[betula]

I think, many of us buy the X00s as the most expensive pair of headphones we owned so far. I owned many headphones in the £200 price range before X00s (X2, HD600, M100, HE400s). I tried the Nighthawks, but apart of that X00s are the most expensive for me too. And X00s are very good value for money, as everyone knows, punching up to £1000 flagship territory, at least in some regards, like bass representation. People, who daily change their headphones according to their mood let it be a HE1000, Ether Flow or HD-800s, can see easier where the X00s fall short. They might not be as impressed as others, however they also admit X00s are good value for money. But for people who come from the entry-fi category of £200 cans I mentioned, X00s are just an eye-opening experience to the next level.

 

[Manrique Chan]

Very well said... totally agree with your assessment. I too, coming from the HD600, these TH-X00 Purplehearts, are a significant improvement.

 

[TsKen]

  Just received my TH-X00 Purpleheart and is rather disappointed with the overall quality of the finish. Not just the wooden cups, there was some glue residue on the swivel arm and have already damaged the paint work there.
 
The "gloss" on the Purpleheart can be only be described as hazy compared to my other wooden headphone. The wooden cups have horrible orange peel, uneven lacquering and small dents on both sides.
 

 
 
 

I see your rice cooker!

 

[vcmusik]

I also have dark orange spots on my PH cups, particularly only on the curved edges. I'm still baffled as to what caused that, and if it's even warranty-able. 

 

[Tenzo]

Anyone else experiencing ear fatigue with the PHs?

Odd my LCDX, X2, K7xx, & 770s never caused fatigue even at higher volumes.

 

[betula]

Anyone else experiencing ear fatigue with the PHs?

Odd my LCDX, X2, K7xx, & 770s never caused fatigue.

Initially I experienced some treble fatigue. But after a couple of weeks it has gone away completely. Still a mistery.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

Good audio ? Define good ! Good audio quality scale with the experiences that a person have. If X00 is the best one ever heard, you will hear that from them

 
 

  I think, many of us buy the X00s as the most expensive pair of headphones we owned so far. I owned many headphones in the £200 price range before X00s (X2, HD600, M100, HE400s). I tried the Nighthawks, but apart of that X00s are the most expensive for me too. And X00s are very good value for money, as everyone knows, punching up to £1000 flagship territory, at least in some regards, like bass representation. People, who daily change their headphones according to their mood let it be a HE1000, Ether Flow or HD-800s, can see easier where the X00s fall short. They might not be as impressed as others, however they also admit X00s are good value for money. But for people who come from the entry-fi category of £200 cans I mentioned, X00s are just an eye-opening experience to the next level.

 
 

  Very well said... totally agree with your assessment. I too, coming from the HD600, these TH-X00 Purplehearts, are a significant improvement.

 
Please don't get me wrong, I think they do sound pretty good and punch above their cost. I think a lot of the issue for me was I was using a "warmer" tube than stock on the Vali. Swapping that cleared them up a bit. Using them directly out of my Galaxy Note 3 made them sound a little better still. I think they'd sound the best out of my DacMagic XS or AVR for now until I can get an SS amp at my desk. What these have done for me, is given me an even greater appreciation for the Philips SHP9500 though. I think those cans punch well above their price bracket too. The SHP sound "cleaner" to me and the bass can get deep. The treble isn't as hot either. I like them on their own as well. I can definitely see how a nice SS amp and the PH could be my only headphone if I didn't have others to try.

 

[bluesw]

I am also one who is disappointed with the finish quality of the TH-X00 Purpleheart.
Both of my cups were cloudy, full of orange peel. One had very noticeable bubble wrap marks, the other cup had very uneven lacquer with lots of small "dents" which look like something was in those dents when the lacquer was very wet and fell out while drying.
I'm satisfied with the sound, VERY satisfied,  and wasn't expecting a perfect finish from a 400 USD can, but mine are, well, simply put, finished horrible

 . Wasn't expecting this bad of a finish especially from Fostex even if it was made in China.

 

[24B96H]

That's if you're doing the whole TH-900 driver switch. These X00/600 drivers seem better suited with the 500RP pads they come with.

Said who? Your opinion? That doesn't count.

 

[JWahl]

I also got my ship notice on Wednesday for the Purpleheart. Should get it by Tuesday of next week. But I'm fairly certain I was also very early in line for ordering. I was on the mahogany drop, but changed to the Purpleheart. I actually got the ship notice on my 30th birthday which was a nice coincidence.

As far as the ship date discrepancy in the post above, I think those ones delayed were part of an extension to the original drop. The nature of Massdrop is that of pre ordering before production.

Fostex can only produce so much output over time, and the demand had been very high. Therefore production beyond that initial drop limit has to be pushed back in the line.

 
Follow up.  I received my Purpleheart on Tuesday as expected.  Headphone sounds great as expected.  Unfortunately I've also got the bubblewrap marks, though it is faint to see.  Looks almost like donut glaze residue.  To top it off the packaging was all dented up.  Granted, I realize Massdrop can't control Fostex' QC process, or a bad shipping experience.  It is disappointing because I've otherwise been a big fan of Massdrop in the past.  And of course after waiting almost 6 months.  Going to contact them soon, to see what they are planning for these problems.  Not sure if I want to go through the hassle of returning or not.  
 
And does anyone remember what the low serial number guarantee wording was?  (Never mind, I looked it up in the process of typing, it was under 300 for first 250 ordered, so I got that at least) I got #246 which is relatively low, and I was definitely one of the first 100 to order.  My order confirmation email was sent 48 seconds after the drop went live.  And the main page showed under 100 sold when I refreshed it several times after.  I may just keep it since I did at least get the low serial number.  It sounds fine after all.
 

 

 

 

[Change is Good]

Said who? Your opinion? That doesn't count.

 

[globiboulga]

 

  Absolutely love these... 

I concur.  The SQ is better than I was expecting and apparently I am one of the fortunates with no issues with lacquer or build.  There was a slight mark on the cup from the bubble wrap but a couple of swipes from my microfibre cloth took care of that.

I kinda feel for the people who have quality issues. As they don't impact the sound at all, they would be irrelevant for me, but I do understand some really appreciate great craftmanshift. I get so much pleasure listening to these (and this is such an egocentric pleasure for me), that a few cosmetic issues don't matter. In other words, the pleasure I would get looking at them would be negligeable.
 
But this is also a direct consequence of the fact that these are sonically amazing and far exceed my expectations. For the price I could overlook anything. I thought I'd regret not getting the Ebony ones, but frankly not. Deep and tight bass, great mids and vocals and more importantly high that are very well controlled (something that I really appreciate). Overall the soundstage is much better than what earlier reviews seem to point to, and there is great separation as well. I wouldn't have expected these to sound better than my Denon D5000 but they do (by a mile), just as they also do with my other daily drive (Sennheiser HD650), which I was expecting.
 
I thought there was a bit of hype in the Foster / Massdrop craze but I was wrong. Impressed.
 
PS: and this all "I got a low serial number! Yeah!" thingy, I really don't get... Who cares about serial numbers? Do low numbers have special magic powers I am unaware of? Do they cook breakfast? Do they clean the house while you have a bath? Do the audio technica do the rice in that rice cooker they lovingly reflect?

 

[bartlett]

 
I kinda feel for the people who have quality issues. As they don't impact the sound at all, they would be irrelevant for me, but I do understand some really appreciate great craftmanshift. I get so much pleasure listening to these (and this is such an egocentric pleasure for me), that a few cosmetic issues don't matter. In other words, the pleasure I would get looking at them would be negligeable.
 
But this is also a direct consequence of the fact that these are sonically amazing and far exceed my expectations. For the price I could overlook anything. I thought I'd regret not getting the Ebony ones, but frankly not. Deep and tight bass, great mids and vocals and more importantly high that are very well controlled (something that I really appreciate). Overall the soundstage is much better than what earlier reviews seem to point to, and there is great separation as well. I wouldn't have expected these to sound better than my Denon D5000 but they do (by a mile), just as they also do with my other daily drive (Sennheiser HD650), which I was expecting.
 
I thought there was a bit of hype in the Foster / Massdrop craze but I was wrong. Impressed.
 
PS: and this all "I got a low serial number! Yeah!" thingy, I really don't get... Who cares about serial numbers? Do low numbers have special magic powers I am unaware of? Do they cook breakfast? Do they clean the house while you have a bath?

 
PHs sounding better than HD650s? In what sense? I didn't think they would. 
 
Serial numbers are also just stickers. Once I found that out I didn't care.

 

[The Third]

So... If I were to upgrade my DAC does the Modi Multibit sound like a good idea? Is there a substantial difference between that one and the Uber? And yes I did search the Modi Multibit threads but it's giving me the spins. Also, should that DAC be enough for the Purpleheart's or should I purchase the Magni 2 alongside the DAC?

 

[Eudis]

Said who? Your opinion? That doesn't count.

Will from massdrop said so.

Ive also measured hm5 pads (hybrids) and audeze vegans. Stock pads are better. Send me any pad you wish and you get the same results because theres dampening in the stock pads that help tame 5-6khz and 8-9kz spikes.