Massdrop x Fostex TR-X00 Ebony Headphones Reviews | Drop

May 17, 2018

Verified Buyer

The Massdrop x Fostex TH-X00 sound exactly as described by Tyll Hertsens and the audiophile community, so those looking for that sound signature will not be disappointed. I grew up with some old Denons from the same family as the AH-D2000, so I was already at home with these phones. The new Fostex are a vast improvement on the original Denon models. I have only tried out the Ebony version so really cannot say which cups are best, but these sound beautiful.
I will only add one thing to those reviews: I am a classical musician and concert goer, so I am very sensitive to timbre, particularly from acoustic instruments. So far, under $1,000 these are the only headphones that I tried that could actually convince me with a good reproduction of piano and strings (actually there are a lot of famous headphones that I've tried up to $5,000 that still don't do any justice to acoustic instruments, so this is a tough quality to get). Grand pianos just sound natural and we can hear a bit of the cabinet's warm coloration that is almost never heard on headphones. Strings sound lush and beautiful, and violins are sweet-sounding on good recordings. On most recordings violins do not sound right, so this might be a non-issue for most readers, but the Fostex make the poor recordings sound less terrible.
The Ebony cups are truly beautiful. Pictures do not do them any justice. They do not have a pronounced wood veil but are not ink black, either. Really a gem to take good care of.
Otherwise these are pretty much "old school" headphones. When you put these on you can definitely notice that they are the result of tweaking with an old technology: they do not have the detail, speed and accuracy of its modern competitors. Soundstage is comparatively narrow, "closed-back" style, and in some situations these phones are prone to distortion, even at civilized volume levels. The headphone industry has been making vast improvements on mid-priced models, so these days you can get very decent sound from phones around the $ 300 price tag (not to mention the permanent or recurrent discounts on so many models). There are many solid closed-back headphones in the market today, and open-back dynamic headphones are catching up with closed-back models on bass reproduction, while offering all the advantages of open-back design. Sure, closed-back headphones will always have the upper hand for absolute bass boominess, but that's not exactly an audiophile trait and can be had for much cheaper than the Fostex.
I bought some Brainwavz round replacement pads on amazon, both velour and leather. Not an easy fit, but they work. I wanted to see if the soundstage improved a bit. It did. I found that the oval shaped pads that come with the Fostex TH-X00 impacted the sound on two levels: first, they narrow the soundstage and give the headphones a more "in-your-face" attitude; second, they muffle the sound a bit, removing a bit of presence in the treble region. I didn't like the round velour pads, which decharacterize these phones' sound signature, but found the round leather pads quite an improvement. Alas, on poor recordings, that sweet sounding treble is gone... But I prefer to have a more accurate reproduction than one that sounds more "equalized", albeit sometimes prettier. Out of my vinyl player or my Revox A77, the Fostex sound flawless and absolutely beautiful.
Bottomline: beautiful, unique timbre from an old school pair of closed-back headphones. The wooden ebony cups are a true gem.

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Atomicminded

Jun 5, 2018

diogo_alfaiateThank you so much for this review. I had an original pair of D2000's. I loved them so much I got custom wooden cups for them. The comment you make about the acoustic instruments.... That's exactly why I loved my d2000's too. I can't wait for this next drop. I'm sure this is the headphone I've been waiting for.

Jun 5, 2018

Jul 9, 2018

AtomicmindedI’m glad this proved helpful! Keep me posted on your remarks (specially if you go for other woodcups) always good to hear comments from users who are ”timber-sensitive” :)

Jul 9, 2018

Jul 9, 2018

diogo_alfaiateUpdate: since I wrote this review I had the chance to hear a new pair of Denons AH-D7200 At the Munich Hifi show. Coincidentally, one stand also had a pair of the old AH-D7000s playing some tapes, so I got to refresh my memory on those too. They were blatantly and shamefully outplayed by the Fostex. That sure felt reassuring.

Jul 9, 2018

Atomicminded

Jul 9, 2018

diogo_alfaiateThanks for the update. Even though I love the look of the mahagony custom cups of my Denon d2000's, they have the typical V-type sound signature.... Mids are weak. I'm hoping the ebony fostex's have more mid presence!!

Jul 9, 2018

Jul 9, 2018

AtomicmindedThe biggest differences I noticed between the Denons and the Fostex were the soundstage (probably solvable with a bit of tweaking) and the quality - not quantity - of the mids. In the Denons mids sound a bit nasal in comparison. However, these Fostex clearly have a V-shaped sound. Some say the Ebony cups are the ones to get if you prefer a response as close to flat as possible, but I haven't listened to the other cups to compare. In my (very) personal opinion, gear usually sounds its best with a certain set-up - which can have measurements that are totally off compared to other setups. It's all about the way the pieces come together and prove a good match. In any case, things like the choice of the cups are a mere tweak of the basic preformance of the headphones, they shouldn't change the sound signature. I don't know which cups give the Fostex a more natural, sweet-sounding response, but those are the cups you should get ;) even if they don't give you the flatest response of the bunch.

Jul 9, 2018

Oct 30, 2019

diogo_alfaiateHi have questions, why do you need both X1 and X2 ? I have the X2 and willing go for X1 because my X2 bass may not be overpowering as it use to. Secondly how does the bass on the TR-X00 Ebony sounds like ? Are they consider as bass king for mid bass and sub bass musicality ?

Oct 30, 2019

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Oct 31, 2019

nick_tHi, I'm afraid I don't fully understand your question - are you talking about the Fidelio headphones in the pictures? If so, then the logical answer is, I don't really "need" them... ;) The main differences between the two versions of the Fidelio are in the crispiness and resolution of the sound, particularly in the upper treble. From memory (I bought them a while ago), I think the X2s have a metallic driver, which gives them a much more detailed presentation. The Fidelio X1s sound grainy and less resolved in direct comparison to the X2s. On the other hand, I find the X2s very hard to drive without sounding metallic. This aspect bothers me as it makes it particularly fatiguing to listen to them for prolonged periods. Pairing the Fidelio X2s with a basic solid state, economic amplifier pierces my ears - which is ironic, since they were designed to operate without any additional amplification, just plugged to your phone/laptop. Things improve a lot with a tube amplifier, particularly because both versions of the Fidelio have a very dark, uncolored sound signature which is a good match for an amp with some character, but when you get to that price range I think there are better alternatives out there. In general, I think they both do an amazing job at that price range in terms of faithfulness, coherence and musicality. The Sennheiser HD600 sound very equalised in comparison, at least to me. These days, I use the X1 a lot more because they work wonderfully on-the-go connected to my phone. Back to your questions: (i) Both X1 and X2 will give you the same amount of bass; it's part of the Fidelio's design to have that punchy, yet very controlled bass. That is one of the main characteristics of the open back design, complemented in these phones by the velour pads. The drawback from getting an airy atmosphere and soundstage is that bass reproduction is not the latest word in power or boominess. That's always gonna be the case with any open back headphones you try, Fidelio being no exception. (ii) The TR-X00 are a totally different beast. They are closed back headphones and give you a typical, traditional closed back presentation, no surprises here - more bass, warmer sound, less stage and less instrument separation. If your main concern is absolute bass power, you should take a look at the original Fostex, the TH-900mk2: those will be a great match for electronic music, for example. The Massdrop versions have a more nuanced presentation, beautiful (and not so nuanced) instrument coloration and sweet sounding midrange. For the more V-shape sounding version, go for the mahogany version. Hope this helps.

(Edited)

Oct 31, 2019

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Oct 31, 2019

diogo_alfaiateHi, I wrote a long professional respond earlier but the stupid algorithm of this site did not post my comment. I did log in but have to re log in again. Am skipping the entire context. Why do you own both fidelio x1 and x2 again ? Do you have the x1 first then decided to get the x2 as an upgrade ? How is the sub bass of the TR-XOO and the low end ? Are they bass canon with musicality ?

Oct 31, 2019

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Oct 31, 2019

nick_tI actually went the other way around, bought the X2 new but found them too metallic. So I found a pair of X1 second hand at a good price and went for it, I do not regret it. Differences between both models are detailed in my previous reply, same thing for bass description of the Fostex.

(Edited)

Oct 31, 2019

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Nov 1, 2019

diogo_alfaiateWhat is metallic sounding by the way ? How wide is the X1 ? How is the sub bass of the The TR-X00, are these bass canon ? What is the difference between magohany, purplehearts and ebony ? What is the difference between TR-X00 and TH-X00 ?

Nov 1, 2019

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Nov 4, 2019

nick_tMetallic sounding: imagine a violin made of iron instead of wood. It's not as if the timbres are all wrong in the X2, but the mids have an aggressive and metallic bite to them. If you like it or aren't bothered about it, great news: you won't find any improvements to your liking on the X1. The X1 is worse than the X2 in every other aspect. Differences between magohany, purplehearts and ebony: I don't know by personal experience, I only own the Ebony. Differences between TH-X00 and TR-X00: the removable cable. The R is for removable. Are the TH-X00 bass canon: no. Good luck

Nov 4, 2019

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Nov 4, 2019

diogo_alfaiateSo the X1 is worst than X2 ? Which one sounds better to you at least ? How is the Ebony on the bass and sub bass ? Is TR-X00 Ebony can be considered as bass king ? I heard they will be discontinued and might be replace or something. What is H stands for again ? Have you heard the TH900 and TH909 ?

Nov 4, 2019

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Nov 4, 2019

nick_tI'm afraid I've written all of my thoughts on these cans in replies above - please read. If you can't find the answer you're looking for, try asking another user, you might get better luck than here. Cheers

Nov 4, 2019

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Nov 4, 2019

diogo_alfaiateI ask because some of them are not further clarification and not fully complied to the question, thats why I repeat some parts. Maybe accept the H stands part. Just answer at least this part, So the X1 is worst than X2 ? Which one sounds better to you at least ? How is the Ebony on the bass and sub bass ? Is TR-X00 Ebony can be considered as bass king ? I heard they will be discontinued and might be replace or something.

Nov 4, 2019

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Nov 4, 2019

nick_tSo the X1 is worst than X2 ? Yes Which one sounds better to you at least ? To me, the X1 How is the Ebony on the bass and sub bass ? It's fine, nothing to write home about Is TR-X00 Ebony can be considered as bass king ? No I heard they will be discontinued and might be replace or something: I am not aware of those news What is H stands for again ? I don't know, it is part of Fostex's original naming Have you heard the TH900 and TH909 ? I haven't heard either of them. Which is a shame, would love to hear the new TH909, they must be the best of both worlds between open and closed back headphones. According to the impressions of most reviewers, if bass is your main concern you should listen to the TH900. You're welcome.

Nov 4, 2019

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