E-MU Teak Review (Headphone)

[phrwn]

And they don't have any isolation either.

They might actually make certain sounds come through clearer - they cut a tiny bit of background noise, but if someone's talking near you you're going to hear every word unless you crank them uncomfortably load. I don't get complaints about sound leaking out though, which is surprising.

I've not been able to find a decent closed back alternative for my purposes despite extensive searching. I used to have the TH-X00's and find the Teaks much better; more resolving I think is the main difference. I've been running mine with AutoEQ and they're great. However, if I could find a comfortable properly closed-back alternative, wireless ideally, I'd consider switching. But for now, I use the Teaks daily.

 

[godmax]

Nice too see that my perception and appreciation of the E-MU Teak did not let me down without knowing any measurements before,
since I very much agree that the use of EQ on these is not really required.
Foster/Fostex bio-cellulose drivers and their variations are such a versatile tunable foundation for the whole headphone market.

In regards of isolation/leakage, the wooden cups are really more like dust covers for the drivers, but look fabulous doing that
E-MU Teaks are pure listing enjoyment right out-of-the-box that will put a smile on your face!

 

[phoenixsong]

Thanks for the graphs, can see why they perceived the Teaks to be engaging and the TH610 to be more balanced/neutral

 

[phrwn]

This. My only complaint with the Massdrop TR-X00. You have a source for these 'cheap third party cables'? I did not find any due to the unusual connector used on Fostex cans.

Me neither (for Teaks specifically). The cable I bought from Periapt had connectors that were so long there was at least 10mm exposed. Then I tried Audiophile Ninja, which is better, but still not nearly as well seated as the stock cable connectors. They have about 5mm exposed and don't snap in as securely as the stock cable. I couldn't see any viable cheapo cables on Amazon.

 

[daftcombo]

Nice FR, albeit the treble peaks that must be ear-piercing without EQ.

 

[phoenixsong]

Nice FR, albeit the treble peaks that must be ear-piercing without EQ.

View attachment 140081

It does get somewhat annoying on my TH-X00 Ebony (might measure slightly different). My ears are still somewhat young though

 

[QuantumNet]

This. My only complaint with the Massdrop TR-X00. You have a source for these 'cheap third party cables'? I did not find any due to the unusual connector used on Fostex cans.

Not sure if they’re the same connector, but I have these ones for my Teaks:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KBBR8T...abc_6K27CVKKY1BWA82K8FR2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Eventually bought some hart cables for the interconnectivity for all of my audio gear

 

[edahl]

This is gorgeous, but this, 820 or CX? I want rankings lol

 

[Nathan Raymond]

Yeah, Tyll of Innerfidelity back then really liked it. Some reviewers claims it sounded cleaner than the Purpleheart and Mahogany versions of the TH-X00 and with more character/flavour/engagement than the Ebony version, which they described as boring in comparison. There have also been reviews liking the Fostex TH610's more "balanced" sound over the Ebony's relatively "bassy" nature. I wonder how these impressions would show up as in measurements

Tyll's article comparing them:

https://www.stereophile.com/content...ening-tests-denon-ah-d5000-massdrop-fostex-th

Includes links to related things, including a PDF that has measurements:

https://www.stereophile.com/images/Fostex_Variants_Measurements.pdf

This thread documents some people's mods and their measurements and impressions of the mods:

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/e-mu-teak.2346/

There are also companies like Lawton Audio who specialize in various "upgrades" for these headphones:

https://lawtonaudio.com/fostexupgradepackages.html

 

[Acerun]

@Vini darko

Not Really, Foster is the OEM Segment of Fostex, and always have been making the drivers and the headphones, Denon simply purchased these as OEM and Put their Logo on it. Same with EMU but they are From "Foster-Fostex"

Makes me wonder then if I can take this EQ and successfully apply it to the TR-X00 Ebony. I'm going to try it.

 

[Acerun]

This. My only complaint with the Massdrop TR-X00. You have a source for these 'cheap third party cables'? I did not find any due to the unusual connector used on Fostex cans.

Sky Audio Cables on eBay (from the UK) https://www.ebay.com/itm/174685196075?var=473876252598

Edit: These are for TR-X00, it looks like the E-Mu Teak may use a different connector.

 

[Ron Texas]

Sweet! Decent closed back cans are hard to find plus this needs minimal EQ and has beautiful wood cups. Thank you @amirm No problem with dry weather in Houston.

 

[PeteL]

Makes me wonder then if I can take this EQ and successfully apply it to the TR-X00 Ebony. I'm going to try it.

Sure, don't mean it's 100% exact, I believe measurments shows small difference with different types of woods, and also all these don't have the same pads I believe, It's up to every brand to come up with slightly different flavors, but in term of driver, and the mechanical parts, they are exactly the same, I know the EMU makes the woodwork themselfs, so is it exactly all the same in term of the actual acoustics, it's debatable.

 

[PeteL]

Foster/Fostex bio-cellulose drivers and their variations are such a versatile tunable foundation for the whole headphone market.

Bio-Cellulose is quite a nice buzzword ain't it? I look at this, feels like paper, look like paper, must be paper... Which is not pejorative in any way... Paper is an excellent material for drivers, I'd like to know what is the chemical definition of bio cellulose vs paper... Must be darn close...

 

[godmax]

Bio-Cellulose is quite a nice buzzword ain't it? I look at this, feels like paper, look like paper, must be paper... Which is not pejorative in any way... Paper is an excellent material for drivers, I'd like to know what is the chemical definition of bio cellulose vs paper... Must be darn close...

At least biocellulose is not a marketing term/trademark. From my understanding this is cellulose produced by bacteria (Wikipedia only states Sony been the first to use this for audio applications).

 

[Migel83]

Hello,
The Fostex Mahogany was my first.
It was converted to Ebony from E u with the Lawton damping kit because of the too high treble.
The similar one in blue with a Denon D2000 that I bought cheap and restored.
New headband,Emu Purpleheart cups,Lawton damping kit and Viablue cable epc 2 fitted to both.
There is real music in it after pad swap from Ahg and Dekoni Attunion rings.

It can be seen as an advantage or disadvantage the headphones react extremely to pad changes,or pads that have been changed and not fixed properly.

If these models Th900,610,Emu Teak were still not worthwhile today they would no longer be on the market.
It's very simple.

I have been using this driver since the beginning that is 3 1/2 years now and there is nothing bad to say.
They are not only fun, they also sound the alarm.
It only gets slightly annoying when female voices go up, then it can distort a bit.
Apart from that, they are so easy to drive.

Even the small Emu Purpleheart, the $75 version, is a real pleasure to drive.
Connected to the Little Dot 1+ in the hotel, it's quite enough.

The driver is one of the best on the market even if it is old.
It even makes the Denon Ah D7200 look old in terms of bass.
Nothing bleeds into the mids, it is always on point no matter which headphone amplifier it is connected to.
The Teak is the only one missing from my collection.

The test is justified, before you switch to Focal and Co you should have heard it.

 

[Robbo99999]

Detaching wooden cups due to drying out & shrinkage....I think I'll stick to plastic & metal! Bass distortion is a bit disappointing for a closed back headphone, seems a lost opportunity in that area. Surprised re good soundstage comments from a closed back headphone that doesn't have angled pads......but we don't really know what exactly creates soundstage, so that can certainly ride. Headphone looks nice though aesthetically and I was expecting it to cost more than the $500 based on "bespoke" & "well engineered" look of the headphone combined with the wood work. I'm not a fan of the number of strange kinks in the frequency response. It wouldn't be a headphone that would be on my particular shortlist, and I'm not swayed by aesthetics.

 

[PeteL]

Detaching wooden cups due to drying out & shrinkage....I think I'll stick to plastic & metal! Bass distortion is a bit disappointing for a closed back headphone, seems a lost opportunity in that area. Surprised re good soundstage comments from a closed back headphone that doesn't have angled pads......but we don't really know what exactly creates soundstage, so that can certainly ride. Headphone looks nice though aesthetically and I was expecting it to cost more than the $500 based on "bespoke" & "well engineered" look of the headphone combined with the wood work. I'm not a fan of the number of strange kinks in the frequency response. It wouldn't be a headphone that would be on my particular shortlist, and I'm not swayed by aesthetics.

I simply have'nt ever listened to headphones (And I've listen to very many), that provide better bass than my TH-X00, So in the end, those distortion levels, subjectively don't matter, they do bass better than the very vast majority. I think all Dynamic drivers show highish distortion in the bass, closed or open, but at least it's there, not rolled off at a 100Hz.

 

[Robbo99999]

Hi,

Here are some thoughts about the EQ.

Notes about the EQ design:

• The average L/R is used to calculate the score.
• The resolution is 12 points per octave interpolated from the raw data (provided by @amirm)
• A Genetic Algorithm is used to optimize the EQ.
• The EQ Score is designed to MAXIMIZE the Score WHILE fitting the Harman target curve with a fixed complexity.
  This will avoid weird results if one only optimizes for the Score.
  It will probably flatten the Error regression doing so, the tonal balance should be more neutral.
• The EQs are starting point and may require tuning (certainly at LF).
• The range around and above 10kHz is usually not EQed unless smooth enough to do so.
• I am using PEQ (PK) as from my experience the definition is more consistent across different DSP/platform implementations than shelves.
• With some HP/amp combo the boosts and preamp gain need to be carefully considered to avoid issues

Decent L/R match.

I have generated one EQ, the APO config file is attached.

Score no EQ: 67.2
Score Armirm: 63.0
Score with EQ: 83.3

E-MU Teak APO EQ Flat@HF 96000Hz
July092021-121156

Preamp: -2.9 dB

Filter 1: ON PK Fc 209.72 Hz Gain -0.81 dB Q 1.75
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 147.07 Hz Gain -1.92 dB Q 0.48
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 411.75 Hz Gain 1.83 dB Q 1.63
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 906.07 Hz Gain -3.95 dB Q 1.02
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 2988.03 Hz Gain 3.35 dB Q 1.79
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 5405.39 Hz Gain -6.18 dB Q 4.59
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 8439.86 Hz Gain 1.94 dB Q 1.50
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 11229.66 Hz Gain -6.11 dB Q 4.99

View attachment 139980

Nice EQ's, like your decisions (including not EQ'ing up the subbass).......apart from using Q5 filter at 11229Hz - you were EQ'ing down that sharp peak, but above 10kHz you can't guaranteed that the peak will be there in that position for everyone, there's increased uncertainty the higher up the frequency range you go and certainly above 10kHz. So it's possible (likely) that your sharp cut at 11229Hz would miss the real peak when people listen to the headphone. You'd probably have to test that specific filter before you implement such a sharp filter above 10kHz (praps some sine sweeps whilst wearing the headphone), to check you were hammering down the peak in the right place. You'd be better off using a low Q filter to bring down that whole area, as there's some other peaking happening to the right of that point as well, so it could target those areas at the same time.

 

[Acerun]

Hi,

Here are some thoughts about the EQ.

Notes about the EQ design:

• The average L/R is used to calculate the score.
• The resolution is 12 points per octave interpolated from the raw data (provided by @amirm)
• A Genetic Algorithm is used to optimize the EQ.
• The EQ Score is designed to MAXIMIZE the Score WHILE fitting the Harman target curve with a fixed complexity.
  This will avoid weird results if one only optimizes for the Score.
  It will probably flatten the Error regression doing so, the tonal balance should be more neutral.
• The EQs are starting point and may require tuning (certainly at LF).
• The range around and above 10kHz is usually not EQed unless smooth enough to do so.
• I am using PEQ (PK) as from my experience the definition is more consistent across different DSP/platform implementations than shelves.
• With some HP/amp combo the boosts and preamp gain need to be carefully considered to avoid issues

Decent L/R match.

I have generated one EQ, the APO config file is attached.

Score no EQ: 67.2
Score Armirm: 63.0
Score with EQ: 83.3

E-MU Teak APO EQ Flat@HF 96000Hz
July092021-121156

Preamp: -2.9 dB

Filter 1: ON PK Fc 209.72 Hz Gain -0.81 dB Q 1.75
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 147.07 Hz Gain -1.92 dB Q 0.48
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 411.75 Hz Gain 1.83 dB Q 1.63
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 906.07 Hz Gain -3.95 dB Q 1.02
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 2988.03 Hz Gain 3.35 dB Q 1.79
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 5405.39 Hz Gain -6.18 dB Q 4.59
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 8439.86 Hz Gain 1.94 dB Q 1.50
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 11229.66 Hz Gain -6.11 dB Q 4.99

View attachment 139980

This EQ is really nice, thanks. Works on my TR-X00 Ebony