[phrozenspite]

How do these fare with Dark Ambient, like Lustmord to stuff like Bohren & Der Club of Gore, and prog, like king crimson, camel etc?  I saw them mentioned by several people in the metal thread but would be looking for an all purpose can that can do that stuff, as well as some classical and jazz

 

[innaterebel]

600 units of TH-X00 Mahogany in stock

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/fostex-x-massdrop-th-x00

I'd be in for more drops in different woods (I missed out on purple) but I wonder if Fostex thinks that will adulterate the sound or brand

You can have E-MU Teak a look, right above your post. They are the same series model OEM by Foster, offering three kinds of wood cup differential from TH-X00.

 

[Gavin C4]

A decent amp can definitely brings out the bass of the THX00. Making it loud does not mean you unlocked the full potential of THX00

 

[Eudis]

You can have E-MU Teak a look, right above your post. They are the same series model OEM by Foster, offering three kinds of wood cup differential from TH-X00.

Let me just clarify a few things. The drop has ended I dunno if it will be back. The TEAK didn't gain as much traction as the THX00 unfortunately. They're amazing and offer a little bit more mids than the THX00. Certainly a great contender.

Second if they did offer it again. You can get the Teak wood and buy the rosewood and ebony from emu at a special price (which I have done, waiting for the cups to arrive). This is only offered to EMU teak customers and no one else. Also the Teak is exclusive. Meaning if you buy the E-MU Teak and choose a rosewood/ebony option(e.g not purchased additionally to the headphones and didn't get the Teak default option) you cannot buy the Teak wood from then but you can still buy the wood type you didn't choose other than the teak.

 

[nicholars]

The main sources of sibilance on the D2000 are the poor resonant properties of plastic coupled with poor damping in the cup and pads. The wood on the TH-X00 helps a little, but the pads help a lot. Overall, I would say the treble is very well behaved, relative to the D2000.

 
The X-00 certainly look interesting, I have other things that are more important ATM but if those purplehearts come up again, those are some nice looking headphones!! They look better than the TH-900.

 

[zombywoof]

  How do these fare with Dark Ambient, like Lustmord to stuff like Bohren & Der Club of Gore, and prog, like king crimson, camel etc?  I saw them mentioned by several people in the metal thread but would be looking for an all purpose can that can do that stuff, as well as some classical and jazz

If you listen to metal, classical and jazz you may have a hard time finding one headphone that does all genres well.  I use my THX00 for prog (same groups you mention + Caravan, Genesis) and fusion (Return to Forever, Weather Report, Eleventh House, Biily Cobham).  I find it does quite well.  The bass is accentuated in the THX00.  For classical and jazz (mostly small group...like 60's Miles, Bill Evans, Sonny Rollins, John Abercrombie, etc.) I prefer the EM-U Teak...much more neutral; a bit wider sound stage than the THX00, and better separation of the instruments on the recording.  As mentioned in the other post, the E-MU Teak is also a Fostex designed headphone.

 

[TT600R]

Dave Lombardo's double bass drums never sounded this f@...n'' great on these phones.
That's me saying that,after owning the HD800 for 4 years.
Absolute keepers!

 

[wahsmoh]

  A decent amp can definitely brings out the bass of the THX00. Making it loud does not mean you unlocked the full potential of THX00

Not to mention a good DAC can bring out the best in the TH-X00. Both Chord Mojo and my 90's Theta R2R DAC w/ time-domain megaburrito filter do just that.
 
The TH-X00 loses some of its spaciousness and separation when I try my Fiio DAP or a lesser delta-sigma DAC w/ a cheap-o digital filter.
 
IMO the order of of the chain that I think matters most in my own personal experiences would go: 1. Headphones 2. DAC 3. Amp .. I think the suggested differences in amping are highly exaggerated an I never noticed a huge swing in performance by moving to a better amp versus a better DAC.
 
If you are getting adequate power and your amp shows good measurements in noise floor and THD then really that is all you need. Planars and high impedance cans like the HD800 are the types of headphones that really benefit off of TOTL amps since they have the ability to use that power (e.g. HE-6, Abyss, HD800/T1).
 
But when we are talking about a low impedance can with very efficient drivers like the TH-X00, I notice the qualities of the DAC more than the amp. The TH-X00 sounds noticeably inferior out of my Sansa Clip+ but I can attribute those problems mostly due to the DAC and noisy signal coming out of such a mediocre device that uses opamps.. but when that mediocre device is paired with mediocre (yet good) sounding earbuds like the $20 Sony MDR-EX100ip then they pair together magically. The sound is warm and listenable yet at the same time not revealing enough to be able to tell that the Sansa Clip has an inferior DAC to anything I have heard that is R2R or the brand new Chord Mojo.  The TH-X00 makes the Sansa Clip sound like crap once you go back and forth between a desktop setup. Otherwise your ears adjust and you live in ignorant bliss

 
I have also heard a fair share of ESS Sabre DACs and they always sound technically capable but not accurate in the ability to stimulate my subconscious feeling that I am hearing natural sound. They are always detailed to a fault. The high frequency details are more of a hiss than a textural and palpable instrument being played with proper decay.
 
Sorry for ranting, I went on about how amps make less of a difference to me than DACs with the TH-X00. The HD600 is the opposite story though for me. Amping is everything.

 

[Sonic Defender]

   
 
The TH-X00 loses some of its spaciousness and separation when I try my Fiio DAP or a lesser delta-sigma DAC w/ a cheap-o digital filter.
 

I think this should be the type of statement we restrict to the sound science forums to be fair. I heard a Yggy through my headphones and a Rag and I didn't hear this special magic filter as sounding any better than the DS DACs at the event. You would think if it was so much better it should be obvious enough but I didn't really think it sounded any better than my M51, different, but not better.

 

[thejammonster]

I consider myself lucky that I can't tell a difference between more expensive DACs and amps (if there is a difference). I just sold my Lyr 2 and Bifrost Multibit and "downgraded" to a Vali 2 and Modi 2 Uber. I'm using the difference to get my TH-X00 modded for a detachable cable, getting the stock cable shortened, getting a custom cable for the TH-X00 and a custom cable for my IEMs...with $300 leftover.

 

[TWerk]

Sounds like those were a...
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

SCHITTY

 
buy for you!

 

[DavidA]

I consider myself lucky that I can't tell a difference between more expensive DACs and amps (if there is a difference). I just sold my Lyr 2 and Bifrost Multibit and "downgraded" to a Vali 2 and Modi 2 Uber. I'm using the difference to get my TH-X00 modded for a detachable cable, getting the stock cable shortened, getting a custom cable for the TH-X00 and a custom cable for my IEMs...with $300 leftover.

How did you come to the conclusion that you couldn't tell the difference?  Blind testing?
 
I'd be interested in see pictures of your modded TH-X00, also what type of connectors are you going with? SMC? 2.5mm TRS? other?
 
There are some on other threads that say its a huge difference between Modi2uber and Bifrost MB, to me there is a difference but its not "huge", not just anyone could notice it and on some headphones there is no difference while on others its a little easier to notice.

 

[wahsmoh]

  I think this should be the type of statement we restrict to the sound science forums to be fair. I heard a Yggy through my headphones and a Rag and I didn't hear this special magic filter as sounding any better than the DS DACs at the event. You would think if it was so much better it should be obvious enough but I didn't really think it sounded any better than my M51, different, but not better.

We all hear different and that's what makes Head-fi exciting. I don't have opinions on the Yggy or Rag (even though I have heard them more than a dozen times at shows) because I can't make a validated determination that they are better or worse than what I own without a demo. I don't think you could make the same determination between your M51 and Yggy off a similar situation.
 
Also, the M51 is at a price point where it is going to sound better than the majority of cheaper D-S implementations. I'm not trying to prove you wrong at all, I'm just saying that your DAC is priced to compete against other products in it's price range and it also uses a DSP for digital volume control (? magic filter)
 
I'm just saying that what the DACs I have heard and owned made a bigger difference than amping. I wish I could save money and go back to a $300 Bifrost but that is not the case. My Bifrost Uber was embaressed by a 20 year old DAC and then when the Schiit MB came I was disappointed by the lack of visceral impact and the fast transients of the Theta but satisfied with the imaging and soundstage.
 
I also refuse to go to sound science.. there is nothing scientific about it unless you're hearing from the DAC designers themselves. It is like the whole Yggy "glitch" issue that turned out to be an overstated fallacy.

 

[obsidyen]

There's sound difference between amps and dacs but the biggest difference is in transducers.However, price doesn't matter. The relatively affordable Chord Mojo has the best sound signature I've ever heard in my life, even better than its colder sounding bigger brother Hugo. I would never use another dac with an off-shelf chip now, even if it's 10 times pricier and has "magical" properties according to some people. If I could afford it, I'd just get Chord Dave. For now, Mojo will do. And apparently it pairs very well with TH-X00.

 

[obsidyen]

Ok guys, I have an idea.
 
Fostex TH-9XX. 1.5 Tesla TH900 drivers. Tuned to have the same sub-bass as TH900 but with smoother treble this time. Purpleheart wood so no unnecessary cost for Urushi lacquer. Priced at $899. 1.5 metre cable with 3.5mm plug.
 
What do you think?