Alright, making a thread for these since I just got a pair of these bad boys today.
First impressions!
Got a second-hand TH-X00 Ebony version, and wow - it looks amazing under the right light. Under poor light conditions it just looks pure black, but when you have a good shine on it you can see the extremely dark wood underneath and it looks awesome. It kind of reminds me of the OG Nighthawks in terms of coloring and detail for the cups which I really like. Since the OG Nighthawks are seemingly even more rare than these, I am glad I picked these up.
First complaint though, holy shit these have to be some of the worst fucking stock earpads I’ve ever used. I literally didn’t even get through a single song before I had to change them out for something else. If you have glasses, these stock earpads are simply unusable - if you don’t wear glasses, you can probably manage with them, but they still aren’t very great. Shallow depth and very small hole so if you have bigger ears it won’t be comfortable. The build quality overall does seem quite good with the only caveat being the hinges where the cups swivel - it looks like one small screw keeps it in place and I can just see this breaking with usage over time (fingers crossed).
Thankfully I have 2 pairs of ZMF earpads (Cowhide / Protein) and 2 pairs of Dekoni pads (Suede / Hybrid) just laying around so I threw on the the Cowhide pair first. Been listening with the Cowhide pads for around ~4 hours at this point, and yeah I already can tell I love these things. I would say the majority of what I listen to hip-hop and EDM, but I do enjoy branching out into all genres. The Clears just weren’t doing it for me in the bass department, which makes me think it might be a seal problem since I’ve been looking around and that seems to be a common issue with glasses users.
Regardless, the seal for the TH-X00 Ebony seems great even with the cowhides because the bass extends pretty far down and it surprisingly isn’t as boomy or overwhelming as I thought it might be. It is very fun to listen to and it is quite punchy. Vocals and mids are also very much present and after looking more into it, it seems like these are the most balanced among the TH-X00 versions when looking at the freq response graphs. Highs can be a bit too shiny at times, but I think my AMP/DAC combo (vio v200 / soekris 1321) really do a great job on smoothing it over a bit to not have it ever really be sibilant. Imaging is alright, nothing special but it’s pretty good. Soundstage I probably can’t judge much yet because I haven’t really listened to anything for testing, but I will say most songs sound pretty forward.
TL;DR - If you want a headphone with excellent bass extension and not absolutely destroying the midrange, this is really a fantastic choice if you can find one for a good price on the used market. Definitely going to be listening to more tracks over the week so I might update this.
A solid option is grabbing a set of 610 pads. The opening is slightly bigger and the material used is much higher in quality. Keeps the stock tuning intact. I don’t wear glasses though so ymmv.
Ebony are much more balanced than the purpleheart that are a pretty aggressive V. Ebony’s were very enjoyable in their stock form.
I agree do benefit from smoother electronics.
Really fantastic choice for a sub $500 closed back if isolation isn’t a priority.
Oooo that is actually a good shout. I will look into that, because yeah these pads I am using are not shaped at all like the stock pad, so they probably have altered the stock sound quite a bit tbh.
I will probably throw on an angled dekoni pad I have tomorrow since it has pretty damn close to the same dimensions as the stock pad / 610 pads (but bigger ear-holes) and see how that sounds.
Tbh, I already like the sound with the ZMF cowhide pads, but keeping the stock tuning is probably a good play. Will give it a go!
Like @don suggested the 610 pads are really nice. The Lawton pads too. If treble is too much you could try attenuation rings.
If you like the sound with the ZMF pads use them if they get you the sound that you like. Nice thing about this family of phones is they take well to pad rolling and you should be able to find something that works best for you.
Going to try a pair of Dekoni angled pads tomorrow since I have them on-hand and if I like that sound better I will probably go for an angled Lawton pad. The 2 main problems for me with the stock pads are they are a bit too close to the driver and the ear-hole is too small for my ears/glasses so it doesn’t fit quite right on my head making it uncomfortable.
This picture on Lawton’s website is actually really helpful to get a visual of it, but damn. The stock pads look so small comparatively lol
I have no experience with the tune up, but the more I listen, the more I would imagine the answer is yes. If I turn the volume up too high it can be a bit much in the treble on the stock pair tbh.
I think it would sorta mess with the Limited Edition Anniversary tuning of the SB & PWs. That tuning is not your typical Fostex tuning. Also, although they are Foster drivers - the 900 series uses a 1.5T driver - much different than what is in the TR/X 00s.
The Anniversary tuning is focused on low-end response, and a smoother treble that also benefits the midrange and brings it a bit more forward.
You can get Dekoni replacement pads that have the attenuation ring inside. These are mostly the same in terms of ear hole size but the material is far better. They have tried to go as close to stock sound as possible but they do affect it somewhat. In the Purple Heart it emphasises the V shape more so, but not enough to be an issue.
I haven’t tried the Lawton pads or any of the mods.
