Tonality: Bassy… but somewhat balanced? At first glance the FR isn’t that bad! From 500hz and up the FR looks like it is following the right contour. Some peaks and dips here and there but there seem to be sufficient ear gain and treble energy. It’s these quirks that ultimately screw up the tonal balance though. Way too much bass, plus a noticeable dip in lower mid range and a bump between 600-2khz make vocals throaty and congested. Two treble peaks at 8khz and 12khz failed to balance out the bass boost but rather added unatural sheen and metallic timbre.
Technicality: Some have argued that technicalities don’t exist. Well, at least here they don’t.
Afterword: I can in fact understand why these have been so popular back in the days. If you aren’t a ‘critical listener’ then these would probably sound fine especially with some modern music that simply require bass boost to sound ‘good’. The real deal breaker is the background hiss though – it sounds like you’re sitting right next to a TV with 50db of constant static noise. So if the tonal screwup doesn’t get to you, the hiss will.
