"Just exemplary": Home Studio Basics Reviews the Apos Caspian

Note: This article is based upon the article "Before You Buy the Caspian WATCH THIS” made by Home Studio Basics on his YouTube channel and is printed here in partnership with Home Studio Basics. The review was originally posted on July 12th, 2022. It has been edited for clarity and length. You can purchase the Apos Caspian Headphones on Apos Audio.

Build and comfort

I’ll tell you right off the bat: both the build and comfort here are nearly impeccable. The comfort, especially, is remarkable. I mean, I’ve worn these for three and a half hour sessions without taking them off at all. The clamp force on the sides of your head is perfect. The top of the headband doesn’t dig at all.

All in all, they’re just exemplary.

You can wear these for extended sessions without adjusting them at all. Now, the pads feel really good. They are sheepskin leather and have an acoustic memory foam on the inside. The headband is natural leather. The main portion is made of stainless steel.

It’s an incredibly well-built headphone all around, with the ear cups being all-natural oak sourced from the North Caucasus mountains.

It does feel like a lot of care and effort went into making this headphone, and I definitely applaud Apos for that. I was fairly surprised when I got it. I wasn’t expecting it to be nearly as durable and robust as they are.

Sound

Bass

Let’s get right into the sound. Right off the bat, the highlight of this headphone is definitely the bass. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the mid-bass was handled.

Normally, if companies decide on a mid-bass shelf, they tend to screw it up. Here there is a five decibel shelf from 20hz to around 200, but it doesn’t feel overdone like your mom’s meatloaf.

It’s not overbearing.

There’s definitely a mid-bass rise, but it feels natural. It feels like a bass head’s headphone should sound.

In other words, it has impact. It slams. But it doesn’t sound obnoxious, overly forward, bloated, muddy clammy–none of that. It’s a fun bass, but it doesn’t sound overly aggressive or in-your-face.

Mid-range

This is not an overly-analytical or detailed sound. It’s more relaxed, a little bit more subdued. It definitely mimics the harman response curve in some ways.

I will say that vocals can sometimes sound a tad overshadowed by the bass. This is definitely an exception and not the rule. But you will notice the low mid-range dip, or gentle slope, as I like to refer to it. It does come back up around 2.5kHz, which is just about perfect for me, because it’s where our ears expect it to rise.

Most of the time, I’d say that vocals are going to sound pretty crisp and just forward enough to keep you engaged.

The track “First of the Month” by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony sounds absolutely incredible, especially for a track recorded in 1995. It sounds punchy, rich, and hits really hard.

On the other hand, with some tracks the resolution could be better. The Caspian is certainly not as resolving as the Arya. Most people probably won’t care too much about this. Now, audiophiles will definitely notice. And I also noticed as well. But, you know, it’s something that I can kind of give a pass to, because the resolution isn’t horrible. It just could be improved a little bit.

For instance, I think this is sound-wise more of a $300-400 headphone, boosted to $500 by virtue of an incredible build, comfort, extra balance cables, a carrying case, and a sticker—which is whatever, but I kind of like stickers, sue me.

Treble

Another point of contention with some people may be the treble. So, as mentioned previously, you know, this kind of mimics the harman response curve in terms of treble.

So the treble here is going to be leaning darker, not sibilant at all. You’re never going to have to worry about siblance. But I will say that at times it can lack some sparkle. It can come across as a bit dull-sounding. Definitely keep that in mind for those who maybe require a little bit brighter of a treble response.

Amplification

As far as amplification, you’re not going to need to go too crazy here. At 33Ω and 115dB sensitivity, they’re very efficient. I would probably pair them with something on the more neutral side like the FiiO K5 Pro or the Dragonfly Red, both of which utilize ESS DAC chips.

Conclusion

A running theme when you’re listening to these will be that they’re not trying all that hard to impress you, which is definitely a good thing. They’re very smooth and liquidy sounding. Again, they’re not quite as resolving enough for some people, but overall they’re definitely a good-sounding headphone, for sure.