[Change is Good]

People are underestimating how much a pad swap can negatively affect a headphone's sound.

Ah, yes ! Totally . But what can we do ? If they like what they hear, and comfort with, then that it is. The thing is that fostex made the headphones for the mass, and someone with more specific needs will just have to acquire it by his own .

I think this is the first phone release I see people clamoring for different pads, it's a bit odd. Head-fi FAD or justified?

I won't lie, even before the drop I ordered in angled hm5 pads but I find the stock pads good enough to not want to try to pad swap.

People also underestimate the positive effects the alpha pads can provide without hampering the tuning, drastically. I am referring, however, mostly to closed headphones that are already tuned for leather/pleather. Don't expect to put alpha pads on neutral open cans, tuned for velour, and be jumping for joy at the change in sound.

 

[dcpoor]

Was a little bit annoyed that I didn't get mine before the weekend, but after receiving them today I'm pretty satisfied with the serial number.
 
 
On a totally unrelated note, is serial 00001 out in the wild? Or did Massdrop Will claim that for himself? I saw some mention of him having #1 of the beta/test run only?

 

[Makiah S]

   
Just the D500 (I think was the model).  Was thinking of buying it for a while but never ended up doing so.  I sorta felt the value wasn't there.  It seems it is there with the TH-X00 tho, that's for sure.
 
 
I appreciate those thoughts. While I'm not happy I got in on the K7XX drop I'm pretty thrilled I got in on the FAD Sonorous VI drop.   Had I not, I probably would not question a TH-X00 purchase soon after.
 
 
 HAHAHA!  Thanx for the reminder.  I have 5 or 6 headphones that were all only about $100 less than the TH-X00 and they get no love nowdays.  It wouldn't be surprising if like others mentioned, I spend some time getting acquainted with the Denon Sound ... then we don't speak again for a half or full decade...
 
 
Well then you have never worn the aforementioned Final Audio Design Sonorous VI. -lol   Great sounding.  With a design flaw that affects its comfort. It took a while for the discomfort many others complained about to hit me.  But it finally did.  I don't know what ever possessed a company to design the 'ear side' of a headphone to have two bulbous hard plastic mounts for the tweeter ... but they did that.  
 
I of course can't say what possesses TH-X00 owners to change them out.  But as I just noted, there are great sounding headphones that have serious comfort issues right out of the box.  edit: the Yamaha Pro500 that I also own is another one.
 
 
Thanx everyone for the comments/encouragement/dissuading one and all.  I decided to stay on the sidelines for now.  Hope to hit a spring meet and someone brings them for me to hear, to decide if I need that Denon house sound in my life.
 
 
Best Regards and Happy Holidays all...

No issues,even if you did thank me, would have went back an did the edits 
 

   
 
The old Denons are great, but I hate how easily the silver paint can be scratched.  I treat my Denon with lots of loving care, and I find new scratches on the paint way too often.  I hope the black pain on the THX00 holds up better.   I'm not holding my breath since I've seen many pictures of TH600s with scratches (with the black paint flaked off). 

Honestly, I haven't had an issue on me LA D5k yet 
 

People also underestimate the positive effects the alpha pads can provide without hampering the tuning, drastically. I am referring, however, mostly to closed headphones that are already tuned for leather/pleather. Don't expect to put alpha pads on neutral open cans, tuned for velour, and be jumping for joy at the change in sound.

Well I just don't swap Pads for kicks an giggles, but with regards to the "house sound" that my LA D5k an Fostex have, right out of the box with Stock pads I knew what the alphas would bring an I enjoyed that
 
I've never liked the design nor sound of those stock pads. I'm disappointed to see the TH X00 use an old ePad design that didn't work for the AHD DX000 models to well :/ either way I've got Lawtons on my LA D5k an Alphas on the TH X00, so I'm content 
 
Though I don't think pad swaps are a "fad" I think most often the Cable an ePads are where mid range headphones suffer the most, my W1000x for example sounds much better with L3000 Pads [though they cost around $100 if you can even still buy them] 

 

[seamonster76]

Got them last week. Waited a few days to have my excitement settled before doing anything meaningful about them.
 
Like others had experienced, I find the bass boomy as well. It appears to be good and bad, as they make some dry tracks sound richer while some others (especially the better recorded ones) muddy.
 
Out of curiosity, I switched to some stock hifiman he6 pleather pads and the bass quality is improved, as well as a wider and more defined sound stage.
 
I wonder if anyone has done some more thorough comparison between different pads? I see that MM5, Audeze, and Alpha pads all work to some degree. Has anyone tried the focus pad? And between audeze and alpha, which one is better?

 

[JohnYang]

  Was a little bit annoyed that I didn't get mine before the weekend, but after receiving them today I'm pretty satisfied with the serial number.
 
 
On a totally unrelated note, is serial 00001 out in the wild? Or did Massdrop Will claim that for himself? I saw some mention of him having #1 of the beta/test run only?

What serial number did you get, it sound like you got 002 

 

[jamor]

  Was a little bit annoyed that I didn't get mine before the weekend, but after receiving them today I'm pretty satisfied with the serial number.
 
 
On a totally unrelated note, is serial 00001 out in the wild? Or did Massdrop Will claim that for himself? I saw some mention of him having #1 of the beta/test run only?

 
Yes there is a #1 for purchase

 

[wahsmoh]

  Got them last week. Waited a few days to have my excitement settled before doing anything meaningful about them.
 
Like others had experienced, I find the bass boomy as well. It appears to be good and bad, as they make some dry tracks sound richer while some others (especially the better recorded ones) muddy.
 
Out of curiosity, I switched to some stock hifiman he6 pleather pads and the bass quality is improved, as well as a wider and more defined sound stage.
 
I wonder if anyone has done some more thorough comparison between different pads? I see that MM5, Audeze, and Alpha pads all work to some degree. Has anyone tried the focus pad? And between audeze and alpha, which one is better?

I have Alpha pads coming in tomorrow from a fellow Head-fi'er. I can join the pad rolling discussion with Mshenay soon as I get them.

 

[Badfish5446]

   
Yes there is a #1 for purchase

I assumed the first 50 had been reserved for staff, VIP's and reviewers based on the original 2000 vs 1950 and the first 250 buyers would get below 300 S/N thing.  I unboxed mine and blew that theory right out of the water.  I too heard that Will's was not part of the production run and a #1 is out there somewhere.

 

[wahsmoh]

  I've been getting flack from the Mrs. about my Massdrop spending 'addiction'.  I'm tempted to get this, but I need a 'pusher' at this point for me to be that irresponsible.  Anyone wanna be that for me, or otoh save me from myself?  

 

I have the Ether, HE1000, Alpha Prime (which I just got a renewed love for; plus I think may be most akin to this TH-X00 but correct me if I got that wrong), recently got the FAD Sonorous VI, and HD 650, and DT880, and MadDog 3.2, and Focal S1, but I'll stop there as those are my bests...

 

So the Q: does this TH-X00 give me something those don't, whether singularly or in parts even.

 

See, I got in on the K7xx drop, in part as I've got a bit of a Massdrop addiction I mentioned earlier ... and I'm not too happy that I did. It's a better K501 with loads more bass and dynamics. But otherwise the K7XX is remenicent of that 'sound' to me. And nothing that isn't surpassed by everything else listed.

 

...so anyone willing to go out on a limb and tell this addict, it is worth chasing the dragon to pickup a TH-x00.  Or I should be content with all I already have, which is a fairly full stable and seems that I should be happy with?  I don't doubt this will surpass my recent K7XX purchase, but does it have anything to offer my others do not?

 

Informed opinions, in the context of the HPs listed, Appreciated!

I own the Alpha Dogs and I gave my impressions a few pages back. I think the TH-X00 is an excellent headphone and gives the Alpha Dogs a run for their money at the price-performance ratio. Consider the Alpha Dogs were $600 before the end of life sale and the TH-X00 is only $400. But they aren't quite as coherent in the mid range and imaging, also the ADs are really non-fatiguing. I find the TH-X00 can be a little bit fatiguing when pushed to higher levels, the brightness threshold goes up quicker.
 
That being said, the Alpha Dogs are a darker sounding headphone with treble that I wouldn't say it rolled off but definitely on the darker side of neutral. The bass of the Alpha Dogs also sounds like it is tighter and more controlled bass, while the TH-X00 you can tell there is a little bit of bass bloom and they can sound a little muddy (that's why i will try pad rolling with the Alpha pads) But what amazes me is how excellent the tuning is for a stock headphone and just how capable they are to have efficient drivers than I can power with my Sandisk Clip+ with barely any loss in fidelity. These are going to be my go-to semi-portable closed cans while the Alpha Dogs shall remain on my desktop.

 

[Change is Good]

Well I just don't swap Pads for kicks an giggles, but with regards to the "house sound" that my LA D5k an Fostex have, right out of the box with Stock pads I knew what the alphas would bring an I enjoyed that

I've never liked the design nor sound of those stock pads. I'm disappointed to see the TH X00 use an old ePad design that didn't work for the AHD DX000 models to well :/ either way I've got Lawtons on my LA D5k an Alphas on the TH X00, so I'm content 

Though I don't think pad swaps are a "fad" I think most often the Cable an ePads are where mid range headphones suffer the most, my W1000x for example sounds much better with L3000 Pads [though they cost around $100 if you can even still buy them] 

If I feel there are some minor adjustments on a tuning that a change in pads can fix, for my liking, that is when I do it. You have to know, however, what to expect just like you did with the alphas. A simple pad change can sometimes do wonders and be easier on the pocket, instead of buying and selling headphones like crazy trying to find the right one. I had the Shure 1540 for 2 years, but only because of the pad change. It made them sound so much better and cleaner. It wasn't for "fad" or comfort, because if that was the case the alcantaras would have stayed on there and I would have never sold both pairs.

Speaking of the alcantaras, on the other hand, they are tricky to pad roll with because of their unique design. Only headphones I like them on were the Soundmagic HP200, and that's because, having pleather pads, they were tuned for pleather even though they were open. I tried them on the HE-400i, didn't like it. And that was odd because they are tuned for hybrids. This is where I fair to argue that hybrids aren't really just like pleathers, sonically, with velour comfort as the alcantaras are (hence why I'm passing on the hm5 hybrids).

But that's enough pad talk, I don't want to derail the thread. I'm positive both the alpha pads and alcantaras are great on the TH-X00, even the stock pads. In fact, I'm sure most leather/pleather like pads are. I can assume they're tuning is safe enough to pad roll, like that, similar to the 1540 and others alike. Just don't try putting on velours for this kind of tuning, as Matt was able to confirm they are a no go (to be expected).

PS: There's a pad rolling thread, I think, we can discuss this further on if need be.

 

[Makiah S]

 
I have Alpha pads coming in tomorrow from a fellow Head-fi'er. I can join the pad rolling discussion with Mshenay soon as I get them.

Nice nice, an yea this is starting to get dragged down into a Pads for the Th X00 Thread 
 

 
I own the Alpha Dogs and I gave my impressions a few pages back. I think the TH-X00 is an excellent headphone and gives the Alpha Dogs a run for their money at the price-performance ratio. Consider the Alpha Dogs were $600 before the end of life sale and the TH-X00 is only $400. But they aren't quite as coherent in the mid range and imaging, also the ADs are really non-fatiguing. I find the TH-X00 can be a little bit fatiguing when pushed to higher levels, the brightness threshold goes up quicker.
 
That being said, the Alpha Dogs are a darker sounding headphone with treble that I wouldn't say it rolled off but definitely on the darker side of neutral. The bass of the Alpha Dogs also sounds like it is tighter and more controlled bass, while the TH-X00 you can tell there is a little bit of bass bloom and they can sound a little muddy (that's why i will try pad rolling with the Alpha pads) But what amazes me is how excellent the tuning is for a stock headphone and just how capable they are to have efficient drivers than I can power with my Sandisk Clip+ with barely any loss in fidelity. These are going to be my go-to semi-portable closed cans while the Alpha Dogs shall remain on my desktop.

 
I had the Mad Dog... wow a little over 2 years ago an the bass was what I loved about it, that "darker side of Neutral" is something I think the Alpha Pad does  bring to a lot of headphones, including this one 

If I feel there are some minor adjustments on a tuning that a change in pads can fix, for my liking, that is when I do it. You have to know, however, what to expect just like you did with the alphas. A simple pad change can sometimes do wonders and be easier on the pocket, instead of buying and selling headphones like crazy trying to find the right one. I had the Shure 1540 for 2 years, but only because of the pad change. It made them sound so much better and cleaner. It wasn't for "fad" or comfort, because if that was the case the alcantaras would have stayed on there and I would have never sold both pairs.

Speaking of the alcantaras, on the other hand, they are tricky to pad roll with because of their unique design. Only headphones I like them on were the Soundmagic HP200, and that's because, having pleather pads, they were tuned for pleather even though they were open. I tried them on the HE-400i, didn't like it. And that was odd because they are tuned for hybrids. This is where I fair to argue that hybrids aren't really just like pleathers, sonically, with velour comfort as the alcantaras are (hence why I'm passing on the hm5 hybrids).

But that's enough pad talk, I don't want to derail the thread. I'm positive both the alpha pads and alcantaras are great on the TH-X00, even the stock pads. In fact, I'm sure most leather/pleather like pads are. I can assume they're tuning is safe enough to pad roll, like that, similar to the 1540 and others alike. Just don't try putting on velours for this kind of tuning, as Matt was able to confirm they are a no go (to be expected).

PS: There's a pad rolling thread, I think, we can discuss this further on if need be.

indeed, I usually roll ePads onto most of my Full Sized Headphones. Including my HE 4 which has a pair of DT 880 Pads on it [an those pads are VERY worn out, but imo they started to take a angled shape from literally years of use at this point] 
 
point being, for a headphone like the TH X00, I think Stock pads play it safe. Swapping to the Alphas brought a darker sound to them. It's always a good idea for any Manufactor to ship with something more balanced, how ever pads are one of the least expensive ways to shift that sound more to your liking 
 
That said, even with Stock Pads the TH X00 is impressive 

 

[JungleApe]

@ATau I'm really jealous right now! Looks like the post service of your neighbour isn't as good as in switzerland. Enjjoy your Fostex'/Denon!

 

[dcpoor]

 

 

 

 

[burritoboy9984]

HUGE shoutout to Massdrop. My headphones basically got stolen (says someone signed for them, but I never received them). Instead of waiting for UPS to finish their claim, they are sending me another pair. Talk about service. That is above and beyond!

 

[JohnYang]

   

 

I am good at reading between lines.
 
Now I am VERY JEALOUS of you, unless I get a 0001.