[ZoneX23]

Quick question guys: will I be able to enjoy the TH-X00 running FLACs off of my LG V20? I don't have any other amps/equipment ... if this wouldn't be worth it, am I better off getting a different pair of headphones?

 

[bsoplinger]

Quick question guys: will I be able to enjoy the TH-X00 running FLACs off of my LG V20? I don't have any other amps/equipment ... if this wouldn't be worth it, am I better off getting a different pair of headphones?

For that setup and as much as I love my pair of Purpleheart I'd suggest the way less expensive on ear (versus over ear of the full sized TH-X00) Massdrop E-MU Purpleheart. I think I paid $80. They aren't the TH-X00 by any stretch but they really do have the same flavor. And are much nicer for a portable setup which your post implies by mentioning using your mobile phone as a player although you could be planning on using it at home in which case ignore the mobile use part of my answer.

However to directly answer you, the TH-X00 are rather efficient and your phone can drive them to well over safe listening levels. I feel that they sound better with a more powerful source but they'll sound fine with your phone.

The drop is inactive now. If you aren't aware of how Massdrop works you just sign up then use the link below and click on the request drop. If Massdrop decides to try a group purchase in the future you get an email notification and can purchase then. They have a decent FAQ section that describes their process well. From what I've seen they have a drop of the E-MU every couple / three months.

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/51050

 

[Jdnoss]

Quick question guys: will I be able to enjoy the TH-X00 running FLACs off of my LG V20? I don't have any other amps/equipment ... if this wouldn't be worth it, am I better off getting a different pair of headphones?

The TH-X00 will run just fine on the V20 and you will see a benefit down the road if you add something that has a better current drive. For example mine sound good on my DFB but sound better on my NFB-11. You will have similar results. However the elephant in the room is the cable. It is 10 feet long with an attached 1/4" jack and the adapter they come with is bad news bears for any 3.5mm jack. Hosa make a pretty good one that is right angled, but you may want to look into cable modding them or having someone like PETEREK mod them for you. Personally, I cable modded mine for balanced and I am so much happier with them.

 

[VRacer-111]

They will sound really good from most portable gear. However, they will absolutely come alive and astound with the right matching WARM leaning gear though... BAAAASSSSS, dynamics, lovely mids, clarity, and detail level that simply isn't there without it. Please don't stiffle them with 'neutral' gear if you are trying to get the absolute best out of them - I made that mistake initially...

 

[Leopanda]

These headphones are not that easy to drive as you can think. Yes, they may sound loud from portable devices, but they will not come close to their best sound without proper amplification.

Fostex drivers aren't easy, so your amp should be able to output no less than 3W at appropriate impedance to control them well. To tame the sibilance it has to work in A class. And it must have low output impedance to improve the low frequencies.
These headphones are for home use. I thing you'd better look at meze 99's to run out of a smartphone.

 

[DavidA]

These headphones are not that easy to drive as you can think. Yes, they may sound loud from portable devices, but they will not come close to their best sound without proper amplification.

Fostex drivers aren't easy, so your amp should be able to output no less than 3W at appropriate impedance to control them well. To tame the sibilance it has to work in A class. And it must have low output impedance to improve the low frequencies.
These headphones are for home use. I thing you'd better look at meze 99's to run out of a smartphone.

While I have a class A amp (Asgard2 - neutral/bright to me) its not an amp that I'd pair with my TH-600 and previous owned TH-X00 since it seemed to do the opposite of tame sibilance to me. FWIW I've tried them with quite a few amps that had way less than 3W output and to me the TH-X00 sounded quite good such as the headphone output of my UD-301 (100mW) since its a slightly warm sounding amp or my Ember (hybrid - 2W)) amp since it has an adjustable output impedance and to me sounds better with the output impedance set to the middle setting (35 ohms) than the low setting (0.1 ohms). Its not about the "watts" that is important but the synergy between the amp and headphone.

 

[jsmiller58]

Quick question guys: will I be able to enjoy the TH-X00 running FLACs off of my LG V20? I don't have any other amps/equipment ... if this wouldn't be worth it, am I better off getting a different pair of headphones?

(Long time lurker, first time poster!)

Well, I am almost in the same situation... I have an LG v30 and the Th-x00 Ebony pair. The Th-x00 are actually, surprisingly, a little hard to drive, with volume being a little muted.

BUT, as an LG v owner you are in luck! If you are not already aware of it the LG auto detects what is hooked up to it and adjusts, but as in all simple processes, sometimes it needs help.

Two simple modes are low and high impedance mode - they are as simple as that. If the connected headphones are detected to be high impedance, they will be driven harder by the phone, similarly low impedance headphones won’t be driven as hard.

The issue is that the Th-x00 are low impedance and yet need to be driven harder to achieve decent volume. In this situation you can take advantage of a third mode - “External Audio Device”. This will drive the headphones harder than low impedance mode. But how do you enter that mode?

Get a male 3.5mm to 3.5mm female adapter. Plug it into the phone first (WITHOUT the headphone plugged into the other end). THEN plug in the headphone into the other end of the adapter. There you have it - much more power into the headphones!

To confirm this has worked look at the Quad DAC setting in the Sound settings and it will tell you that an ***“External Audio Device”*** is connected - different than the “Normal” and “High Impedance “ modes.

There is no particular order to disconnect the thing. But ALWAYS do the connecting in this order (first adapter then the headphone).

As a note - DO NOT TRY TO TRICK THE PHONE INTO THINKING IT IS IN HIGH IMPEDANCE MODE by putting in series an an adapter that introduces higher impedance - that changes the frequency response of your headphones and they may as well be different cans.

Cheers!

 

[lengyeljani]

Just finished the Lawton driver mod...this is a must. Everybody stating this is absolutely 100% correct. I have the Dekoni pads on mine right now, but I still want to get the Ori's back on there if I can tame the treble a touch. the dips (according to FR Graphs I've seen) are between 7 and 11k). 1 or 2 sheets of TP should do the trick hopefully. Worst case scenario...these cans sound great with the Dekoni's from Massdrop. Thanks to everybody for the wisdom and suggestions. Totally worth it...

Hi! Which Dekoni pads did you get and how do you find them compared to the original pads? Based on previos experience with other headphone/pad variations and going through moedawg's impressions I have an elite hybrid on it's way. Thinking of trying others as well in future drops.

 

[Hazi59]

I was using the Massdrop offered Dekoni Sheepskin Elite th-x00. After the Lawton driver mod, the treble is clearer, but less fatiguing. It sounds stupid to say that cause most of the time more clarity equals more treble. But I believe the Lawton driver mod significantly reduced distortion and tamed some treble anomalies.

With that being said, I'm now using ZMF Ori Pads and they indeed sound the best in my opinion. You do lose a tad if the bass quantity, but increase the quality. The mids are still there, just barely effected. But the treble now is perfect in my opinion. The cans just sound great now .

 

[designbykai]

Hey guys,

Recently picked a pair of these up off ebay. Also got the angled sheepskin HM5 pads and they're AMAZINGLY comfy and to my ears the sound didn't change much although I didn't A/B lots.

I used to have TH600s years ago and I much prefer these, more relaxed and less piercing metallic treble.
I do wish they had detachable cables like the TH610's, maybe I'll have to get a mod one day.
But, I also want to get my hands on some TH900s *one day* and the MKII's have detachedables.

I still love my Sig DJs but these beautiful babies will be my new daily cans for long use sessions; way more comfortable and open feeling with exceptional sound.

Does anyone have any Amps suggestions? I used to be more into DACs/Amps but these does I'm just running everything out of my audio interface that I run my studio monitors from (Audient ID4).
However I'd like to get a dedicated dac/amp for headphones soon.
I was thinking Schiit or perhaps a tube or a tube/hybrid, like the Cavalli CTH Tube Hybrid that's on Massdrop (ending soon).

The other sleek-looking gear I'm a fan of is the JDS Labs EL DAC + EL Amp. Or the Element for an all in one.. love that knob. Or the O2 amp.
Anyone tried these?



My dream amp is a Woo Audio WA7 fireflies... when I can pony up for the TH900s down the road I think that would be a nice combo
Not just yet though!

 

[VRacer-111]

Hey guys,

Recently picked a pair of these up off ebay. Also got the angled sheepskin HM5 pads and they're AMAZINGLY comfy and to my ears the sound didn't change much although I didn't A/B lots.

I used to have TH600s years ago and I much prefer these, more relaxed and less piercing metallic treble.
I do wish they had detachable cables like the TH610's, maybe I'll have to get a mod one day.
But, I also want to get my hands on some TH900s *one day* and the MKII's have detachedables.

I still love my Sig DJs but these beautiful babies will be my new daily cans for long use sessions; way more comfortable and open feeling with exceptional sound.

Does anyone have any Amps suggestions? I used to be more into DACs/Amps but these does I'm just running everything out of my audio interface that I run my studio monitors from (Audient ID4).
However I'd like to get a dedicated dac/amp for headphones soon.
I was thinking Schiit or perhaps a tube or a tube/hybrid, like the Cavalli CTH Tube Hybrid that's on Massdrop (ending soon).

The other sleek-looking gear I'm a fan of is the JDS Labs EL DAC + EL Amp. Or the Element for an all in one.. love that knob. Or the O2 amp.
Anyone tried these?



My dream amp is a Woo Audio WA7 fireflies... when I can pony up for the TH900s down the road I think that would be a nice combo
Not just yet though!

If you really want to make the TH-X00 sing, a warm leaning Class A amp would be my recommendation along with a DAC that compliments it. Didn't particularly care for Schiit Bifrost DAC, too sterile sounding. What I really love with both my bass leaning modded TH-X00PH and more neutral leaning TH-X00'PS' is my Gustard X20U DAC and H10 amp combo... H10 has single and dual socketed opamps...which when swapped out for Burson V6 opamps (Vivid singles and Classic duals) really bring it up a notch from stock, and stock is VERRRY NICE! CLEAN, IMPACTFUL subbass, EXTREMELY impactful, clean, and quick midbass, lovely mids that are weighty/full bodied yet very detailed and full of finesse, and highs that are full of energy and extremely detailed yet not fatiguing. Whole range is extremely dynamic and full of energetic, live sound with the X20U / H10 combo and it works well with all headphone I've tried it with. My previous Schiit Bifrost DAC (4490 version) and Meier Audio JAZZ-ff amp were nowhere near as good sounding - really lacking in the low end and dynamics and overall too thin/sterile sounding.

Thing is, the Gustard H10 is now discontinued and a stock unit is prone to heat related issues... really needs thermal modding for reliability to be a worthwhile investment, because ZERO warranty. For under $300 new I got them for, the H10 is an awesome sounding amp though, even more spectacular once you swap out to Burson V6 opamps. Been listening to a borrowed pair of Focal Elears I'm currently demoing on my H10 amps. if it weren't for the weird highs of the Elear and it's overall more in-your-face presentation, you could almost think you were listening to my STAX L300 setup with Mjolnir Audio energizer and NAD C275BEE stereo amp being fed from the Gustard X20U DAC. The BASS, detail, clarity, and DYANAMICS are all INSANE with Elear on the H10 with V6 Vivid singles and V6 Classic duals.. a little more normal and less detailed sounding on H10 using the stock opamps.

And if it hasn't already been done, before anything else get the Lawton Audio D.I.Y Tune up kit for driver dampening...you think the TH-X00 sounds good stock? Wait until you actually clear up the sound and bring out much better instrument separation and vocal clarity by dampening the driver frame. Just the driver pieces are wanted though, not the cup dampening as it really affects the bass in a none positive manner...unless you hate the stock bass and want it 'neutered'... You can specify that you only want the driver dampening when ordering and save on cost as well, ~$30 vs ~$50...

 

[Hazi59]

I use an Audio GD NFB-11, which I consider neutral...but it is class A and my mahogany's SING on that thing. The Schiit Stack i gave made them brighter with less oomph in the bass.

 

[designbykai]

And if it hasn't already been done, before anything else get the Lawton Audio D.I.Y Tune up kit for driver dampening...you think the TH-X00 sounds good stock? Wait until you actually clear up the sound and bring out much better instrument separation and vocal clarity by dampening the driver frame. Just the driver pieces are wanted though, not the cup dampening as it really affects the bass in a none positive manner...unless you hate the stock bass and want it 'neutered'... You can specify that you only want the driver dampening when ordering and save on cost as well, ~$30 vs ~$50...

Thanks!! I think I will give this tune up a shot. And also thx for the amp recommendations, I'll check those out.

 

[Hyde00]

Finally! I recieved the kit from Lawton and modded my pair of Fostex's with driver dampening!

What can I say about doing the mod?

First of all, that was a challange, because one of the little screws that hold a cup had a completely blured cross, so I couldn't take the left cup off! I tried oh so many different screwdrivers, knives and other stuff, and luckily after an hour of anger and frustration I could unscrew it with sharp hair scissors that could fit tight in to the blured cross!

Sticking dampening material to the driver was not too hard, but required some time. Lawton has put an additional strip of material into the kit, so I was able to cover the part above the wires to please my internal perfectionist. Then I placed the cups back, I handled with the loose screw with scissors again and could screw it tight

Now going to the main part - the sound!

I expected subtle changes in sound, because the only thing that benefit from driver dampening is the resonation inside the cup. But the changes were huge, I won't afraid of this word!

At first I started some soft rock music, Fleetwood Mac and Chris Rea, as I wanted to see if the vocals were more forward. I tried to notice something new and at first it was hard to, and it felt like there was less bass quantity. Later I understood that first tracks that I played were not heavy with low freqs, so the only difference that I could hear were little improvements in clarity, like on the Little Lies song I suddenly could hear two voice lines where before I could find just one! That was great, because music didn't loose engagement but got great separation.

And then I swithed on the Prodigy, and oh my God! That was the right thing to do, because that's where the real drive lives!
Don't get me wrong, I loved how my ebonies played bigbeat before, I just didn't have a chance to listen to anything higher in class.
And they really sounded like much more expensive pair of headphones! The bass was there, but it sounded so natural and smooth, and I could hear a lot of new details in the music that were hidden under low ends. And the drums became faster, the hits started to sound more separate.

I tell you, this modification is a must have for those who listen to fast electronic music!

Under impression, I decided to return to rock music, so I turned on the masterpieces like Hotel California and Shine On You Crazy Diamond. You know, these are kind of tracks that you listen to with eyes closed and setting your imagination free. And there again the new sound shined, as it improved instrument positioning and imaging a lot! And again, bass line was smooth and resilient, and I was able to catch every little detail under it. And what is even better - the vocals were sounding more transparent. By that I mean that I could understand the lyrics where I couldn't ever before. That is very important for me, as I am not a native-speaker and often had to search for lyrics in net

Last thing, as it was already late at night, I played full The Screen Behind The Mirror album of Enigma, and that was a fantastic experience... It was super relaxing and natural, an hour of music, spirit and meditation.

TL;DR
These are the best $45 I ever spent. It is fantastic how several stripes and rounds of material can make a $500 pair of headphones sound that much better, just like a TOTL thing. I highly recommend every th-x00 owner to try this simple and cheap mod.

Hey this is Hyde from Massdrop, I think I was chatting with you on Massdrop regarding Lawton driver only dampening on the Ebony TH-X00 thread.

So to recap, I had E-Mu Teak which I did the driver + cup dampening all at once, so at that point it was too hard to tell which did what. Even when I later removed the cup dampening and at that point it was hard to compare before and after. I later purchased a TH-X00 and then did the driver only mod only. And at that point I did a bit of listening before I applied the mod so now we have a baseline for comparison.

Is it me or after the Lawton driver only mod I find it become a little bit more V shaped. Treble got a little bit emphasized (I guess it gives the feeling of more detailed?) and bass got a little bit punchier (though might have got slightly less clean?).

Relatively it feels like vocal got a bit more recessed.

Am I crazy or am I the only one hearing this? This is a one way mod so there is no way to go back (unless I rip off the mod but then it will ruined the adhesive) to compare to "before" again. So I'm basing all this from memory but does anyone else feel the same way? I guess I'm just a little bit sensitive to changes to female vocal volumes when listening.

(By the way the test is done on all stock TH-X00 and only with Lawton driver only mod)

These headphones are not that easy to drive as you can think. Yes, they may sound loud from portable devices, but they will not come close to their best sound without proper amplification.

Fostex drivers aren't easy, so your amp should be able to output no less than 3W at appropriate impedance to control them well. To tame the sibilance it has to work in A class. And it must have low output impedance to improve the low frequencies.
These headphones are for home use. I thing you'd better look at meze 99's to run out of a smartphone.

Ahhhh this is good to know, because generally we assume it's 25 ohm so it should be fairly easy to drive.

But you're saying to drive it properly we'd actually need a fairly powerful amp? Hmmmm maybe it's time for me to buy a real amp. I've been just listening them off my USB powered DAC/AMP.

 

[Leopanda]

Hey this is Hyde from Massdrop, I think I was chatting with you on Massdrop regarding Lawton driver only dampening on the Ebony TH-X00 thread.

So to recap, I had E-Mu Teak which I did the driver + cup dampening all at once, so at that point it was too hard to tell which did what. Even when I later removed the cup dampening and at that point it was hard to compare before and after. I later purchased a TH-X00 and then did the driver only mod only. And at that point I did a bit of listening before I applied the mod so now we have a baseline for comparison.

Is it me or after the Lawton driver only mod I find it become a little bit more V shaped. Treble got a little bit emphasized (I guess it gives the feeling of more detailed?) and bass got a little bit punchier (though might have got slightly less clean?).

Relatively it feels like vocal got a bit more recessed.

Am I crazy or am I the only one hearing this? This is a one way mod so there is no way to go back (unless I rip off the mod but then it will ruined the adhesive) to compare to "before" again. So I'm basing all this from memory but does anyone else feel the same way? I guess I'm just a little bit sensitive to changes to female vocal volumes when listening.

(By the way the test is done on all stock TH-X00 and only with Lawton driver only mod)

Hi Hyde,

I didn't find the headphones to become more V shaped after doing a mod. And bass definitely became clearer than stock.
I think the reason was in the cups sitting loose and you just screwed them tight, or maybe same thing with pads. If you put your stock earpads on with a little gap between them and the housing (place only 3 pins in the holes instead of 4) you will get noticeably less punch but more clarity.

I am surprised that you find vocals being recessed. The best thing I like with driver dampening is that vocals are very transparent and audible. Didn't you break the white paper material when applying the mod?

Ahhhh this is good to know, because generally we assume it's 25 ohm so it should be fairly easy to drive.

But you're saying to drive it properly we'd actually need a fairly powerful amp? Hmmmm maybe it's time for me to buy a real amp. I've been just listening them off my USB powered DAC/AMP.

A better amp will get much more juice out of your headphones. I'd say just take your fostex and go have a listen to several amps somewhere in a local audio shop.