Kara's Studio Headphones

[KokoroBeach 7]

Basically I was in the market to get some really nice studio headphones for music, mixing, recording, and referencing.

But there we're sooooo many headphones to pick from that my head was spinning, until I came across these 2 pictures that we're posted on Karaholic.

and

Once I saw Gyuri and Hara using them (Equation Audio RP-21) in the studio I was immediately motivated to get myself a pair. They HAD to be good if Kara is using them, and reviews say so as well!

So I ordered them, and TADA! Here they are .

and

Put em on, played Kara's "Lonely" and wow I was blown away. The intro was so well presented, detail was amazing. Jiyoung's voice in the beginning just made me melt. When it got to the chorus, simply wow! Instrument separation, soundstage, everything sounded like I was actually with Kara on stage!

Also played a more bassy song "Yodel (Bed Spread)" and the bass part in the beginning just struck my face ever so nicely. Again I could hear everything so crisp and clear that it kept my eyes like *_*.

Please note, when your playing music, use 320 kbps files. If you run songs at 128k, the headphone WILL uncover recording flaws, and you'll be wondering why it sounds bad ^^. Also note there will be sibiliance (harsh "s" "sh" and "t") on some songs, depending on your source, recording quality, EQ settings, AND the singer themselves. You may have to play around with the EQ to get it where you want it to sound, and burning in helps a bunch. If you need help on this, PM me and I'll gladly help you setup your headphones.

To sum it up, I am extremely happy with my purchase, and I thank Kara and Karaholic (for posting the pictures) for making my selection process so MUCH easier!

Oh remember guys, this is a studio headphone and has a fairly flat frequency response, hence why it is great for referencing. So the headphones are NOT colored in any way, meaning no weak/overpowering bass, no overdone/rolled-off treble, etc. You "can" use them on your portable music player (Ipod), but because of their nature they are kinda big and if your worried about how you look in public, you might get some of weird glances from people hehe.

However... they look great on Hara and Gyuri don't they?

Edited July 3, 2010 by KokoroBeach

[zashikii 0]

Thats a cool set of headphones.

How much did you spend on it??

[KokoroBeach 7]

Thats a cool set of headphones.

How much did you spend on it??

Got them for 70 Euros. Really great prices and give headphones 2 times the price a run for the money.

Keep in mind if you want to buy them, you won't find them easily. Equation Audio is a small company that only deals with studio stores. But if you can get em, you'll love em .

[K.hara 1]

Wah....where you get this?....

Tell me...so i can add more item in my room XD

[KokoroBeach 7]

Wah....where you get this?....

Tell me...so i can add more item in my room XD

. Check out Equation Audio's website and they can locate a dealer for you.

[WhiteSamurai 0]

I want them too ..... oh and the headphones as well

[KaRaAeGyOfAn 0]

wow..kekekeh..lucky u to have the same headphones as KARA..ngee..they look awesome..i want one too..kekeh..where did u get it???i'm sure it's tough to find one on the shelves..

[yuda 279]

hmm that's interesting..

and u even noticed that..haha

great eye!!

but it;s very expensive..

and if with that price, the perf is poor it will be a waste

congrats on getting them

[PrinceDwi 0]

I looked up the model through a quick google search. Not too sure, but I believe I spotted one on Amazon.com for 90 bucks, definitely worth checking out, I might buy this along with the blue microphone yeti considering I'm trying to get back into recording a bit of saxophone playing and of course to satisfy my gaming and music listening needs ^^;

[goddessfollower 1]

Wah, I've been playing around with the idea of getting new studio headphones, and these look very nice. Omo omo and I also have a thing for metallic orange. Yeah, I saw these on Amazon too, and considering the bang 90 bucks isn't horrible. I don't think it's too meaningful to splurge on the more bass-y RP-22x and I don't want to chance with the cheaper RP-15s, so...as you said, if it's good enough for Kara, it's more than good enough for me.

Yay time to selfishly buy a b-day present *whistles along*

[KokoroBeach 7]

I looked up the model through a quick google search. Not too sure, but I believe I spotted one on Amazon.com for 90 bucks, definitely worth checking out, I might buy this along with the blue microphone yeti considering I'm trying to get back into recording a bit of saxophone playing and of course to satisfy my gaming and music listening needs ^^;

I haven't tried them for gaming yet, but the soundstage and 3D imaging is quite good. In fact, even though they are "closed" headphones, they sound like an "open" pair. Also there is great bass extension, and because of 3 three factors, I believe they would also make great gaming cans. Oh and they isolate quite well indeed.

Edited June 30, 2010 by KokoroBeach

[Palaverist 271]

@KokoroBeach It is good that you got a new headphone. How you describe the sound? Is it bright and warm sounding?

[KokoroBeach 7]

@KokoroBeach It is good that you got a new headphone. How you describe the sound? Is it bright and warm sounding?

The sound signature is very natural and neutral. No colorations in any frequencies, which gives you the sound the recorders wanted you to hear. Very true to the recording, which is what I was looking for in headphones. If you like good bass, it's there, if you like great vocals, it's there, if you love piano/violin/horns, it's there. Everything is represented really well.

[sweetcookie 2]

wow cool headphones.

it must be really good.

[red4summer 8,513]

so you are into music too. hmm, interesting sharing. glad you got what you wanted, the "kara feel".

[charray 0]

I would like to have it

argh......

[jihaebutt 12]

kara's ~style~ is cool, yo. :3

haha dang but those look like really great headphones.

lmao I only have the really cheap earbud things :x

[soybean 8]

Ooo.. the way you describe it is sooo.. enchanting xD

What's the brand and how much was it?

[Fenris 1]

Those look great and from your stellar review, I just have to add this to my list of essential computer upgrades!

[vennie 9]

I'm not a huge headphone fan but congrats on the purchase lol. I wouldn't mind trying it out though, if you said it sounds like kara performing on stage .

[Lupang 300]

ohh not bad!! open cans!! ! i myself prolly spent over 500$ total on just 3 headphones,earbuds LOL i like buying earbuds headphones xD give it a few days worked in! and it will sound even better u can try leaving it overnight music on or at most 24hrs for it to totally break in. sound shud sound even better

[Kimmoy 8]

judging from your reviews its pretty good

thanks for sharing..

i'm still sticking to my pink mixstyle headphones.. >_<

[KokoroBeach 7]

ohh not bad!! open cans!! ! i myself prolly spent over 500$ total on just 3 headphones,earbuds LOL i like buying earbuds headphones xD give it a few days worked in! and it will sound even better u can try leaving it overnight music on or at most 24hrs for it to totally break in. sound shud sound even better

Yup, right when I got them I ran them with music for about 15-20 hours so far. The bass opened up even more .

I will continue burning them in to get their max potential.

Btw what headphones + earbuds do you have yourself?

[KokoroBeach 7]

Oh also guys, a little bit of extra info on the headphones.

I tried em for gaming, CS:S and COD 4. And compared to the PX100-IIs (which are pre-bumped in bass) I have, they sounded really "tinny", like not full in sound and explosions sounded really thin.

But then I realised that these headphones are SO "neutral", that all you need to do is bump the bass frequencies on your EQ, with a small bump in the mids, and 16k high to accommodate.

Because games (mostly shooting games) are all about bass, bumping these frequencies will get you that rich full sound that you seek.

Also the 3D imaging was awesome, I could tell where people are by hearing their footsteps (behind me, in front, left, right, and even diagonally), almost like I have wallhacks... hehehe.

After this both games sounded great, I ended up playing for quite a bit... maybe too long .

[LsDz 1]

ah.. great.. was looking for headphones for my gaming and music needs.. haha knowing that Kara uses this headphones makes it way way better..