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Monday, May 05, 2008
ESW9 Review
[ZOMBiE CyGiG] ranted at 10:07 PM --- Post#7868598399373003238

Introduction
I got my pair of ESW9 from Jaben on 2nd May 2008. At this point of review, it had been burned in about 30 hours. Though it may not be enough, but it dun seem to change much after the first 10 hours.

Wearing THE ESW9
Its tricky to wear the ESW9. Its supposed to be supra-aural, but because my ears are small, i can fit my whole ear within the ear pads, making it circumaural. Of course, doing so sacrifices comfort and the positioning of the ears may not be correct as relative to where the sound should be heard from. Meaning it will sound like music is blasting into your eardrums.

Else u can wear it the correct way, meaning to say the earcups will press against your ear (which then your ear press against the side of your head). For that its a bit too tight, and your ears will get fatigue from the constant pressing soon.

So after some time, i figured out u got to turn the earcups to fit the shape of your ears. U can turn them one way 90 degrees to make it flat for storage. And you can turn it about 20 degrees the other way to make the ESW9 more comfortable to wear. The sound is better also, less bloated bass, more clarity.

The Outlook and Feel
The ESW9 looks like something prestige right out of the box. Something high class. The wooden cups are lacquered shiny and feels super sturdy. The lamb skin pads are one of the most comfortable i had ever tried. The head bands are padded with leathers as well. Im not sure if these leathers are real or synthetic. The whole feel and look makes me wanna drool already.

No part of ESW9 looks of feel flimsy, i have a feeling this cans can last for long.

Sound
This is the sound i heard as according to the way i wear it (mentioned just now).

Treble: Not as good as the Triple Fi, but its good enough for me. Not too accurate but crisp and shiny. Minimum roll offs.

Vocals: I haven heard of a perfect headphone with absolutely no sibilance or vocal highs roll off yet, but ESW9 kept to a low level. Here and there a 'sh' or a 'ch' rolling off the vocals, but generally good to go. The vocals are slightly towards the warm side and pronounced.

Bass: Good for me, but not for some others. It has got a thick bass at the top, and a clear and deep on at the bottom. You can hear the bass notes perfectly, but after a certain frequency, it gets a bit thick and muddy.

Sound Stage: Hmm..a good one. Of course nothing like speakers, but with proper wearing of the cans the sound staging is just rite.

Sound Signature: Overall dark yet rich, the various instruments seemed all packed together at some distant away from you. Fun sounding.

Conclusion
Sure worth the cash! If you want something nice and portable, yet sound good (but not the best), this is the right cans for you! I think the ESW9 and the Porta Pro are the only two portable headphones that impressed me.

I give it a 8.5/10

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