Ebony being a very dark wood, would age the worst, due to scratches & imperfections in or on clearcoat being more noticeable/visible as they get more wear & tear, as well as showing smudges & finger prints more easily. Those that own or owned a dark or a black vehicle & tried to keep it shiny, would know exactly what I mean.
DropThisAlthough you are correct, remember these aren't headphones you purchase to play battlefield with your friends while eating pizza, or throw in your suitcase while traveling.
NJbonelessTrust me, it'll take much less than that to show wear & tear on those mirror-like lacquered cups. I wouldn't dare doing what you mentioned to my Mahoganies, let alone Ebonies, that are $100 extra
DropThisOf the two "colored" wood types for the Fostex headphones, the Ebony has probably the best resistance to color change over the years. WAY better than the purplehearts. Check out this article:
http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/preventing-color-changes-in-exotic-woods/
TL;DR
Scroll to the bottom and you'll see the ratings for colorfast (5 being best, 1 being worst). I made a joke in these posts a while back saying for everyone who bought puprleheart (myself included), ours will look like ebonys in about 5 years. :)
Stoyan0Fair question. Sadly I don't know. I'm not a wood enthusiast; I just looked this up and found the article I mentioned. They're saying it's Ebony, so I assume its African Ebony .