Review: Tascam TH-03 Studio Headphones

Sound Quality

I found these headphones to sound average when compared to other headphones in their price range. They don’t sound great, but they’re not terrible either.

The sound is a little boomy in the low end, with somewhat diminished highs and mids. The low end comes through pretty strong, and even though it sounds very up front, it lacks clarity and sounds a little bit hollow. The mids are decent enough for vocal or instrument monitoring but aren’t super clear. The same can be said about the high end.

I didn’t find the sound to be clear enough for mixing purposes. They just sounded a little muddy throughout the frequency range in a way that would make it hard to analyze a mix.

When listening to music from a casual perspective, these actually sound pretty decent. They aren’t super crisp or clear, but considering their price they aren’t that bad. I didn’t experience any harsh or annoying frequencies, especially with heavy metal guitars, so that is something I appreciated about them. When listening to hip-hop, vocals weren’t as forward as I would like, but the sound overall was ok. Electronic music sounded decent on these, I think it’s because I was listening to tracks that weren’t super dense.

These headphones sound like they are intended for monitoring instruments either during practice or while in the studio. They can be an affordable option for additional monitoring headphones when you have multiple musicians monitoring at the same time.

For electronic drummers, I found the sound to be pretty usable when these were plugged into a drum module. I wasn’t getting the same clarity as I was with other more expensive headphones, but once again for the price these weren’t bad. I think these headphones performed a little better for these purposes since they work better on less dense mixes and individual instruments.

Closed Back, Almost Over Ear Design

These look like they are designed as closed back headphones that are designed to fit over your ears. However, the ear cups are circular and a little smaller in size, so they don’t fit entirely over your ears. My ears are a little on the larger side, and I could feel the ear cups sitting on the top and bottom of my ears.

Even though they didn’t fit entirely over my ears, they still managed to provide a decent amount of noise isolation. When playing electronic drums, I didn’t notice the sounds of the sticks hitting pads as much as I thought I would with these. That was a nice surprise and unexpected.

Comfort

I found these to be more comfortable than I thought they would be. They start to feel a little uncomfortable at around the half hour mark for me, but it wasn’t too bad really. With the ear cup swivel, I’m able to tilt the ear cups a little towards the back of my head so that they are a little more comfortable for a little longer.

The headband is pretty comfortable, but the ear cups are going to be the part that will cause people the most discomfort. If they don’t sit right on your ears, you’ll experience discomfort. If they happen to sit ok on your ears, like I experienced, they aren’t that bad at all.

Build Quality

These feel somewhat cheap when held in hand, with mostly plastic construction. All of the adjustable parts and swivel/folding parts look like plastic. They have a little bit of creaking to them when on the head, but it’s not too bad. The covering on the ear pads feels like budget materials and the ear pads feel a little stiff. Overall, these give the appearance of being budget headphones, which is to be expected considering their price level.

They feel like they’ll hold up for a while if you take care of them, but will be susceptible to breaking if they get dropped or crushed. They do fold up for storage or transport, which should help them from getting crushed and save some space if you carry them in a backpack, for example.

Long Cable

These headphones have a long, straight cable which is great. It looks like it’s about 9 feet in length, which is ideal for electronic drumming. The cable is non-detachable and comes with a 1/4″ adapter.

Are These Good For Electronic Drummers?

These headphones have some qualities that we like for electronic drumming. Despite the smaller fit on the ear cups, they do provide good noise isolation. They also have a long, straight cable that is ideal for electronic drumming. Comfort will be debatable depending on the person and how these fit. The sound is pretty good on electronic drums and individual instruments when considering the price level.

I think the biggest issue is going to be comfort for most drummers. If these fit your head well, they can offer decent comfort. If they don’t fit your head well they won’t be very comfortable. If you are looking at picking these up, be sure to purchase from somewhere that takes returns to lower the risk just in case you don’t find them to be a good fit.

Technical Specifications

The Verdict

The Tascam TH-03 headphones are decent for their price, but comfort might be hit or miss depending on how the smaller ear cups fit your ears and head.

The sound is ok for the price level. They also provide decent noise isolation and have a longer, straight cable. We find these to be a decent option for electronic drumming but if you don’t find them to be very comfortable that will be a drawback.