ETA Mini Semi-Closed

ETA sent out a demo tour of the Mini semi-closed set and they are not asking me for anything other than my honest opinion regarding these headphones. I’ll be handing them off to the next person on the tour soon.

So, the ETA Mini-SC ... first off let's approach the elephant in the room. These are 3D-printed cups and parts. This is not the most "beautiful" headphone out there, well depending on what you find to be beautiful ha. But, that isn't to say that these are not well-built. They are very solid feeling and at the same time lightweight. I wouldn't go throwing them on the ground or against the wall or anything, but no one should do that with any bit of kit, it is unrealistic ha!

Build quality

To quote ETA directly

"Our standard chassis is made from 30% high-modulus amorphous carbon fiber inset polyethylene terephthalate glycol for superior rigidity, strength, and durability relative to conventional ABS injection molded parts used in many other headphones." ~ ETA

I can confirm these feel super solid for the build. No frills just get to the thrills kind of build. I don't have an issue with the build, even though it is 3D printed, they don't feel like they would break apart easily.

Aesthetics

Ok, this will be hit or miss for a lot of people... but, for me, they kind of grew on me. I dig the quirky 3D printed texture and DIY build quality. These don't scream "premium" and honestly it makes me feel more comfortable taking them out and not worrying as much that people might want to snag them. Also, they have this strong Studio Monitor vibe going... probably from the no-frills build and aesthetic (all the thrills are in the sound ;) but, more on that later). I mean it even says "Studio Monitor" on the headband ha! I've gotten off track... but, Aesthetically these are a no-frills, get-it-done look in my opinion.

Use case, or how I got along with them on the daily

I love the portability of these due to how easily they fold up and can fit in my daily bag. Plus the fact they sound stupid good off of every source I've put them on... from my Macbook to dongles to top-of-the-line gear. They just get the job done! I don't have to worry about the source. But, when I do want to scale up... they take to whatever audio gear I throw at them like a fish to water. Superb do all use cases with these.

Using the Mini with my Macbook to edit videos

Comfort/Fit

These disappear on the head, light and comfortable for me. The pads are soft and fit decently around my ears, though the pads are relatively shallow, I didn't have discomfort with my ears touching. Honestly, I've spent hours listening to music and gaming with these on with no hot spots or discomfort.

But, how do they SOUND!

TLDR; They sound Stupid Good!

-The lows are punchy and clean

-Mids are neutral and accurate.

-Highs are smooth and detailed.

What do these statements even mean... well, Lows give a nice visceral punch where necessary. Lows don't overtake the rest of the music or vocals but play along with them. With Bass heavy tracks they can be amazingly addictive, while not being overwhelming.

-Mids are smooth detailed and neutral, I do prefer a little more warmth usually with my music, but these presented so well that I didn't mind it as much as I usually do with other headphones. Vocals do seem to be a tad bit further back from the Highs and Lows, but outside of that they are very well presented and detailed.

-Highs are smooth and detailed without being overdone, sibilant, or piercing. Well done Highs, love the splash of cymbals, and the details I can pull from them without it being "painful" (I'm generally treble sensitive).

-Detail is not in your face but readily there. The Mini-SC is not a detail monster, it has plenty of detail without getting in the way of itself or overly presenting details.

-Stage/imaging is well done but these are not the widest sounding. Though imaging is in my opinion well done. I was enjoying using these to play video games that require good imaging and detail, they didn't disappoint in Destiny 2, CoD MW2, or even single-player RPGs.

Plugged into my controller for a gaming session. Usually I just plug directly into my desktop amp, but these sound great straight from the controller as well.

Overall

I find these to be one of the best sounding and easy-to-get-along headphones under $1k I've heard in a long time. This is what happens when passionate people make things, and I'm all in for it!

I highly recommend getting ears in these or some of the other ETA headphones at the first opportunity you get. They are doing some good work, and are a small dedicated crew building some excellent-sounding headphones.

Some Tracks I listened to :

She Burns Away ~ Briscoe

That intro is fire! and the way the space is presented... the high hats at 00:45 and onwards and just the percussion in general in this track is amazing! Around the 2:50 mark, you can hear finger/palm strikes, and it is fantastic! The Mini-SC performs stupidly well with this track! Highlighting its strengths well!

She Burns Away by Briscoe (songwhip.com)

Junk ~ Vivienne Chi

Rolls right into some awesome imaging with the snaps and low end... then gets rolling at around the:50 mark. Vocals come in strong at the 01:05 mark. Lots of details and layering of sounds. Can get a bit overwhelming and I'm not the biggest fan of the purposeful "digital" sounding grainy low-end strikes. But, it is a big fun track to listen to.

Junk by Vivienne Chi (songwhip.com)

B-Side~ Khruangbin

Funky, thumping, and smooth! It is a good listen. Lots of depth and the vocals are upfront. Great track for imaging and Vocals. Plus lots of layering of instruments and imaging/stage. Too many highlights to give pinpoints cause they seem to happen all the time ha! Just give it a listen!

B-Side by Khruangbin, Leon Bridges (songwhip.com)

Link to ETA Mini Semi-Closed (non affiliated): Mini Semi-Closed | Over Ear Closed Headphone (etaheadphones.com)

I need to write more…

Tin HiFi C3 IEM