Hi Everyone!
Last year we worked with the community and Fostex to develop the successor to the D5000, at a comparable price. This resulted in the Fostex TH-X00 Mahogany and a great success. During the course of that development, we were able to audition and measure a variety of woods, each producing a different sound signature. The recent TH-X00 Purpleheart we launched has a slightly more “fun” sound, offering a bit more bass and treble compared to the original Mahogany.
During our discussions with Fostex, and in addition to the dense Purpleheart wood, there was one more type of wood that really stood out due to physical properties. That wood has now been developed in the TH-X00 and we are very happy to announce...
The new Fostex TH-X00 Ebony will be available this Friday, July 15th.
Why Ebony? The density and rigidity of headphone driver housings have an impact on the sound. Headphone modders know this and add different materials to the inside of headphone cups to increase these properties, thereby affecting the tuning and performance of the headphone. Ebony is prized for its hardness and density as well as its beauty, so it was high on our list during discussions with Fostex to create a couple of additional TH-X00 wood editions.
Why did it take so long to release? Trying to source Ebony with the density that we were looking for led Fostex through a number of different suppliers and samples until the right wood was found.
Physical Differences
Ebony is so dense, there is an obvious increase to cup weight. There is some natural variance between species of the same wood and different samples, but for comparison…our quick measurements found single cups to weigh:
Mahogany 30g
Purpleheart 50g
Ebony 80g
Ebony cuts with a smoother unfinished surface texture. Inside the cups (behind the driver) there is a progression in rougher to smoother surface texture going from Mahogany to Purpleheart to Ebony.
Sound Differences
We’ll let others compare and review with subjective impressions, but the measurements that we have show the Ebony TH-X00 to have the flattest frequency response so far.
Additional Observations
Bass - Ebony has the deepest bass extension of any TH-X00 editions.
Mids - Where the Mahogany & Purpleheart lose some steam in the 3-4kHz region, Ebony maintains a smoother descent. Mids are more present without harsh transitions.
Treble - Where the original TH-X00 has a peak at 9kHz, Ebony (and Purpleheart to a degree) reduces that area and chance of harshness while leaving the 10kHz+ sparkle.
Summary
Mahogany is “The Original”.
Purpleheart is the “fun” one.
Ebony is “The Original”, refined.
Important News
With this installment of the series and refinement of the original version, it is a fitting time to announce Ebony as the <last wood> we plan on developing for the TH-X00 platform. Nope, we’re not going to release 50 different wood varieties of the TH-X00. We have other categories of headphones to work on for you. :)
Please Note
Due to the difficulty of sourcing properly seasoned Ebony we are unsure if we will be able to produce more than 2,000 units of this edition.
Drop Details Specific to Ebony
-Pending TH-X00 orders for Mahogany or Purpleheart cannot be canceled to join this drop.
-Production lead time for Ebony wiill take 4 months from the end of the drop to leave our warehouse.
-The price for the Fostex TH-X00 Ebony Edition is $499.99 shipped.
Sneak Peek
I’ll be walking around with one of only two Ebony prototypes this Saturday at the July 16th Head-Fi Wikia Meet….please stop me for a look and a listen!
CEE_TEEAwesome, thank you for the excellent write up and details! Can you please confirm if the mahogany and purple heart variants will or will not have another drop? I am curious if this will this be the last opportunity to grab these TH-X00s? Cheers!
NJbonelessHello NJboneless, the Mahogany and Purplehearts will have more drops. This particular wood is hard to source so this is the edition that may be limited in quantity and drops.
Unfortunately, it looks like MD won't be offering cancellations to switch to this drop from the previous, but I wouldn't sweat it. Everything I've heard about the original TH-X00 has been very positive, and you're certainly not going to go wrong with the mahogany cups. Personally, I held off until the ebony drop mostly because I thought they looked nice; while there are a couple graphs and rough impressions of the ebony cups compared to the other variants, it's really hard to say for sure what they'll sound like, and odds are the differences won't be huge.
I definitely sympathize if you're still bummed about not getting in on this drop, but don't take one or two impressions of the ebony cups as being more "refined" to mean that the original X00's are trash in comparison, because they're still an excellent pair of headphones, and for $100 less are arguably the better value (aesthetic preferences notwithstanding). And, if you for sure want the ebony cups, you can always try and sell the mahoganies once you get them; I'm sure someone would be happy to pay the full $400 for a mint pair of X00's without the standard Massdrop lead time.
The difference is very minor - chances are you wouldn't even notice any sonic differences even if you compared them side-by-side. I know they're marketing them as the "refined" version of the mahogany, but check the frequency response graphs - the differences are very minor. The drivers are the same in both headphones - you're only getting charged extra for a change in the wood cups (which you can buy from other places anyway like E-MU or Lawton). IMO, the mahogany is the best value and one should only buy these if aesthetics are really that important/these will be treated as their "endgame" headphones. Otherwise, not worth the extra cash. There is not shitty or average version. They are all basically the same with very minor sonic differences. You're just paying for different wood cups.
Last year we worked with the community and Fostex to develop the successor to the D5000, at a comparable price. This resulted in the Fostex TH-X00 Mahogany and a great success. During the course of that development, we were able to audition and measure a variety of woods, each producing a different sound signature. The recent TH-X00 Purpleheart we launched has a slightly more “fun” sound, offering a bit more bass and treble compared to the original Mahogany.
During our discussions with Fostex, and in addition to the dense Purpleheart wood, there was one more type of wood that really stood out due to physical properties. That wood has now been developed in the TH-X00 and we are very happy to announce...
The new Fostex TH-X00 Ebony will be available this Friday, July 15th.
Why Ebony? The density and rigidity of headphone driver housings have an impact on the sound. Headphone modders know this and add different materials to the inside of headphone cups to increase these properties, thereby affecting the tuning and performance of the headphone. Ebony is prized for its hardness and density as well as its beauty, so it was high on our list during discussions with Fostex to create a couple of additional TH-X00 wood editions.
Why did it take so long to release? Trying to source Ebony with the density that we were looking for led Fostex through a number of different suppliers and samples until the right wood was found.
Physical Differences Ebony is so dense, there is an obvious increase to cup weight. There is some natural variance between species of the same wood and different samples, but for comparison…our quick measurements found single cups to weigh:
Mahogany 30g Purpleheart 50g Ebony 80g
Ebony cuts with a smoother unfinished surface texture. Inside the cups (behind the driver) there is a progression in rougher to smoother surface texture going from Mahogany to Purpleheart to Ebony.
Sound Differences We’ll let others compare and review with subjective impressions, but the measurements that we have show the Ebony TH-X00 to have the flattest frequency response so far.
Additional Observations Bass - Ebony has the deepest bass extension of any TH-X00 editions. Mids - Where the Mahogany & Purpleheart lose some steam in the 3-4kHz region, Ebony maintains a smoother descent. Mids are more present without harsh transitions. Treble - Where the original TH-X00 has a peak at 9kHz, Ebony (and Purpleheart to a degree) reduces that area and chance of harshness while leaving the 10kHz+ sparkle.
Summary Mahogany is “The Original”. Purpleheart is the “fun” one. Ebony is “The Original”, refined.
Important News With this installment of the series and refinement of the original version, it is a fitting time to announce Ebony as the <last wood> we plan on developing for the TH-X00 platform. Nope, we’re not going to release 50 different wood varieties of the TH-X00. We have other categories of headphones to work on for you. :)
Please Note Due to the difficulty of sourcing properly seasoned Ebony we are unsure if we will be able to produce more than 2,000 units of this edition.
Drop Details Specific to Ebony -Pending TH-X00 orders for Mahogany or Purpleheart cannot be canceled to join this drop. -Production lead time for Ebony wiill take 4 months from the end of the drop to leave our warehouse. -The price for the Fostex TH-X00 Ebony Edition is $499.99 shipped.
Sneak Peek I’ll be walking around with one of only two Ebony prototypes this Saturday at the July 16th Head-Fi Wikia Meet….please stop me for a look and a listen!