[bassMeUpScotty]

Would you buy brand new sz2000s over the emus?

 

[dstarr3]

Would you buy brand new sz2000s over the emus?

Not a chance. The Teaks are my favorite headphone in my entire collection. The SZ2000 is good for comically absurd amounts of sub-bass like no other headphone can produce, but that's all it's good for. They're below average in all other regards. But if you want a headphone that can properly rattle your skull while also being a proper piece of hi-fi kit that excels in several other areas, I can't think of another headphone I'd choose for the money besides the Teaks.

 

[bassMeUpScotty]

Not a chance. The Teaks are my favorite headphone in my entire collection. The SZ2000 is good for comically absurd amounts of sub-bass like no other headphone can produce, but that's all it's good for. They're below average in all other regards. But if you want a headphone that can properly rattle your skull while also being a proper piece of hi-fi kit that excels in several other areas, I can't think of another headphone I'd choose for the money besides the Teaks.

Sweet. Thank you. I HAD an opportunity to snag a new pair on eBay but someone bought them and it was last pair. Probably gonna go with your rec. I actually fully planned on snagging the 2ks but was starting to see sub par reviews in all categories besides bass until they sold. It wasn't meant to be!
Edit: found the info on here already. You guys are great.

 

[mildmannered]

I would echo the advice to go for EMu-Teaks, IMO they are by far the best Fostex-based including Fostex's own headphones from what I've heard. I haven't listened to the Shure SRH1540 but they would be a different sound signature that should still be able to reproduce bass well from what reviews say. I mention it because you could likely buy a Shure with a return policy to try it out while EMu-Teaks I don't think are available with a return policy.

For the EMu-Teaks, you will want to be able to apply EQ as others have mentioned. IMO something as simple as 8DB boost at 55hz Shelf and 5DB boost at 120hz Shelf or Peak is good enough but obviously the more you can tweak it the better it'll be. You'll likely also want to be able to EQ the Shures and any other headphone you get - if you want good bass you'll always be EQing your headphones.

EMu-Teaks are not built to be portable, most headphones aren't, so I'd recommend getting some kind of carrying case specifically for them since you plan to bring to work. Fortunately they are very lightweight and quite comfortable, if you find the pads aren't to your liking I changed my pads to Dekoni TH900 Elite sheepskin replacements and the comfort + sound is great for me. I also use the Dekoni Attenuation Ring but I don't know what it does or how noticeable it is if I'm honest, I just have it in there too.

Only other option in your price range I'd consider as more of a wildcard is a JM XTC-Closed 32ohm used for your use case. He knows how to get bass right and will customize the tuning if you send the headphone back to him. I'm currently listening to a JM XTC-Closed 2.5 and the sound is great though it's out of your price range. I also personally find the EMu-Teaks more comfortable for long listening sessions just because they're so light and the cups aren't massive.

 

[bassMeUpScotty]

I would echo the advice to go for EMu-Teaks, IMO they are by far the best Fostex-based including Fostex's own headphones from what I've heard. I haven't listened to the Shure SRH1540 but they would be a different sound signature that should still be able to reproduce bass well from what reviews say. I mention it because you could likely buy a Shure with a return policy to try it out while EMu-Teaks I don't think are available with a return policy.

For the EMu-Teaks, you will want to be able to apply EQ as others have mentioned. IMO something as simple as 8DB boost at 55hz Shelf and 5DB boost at 120hz Shelf or Peak is good enough but obviously the more you can tweak it the better it'll be. You'll likely also want to be able to EQ the Shures and any other headphone you get - if you want good bass you'll always be EQing your headphones.

EMu-Teaks are not built to be portable, most headphones aren't, so I'd recommend getting some kind of carrying case specifically for them since you plan to bring to work. Fortunately they are very lightweight and quite comfortable, if you find the pads aren't to your liking I changed my pads to Dekoni TH900 Elite sheepskin replacements and the comfort + sound is great for me. I also use the Dekoni Attenuation Ring but I don't know what it does or how noticeable it is if I'm honest, I just have it in there too.

Only other option in your price range I'd consider as more of a wildcard is a JM XTC-Closed 32ohm used for your use case. He knows how to get bass right and will customize the tuning if you send the headphone back to him. I'm currently listening to a JM XTC-Closed 2.5 and the sound is great though it's out of your price range. I also personally find the EMu-Teaks more comfortable for long listening sessions just because they're so light and the cups aren't massive.

Regular teak or the purple hearts?

 

[mildmannered]

Regular teak or the purple hearts?

I use regular. I won't disagree that different woods can impart different qualities to sound, but my controversial take is that it's largely irrelevant. If they're the same price, get the one you prefer the look / physical weight of more.

 

[dstarr3]

I recommend starting with the teak cups, as you can order the purpleheart cups later if you're curious and then do the swap yourself. Easy mod, all you need is a screwdriver.

 

[bassMeUpScotty]

I recommend starting with the teak cups, as you can order the purpleheart cups later if you're curious and then do the swap yourself. Easy mod, all you need is a screwdriver.

So they're the same drivers/body with different cups? I read somewhere the purple hearts are like the light version or something. Sorry for the relentless questioning.

 

[bassMeUpScotty]

So they're the same drivers/body with different cups? I read somewhere the purple hearts are like the light version or something. Sorry for the relentless questioning.

Teak = 50mm drivers
Purple hearts = 40mm from what I'm seeing so I should go with teak and use different cups potentially to change the sound?

 

[mildmannered]

Teak = 50mm drivers
Purple hearts = 40mm from what I'm seeing so I should go with teak and use different cups potentially to change the sound?

Send them an email to clarify, their contact info is on their website. They basically have 2 main products which are called EMu-Teak and EMu-Walnut, with the Walnut being the 40mm driver and Teak the 50mm driver. They additionally can make extra cups from different woods for you so I imagine the confusion is due to that process, you can kind of get any wood they have for either headphone but they named their headphones after specific woods

 

[dstarr3]

Yeah, the Walnut is their more portable headphone, which is its own different thing. And I believe they collaborated with Drop to do a run of that portable headphone in a purpleheart version. Similarly, there's a Drop version of the Teaks that use bamboo cups instead, and the general consensus is that it's a downgrade.

There is a dedicated Teak thread here somewhere, and I believe the most commonly preferred woods are the stock teak cups, or purpleheart, or ebony. I haven't heard the headphone in any form other than with the stock teak cups, but everyone agrees that the headphone is killer in stock form and cup swapping only has a very subtle effect on sound. Unless you get the bamboo cups which most think suck, lol

 

[bassMeUpScotty]

Yeah, the Walnut is their more portable headphone, which is its own different thing. And I believe they collaborated with Drop to do a run of that portable headphone in a purpleheart version. Similarly, there's a Drop version of the Teaks that use bamboo cups instead, and the general consensus is that it's a downgrade.

There is a dedicated Teak thread here somewhere, and I believe the most commonly preferred woods are the stock teak cups, or purpleheart, or ebony. I haven't heard the headphone in any form other than with the stock teak cups, but everyone agrees that the headphone is killer in stock form and cup swapping only has a very subtle effect on sound. Unless you get the bamboo cups which most think suck, lol

Nice. Thank you again. I just set up the order on their site and hoping they'll invoice me so I can use a credit card without it counting as a cash advance. Mixed info online about sending money on PayPal with a cc and it registering as a cash advance.

 

[Harkaze]

It’s super confusing, but what I showed earlier were the Emu Teaks with Purpleheart wood, not Emu purplehearts. From what I’ve read, the teak wood is considered the overall best for sound but the Purpleheart has slightly more bass but sacrifices mids to get there. The differences are minimal though. While not the same product, the TH-X00 series is similar and you can see how they graph here https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fostex-x-massdrop-th-x00-review.788776/ There’s more discussion about it in the Emu Teak thread too https://www.head-fi.org/threads/e-mu-wooden-series-headphones.781884/page-121

 

[bassMeUpScotty]

It’s super confusing, but what I showed earlier were the Emu Teaks with Purpleheart wood, not Emu purplehearts. From what I’ve read, the teak wood is considered the overall best for sound but the Purpleheart has slightly more bass but sacrifices mids to get there. The differences are minimal though. While not the same product, the TH-X00 series is similar and you can see how they graph here https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fostex-x-massdrop-th-x00-review.788776/ There’s more discussion about it in the Emu Teak thread too https://www.head-fi.org/threads/e-mu-wooden-series-headphones.781884/page-121

Oh okay. That's really cool. Maybe I'll order cups too and see how they sound both ways. Shouldn't be too much more.

 

[bassMeUpScotty]

It’s super confusing, but what I showed earlier were the Emu Teaks with Purpleheart wood, not Emu purplehearts. From what I’ve read, the teak wood is considered the overall best for sound but the Purpleheart has slightly more bass but sacrifices mids to get there. The differences are minimal though. While not the same product, the TH-X00 series is similar and you can see how they graph here https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fostex-x-massdrop-th-x00-review.788776/ There’s more discussion about it in the Emu Teak thread too https://www.head-fi.org/threads/e-mu-wooden-series-headphones.781884/page-121

I pulled the trigger on the teaks with detachable cable. I kinda want 4.4 balanced cables, but I'm seeing 2 different styles. One looks like a 2.5mm mini plug and the other looks short and stubby. Will either work? If you have time would you mind posting a pic of your cable ends that go to the HPs if you have detachables? Would it even be worth it?