[Change is Good]

I don't know whom to ask, really

Massdrop stated a 2-year warranty on the original X00
Then I received an offer of $10 coupon for a next purchase (instead of any warranty replacement or repair offer)
Now Massdrop insider keeps silence in PM 

I'm a bit confused with the situation and no way out.

The warranty is through Fostex, so that's who you'd ask now. Massdrop has no standard return policy but they do make exceptions sometimes under the right circumstances (ex. they sold you a faulty product, or the product became faulty and the manufacturer can't help).

 

[moedawg140]

Hi everyone,
 
I updated my review and the first page review of this thread, with my impressions of the TH-X00 Ebony and comparisons with the Mahogany and E-MU Ebony earcups as well.
 
Have a great weekend! 

 

[fjrabon]

Hi everyone,

I updated my review and the first page review of this thread, with my impressions of the TH-X00 Ebony and comparisons with the Mahogany and E-MU Ebony earcups as well.

Have a great weekend! 

We were talking about this earlier in the thread, but I think your experience with the EMU ebony vs the Fostex Ebony is a good example of the difference between a cut along the grain (giving your emu Ebony the swirl pattern) and across the grain (giving your Fostex the striped pattern). My EMU Ebony sounds much more like your description of the Fostex Ebony than the EMU Ebony as mine are across the grain like your Fostex.

A cut along the grain causes more vibration, which would cause there to be more rich harmonics in the sound, leading to a more bassy, fuller sound, but also a loss of detail and speed. Across the grain will result in much less resonance and a tighter, dryer sound. Honestly this "along" vs "across" is probably a bigger difference than some of the types of wood.

 

[moedawg140]

We were talking about this earlier in the thread, but I think your experience with the EMU ebony vs the Fostex Ebony is a good example of the difference between a cut along the grain (giving your emu Ebony the swirl pattern) and across the grain (giving your Fostex the striped pattern). My EMU Ebony sounds much more like your description of the Fostex Ebony than the EMU Ebony as mine are across the grain like your Fostex.

A cut along the grain causes more vibration, which would cause there to be more rich harmonics in the sound, leading to a more bassy, fuller sound, but also a loss of detail and speed. Across the grain will result in much less resonance and a tighter, dryer sound. Honestly this "along" vs "across" is probably a bigger difference than some of the types of wood.

 
I personally definitely wouldn't speculate based on different swirl types, but wouldn't completely dismiss it either.  I also would not say that the patterns are probably a bigger difference than some types of wood.  In my opinion, no one will never know exactly what properties affect what (with regards to different grain types relative to different types of wood), because two (and all) of the same type of wood and/or similar type of grain will not sound the exact same. 

 

 

[Change is Good]

I wonder if either of you could get a hold of the TH-610 to demo. It would be interesting how different it sounds with its walnut cups, though I guess the pads would have a part in sound difference also.

 

[eobet]

 
Is this the way they look or only the way they photograph? They seem really more brown than black to me. I'm guessing the Massdrop header images are quite heavily Photoshopped.
 
EDIT: Actually, in one of the Massdrop photos, you can see a deep red grain... however, in the photo above, it's more of a sandy, chocolate brown...

 

[marts30]

   
 
Is this the way they look or only the way they photograph? They seem really more brown than black to me. I'm guessing the Massdrop header images are quite heavily Photoshopped.
 
EDIT: Actually, in one of the Massdrop photos, you can see a deep red grain... however, in the photo above, it's more of a sandy, chocolate brown...

 
Lighting, lighting, lighting. The Mahogany are very orange on Massdrop but a lot darker in a real life environment.
 
The Ebony will be dark, almost black. The light brown coming through is really just the lighting. Massdrop images look the same to me, dark ebony with a hint of lighter brown colours. Don't expect red.

 

[Change is Good]

Lighting, lighting, lighting. The Mahogany are very orange on Massdrop but a lot darker in a real life environment.

The Ebony will be dark, almost black. The light brown coming through is really just the lighting. Massdrop images look the same to me, dark ebony with a hint of lighter brown colours. Don't expect red.

This. My custom HE-400i is darker than the picture on my avatar suggests due to the lighting.

 

[jamor]

I would be glad to, but, well, there was no offer for replacement or something similar
maybe this laquer fault is considered as "difference in wood" ))

I've been offered a return/replacement for a defective product too. You got a bad service rep. Unlucky I guess. You should have pressed the issue.

 

[jamor]

Is this the way they look or only the way they photograph? They seem really more brown than black to me. I'm guessing the Massdrop header images are quite heavily Photoshopped.

EDIT: Actually, in one of the Massdrop photos, you can see a deep red grain... however, in the photo above, it's more of a sandy, chocolate brown...

Aren't you the guy on Massdrop that said you only want these head phones if you get an order in the first #300 serial number and will cancel your order if you don't?

I put a poop emoji on your post.

 

[Change is Good]

I put a poop emoji on your post.

 
Bad doggy! Bad!

 

[fjrabon]

I personally definitely wouldn't speculate based on different swirl types, but wouldn't completely dismiss it either.  I also would not say that the patterns are probably a bigger difference than some types of wood.  In my opinion, no one will never know exactly what properties affect what (with regards to different grain types relative to different types of wood), because two (and all) of the same type of wood and/or similar type of grain will not sound the exact same.   

I get what you're saying. I did get the chance to try out a few different pairs of the emu cups with chan. The swirl ones were definitely warmer and wetter sounding while the striped ones were more tight, detailed and dry sounding. Small sample size and all, but it was a subtle, yet noticeable difference. It was a bigger difference to me than the difference between the rosewood and striped Ebony (all the rosewoods were cut across the grain, i.e. Striped). Rosewood and Ebony are fairly similar woods though in density, hardness and resonance.

This is also a fairly well known concept in acoustic instrument design. Though it makes a MUCH bigger difference with instruments than in headphones, which obviously resonate less than a violin.

I think my bigger point is simply that I worry that based on your review (through no fault of your own, but you know how head-fi is) it will become Head-Fi dogma that the Fostex Ebony is tighter and dryer while the emu Ebony is warmer and looser. The EMU Ebony cups can vary a noticeable amount in sound, some sounding fairly close to Mahoganny and some sounding tighter and less resonant. My experience was it came down to if it was along, cross or quarter cut with the grain. (Along gives the swirls, cross gives the stripes, quarter gives a wave like appearance). Wood is always stronger perpendicular to the grain and thus you get less "flex" which leads to resonances, which can be euphonic, but can also obscure detail.

 

[eobet]

Aren't you the guy on Massdrop that said you only want these head phones if you get an order in the first #300 serial number and will cancel your order if you don't?

I put a poop emoji on your post.

 
Poop you very much:
 

 
(EDIT: Ok, the above can be read as me saying the F word to him, but I actually meant something along the lines of "thank you sir, can I have another"... see, I'm not a bad person!)

 

[BB 808]

 
 
Is this the way they look or only the way they photograph? They seem really more brown than black to me. I'm guessing the Massdrop header images are quite heavily Photoshopped.
 
EDIT: Actually, in one of the Massdrop photos, you can see a deep red grain... however, in the photo above, it's more of a sandy, chocolate brown...

It's WOOD man

 

Ebony is a dense black hardwood, most commonly yielded by several different species in the genus Diospyros. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely-textured and has a very smooth finish when polished, making it valuable as an ornamental wood. The word ebonyderives from the Ancient Egyptian hbny, via the Ancient Greek ἔβενος (ébenos), by way of Latin and Middle English. Species of ebony include Diospyros ebenum (Ceylon ebony), native to southern India and Sri Lanka; Diospyros crassiflora (Gabon ebony), native to western Africa; and Diospyros celebica (Makassar ebony), native to Indonesia and prized for its luxuriant, multi-colored wood grain. Mauritius ebony, Diospyros tesselaria, was largely exploited by the Dutch in the 17th century. Some species in the genus Diospyros yield an ebony with similar physical properties, but striped rather than evenly black (Diospyros ebenum).

 

[SleepingLesson]

The ebony cups I ordered look more textured, I think.
 
 
I'll be curious to see how much the Massdrop ebony cups vary.