This is now the fourth HarmonicDyne product in a row that has been characterized by a luxurious unboxing experience, accessories that easily belong to a price tier or two higher, premium craftsmanship and good attention to detail in the product design (to an extent), then being let down by the stock tuning. In this case the points made were so strong, I almost wondered whether there were two teams in charge of different parts of the project, that did not consult each other until too late! For what is HarmonicDyne's most expensive product to date, I expected a more complete package where it counts the most, unfortunately there are issues which can result in many lost sales.

For one, the comfort/seal issue is hard to address with the contents in the case which is now a glorified display case only. This is an engineering mishap that has different problems for smaller heads and larger heads, and both would need different pads to help alleviate the concerns. This is where YAXI, or really any other reputed ear pad manufacturer with angled and contoured pads comes to the rescue. The YAXI Comfort TH610/TH900 pads help a lot in also addressing the other issue of tonality, whereby HarmonicDyne seemingly forgot about ear gain in the quest to provide a sound signature that older Audeze headphones had. EQ is a must to make the most of the HarmonicDyne G200, and thankfully it's not the hardest set to get to your preferences.

I want to urge here how much of a wide berth the G200 deserves in terms of going out to get replacement pads and doing EQ corrections, and this is simply because the actual drivers used here are fantastic for the sub-$1000 set. In fact, I would go as far as to say this out-resolves the Audeze LCD-X (2021) when both are EQ'd out and have no comfort issues, and the LCD-X costs nearly twice as much. The G200 is a fast set with excellent technical performance, deserving some work on the customers end to reach a finished product not only worth the money but also potentially gaining a word-of-mouth following in the DIY community. Call it a fixer upper if you want to, I have no problems recommending the HarmonicDyne G200 + YAXI ear pads combination here for the ~$750 net cost, and also acknowledge that this is very likely not the set for you if you are not willing to (a) EQ and/or (b) undergo pad rolling.