Cresyn CS-HP600 review

[illusion]

well, first review, so BE GENTLE if i dnt use the correct terminology

Cresyn is relatively unknown as far as audiophile grade HPs are concerned but it is still an established and large OEM manufacturer in Asia. A branch of their own branded HPs is Phiaton, which some of you might be familiar with.

While looking in a local electronics store for some AA batteries, I saw a pair of cool looking HPs for about USD 28, which seemed like a decent deal after paying around USD 40 for muddified bass skullcandys . At worst it would be two weeks of horrible canteen coffee instead of starbucks, so WTH. Here's the specs I got from their website:

Cresyn CS-HP600

Specifications:
- Color: Black/ Silver
- Type: Closed, Dynamic
- Driver Unit: Diameter 38 mm
- Impedance: 35 Ohm
- Sensitivity: 100 dB/mW
- Max. Power Input: 1,000 mW
- Frequency Response: 20Hz ~ 20,000Hz
- Cord Length: 1.5m
- Plug: Diameter 3.5 mm Stereo gold-plated plug
- Weight: 138g (excluding cord)
- Accessories: Diameter 6.3mm Gold-plated stereo connect plug, carrying pouch

The construction of these phones is excellent and very solid and the cable is of above average quality considering the price. The included carrying pouch is pretty much useless but still a nice inclusion as a temporary solution for keeping them safe. The foldable design is very useful as it keeps them portable. Where these phones fail designwise is the supra-aural earcups and the headband as these can get extremely uncomfortable because of the tightness of the headband which leads to the earcups building pressure on the outer ear cartilage causing pain and discomfort and hence pretty much destroying any possibility of extended use. Which is a shame as sonically, these are extremely fun headphones.

Outta the box, these things are bass heavy, VERY bass heavy, to the point that they start smearing the rest of the music. After about 30 hours of burn-in though, they settled down with the bass being just right and also, the mids started coming out, which was very much in evidence in an Enya song (Aniron) and really highlighted her haunting vocals. Steve Vai's and Tony Iommi's riffs were vibrant and James Hetfield's vocals were strong and clear. Highs are lacking though, and I needed to jack up the higher frequencies to get the CS600 to register them but then they sounded more synthetic than natural. Strangely, it sounded kinda natural when comparing a lossy MP3 with a FLAC rip of Paranoid by Black Sabbath and it was the same when i compared 7 more songs from different genres (Drum n Bass, Pop, Jazz, Classical, Prog. rock, Trance and Arabic) . Regardless of that, these are extremely fun headphones suited to a variety of genres and also for watching movies on laptops, since the bass and mid-range are the strongest points for the HP600 (the explosions in action movies are simply awesome ) and at this price, very appealing. So anyone looking for a fairly bass-heavy set of HPs, the HP600 rock!! Just bear in mind that they are not the most comfortable cans.

One other thing: the HP600s seem to benefit from an amp as the highs sounded more natural when paired with an E5 on my friends 3g Nano.

Any thoughts, criticisms, bouquets and brickbats are definitely welcome on the above post

cheers and thanks

ABi ROCKS !!

[CrowdAds]

[lestatar]

Hey illusion:

Nice work! Great shot at a first review - really good stuff. :-)

I would suggest including some pics though - always nice to see pictures of the packaging, case, cables, accessories and of course close ups of the headphones themselves.

Sounds like you got a terrific deal on those HPs...

cheers!
-lestatar