Phonon 4000 Review
February 5, 2023Audiophile
When it comes to hobbies I feel that they lie on a spectrum of material to skill-based. That might be an oversimplification, but this whole concept could be left for an entire fragment of its own. Nonetheless, amongst those more material hobbies is something called being an audiophile. These are people who seek to get the most out of their audio experience, from earbuds to speakers. These are people who shame others for buying a pair of Beats headphones, calling them overpriced garbage, all the while wearing their $1,000 Campfire Andromedas. The law of diminishing returns holds no grounds to those chosen few who have surpassed the limitations of human hearing, and have acquired the audible frequency range of a ferret.
I’d be hard-pressed to claim to be a “certified” audiophile, but there was a point in my life where I invested a lot of my disposable income in an attempt to find the perfect headphones. I try to stay away from material hobbies now, but that does not change the past. I’ve personally owned a ton of headphones/earphones, so much that it’s hard to remember them all. However, I think every pair I’ve owned was sub $500. To the average person that might seem insane, and to the average audiophile that might be barely scratching the surface. Ultimately in this $500 range I came to accept that I do not have audiophile ears. There would be times when $300+ critically acclaimed headphones would sound trash compared to my $50 Audio Technica ATH-M20x. All this is to say I have some experience, but may not be the perfect reviewer.
Build Quality
The Phonon 4000s are marketed as DJ headphones, and while I’m not a DJ, I’m confident in saying that is a lie. The build quality isn’t exactly terrible, but definitely below average for the price ($250). I would say this has worse build quality to the ever popular Audio Technica ATH-M50x, or comparable build quality to the Audio Technica ATH-M20x. However, even with comparable quality the 4000s definitely feel more fragile. The headphones haven’t broken in any way during my personal use, which is largely sitting at a desk, but also some use when traveling. Despite this, there are numerous posts about the headphones breaking in two specific spots: the cable, and the hinge mechanism.
The 1.5m cable is fairly thick with a 3.5mm end that has threads for a quarter-inch adapter. Additionally the cable holds a decent amount of memory, which is not exactly ideal. More importantly, the cable seems to have a tendency to break at the spot where it connects to the drivers. This would have been a deal-breaker for me had it not been for the exceptional audio quality. A silver lining to all this is that it can be retrofitted with a removable headphone jack (guide).
The hinges are similar to the ones found on the M50x’s. They allow for the drivers to swivel 180 degrees, and fold up to store. Unlike the cable, the hinges feel fairly solid as in they don’t feel fragile when twisting/folding. I use them regularly whenever putting my 4000s away, and they haven’t shown any sign of breaking. However as said before, they seem to be a sore point for some owners. For what it’s worth, I could see the plastic parts around the hinge mechanism breaking (but not the hinge itself).
Although most of my comments are fairly negative, I’d like to reiterate that the Phonon 4000s are built very average in the grand scheme of things. They seem fragile for a $250 pair of headphones, but as headphones in general they are completely fine. Under normal use I think they can last a long time.
Comfort and Looks
The 4000s are on-ear headphones that are extremely lightweight. The earpads are presumably faux-leather, but have a matte texture to them. These pads are very small in depth, and the internal materials are spongy rather than plush. The headband has little padding, but has multiple levels of adjustments that click into place (they aren’t the most stable). Additionally there is very little clamping force.
You would think these are pretty uncomfortable, but the 4000s surprised me with how non-intrusive they are. If you find the right spot on your ears you will not feel the Phonons there at all. However a slight adjustment can throw that off. There are third party leather earpads that are significantly nicer in quality (very plush) that make them even more comfortable (despite positioning). Also it’s worth noting the 4000s are colorful compared to neutral sounding headphones, but not tiring.
The Phonons look like your generic black plastic headphones. The only differentiating thing about them are the metal plates on each earcup with branding. These plates come in both silver and black, so if you are looking for something more lowkey the black is definitely the move. Personally I wanted the black ones, but my options were limited and I ended up getting silver plates (overtime the silver grew on me).
Sound Quality
Looking at a frequency chart I would say the 4000s are slightly v-shaped. They emphasize the high and low frequency more, but not too much. To my ear most genres sound very balanced, and I feel that instruments are emphasized when they need to be. Additionally, I think the Phonon’s bass extension is way better than most headphones as I’m finding some tracks to sound more full with them.
In terms of soundstage and imaging I find them to be incredible. Not only do instruments sound distinct, but also fairly open/spread-out. I’d even argue they sound more open than the Philips SHP9500 (an open-back headphone). If I had to guess why it might be because of slight venting in the metal plates (can’t confirm), as there is fairly significant sound leakage.Admittedly with the third party leather earpads the leakage is less, so it might just be me listening at high volumes. Also those leather earpads provide better sound isolation, and stronger bass than the stock pads.
Conclusion
All in all I don’t think words can really describe how good these headphones sound. For the sound these headphones produce, the Phonon 4000s would be a value king had the build quality been up to par. At the moment they seem pretty rare to find.There was an updated version (Phonon 4400) that supposedly has better build quality and a longer cable, so maybe finding them will be easier. Nonetheless if you find these under $300 I think they are 100% worth it, maybe even more if you are willing to deal with the build quality.
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