[thefitz]

Have you guys not seen the FR graphs?
 
If you consider the size and mass of the ear cups relative to the size and mass of the drivers, there's significant synergy in play here.
 
Go to a guitar forum and go on about a fingerboard wood being a slight change and see what they have to say. Then, compare the amount of fingerboard wood relative to the rest of the neck.
 
EDIT: Assigning percentages to changes are idiotic unless you admit they're meaningless or can mathematically derive 10%.

 

[TMRaven]

  Yeah, I hear what you're saying.  Purpleheart proper are different species of Peltogyne.  I believe I read the Purpleheart in the TH-X00 is of the Peltogyne family.  There's a lot of variation (in hardness, density, and appearance) in most of the wood families, including Ebony and Rosewood.  I find the fr graphs that Jude posted fascinating honestly, because I'm amazed at how different the Purpleheart is from the Ebony and Mahogany (and I'd love to see a graph of Rosewood superimposed on that chart as well).  I'm sure it's fairly subtle in actual listening and I'm no expert in tonewoods, but the graphs don't match up to how I'd imagine the density differences playing out.  Does anyone know why the PH seems to have much higher bass levels (although peaking at the lower mid-bass level compared to the Ebony peaking in the sub-base) than the other woods.  The magnitude of the difference surprised me a bit.  Now I want to set up a wood workshop in the garage 

.

 
 
Jude's measurements are most likely only aligned on a specific frequency, and don't take into consideration average sound pressure of the headphone throughout its entire frequency range, and how we perceive that sound.  If you lower the graph of the purple heart about 5db, you have a more realistic representation of how the 3 correlate.
 
 
Also, purpleheart is a more expensive wood than ebony, it sucks that I paid more for the ebony than I would if I paid for the purpleheart.  I also wished the wood was instead of the african blackwood variety, cause that stuff has some wild color variations which make for interesting aesthetics.

 

[Zbell]

   
 
Jude's measurements are most likely only aligned on a specific frequency, and don't take into consideration average sound pressure of the headphone throughout its entire frequency range, and how we perceive that sound.  If you lower the graph of the purple heart about 5db, you have a more realistic representation of how the 3 correlate.
 
 
Also, purpleheart is a more expensive wood than ebony, it sucks that I paid more for the ebony than I would if I paid for the purpleheart.  I also wished the wood was instead of the african blackwood variety, cause that stuff has some wild color variations which make for interesting aesthetics.

It's also interesting how v/w shaped the Purpleheart fr graph is compared to Mahogany/Ebony, which are very flat from bass all the way to treble.  If PH is in the middle density-wise from Mahogany to Ebony, there must be some different factors at play here.  Maybe the oils in the woods or the way the grain is cut, as fjrabon said.  It's all very interesting tbh, including how much higher the THD is on the PH than both the M and E.  I really wish MD would offer the cups separately, maybe only for people who have bought a TH-X00 variant to cut down on the sheer number requested, because it would be a lot of fun to cup swap!  I suppose they won't yet, as some folks who have bought previous TH-X00's are jumping on the Ebony ones too, it seems.  Maybe after this Ebony drop they'll consider selling the cups seperately in some drop to keep the community happy (let's let MD know in a polite way that this will keep the community happy

) In the meantime, anyone know of a place to find reasonably priced, high quality cups for these cans? No Lawton $500+ plz, although I'm sure they are absolutely amazing.  

 

[marts30]

Gotta have em all!

Damn it, joined the drop. Will end up with all 3, and will sell at least 1, probably 2.
 
Just love the THX00. Comfort, looks sounds - ticks all the boxes for me.

 

[fjrabon]

 
Come on. You usually have more mature comments than this @fjrabon. Talking about percentages is actually very misleading (sorry I have brought it up), as the same numbers mean different things to everyone.
Maybe upgrading from a £1000 heapdhone to a £2000 one is paying that 10%, but you obviously can not be serious when you are saying there is 10% difference between Koss KSC75 and the TH-X00.
All I wanted to say is the difference between different woods on the X00s (and EMU) are much more subtle than many people think.

you're calling the comments of somebody who has actually heard most of these woods, often times on the same THX00, immature?  As far as I know you've heard one model of these, and as such, I'd call your beliefs on the differences complete speculation (though I wouldn't say you're immature).  You're just making things up, and then calling people who have actually spent significant time with these variations immature.
 
Yes, the differences are subtle.  My point is "the last 10%" is the ENTIRE game in Hi-Fi headphones.  Yes, the particular percentage is meaningless, but the idea is that the smallest last incremental improvement is what people are after.  The difference between an HD800 through an m9XX and a Stax SR009 through a KGGSHV is very subtle.  Is it worth it?  How much is that last 10% of of speed, resolution and transparency worth to you?  It's a real difference.  The difference between a Creative Aurvana Live! and a THX00 is actually pretty subtle.  If you don't care about the last 10%, buy a set of KSC75s, a set of Creative Aurvana Live!, and you have INCREDIBLE sound for under $100 total.  

As others point out, the dang measurements exist, and those measurements basically went along with what I described, before the measurements were even published.  Under critical listening, the differences, while subtle, are certainly noticeable.  

"Subtle" is a funny word around here.  To some it means insignificant.  To some it means the difference between a very enjoyable headphone and a potentially end game headphone.  The worst though is when people change between those two meanings indiscriminately. 

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

^ I agree with this guy

 

[Zbell]

I think that even though it should be obvious, we can all agree that every post ends with an unsaid, "IMO".  Everyone's ears are different. Everyone's musical tastes are different. Everyone has confirmation bias.  Everyone's brain can affect their ears.  

 

[betula]

 
you're calling the comments of somebody who has actually heard most of these woods, often times on the same THX00, immature?  As far as I know you've heard one model of these, and as such, I'd call your beliefs on the differences complete speculation (though I wouldn't say you're immature).  You're just making things up, and then calling people who have actually spent significant time with these variations immature.
 
Yes, the differences are subtle.  My point is "the last 10%" is the ENTIRE game in Hi-Fi headphones.  Yes, the particular percentage is meaningless, but the idea is that the smallest last incremental improvement is what people are after.  The difference between an HD800 through an m9XX and a Stax SR009 through a KGGSHV is very subtle.  Is it worth it?  How much is that last 10% of of speed, resolution and transparency worth to you?  It's a real difference.  The difference between a Creative Aurvana Live! and a THX00 is actually pretty subtle.  If you don't care about the last 10%, buy a set of KSC75s, a set of Creative Aurvana Live!, and you have INCREDIBLE sound for under $100 total.  

As others point out, the dang measurements exist, and those measurements basically went along with what I described, before the measurements were even published.  Under critical listening, the differences, while subtle, are certainly noticeable.  

"Subtle" is a funny word around here.  To some it means insignificant.  To some it means the difference between a very enjoyable headphone and a potentially end game headphone.  The worst though is when people change between those two meanings indiscriminately. 

I did not call you immature. I never would. I just graded your comment.

Here on Head-Fi we share subjective experiences. It is hard to find an 'ethalon' or a 'measuring point' in this hobby. HD600 could be a good referring point, but that helps only if we are talking about headphones in general.
As many of the people who comment in this thread did not have experience with more than one X00 version, it is extremely hard to express any differences.
 This is where it comes down to personal experience, people have to try it themselves to decide how big or 'subtle' the actual difference is. (And in this process many factors play a role. The gear they use, the experience they have, the ear canal shape they have. The previous headphone they used.) This is a very subjective hobby, therefore it is quite pointless to maintain debates about the amount of differences between earcups. Everyone has to try it themselves.

 

[fjrabon]

 
I did not call you immature. I never would. I just graded your comment.

Here on Head-Fi we share subjective experiences. It is hard to find an 'ethalon' or a 'measuring point' in this hobby. HD600 could be a good referring point, but that helps only if we are talking about headphones in general.
As many of the people who comment in this thread did not have experience with more than one X00 version, it is extremely hard to express any differences.
 This is where it comes down to personal experience, people have to try it themselves to decide how big or 'subtle' the actual difference is. (And in this process many factors play a role. The gear they use, the experience they have, the ear canal shape they have. The previous headphone they used.) This is a very subjective hobby, therefore it is quite pointless to maintain debates about the amount of differences between earcups. Everyone has to try it themselves.

yes, exactly.  Few people have heard the variants.  I, and a few other people here, have.  Your comments go in the face of both objective measurements and people who have actually heard the headphones in question.    I'm doing my best to describe the differences, as I actually heard them, in real life.  

I'd never say that what somebody heard was "wrong" but I will absolutely say you're wrong, because you haven't heard the headphones you're talking about.  In a very literal sense you don't know what you're talking about. What you're doing here is like me telling somebody how they described yak meat (which I've never tasted) was wrong.  

 

[betula]

 
yes, exactly.  Few people have heard the variants.  I, and a few other people here, have.  Your comments go in the face of both objective measurements and people who have actually heard the headphones in question.    I'm doing my best to describe the differences, as I actually heard them, in real life.  

I'd never say that what somebody heard was "wrong" but I will absolutely say you're wrong, because you haven't heard the headphones you're talking about.  In a very literal sense you don't know what you're talking about. What you're doing here is like me telling somebody how they described yak meat (which I've never tasted) was wrong.  

I have never said anything is 'wrong'.

And your personal impressions on the different cups are very useful for the community. For me too.

All I aimed to do was to highlight, talking about differences in audio at this level is a very subjective matter.

I did not want to insult anyone, the least you.

 

[Zbell]

If anyone is interested in learning more about how the wood in headphones (and musical instruments) affects sound, I found a few threads here on head-fi.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/249081/plastic-metal-or-wood-grados
http://www.head-fi.org/t/143511/wood-metal-plastics-the-best-material-for-housing-a-driver
http://www.head-fi.org/t/174895/wood
http://www.head-fi.org/t/572778/effect-of-materials-wood-metal-plastic-on-sound
 
I've read through most of them and it's a very interesting and complicated topic, with many differences in opinion it seems.  It's certainly left me wanting for more information, so if anyone has good sources, please share.  

 

[fjrabon]

 
I have never said anything is 'wrong'.

And your personal impressions on the different cups are very useful for the community. For me too.

All I aimed to do was to highlight, talking about differences in audio at this level is a very subjective matter.

I did not want to insult anyone, the least you.

I didn't so much feel insulted as my biggest pet peeve on head-fi is when people are making statements or disagreeing about headphones they've never even heard, it leads to a lot of misinformation in these parts.  Sure, two people who have both heard them will often disagree, and that's fine, in fact that's good.  But when somebody is putting up their pure speculation against somebody else's time, money and ears... Well, that irks me.  Even moreso when the objective measurements are agreeing with what the people who have heard them are hearing.

I've especially seen it a lot with the mahogany and purpleheart owners towards the ebony (and teak or rosewood if we are including the EMU variants as well).  When they haven't even heard a new headphone variant, they're saying "well, the difference can't be much, it's the same driver."  And that may or may not be true, but unless you've heard them, you have absolutely no idea.  
 
It's difficult enough to suss out solid info on this site from people who have actually heard the gear in question, let alone when people are just stating their beliefs about what they think certain things would sound like complicating matters.  

 

[Zbell]

The fighting back and forth makes reading this thread less fun. Some people think there's a big difference, others who've heard the different cups (not me) think there's little difference. While I think you're probably right fjrabon, your confirmation bias (if you have one) might be just as misleading as someone's inferences. At the end of the day, people will need to hear for themselves to make a decision, not listen to someone else's impressions.

 

[qwwwp]

Joined previous Purpleheart drop and now joined the Ebony too, the fr gragh for Ebony is more similar to Mahogany than Purpleheart, it's really hard to choose one since Purpleheart no doubt has the best look and Ebony has the best sound...

 

[moedawg140]

 
 
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...

 
I updated the review to reflect my thoughts on the lighting for some photos and which photos would represent how the TH-X00 Ebony looks in normal lighting conditions.
 

   
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.

 
Did you look at the TH-X00 Ebony in person to be able state your assertions?  My apologies in advance if you have seen the TH-X00 Ebony in person.
 

Originally Posted by jamor /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Was the Ebony X00 bassier than the E-MU?

 
Very good question.  My E-MU Ebony is bassier than the Ebony X00, however, I will not state that all E-MU Ebonies are bassier than all Ebony X00, basically since there are so many factors that could make one headphone bassier than the other.  One reason is that I am not sure how long the TH-X00 Ebony has been burned in (probably less than 200 hours), and my TH-X00 E-MU Ebony has many, many hours on it - that can be a determining factor alone with regards to at least slight differences in both headphones' perceived bass response quantity and resonance.