I received the Purpleheart August last year and have not been able to put them down since. They have become my daily driver, I can only say positive things about them. These headphones are incredibly balanced and have a W sound signature, meaning each part of the spectrum is presented but coloured in a way to sound as musical as possible. There is something very engaging about the Purpleheart's presentation. Despite me now owning the E-MU Teak and thinking it is a techncially superior headphone, the Purpleheart's have this intimate and almost speaker like presentation. It's sound is thick yet non fatiguing and feels just ow so musical. But it's not a neutral headphone by any means. I think searching for a neutral headphone within the X00 or E-MU series is not optimal. These headphones are for you to enjoy your music or sound, not for you to track or mix with. For neutral I'd go for the legendary HE-500 or the HD-600 or DT-880 instead.
But first things first. About that bass. Knocking on their wood makes them knock back hard hitting bass, knock knock anybody home? I wouldn't have any less bass than this, which is why I chose the Purpleheart wood. I still wouldn't describe these as bass monsters, but as a well balanced headphone with and incredible bass body and definition. Though, these bio-dynamic drivers in combination with the elegant Purpleheart wood can smack your ears when called upon excuse moi française. And this is not the type of bass I was expecting either. I thought they would just vibrate on my head without too much definition. Quite the opposite turned out to be true. The bass while huge bodied, has very fine control and extension, not bleeding in or interfering with either the mids or highs. Some say they sound boomy at times but I don't get that impression at all, I don't channel them that way. Sound is very much alive and live sounding because of the body present here.
The mids have this special flavor to them, the wood is resonating a bit here to create a very unique tonality that is hard to put down. While the upper mids lack some attack, this is actually a good thing since the headphone becomes less fatiguing. The definition and form of the mids is there and make their presence known even between the exciting treble and big bass. The timbre is on point, there is this warm liquid feeling to the mids that creates a warm organic sound. The texture of sounds are detailed and well rounded creating this sense of realism and accuracy.
These cans can scream at the higher frequencies and with enough speed and definition as well. Other Head-Fi users mention that these headphones are harsh. I disagree, they might have prominent and forward highs but they never sound edgy or fatiguing to me. The HE-400(original) would fit that description to me. The highs extend incredibly well, and really sync in well with the other parts of the spectrum. The soundstage is increased because of this. All genres can be paired well with these cans but excel at RNB, Hip/Trip Hop, Electronic and Rock in my opinion. Timbre is excellent, instruments and both female and male vocals sound natural.
The isolation is enough to filter out most pronounced disturbances within a normal living room. You can even use them outside or in a train, but some detail is lost in the music due to their semi open nature. Indoors though, you feel the airyness that comes with this nature. They won't be as holographic or transient as a HE-400/i, HE-500 or LCD-2/3 PLANAR series, but they sure get close enough. Again best of worlds ladies and gents.
I would just let this beauty sit indoors and use a HD-25 aluminium outside. They pair well with each other.
The headphones stock pads are very good in my opinion but in the main TH-X00 threads on Head-fi you have people recommending otherwise. The stock pads are very comfortable to me and are very well padded. They seal my ears good but your experience may differ. Third party pads are relatively cheap so no worries there. The sound signature is not fatiguing to me and I can listen to them all day, preferably on lower volumes then of course.
So these headphones are incredibly euphonic with their speaker-like presentation, have a strong magnesium alloy construction with beautiful purple wooden cups and a nice long braided cable(3m), are comfortable and not ultra expensive. Even if you like a bit less bass I am having a hard time believing there isn't an X00 version out there for you, or an E-MU Teak/ebony/rosewood for that matter. I will be comparing the E-MU Teak to this headphone when I receive in a few weeks. This is the only indoor headphone you will ever need for any sound entertainment. Enjoy!
