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The annual Headphone Festival mini was held on July 27. The event was held at the Station Conference Tokyo near Tokyo station.
final D8000DC
The first surprise was that final suddenly brought a prototype of their new headphones to the venue as a surprise. The staff brought it in by hand around midday.
The models were the “D8000 DC” and “D8000 DC Pro,” successors to the current “D8000” and “D8000 Pro,” respectively. The drivers are new, with the same diaphragm material but a different design. The housing is only temporarily assembled, but the most distinctive feature is the thicker earpads, which they say is due to the fact that they wanted to secure the internal volume for the sound they were aiming for. The sound is said to focus on vocals. The D8000 is scheduled for release by the end of this year, and is expected to be priced slightly higher than the current D8000 series.
FOSTEX
Fostex exhibited two new high-end planar headphones with housings finished with the traditional deep blue. The TH1100RP is open while the TH1000RP is closed, both priced around 380,000 yen. The drivers have also evolved. In the driver photo, the conventional RP driver is on the left, the driver of the recently released “T50RP mk4” is in the middle, and the newly developed driver on the right has a larger diaphragm and more magnets.
FOSTEX planar drive evolution
The TH1100RP driver has a wider soundstage and reproduces a detailed and complex three-dimensional sound with a higher level of detail. The TH1000RP, despite being a closed, has a tone similar to that of the TH1100RP, with a punch that only a closed can provide.
qdc QD1
The qdc brand exhibited the QD1, a stick-type DAC under development, with dual CS43198 DAC chips. Details are not yet known in detail, but the price is expected to be around 30,000 yen.
I listened to the sound using the qdc White Tiger and the sound quality was extremely high, with very clear instrumental sounds and powerful.
Fitear Imager custom(left)
FitEar exhibited a custom version of “IMarge” developed by Mr. Hotta. Not only is it a custom version, but the sound has been adjusted by applying carbon felt to the inside of the device to compensate the increased volume. This is said to tighten the low frequency range and reduce incidental sounds. It is also said to improve sound insulation.
DAC Pocket large version(right)
The Pixel booth exhibited a large version of the DAC Pocket, a popular LEPIC brand accessory for stick DACs. At first glance, the size of the DAC Pocket appears to be the same, but the band that holds the DAC in place has a larger bulge. This makes it compatible with stick DACs such as iBasso's DC-Elite, which were difficult to install in the past. This will be a gospel for users who have been lamenting that they cannot use large stick DACs, although the “DAC Pocket” is convenient.
final D8000DC
The first surprise was that final suddenly brought a prototype of their new headphones to the venue as a surprise. The staff brought it in by hand around midday.
The models were the “D8000 DC” and “D8000 DC Pro,” successors to the current “D8000” and “D8000 Pro,” respectively. The drivers are new, with the same diaphragm material but a different design. The housing is only temporarily assembled, but the most distinctive feature is the thicker earpads, which they say is due to the fact that they wanted to secure the internal volume for the sound they were aiming for. The sound is said to focus on vocals. The D8000 is scheduled for release by the end of this year, and is expected to be priced slightly higher than the current D8000 series.
FOSTEX
Fostex exhibited two new high-end planar headphones with housings finished with the traditional deep blue. The TH1100RP is open while the TH1000RP is closed, both priced around 380,000 yen. The drivers have also evolved. In the driver photo, the conventional RP driver is on the left, the driver of the recently released “T50RP mk4” is in the middle, and the newly developed driver on the right has a larger diaphragm and more magnets.
FOSTEX planar drive evolution
The TH1100RP driver has a wider soundstage and reproduces a detailed and complex three-dimensional sound with a higher level of detail. The TH1000RP, despite being a closed, has a tone similar to that of the TH1100RP, with a punch that only a closed can provide.
qdc QD1
The qdc brand exhibited the QD1, a stick-type DAC under development, with dual CS43198 DAC chips. Details are not yet known in detail, but the price is expected to be around 30,000 yen.
I listened to the sound using the qdc White Tiger and the sound quality was extremely high, with very clear instrumental sounds and powerful.
Fitear Imager custom(left)
FitEar exhibited a custom version of “IMarge” developed by Mr. Hotta. Not only is it a custom version, but the sound has been adjusted by applying carbon felt to the inside of the device to compensate the increased volume. This is said to tighten the low frequency range and reduce incidental sounds. It is also said to improve sound insulation.
DAC Pocket large version(right)
The Pixel booth exhibited a large version of the DAC Pocket, a popular LEPIC brand accessory for stick DACs. At first glance, the size of the DAC Pocket appears to be the same, but the band that holds the DAC in place has a larger bulge. This makes it compatible with stick DACs such as iBasso's DC-Elite, which were difficult to install in the past. This will be a gospel for users who have been lamenting that they cannot use large stick DACs, although the “DAC Pocket” is convenient.
