences in understanding my opinion of the Phantoms.

In the end it does not hurt for prospective buyers to get an opposite opinion. It’s much better for them than if the only opinion a prospective buyer hears is a one sided positive one! Of course, that dissenting opinion should be delivered respectfully, and should carry the caveat that it is the opinion of that person and others may simply love the sound (should be the same rules for the positive opinions). And, it seems that some others feel the same as I about the Phantoms, while still many others express their love of them. All as it should be!

I don’t want to get into a debate with you, so let me help you out by reminding you that as you have said time and again on your own videos, the most important opinions are the ones that come from those that pay for a product

Again, for those who have these and like them, I wish for you many hours of audio bliss! For those who don’t have them and are thinking about buying them, think about your favorite sounding headphones and ask for sound signature comparisons. Of course, that’s advice for all headphone and IEM purchases!

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

 

[RikudouGoku]

Martin's comments are pretty spot-on, at least in whatever revision I have. If you open it up and remove all the foam and stuff from the cups, it does bring back the treble and upper mids, but they are still recessed. The unfortunately downside of this is that there's a bit of ringing on some songs and when played at a louder volume.

I just bought the Monolith M570, which is apparently and looks like the BLON B20 and Sendy Aiva and measures actually pretty much the same. They are not as dark and recessed like the Phantoms are, but still have some recessed mids, but have some nice treble sizzle to them.

Do you have both the m570 and the phantoms? if so can you give a quick comparison on them? Like for example:

Lows: x is better

mids: Y is better

TIA

 

[XylefMTG]

Got these coming soon. The headphone's worth investing in.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

Got these coming soon. The headphone's worth investing in.

Those are nice
I am going to do a video on youtube just for the grill guy.
So happy. share the joy with a vid and SWAMP HIM!!!

 

[antdroid]

Here's my review of these headphones: https://www.antdroid.net/2019/10/thieaudio-phantom-planar-magnetic.html

 

[XylefMTG]

Here's my review of these headphones: https://www.antdroid.net/2019/10/thieaudio-phantom-planar-magnetic.html

Enjoyed the review. I'm a fan of the post-modded version. I think you've nailed telling the story of this headphone. I agree with some who've said you shouldn't have to do all of those things, but I went into it knowing I'd have to mod it, so it didn't bother me.

I never heard any ringing, but I added a fuzzor mod to the inside and out and added a 3mm piece of foam instead of the fabric on the grill side.

The end result for me was really pleasing. Never fatiguing, love the little details that I just don't hear in other headphones. Percussion is fantastic, really enjoy the quality of the guitars (Jim Croce is amazing on this headphone). They just have an extra thickness/quality to them. I do agree vocals are recessed, but to me it just sounds like the vocals are part of a band, instead of dominating. I don't have to turn down the volume as much (like I do with the HE-560). Another characteristic I've noticed is if I play a song where instruments sound mushed together due to the recording, the Phantom seems to handle it better and I can hear those parts clearer than on other cans in my collection.

The more I try other headphones since I've bought these (HD6XX, HE560, Elex, NDH20), the more I appreciate and love them more.

Thanks for the review!