Deviltooth
1000+ Head-Fier
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- Mar 1, 2012
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Thanks to Torque Audio for supplying the review unit.
This my third go around with a Torque Audio product so I feel it's safe to make a few generalizations about the company: Torque is all about detail, sound quality and innovation. The t402v is both an over-ear and on-ear headphone. Further it offers four different tunings for the bass with either set of ear-pad. It's all about flexibility and here Torque goes off the grid to offer it to the consumer. Will the t402v enchant me as much as the t096z (still a daily driver) IEM did? Read on to find out.
What You Get: Inside the box is the headphone, two smaller magnetically attachable on-ear pads, two much larger magnetically attachable over-ear pads and a 1.4m cable (with microphone). To hold your gear Torque also includes a soft, neoprene zippered pouch. Finally, a booklet containing instructions for use including how to change the tuning.
Build Quality: Once again Torque nails it. The headband is spring steel covered with a firm padding. The arms extend with obvious detents so it's easy to match lengths for each side. The cable is the same included with the t096z. This is a great cable, it reduces both microphonics and tangling while at the same time looking good. Said cable is terminated with a right angle plug that should fit most smart phone cases. The ear-pads contain memory foam so they have give without becoming deformed over time.
The t402v looks strong and masculine, fortunately the looks echo the build quality.
Fit and Comfort: Putting on the t402v your head is greeted by a serious hug. There's significant clamping force here; far more than I got from either the Thinksound On1 or the Sennheiser Momentum On-ears (first generation). The good news is the headphone is more comfortable than you'd initially guess. Over time the clamp either relaxed a little or my head got used to it. Using the on-ear pads I can wear the t402v for several hours before feeling the urge to give my ears a break.
The padding for the band is firm but unlike the On1 I didn't experience a 'hot spot' on my crown; my guess is the stronger clamp takes a lot of the weight off of the top of your skull.
It should be noted that I largely used the t402v as an on-ear headphone. The over-ear pads felt a little large and less comfortable for me. For someone else they may be just right; they're certainly big enough to contain an average sized ear without it contacting the edges.
Sound: The t402v allows you to modify how much bass you're getting but the rest of the sound signature will remain largely the same presenting the listener with a popular consumer U shaped tuning. I'm saying U instead of V because the mids are not deeply recessed/lost as I've often found in consumer tuned headphones.
Over time I settled on the second least bassy/red setting. Even on red bass is still plentiful. In other words, if you're looking for a balanced, mid forward or very bright headphone you won't find it here. The t402v is tuned to be fun. It's what would happen if you took a popular earphone such as something by Beats and then added a measure of maturity and sophistication so that the bass anchors the sound as opposed to completely dominating it. Mind you, that's with each setting except the yellow. Put it on yellow and you've got a full on 'boom car' sound. It's still less sloppy/bloated than you'd find on many headphones with a similar tuning but I didn't enjoy yellow. It's the only setting where I'd describe the bass as having bloat. Speaking of bass, lets break the frequencies down.
Bass: Big, heavy, very present. Quality is very good, it's not all mid-bass, there's deep extension here as demonstrated when I played scenes from assorted big budget, highly dynamic Hollywood movies. Jurassic World is chock full of CGI dinosaurs, crashing, bumping and thumping their way through the scenery. The t402v has no problem conveying the heavy footsteps of a T-Rex or the explosion of a rocket. Each sound effect had the appropriate weight and density I'd expect. Texture was also present, this isn't cheap one note bass, it's far more accurate and varied than that.
Mids: The mids are present and a little warm while being slightly recessed. Voices are enjoyable and clear. Again turning to Jurassic World dialogue was presented naturally and with clarity. Even during scenes with very active rear speakers and a complex varied mix, voices remained clear and easy to understand. Playing vocal trance tracks I was able to enjoy the singers who remained anchored in the mix sitting atop large helpings of bass.
Highs: Present but certainly not the centerpiece of the sound signature. Happily there are no annoying treble spikes. The t402v is much more on the warm than the bright side. Extension at either end is good and the highs don't leave me wanting. My fiance who has younger ear than myself agreed that nothing was missing and nothing sounded metallic or false.
Sound stage: With the on-ear pads the sound stage is a medium/average size. Instrument/sound effect placement is very accurate and everything comes across as extremely coherent. Vocal are mostly presented as intimate and close. Switch to the over-ear pads and the sound stage expands becoming less intimate and more out of the head. When listening to surround mixes sounds that panned across the front of the stage or behind it were obvious and easy to follow.
Isolation: About the same as the Thinksound On1 and the Sennheiser Momentum On-Ears. Compared to typical IEMs you're getting a lot less noise cancellation/blocking here. The t402v would not be a good choice for a crowded train or an airline flight.
Hardware Pairing: The t402v are surprisingly efficient. In other words they're very easily driven and sounded good out of every source I tried them with. Paired with my go-to HRT Microstreamer (USB powered) they could produce prodigious amounts of volume, certainly far more than I could listen to for more than a second or two. At high volumes (avoid for the sake of your hearing) the sound remained coherent and didn't become hard/brittle.
The t402v vs. The Sennheiser Momentum on Ear: I realize there's a price discrepancy here but at the moment the Sennheiser is my most used on-ear (most of the time I default to C/IEMS). Build wise the Torque is heavier and stronger than the Sennheiser. The Sennheiser is lighter with much less clamping force and thus I find it a little more comfortable. Sound wise these two both give the listener a consumer bass first sound but that's where the similarities end. Simply put the t402v is much more 'present' than the Momentum. The sound is bigger, heavier and has better dynamics. The Momentum is a little airier and because of that feels faster, but A/B'ing quickly between the two I kept coming back to the impression of the t402v's much larger presence.
The t402v is a powerful performer for those seeking a fun, bass first sound. It's the grown up version of the consumer sound that's become the dominant tuning in today's headphone market. If fun is what you're looking for Torque' first non-IEM delivers.
P.S. Yes, this headphone works really, really well for EDM. House, deep house, trance, psytrance, eurodance, industrial... you name it and the t402v serves it up with gusto.
This my third go around with a Torque Audio product so I feel it's safe to make a few generalizations about the company: Torque is all about detail, sound quality and innovation. The t402v is both an over-ear and on-ear headphone. Further it offers four different tunings for the bass with either set of ear-pad. It's all about flexibility and here Torque goes off the grid to offer it to the consumer. Will the t402v enchant me as much as the t096z (still a daily driver) IEM did? Read on to find out.
What You Get: Inside the box is the headphone, two smaller magnetically attachable on-ear pads, two much larger magnetically attachable over-ear pads and a 1.4m cable (with microphone). To hold your gear Torque also includes a soft, neoprene zippered pouch. Finally, a booklet containing instructions for use including how to change the tuning.
Build Quality: Once again Torque nails it. The headband is spring steel covered with a firm padding. The arms extend with obvious detents so it's easy to match lengths for each side. The cable is the same included with the t096z. This is a great cable, it reduces both microphonics and tangling while at the same time looking good. Said cable is terminated with a right angle plug that should fit most smart phone cases. The ear-pads contain memory foam so they have give without becoming deformed over time.
The t402v looks strong and masculine, fortunately the looks echo the build quality.
Fit and Comfort: Putting on the t402v your head is greeted by a serious hug. There's significant clamping force here; far more than I got from either the Thinksound On1 or the Sennheiser Momentum On-ears (first generation). The good news is the headphone is more comfortable than you'd initially guess. Over time the clamp either relaxed a little or my head got used to it. Using the on-ear pads I can wear the t402v for several hours before feeling the urge to give my ears a break.
The padding for the band is firm but unlike the On1 I didn't experience a 'hot spot' on my crown; my guess is the stronger clamp takes a lot of the weight off of the top of your skull.
It should be noted that I largely used the t402v as an on-ear headphone. The over-ear pads felt a little large and less comfortable for me. For someone else they may be just right; they're certainly big enough to contain an average sized ear without it contacting the edges.
Sound: The t402v allows you to modify how much bass you're getting but the rest of the sound signature will remain largely the same presenting the listener with a popular consumer U shaped tuning. I'm saying U instead of V because the mids are not deeply recessed/lost as I've often found in consumer tuned headphones.
Over time I settled on the second least bassy/red setting. Even on red bass is still plentiful. In other words, if you're looking for a balanced, mid forward or very bright headphone you won't find it here. The t402v is tuned to be fun. It's what would happen if you took a popular earphone such as something by Beats and then added a measure of maturity and sophistication so that the bass anchors the sound as opposed to completely dominating it. Mind you, that's with each setting except the yellow. Put it on yellow and you've got a full on 'boom car' sound. It's still less sloppy/bloated than you'd find on many headphones with a similar tuning but I didn't enjoy yellow. It's the only setting where I'd describe the bass as having bloat. Speaking of bass, lets break the frequencies down.
Bass: Big, heavy, very present. Quality is very good, it's not all mid-bass, there's deep extension here as demonstrated when I played scenes from assorted big budget, highly dynamic Hollywood movies. Jurassic World is chock full of CGI dinosaurs, crashing, bumping and thumping their way through the scenery. The t402v has no problem conveying the heavy footsteps of a T-Rex or the explosion of a rocket. Each sound effect had the appropriate weight and density I'd expect. Texture was also present, this isn't cheap one note bass, it's far more accurate and varied than that.
Mids: The mids are present and a little warm while being slightly recessed. Voices are enjoyable and clear. Again turning to Jurassic World dialogue was presented naturally and with clarity. Even during scenes with very active rear speakers and a complex varied mix, voices remained clear and easy to understand. Playing vocal trance tracks I was able to enjoy the singers who remained anchored in the mix sitting atop large helpings of bass.
Highs: Present but certainly not the centerpiece of the sound signature. Happily there are no annoying treble spikes. The t402v is much more on the warm than the bright side. Extension at either end is good and the highs don't leave me wanting. My fiance who has younger ear than myself agreed that nothing was missing and nothing sounded metallic or false.
Sound stage: With the on-ear pads the sound stage is a medium/average size. Instrument/sound effect placement is very accurate and everything comes across as extremely coherent. Vocal are mostly presented as intimate and close. Switch to the over-ear pads and the sound stage expands becoming less intimate and more out of the head. When listening to surround mixes sounds that panned across the front of the stage or behind it were obvious and easy to follow.
Isolation: About the same as the Thinksound On1 and the Sennheiser Momentum On-Ears. Compared to typical IEMs you're getting a lot less noise cancellation/blocking here. The t402v would not be a good choice for a crowded train or an airline flight.
Hardware Pairing: The t402v are surprisingly efficient. In other words they're very easily driven and sounded good out of every source I tried them with. Paired with my go-to HRT Microstreamer (USB powered) they could produce prodigious amounts of volume, certainly far more than I could listen to for more than a second or two. At high volumes (avoid for the sake of your hearing) the sound remained coherent and didn't become hard/brittle.
The t402v vs. The Sennheiser Momentum on Ear: I realize there's a price discrepancy here but at the moment the Sennheiser is my most used on-ear (most of the time I default to C/IEMS). Build wise the Torque is heavier and stronger than the Sennheiser. The Sennheiser is lighter with much less clamping force and thus I find it a little more comfortable. Sound wise these two both give the listener a consumer bass first sound but that's where the similarities end. Simply put the t402v is much more 'present' than the Momentum. The sound is bigger, heavier and has better dynamics. The Momentum is a little airier and because of that feels faster, but A/B'ing quickly between the two I kept coming back to the impression of the t402v's much larger presence.
The t402v is a powerful performer for those seeking a fun, bass first sound. It's the grown up version of the consumer sound that's become the dominant tuning in today's headphone market. If fun is what you're looking for Torque' first non-IEM delivers.
P.S. Yes, this headphone works really, really well for EDM. House, deep house, trance, psytrance, eurodance, industrial... you name it and the t402v serves it up with gusto.
