Fostex x Massdrop TH-X00 Review
Aug 19, 2016 at 9:15 PM Post #8,266 of 12,089
Did anyone else also notice that these headphones extract a lot out of vocals; breathing nuances or background voices?


They also bring out faint near in-audible level sounds from some electronica tracks I've recently listened to. I am using my J-Money pads though, which I love on the PH's. And man do these cans do drums extremely well...every single strike clearly and vibrantly portrayed...no matter how insanely fast it is. Though I think these are electric drums, check out this starting @ 2:19

https://soundcloud.com/9tensu/challenger

I have the album with this song on CD and it definitely sounds better as a FLAC rip through the Dragonfly RED, but this stills gives you a sense of some PH fun with drums...
 
Aug 19, 2016 at 9:49 PM Post #8,267 of 12,089
#404
No problems with my finish. I do like the satin look, however. I might just have to do it anyway!
 
Aug 19, 2016 at 9:52 PM Post #8,268 of 12,089
I see all these impressions of the headphones. I think mine are defective or something. I see all this "great soundstage", "incredibly textured bass", "good mids", "pulls out all the nuances of the recordings", etc...  I think they sound good, but not as good as others are finding theirs. Maybe the Modi2U & Vali 2 aren't a good mix for them. I dunno. I'm saving up for an HA-1, maybe that'll be when I can fully gush over these.
 
Aug 19, 2016 at 10:09 PM Post #8,269 of 12,089
I see all these impressions of the headphones. I think mine are defective or something. I see all this "great soundstage", "incredibly textured bass", "good mids", "pulls out all the nuances of the recordings", etc...  I think they sound good, but not as good as others are finding theirs. Maybe the Modi2U & Vali 2 aren't a good mix for them. I dunno. I'm saving up for an HA-1, maybe that'll be when I can fully gush over these.


Most likey the Valhalla 2 is NOT a good pairing for Fostex dynamic driver headphones being an OTL tube amp...get a good SS amp - HA-1 should be awesomesauce.

My purplehearts sound AWESOME off my Samsung TAB S2 with Audioquest Dragonfly Red DAC/amp.
 
Aug 19, 2016 at 10:19 PM Post #8,270 of 12,089
Most likey the Valhalla 2 is NOT a good pairing for Fostex dynamic driver headphones being an OTL tube amp...get a good SS amp - HA-1 should be awesomesauce.

My purplehearts sound AWESOME off my Samsung TAB S2 with Audioquest Dragonfly Red DAC/amp.


I'll try them out on my Cambridge DacMagic XS (when I find out  where I put it).
 
Aug 20, 2016 at 1:17 AM Post #8,271 of 12,089
Proud owner of #58 PH here. Though I say that with a few caveats. A couple things disappointed me, such as white residue caked on the black plastic parts that I had to gently scrape off. The lacquer on the cups was also kind of a downer. there were little dots on the right earcup's finish, as if someone had taken the tip of an X-acto knife and poked little indentations into it. Also on the left cup, it seemed the silver "FOSTEX" lettering had some slight imperfections when I looked at it from certain angles. But these are by no means deal-breakers for me. 
 
The sound quality more than makes up for the cosmetic blemishes. Lots of meaty bass, and the mids make vocals feel alive. The treble with the stock pads was quite harsh and sibilant. Fortunately I had a pair of ZMF Omni lambskin pads to swap out, and the treble is much more tamed, and the bass feels even stronger, almost to the point of being a little too much. Thinking of getting the Lawton level 1 upgrade kit too. 
 
Also, my next mission is to try putting the stock X00 pads on the T50RP to see how that sounds. Only trouble is I'm having some trouble getting them on; the outer folds of the pads are a bit of a tight fit. 
 
Aug 20, 2016 at 2:18 AM Post #8,272 of 12,089
Okay, just been going back and forth among the PH's, T40RP Mark III, and SHP9500's...Conclusion is I REALLY like what the PH's bring to the music, the SHP9500's I still like very very much and they are my gaming headset too, and I see no need for the T40RP's even if technically they are good in the mids and highs - they really are kind of BORING sounding (not quite AKG K7XX boring though) and have the weakest bass. Yes I could mod the T40RP's, but I might as well just let them go and save up for the STAX I really want...
 
Aug 20, 2016 at 3:05 AM Post #8,273 of 12,089

Great number. Glad they didn't go missing 
biggrin.gif

 
Aug 20, 2016 at 3:20 AM Post #8,274 of 12,089
Okay, just been going back and forth among the PH's, T40RP Mark III, and SHP9500's...Conclusion is I REALLY like what the PH's bring to the music, the SHP9500's I still like very very much and they are my gaming headset too, and I see no need for the T40RP's even if technically they are good in the mids and highs - they really are kind of BORING sounding (not quite AKG K7XX boring though) and have the weakest bass. Yes I could mod the T40RP's, but I might as well just let them go and save up for the STAX I really want...

Yessir, I heartily approve of that plan!
 
When I receive them in a few days, the Purplehearts will become the basshead companions to my beloved Stax :)
 
And yes, I much prefer my Stax over every other HP currently in the collection in my sig.
 
Aug 20, 2016 at 8:27 AM Post #8,275 of 12,089
I see all these impressions of the headphones. I think mine are defective or something. I see all this "great soundstage", "incredibly textured bass", "good mids", "pulls out all the nuances of the recordings", etc...  I think they sound good, but not as good as others are finding theirs. Maybe the Modi2U & Vali 2 aren't a good mix for them. I dunno. I'm saving up for an HA-1, maybe that'll be when I can fully gush over these.


Good audio ? Define good ! Good audio quality scale with the experiences that a person have. If X00 is the best one ever heard, you will hear that from them :D
 
Aug 20, 2016 at 10:02 AM Post #8,277 of 12,089
  Absolutely love these... 

The more I listen to them, the more I get the feeling this is my go to headphone for my music. Next to my earlier impressions I now noticed the highs have such a wonderful extension and tonality to them 
darthsmile.gif
 Also, the isolation is just fine to my ears; atleast much better than an open headphone like the HD598 or HE-400. Not as isolating as the DT770 but for office use it's good enough :wink: I was just expecting a bass-head can but got the endgame package instead.
 
Aug 20, 2016 at 11:11 AM Post #8,278 of 12,089
Just received my TH-X00 Purpleheart and is rather disappointed with the overall quality of the finish. Not just the wooden cups, there was some glue residue on the swivel arm and have already damaged the paint work there.
 
The "gloss" on the Purpleheart can be only be described as hazy compared to my other wooden headphone. The wooden cups have horrible orange peel, uneven lacquering and small dents on both sides.
 

 
 
 


 
Aug 20, 2016 at 11:44 AM Post #8,279 of 12,089
  Absolutely love these... 

I concur.  The SQ is better than I was expecting and apparently I am one of the fortunates with no issues with lacquer or build.  There was a slight mark on the cup from the bubble wrap but a couple of swipes from my microfibre cloth took care of that.
 

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