This is a review and detailed measurements of the Takstar Pro 82 headphone. It was kindly purchased by a member and drop shipped to me. It costs US $90 on Amazon but I believe member got a better price.
The Pro 82 looks quite stylish despite its low price:
The soft touch material is indeed, quite soft. Maybe too soft. The pads are so soft that slightest touch deforms them. While this is good for initial comfort, not sure how long they will last before becoming totally compressed. There were also some fine scratches on the cups.
An unusual feature of this headphone is a switch on each cup which is supposed to adjust bass. See my measurements later on effectiveness of it.
These headphones are quite light:
Cup size is reasonable at 67x46x18 (height, width, depth).
Note: The measurements you are about to see are made using a standardized Gras 45C. Headphone measurements by definition are approximate and variable so don't be surprised if other measurements even if performed with the same fixtures as mine, differ in end results. Protocols vary such as headband pressure and averaging (which I don't do). As you will see, I confirm the approximate accuracy of the measurements using Equalization and listening tests. Ultimately headphone measurements are less exact than speakers mostly in bass and above a few kilohertz so keep that in mind as you read these tests. If you think you have an exact idea of a headphone performance, you are likely wrong!
Fitment on the fixture was easy the first time. On second try it was quite variable in bass due to the ultra soft pads.
Takstar Pro 82 Measurements
Let's start with the effect of the three-way bass switch:
As you see, bass is increased but a dip is created around 350 Hz. At first I tried to EQ the lowest setting for bass and while that got me best compliance with the target, I just could not make it sound good. I tried the highest level and that didn't work either. So I settled for the middle setting:
Bad news here is distortion especially around 5 kHz where we have a dip in the frequency response as well:
Group delay doesn't show much:
Sensitivity is above average:
Impedance is quite low:
Still, you should be able to play this with many portable devices and get reasonable volume.
Takstar Pro 82 Listening Tests and Equalization
With the switch at its lowest setting tonality was decent. But attempts at equalization just made the mid to high frequencies sound grungy and not desirable. As I noted, I went back to the switch being in the middle. That did better but at the end, I am not really happy with the performance:
\
There are no spatial qualities and I just didn't enjoy listening to these headphones.
Conclusions
I spent three times more effort on this headphone than any other I test. At the end it left me frustrated. I am usually able to make just about every headphone sound good with EQ. This one is one of the few that defeated me. The common thread appears to be distortion in the 3 to 5 kHz range.
I can't recommend the Takstar Pro 82 for reasons mentioned.
-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
The Pro 82 looks quite stylish despite its low price:
The soft touch material is indeed, quite soft. Maybe too soft. The pads are so soft that slightest touch deforms them. While this is good for initial comfort, not sure how long they will last before becoming totally compressed. There were also some fine scratches on the cups.
An unusual feature of this headphone is a switch on each cup which is supposed to adjust bass. See my measurements later on effectiveness of it.
These headphones are quite light:
Cup size is reasonable at 67x46x18 (height, width, depth).
Note: The measurements you are about to see are made using a standardized Gras 45C. Headphone measurements by definition are approximate and variable so don't be surprised if other measurements even if performed with the same fixtures as mine, differ in end results. Protocols vary such as headband pressure and averaging (which I don't do). As you will see, I confirm the approximate accuracy of the measurements using Equalization and listening tests. Ultimately headphone measurements are less exact than speakers mostly in bass and above a few kilohertz so keep that in mind as you read these tests. If you think you have an exact idea of a headphone performance, you are likely wrong!
Fitment on the fixture was easy the first time. On second try it was quite variable in bass due to the ultra soft pads.
Takstar Pro 82 Measurements
Let's start with the effect of the three-way bass switch:
As you see, bass is increased but a dip is created around 350 Hz. At first I tried to EQ the lowest setting for bass and while that got me best compliance with the target, I just could not make it sound good. I tried the highest level and that didn't work either. So I settled for the middle setting:
Bad news here is distortion especially around 5 kHz where we have a dip in the frequency response as well:
Group delay doesn't show much:
Sensitivity is above average:
Impedance is quite low:
Still, you should be able to play this with many portable devices and get reasonable volume.
Takstar Pro 82 Listening Tests and Equalization
With the switch at its lowest setting tonality was decent. But attempts at equalization just made the mid to high frequencies sound grungy and not desirable. As I noted, I went back to the switch being in the middle. That did better but at the end, I am not really happy with the performance:
There are no spatial qualities and I just didn't enjoy listening to these headphones.
Conclusions
I spent three times more effort on this headphone than any other I test. At the end it left me frustrated. I am usually able to make just about every headphone sound good with EQ. This one is one of the few that defeated me. The common thread appears to be distortion in the 3 to 5 kHz range.
I can't recommend the Takstar Pro 82 for reasons mentioned.
-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
Attachments
Last edited: