Telefunken TH-120 Quick Review

Telefunken TH-120 Quick Review

Thanks to Topdogheadphones for the sample.

Brief:  A no holds barred party IEM.

Price:  £52 for no mic, £60 for the mic one.  Roughly US$79 or US$91

Specification:  10 mm speaker, 16 Ohm+/-15%, 102 dB+/- 3 dB at 1kHz, 20 Hz - 22 kHz, 1.2 Meter Cable, 3.5 mm Plug

Accessories:  6 pairs of tips and a little triangle case.

Build Quality:  Seems very good.  The cable looks and feels rather sturdy and the buds are metal.

Isolation:  It’s okay.  For a dynamic its fine and what you’d expect.  Not daily Tube commute stuff but fine for normal use and with music going it’s still enough to get you run over.

Comfort/Fit:  Very good.  I had no trouble in the slightest with either, wearing up or down.

Aesthetics:  Errm.  Sorry Telefunken but did your design team come from 1980’s East Germany?  Maybe it’s an anti-theft thing?

Sound:  Wow!  There is a party in your ears and all the bass impact is invited.  All the everything else too!  Party, drama, excitement, dynamics you name it’s all in there.  These are all about having a tremendously fun and exciting time.  If you want purity then these are so not it.  These are W shaped to the point of being V shaped. (W but the middle bits rather small.)  With the bass taking a dominant role these are big and punchy stylistically.  The bass isn’t happiest doing smooth, slow rolling notes.  It wants constantly to jump up and punch you in the ears.  Powerful slamming bass.  The highs aren’t the best extended but they are vigorously apparent with a slightly softened edged.  It is attention capturing without being aggressive to the ear.  Mids are nice, a touch over shadowed and are suited much more to a popy, lively vocal set than to Nora Jones.  These are all about belting out a catchy tune and having you dance about the place to it.  Detail is really impressively too given its so non analytical.   Everything sounds so spectacularly lively with these, just massive fun to listen to.

Value:  Fugly but sounds just excellent.  You’ll be hard pressed to find more fun IEM wise than these.

Pro’s:   Party and excitement time.  So lively, bouncy, dynamic, wooo hoooo party time!

Con’s:  About at flat and analytical as mirror ball is sophisticated.  Fugly.