CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS

Lobby => Headphone, IEM, and Other Audio Related Discussion => Topic started by: Lumos on October 24, 2013, 09:02:23 PM

Title: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Lumos on October 24, 2013, 09:02:23 PM
 ahoy

Has anybody heard this TASCAM TH02? see how they measure http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/canjam-rmaf-2013-tascam-th-02-low-cost-sealed-headphones

Is this Tylls measurement mistake or something?

 :-DD :-DD :-DD :-DD :-DD :-DD :-DD :-DD :-DD :-DD :-DD :-DD :-DD :-DD :-DD

We are talking about 30$ can!!! yes 30
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: donunus on October 24, 2013, 09:52:14 PM
There are some inexpensive cans that measure great believe it or not. The Creative Aurvana Live! is one of them for example. I'm sure these are real measurements.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Lumos on October 24, 2013, 10:10:59 PM
donunus

I can not believe my eyes... measurements show they go down quite deep and linear, incredible low distortion even HD650 have more D2 distortion, HE400 have significantly more distortion, impulse response shows some ringing but they are OK, I can mod them.... 
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: donunus on October 24, 2013, 10:36:27 PM
I wonder how much better the model $10 more expensive will be. Based on the video, they are supposed to be even better. I'm not talking about the supposedly bassier model by the way which is also already posted on their website.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Hands on October 24, 2013, 11:00:31 PM
I wonder how much better the model $10 more expensive will be. Based on the video, they are supposed to be even better. I'm not talking about the supposedly bassier model by the way which is also already posted on their website.

Given a lot of headphones on Tyll's measurement setup show dips in the upper mids/lower treble and a spike around 10KHz, even some really excellent ones, these headphones look pretty damn good. And not even just for $30.

I think I'll have to get a pair.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: jerg on October 24, 2013, 11:11:12 PM
Indeed they look like they are very well-behaved drivers. Potential new drivers for extensive modding?
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: donunus on October 25, 2013, 12:45:25 AM
I wonder how much better the model $10 more expensive will be. Based on the video, they are supposed to be even better. I'm not talking about the supposedly bassier model by the way which is also already posted on their website.

Given a lot of headphones on Tyll's measurement setup show dips in the upper mids/lower treble and a spike around 10KHz, even some really excellent ones, these headphones look pretty damn good. And not even just for $30.

I think I'll have to get a pair.

Yes exactly, The 10khz spike is probably less than the graph says it to be based on other cans I've listened to with that shape on Ty'lls graphs but still interested in the black ones that are supposed to come out within this week.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Marvey on October 25, 2013, 01:49:52 AM
I ordered it.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: donunus on October 25, 2013, 05:09:11 AM
which one did you order? the 02? or the one higher up the line?
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Anaxilus. on October 25, 2013, 05:28:46 AM
Looks like the OE for Ultrasone.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Lumos on October 25, 2013, 09:29:23 AM
I ordered it.

Purrin I can't wait until I see your measurements  :)p1 :)p6

Flaws they do exhibit are absolutely OK since current headphone market is full of much more expensive headphones with more flaws.

I need to see driver construction and CSD to figure out how I can mod them... Ordering now



Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: 6 on October 25, 2013, 12:22:48 PM
It will be interesting to compare them to the TH-MX2 when they come out at only $9 more.
http://tascam.com/product/th-mx2/ (http://tascam.com/product/th-mx2/)
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: donunus on October 25, 2013, 01:14:10 PM
Thats the one I was waiting for. Even with everything else the same in the measurements then with just the 10khz being less peaky, this would be insane meaurementwise and I definitely need to buy one just for curiosity sake. The funny thing is that shipping to the philippines will cost more than the cans themselves LOL
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Lumos on October 25, 2013, 03:23:33 PM
It will be interesting to compare them to the TH-MX2 when they come out at only $9 more.
http://tascam.com/product/th-mx2/ (http://tascam.com/product/th-mx2/)

They look quite nice also, it seems tascam took design from Audio-Technica M30...  :)p8
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Deep Funk on October 25, 2013, 04:28:50 PM
M30, MDR7506, DT250, DT48 and a load more models from the past.

I once considered the M30/35s but I could not find enough information to decide

Pro-Audio, affordable and Tyll likes the product. I am checking the website...
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Lumos on October 25, 2013, 06:51:03 PM
M30, MDR7506, DT250, DT48 and a load more models from the past.

I once considered the M30/35s but I could not find enough information to decide

Pro-Audio, affordable and Tyll likes the product. I am checking the website...

I own M30, they are OK headphone and quite good for the price, average soundstage for closed, OK isolation, pads are little small not fully over ear, bass is good and reasonably deep but have slightly long decay, not particularly boomy, (depends what you are after) vocals are decent, not as recessed treble as people describe. I am using them at work. not HI-FI cans.

I suggest try this Tascam stuff for the half price  :)p8
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Deep Funk on October 25, 2013, 07:49:56 PM
Superlux also made some nice value-for-money headphones.

Tascam's MX2 is the most interesting of the bunch.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Maxvla on October 25, 2013, 08:20:20 PM
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325&tag=headfiorg-20&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fredirect.html%3Fie%3DUTF8%26linkCode%3Dur2%26camp%3D1789%26creative%3D9325%26tag%3Dheadfiorg-20%26location%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.amazon.com%252Fgp%252Fredirect.html%253Fie%253DUTF8%2526linkCode%253Dur2%2526camp%253D1789%2526creative%253D9325%2526tag%253Dheadfiorg-20%2526location%253Dhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.amazon.com%25252FTeac-CT-H02-B-CT-H02-Multi-Use-Headphone%25252Fdp%25252FB00CMO2WT4%25252F

Apparently an OEM is making these. Teac uses the same exact headphones. Tends to be a few dollars cheaper, just make sure of the color via model number as someone ended up with pink even though the page said black.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Anaxilus. on October 25, 2013, 08:52:32 PM
Teac and Tascam are essentially the same company.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Armaegis on October 25, 2013, 09:16:24 PM
I believe Tascam is the "pro" side of the Teac company.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Anaxilus. on October 25, 2013, 09:18:27 PM
I believe Tascam is the "pro" side of the Teac company.

And Teac is audiophile brand of Panasonic.  Then there's Esoteric...
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Lumos on October 25, 2013, 09:34:06 PM
Superlux also made some nice value-for-money headphones.

Tascam's MX2 is the most interesting of the bunch.

Yeah MX2 is really interesting... I do like headband style and It would be comfortable enough for me at least better than Shure SRH940 which deserves  walk the plank2 for designing such headband
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: donunus on October 25, 2013, 11:48:00 PM
Superlux also made some nice value-for-money headphones.

Tascam's MX2 is the most interesting of the bunch.

problem with the superluxes is that all of the ones I have tried had a cheap sounding brightness to them which made me prefer even the cheap Sennheiser hd201 over them. The senns were a little bright and lacked bass but they still remained more musical than the superluxes.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: xnor on October 26, 2013, 12:45:14 AM
Nasty treble peaks? Mod or EQ!  :)p17
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Hawaiiancerveza on October 26, 2013, 12:45:26 AM
Has anyone heard these yet?
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Deep Funk on October 26, 2013, 01:05:34 AM
Nasty treble peaks? Mod or EQ!  :)p17

For Superlux and others? Check Solderdude's previous posts/publications here and his previous hang outs.

I checked for availability in Europe. Nope...

Via Ebay to Europe for Tascam's 02, good deals are there. I am skipping this one given the Tascam cannot replace the K181 for me...
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Hawaiiancerveza on October 26, 2013, 08:50:17 AM
I just ordered both, TH-MX2 and TH02 =).  I like to use HP's once and a while. 
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Armaegis on October 26, 2013, 09:28:39 AM
I believe Tascam is the "pro" side of the Teac company.

And Teac is audiophile brand of Panasonic.  Then there's Esoteric...

Interesting. There's no mention of Panasonic on the wiki page, but there is this...

Quote (selected)
TEAC has four divisions:

    TASCAM - consumer to professional audio products, mostly recording
    ESOTERIC - High-end consumer audio products
    TEAC Consumer Electronics - Mass market audio products
    Data Storage and Disk Publishing Products - Floppy drives, DVD and CD recorders and drives, MP3 players & NAS storage
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: donunus on October 26, 2013, 10:10:16 AM
I just ordered both, TH-MX2 and TH02 =).  I like to use HP's once and a while.

Let us know what you think of both when you get them  :)p7
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Sholay on October 26, 2013, 11:44:00 AM
I believe Tascam is the "pro" side of the Teac company.

And Teac is audiophile brand of Panasonic.  Then there's Esoteric...
I think it's Technics and not TEAC
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: donunus on October 26, 2013, 12:21:37 PM
Yes Technics is panasonic and national
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Deep Funk on October 26, 2013, 05:17:11 PM
National Panasonic, Technics? Whatever you call it one thing is for sure: when this company really invests money into a market and a specific range of products you know that they have serious technologies and resources at their disposal.

Just like Philips, when 'they' want to they can make a knock-out product...
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: spoony on October 28, 2013, 05:53:48 AM
Picked these up on friday and have since been listening to them, they are for sure a nice surprise!

My observations so far (please note that I have not listened to a whole lot of headphones, so YMMV):
These are already quite enjoyable and useful for tuning my T50RPs. I'm also very eager to see how far can modding take these!

Edit: Earpads are 85-90mm in diameter, any replacement ideas are very welcome!

Addendum: These are going to get huge ;)

More: Removing the back covers opens up the soundstage a bit and improves the high-frequency extension and overall clarity, while the tonal balance remains mostly unchanged. Purrin, if you're reading this, please measure with the lids off too!

Better earpads yield the most dramatic improvement without a doubt... still looking for a pair of decent 90mm pads, the taller the better.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Hawaiiancerveza on October 29, 2013, 07:02:05 PM

More: Removing the back covers

Better earpads yield the most dramatic improvement without a doubt... still looking for a pair of decent 90mm pads, the taller the better.

Did you unscrew the lids?  Can you post up pics?
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: spoony on October 29, 2013, 07:49:05 PM
I did unscrew the baffle to help remove the lids from the inside, ended up having to use a fair amount of force, however. Here's a gallery (http://imgur.com/a/0P8PZ) courtesy of Arve @ innerfidelity.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: AstralStorm on October 29, 2013, 08:47:58 PM
Where do I get one in EU? Alternatively, at a place taking PayPal, preferably without shipping charges being 2/3 the price of the headphones and without duties.
Yes, I happen to need non-80s-looking portable headphones for some time. I could instead move my butt, fix and mod my antique Beyers DT230. (second headphones owned ever, ha) But I'm lazy, Beyers are bass depleted and I'd have to make new pads for them.

I wonder if these are yet more Fostex OEMs... Also the design reminds me of JVC HA-S400, hopefully less flimsy.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: spoony on October 30, 2013, 03:00:48 AM
They should become widely available in pro-audio stores. These are decent portables since they are fairly efficient and sound great out of my Clip Zip, but will not isolate much unless you have a big head or get ahold of some proper earpads.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Hawaiiancerveza on October 30, 2013, 06:27:55 AM
Awe shucks... my TH-MX2 is on back order.  I'll be getting the TH02 first by thursday.  Oh well... I'll just need to wait. 
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Hawaiiancerveza on October 31, 2013, 10:43:24 AM
Seems like Fostex has some entry level HPS.  The Th5BB and the TH7.  Anyone heard anything of these?
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Hawaiiancerveza on November 01, 2013, 05:05:55 AM
I just got the Th02.  I'm surprised... they sound better than I thought they would.  No hype.  Just clear and the bass hits well.  I'll need to burn them in though.  I should be getting the MX2 soon.  I'm using them with the Leckerton UHA-6S and it sounds good....lol. 
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: donunus on November 01, 2013, 05:58:35 AM
Don't forget to update us on how the mx2 compares
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Hawaiiancerveza on November 01, 2013, 08:10:49 AM
np will do.  Oh man... I'm not liking the ear pads at all.  They are so stiff... and uncomfortable.  I need another...lol.  Any suggestions?  And where to get them?
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: donunus on November 01, 2013, 11:18:57 AM
Thats the other reason I wasn't interested in the th-02. SUPRAAURAL :) And cheap supraaural means vinyl pads usually so it may not be that comfy.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Marvey on November 01, 2013, 05:34:47 PM
They are larger supra auras and I find them decent in terms of comfort. I think I could game with them. So far they are not too bad. A bit reverby from internal cup resonances. The plastic resonates too. These issue can be fixed.


Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: stratocaster on November 01, 2013, 06:41:49 PM
Planning a driver transplant with these. From what I have read the driver could be well worth it.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Hawaiiancerveza on November 01, 2013, 07:54:50 PM
Ya I can hear some reverb.  I think it hurts for me because I'm using my glasses with it.  When it isn't on its not bad. 
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: SanjiWatsuki on November 02, 2013, 12:48:21 AM
I had to do some minor modifications to these guys to get them to sit on my head properly -- even the smallest setting was several clicks too big for my head! My personal experiences was that these guys had a decent amount of bass roll-off and were uncomfortable as sin, but I've later realized that both of these problems were related to me being unable to wear them properly and get a good seal.

I busted out my Silverstone acoustic foam and applied two layers to the headband to kind of artificially make my head longer. Now I'm able to properly get a seal when I wear them. Initial impressions are quite good.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Hawaiiancerveza on November 02, 2013, 02:18:52 AM
I tried cutting a small piece of sock and taping it onto the lids.  It seems to have taken off some treble but it doesn't sound as open.  But still clear.  Bass doesn't seem too affected by this also... only way to find out to see if it worked would be to test um.  I'm just going by hearing.  I also cut some small long pieces to put along the inside of the cup near the wires.  Just fiddling around.  Hard to tell if it really worked...lol

So I took one side out of the socks, and put back on the lid.  The bass is more pronounced on the side I didn't take out the Sock. 
The side without the sock sounds more open but still has some reverb...hmmm  :-Z 
Anyone else fiddle around with theirs?
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: spoony on November 02, 2013, 07:02:09 AM
I did, I tried stuffing the cups with cotton and some sort of hemp fiber fluff. I couldn't strike a nice balance since most trials resulted in diminished sub-bass, so I took it out. Think I need something to dampen without reducing the cup volume as much, however, I'd rather fix the structural resonances which I feel are drowning the details more.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: stratocaster on November 02, 2013, 07:49:48 AM
Marv, any plans on measuring those?
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Marvey on November 03, 2013, 02:02:53 AM
Very soon.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: AstralStorm on November 03, 2013, 10:17:21 AM
TH02 tweaking.
Try cotton pads in the cup perhaps. Cheap and sometimes effective when the problem is above 4kHz. Otherwise PU foam.
Title: Re: TASCAM TH02
Post by: Hawaiiancerveza on November 04, 2013, 02:36:59 AM
PU foam?

I tried to cut up some old shirts.  I made them into a circle about the size of the ear pads.  Put them in the ear pads at first to see how it sounded, sounded muffled.  Then tried to put them in the cups and it took the treble down a notch.  Its bare able and still sounds good.
I just ordered some dynamat from amazon hoping to try this out.

http://www.amazon.com/Dynamat-13100-DynaTape-Sound-Deadener/dp/B002WP362U/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1383553800&sr=8-5&keywords=dynamat

I figured this should be good enough?  Or should I have gone thicker?

I'm not trying to get these to sound perfect.  I just want the treble not to agitating.