Onkyo headphones on the way?!!?!

GelockS · Nov 3, 2015

What in the ...?!!?

As a fan Onkyo ES-CTI300 headphones

Quote:

Recently received the ES-CTI300... a few thoughts:

Design, Comfort, build:
I was surprised at how it was packaged since the box is quite flat (i.e. usual headphones arrived in more of a Cube/normal box style.). Once I opened them and took a look then I understood. These headphones fold flat, just like Ultrasones, and are light as heck! I think one of the lightest I have bought. The contrast of silver/brown-ish looks EXCELLENT (reminds me of the silver MDR-1R which were very good-looking as well). Construction is mostly aluminum and plastic. It doesn't feel like the most sturdy on-ear out there (i.e. Sennheiser Momentum on-ears seem better built and feel sturdier and even prefer the Kef M500s) but it's Ok. I believe their weakness will probably be the swivel mechanism for the earcups but other than that I don't see much wrong. They come with an excellent oxygen-free non-microphonic detachable copper cable (with mic and controls) which doesn't add any weight to the headphone. Connecting the ends to the earcups is actually a bit hard to do (i.e. not as seamless as HD600s or the new Shure connections) and quite frankly I can envision someone messing their connectors or cables if they are not careful.

Overall, Onkyo did a good job.

Now comfort, is another story.

I'm very finicky regarding comfort because I use headphones at the office for hours on end... the fit of these is a bit weird. They don't clamp, they don't cause discomfort on top of the head BUT the earcups and earpads ("leatherette"... whatever that means... ;-) ) are quite small and even though I don't have huge ears, they are not the most comfortable for me. Every time I have to adjust, and re-adjust and when I spend more time adjusting than working or enjoying music, ... yeaah... But, take this with a grain of salt. I'm not a fan of on-ears and other people might not have any fit issues. Even though they don't clamp hard, they seem to be very stable on the head. So, beware...

Sound:

This is how the Momentum On-Ears SHOULD have sounded!!! ARRGHH! LOL

Bass presence is "there"... by that I mean, it extends quite low (sub-bass attack is good, mid-bass even better) and they are not AS boomy as the Momentums. Transition to mids I feel is very well done. Mids sound even when playing my usual female vocalist tracks and the crunch of guitars is not subdued at all. Maybe they lack a bit of "spark", but they don't feel "masked" or recessed to me. Acoustic guitars sound very nice and male vocals don't sound as nasal as I expected (i.e. compared to other on-ear headphones). Highs are present and very important, they are NOT ear-piercing. So what we have is a very enjoyable sound which can be fun depending on the track (of course) never super aggressive but never laidback either! I actually enjoy it a lot. Although at first I thought they were too lean, maybe even too bright, once I got a good fit and everything settled, I found that their sound signature is definitely enjoyable. The KEF M500 has bass that can be a bit overdone and is an overall warmer headphone. The Momentum on-ears have way too boomy bass (I still enjoyed it though... don't get me wrong), and their upper-mids sounded congested (probably due to sound stage as well). And now that I mention it, imaging/separation quite good, definitely a better overall can than the Momentum on-ears in my opinion.

(If you see me mentioning the Momentums a lot, is because I have them at hand as well LOL).

Regarding isolation, I do think they do a better job over the Momentums and might be tied with the M500s. Leakage control is definitely better than the Senns and again, on par with the M500s.

Songs being used for testing:

Miguel Bose - Este Mundo Va
Kaskade - One Heart
Jon Cleary - So Damn Good
Mima - Oigo Voces
Esperanza Spalding - What a Friend
Sara Bareilles - King of Anything
Killswitch Engage - Fixation on the Darkness
Juancho - Amor en la Mesa
J-King y Maximan - Ella me Pide Something
Three Six Mafia - Late Night Tip
Orquesta Macabeo - Me Repito

I listen to different genres because I work long hours and get bored easily but I can definitely say that these play well with ALL genres I've listened up till now. In the end, that's one of the most important "measures" you can have.

It seems there is not a lot of hype or attention for these guys, but they should have more visibility, especially for the price which I imagine can only go lower! (they're brother version ES-HF300 is already at $150 or so... I believe they are the same headphone...).

So overall, very good performers, extremely good looking, very light, comfort is hit and miss though

So if you are looking for a "fashion" can that sounds good, you can put these on your short list of portable-good-looking-on-ear headphones!

Click to expand...

I just recently noticed that they are actually working on a few on-ear and over ear headphones. Seeing that they are also coming out with a decent looking DAP, maybe we have another real player on the battleground!

H500M --> https://translate.google.com/transl...lurar-paa-ifa-2015-1206427&edit-text=&act=url

H900M? --> http://www.phileweb.com/news/d-av/201509/05/37340.html

But there doesn't seem to be any more info!

If anyone can find more and/or impressions, be sure to post some.

Thanks.

Warrior · Jul 29, 2016

Deleted.

Huxleigh · Aug 1, 2016

Edit: Deleted.

PoochZag · Jul 29, 2016

Guys, this is from November, from a long time member here and elsewhere, and is not spam. No one replied probably because no one gives a shit about Onkyo headphones and has no impressions or positive outlooks (altho said alluded to DAP is now out for a while and well received)

Edit: Nevermind, apparently there was a real spam at some point, this is all very confusing and pointless. Maybe a ruse by Onkyo...?

Huxleigh · Aug 1, 2016

Hm, yeah, I see that now. It's weird that it got bumped up, though. Pretty sure that I saw it on page one earlier today, well before @Warrior replied. Must've missed something. My bad!

Still kind of a weird/shady post, IMO. But clearly not spam. Go figure.

Warrior · Jul 29, 2016

PoochZag said: ↑

Guys, this is from November, from a long time member here and elsewhere, and is not spam. No one replied probably because no one gives a shit about Onkyo headphones and has no impressions or positive outlooks (altho said alluded to DAP is now out for a while and well received)
Click to expand...

Yes, there was a post linking to a gambling site. The person liked listening to music while gambling. I'll edit my post now since it was deleted. Jeez guys, I'm not that dumb am I?? Lol

PoochZag · Jul 29, 2016

Oh gotcha, I assumed you meant the OP

Warrior said: ↑

Yes, there was a post linking to a gambling site. The person liked listening to music while gambling. I'll edit my post now since it was deleted. Jeez guys, I'm not that dumb am I?? Lol
Click to expand...

That's quite the thread to decide to spam

Warrior · Jul 29, 2016

Right? Excellent choice, something from November with no responses. Lol.

GelockS · Jul 29, 2016

Lol!!!!
Will probably try the closed back at some point... Maybe. Impressions I've read don't look too good.

Onkyo headphones on the way?!!?!

GelockS Friend

Warrior RIP 2021

Huxleigh Almost "Made"

PoochZag The Shadow knows - Friend

Huxleigh Almost "Made"

Warrior RIP 2021

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Warrior RIP 2021

GelockS Friend

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Onkyo headphones on the way?!!?!

GelockS Friend

Warrior RIP 2021

Huxleigh Almost "Made"

PoochZag The Shadow knows - Friend

Huxleigh Almost "Made"

Warrior RIP 2021

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Warrior RIP 2021

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