Review: Tascam TH-MX2 Closed Back Headphones

Sound Quality

The sound quality of these headphones can be overall described as bass heavy and a little muddy, yet warm with no real harshness that stands out.

Tascam says these are for studio mixing usage, but I don’t think I’d recommend them for that. They don’t represent the sound spectrum with much flatness or clarity, and they are too strong in the low end to give an accurate representation of the sound. I think these are better suited for monitoring while tracking if using them in the studio. They can sound decent on individual instruments, but they don’t offer a clear picture of the sound of dense mixes with lots going on.

The bass is much stronger than what you would normally expect from studio mixing headphones. It gives everything a bass heavy feel and isn’t very good for analyzing mixes.

The mids and the highs are subdued and not as forward when compared to the low end. The high end lacks presence and doesn’t provide much clarity for hearing details in this part of the spectrum. The mids are also similar to the highs and don’t provide much presence or clarity.

The sound stage is pretty average for closed back headphones. You will hear decent separation from left to right, but you won’t be able to place individual elements as clearly as you can with some of the more higher quality headphones out there. The sound is also fairly direct.

Overall clarity is average at best, and probably on the lesser side if you’re wanting to use these to analyze dense mixes. There just isn’t enough clarity in the mids and highs to really hear what’s going on when making critical mixing decision.

For as much as I didn’t find the sound suitable for studio mixing purposes, I do like what the sound quality offers for electronic drumming. When plugged into a drum module, these headphones provide a warm, bass heavy sound that brings out emphasis of the low end of the kick drum and toms. When I’m in the mood for a chunkier, fatter and warmer sound with less in-your-face cymbals, these headphones do that quite well. The clarity was better when used with only a drum kit as well, since there’s less going on in the overall mix to create muddiness.

Closed Back, Over Ear Design

These headphones fit over the ear and provide a decent amount of passive noise isolation. It can help cut down on environmental noises and also helps keep the sound to yourself so others nearby can’t hear it as well. The ear cups provide a pretty nice seal, better than most other headphones I’ve tried in this price range.

The noise isolation is pretty good for electronic drumming purposes. It helps keep you focuses on the sounds of the drum module over the sounds of the sticks hitting the pads.

As far as the overall design of these headphones goes, they visually look very similar to Sony MDR7506 headphones.

Comfort

I find the comfort level of these headphones to be average to good. When reading some other reviews I expected these to be more uncomfortable than they actually are. These fit and feel very similar to the Sony MDR7506 headphones when I have them on my head. The don’t feel bulky at all. The ear cups are deep enough and fit over my ears fine. The ear cups fit snugly and create a nice seal. The headband doesn’t really fatigue or create any hot spots even when I wear them for longer sessions.

At the end of the day, for their price, I think the comfort is just fine.

Build Quality

The build quality is decent but there’s a lot of plastic used in the construction. Nothing feels overly fragile, but they do feel like you need to be a little more careful with them. But that’s not out of the ordinary for headphones in this price range. There is metal used in the headband and adjustment features, which is good.

These headphones don’t collapse, so there’s no hinges to worry about, which can be a longevity issue for cheaper headphones. So that’s a positive for these particular headphones. There are some exposed wires on the headband, so it’s a good idea to be careful with those.

The headband and ear cup covering can also wear out over time, like with most budget level headphones. The ear cup pads can be replaced, so that’s a good thing if you own these long enough to wear out the ear pads.

Long Cable

The cable length on these headphones is good at 3 meters, which is a pretty typical length for studio headphones. The cable has a 1/8″ plug with a 1/4″ adapter.

For Electronic Drummers

We’ve talked about the sound quality already, so you know what to expect there. Outside of the sound quality considerations, these have all the features we like for electronic drumming. They have an over-ear closed back design that provides some passive noise isolation. They can be comfortable enough to wear for longer practice sessions. They adjust large enough to fit over a hat, which I like. The cable is long and straight which helps keep it out of the way and also gives you some movement freedom around the drum kit.

Technical Specifications

The Verdict

The Tascam TH-MX2 headphones have a lot of qualities that we like for electronic drumming but the sound quality is the biggest potential drawback.

Like we mentioned earlier, if you like a warm, bass heavy sound with less presence from the high end such as the cymbals on electronic drums, these will definitely do that. For mixing purposes these headphones will be lacking due to their frequency response and lack of clarity in the mids and highs, but they can work fine for monitoring while tracking. A their price level, these can be a good pickup for electronic drummers with a lower budget.