[Permonic]

Like guitarbuilding, different wood types = different sounds, and choosen wood affects strongly the sonical properties.

I am curious which type of wood is used in headphones, however I have troubles to find the exact info about wood types for below mentioned cans. Many websites (like Sony) just mention "exotic wood" or so...

Could you please help me to fill the list? Thanks.

As far as I know:

Grado RS-1: made of mahagony, but Honduras Mahagony (reddish) or African/Spanish mahagony (gold color)???

Grado RS-2: the same as above.

Alessandro MS Pro: the same as above ???

Audio-Technica ATH-L3000: is made of cherry (Asada)

Audio-Technica ATH-W1000: ???

Audio-Technica ATH-W100: ???

Sony MDR-R10: ???

Sennheiser HE-90: ???

Any other "wooden" headphones?

 

[emelius]

if ya count clip-ons how 'bout the ATH-EW9 Sovereigns?...

 

[Punslayer]

All the AT woodies are cherry, but the finishing process used on each model is different. The R10 is made of Zelkova, and i have no idea about the Orpheus headphones.

also, there are several other models of Audio Technica wooden headphones, most of which i do not know the model number. Off the top of my head, there's the W2002, EW9 (as previously mentioned) and the W11jp.

Oh, and all i know about the Grado mahogany is that it's grown in New York.

 

[markl]

R10s are made from "the heartwood of the Zelkova tree" apparently a very rare type of tree in Japan.

 

[emelius]

edited--seems the ew9's are listed as bein' made from different woods on different sites

...how may types of cherry tree does japan have??...not lookin' for a serious answer to that

...

 

[princeclassic]

i don't think the type of wood really matters at all. it's probably just for show.

the wood chambers are too small to resonate much at all and that would be the only source of sonic properties.

 

[Spent&Bent]

Quote:

Originally posted by markl R10s are made from "the heartwood of the Zelkova tree" apparently a very rare type of tree in Japan.

hmmm its name sounds so russian, funny....

 

[Spent&Bent]

Quote:

Originally posted by markl R10s are made from "the heartwood of the Zelkova tree" apparently a very rare type of tree in Japan.

hmmm its name sounds so russian, not like japanese word at all....

 

[markl]

Quote:

“After extensive testing of materials from all over the world, the heart-wood of mature Zelkova trees was selected as most suitable for the housing of the MDR-R1O. Evaluation was made in terms of hardness, timbre, weight, and overall sound-transferability characteristics. In order to overcome the problem of designing housing that could produce a natural, distortion-free sound, engineers used the FRESDAM (Freeform Shape Design and Manufacture) computer-aided design system. A delicate waveform was carved out of the interior wall, achieving sound expansion and acoustics equivalent to that of a concert hall.”

 

[princeclassic]

you don't see wood used in loudspeaker construction because it resonates. if they think that resonance is a problem with such a small cabinet, they should have chosen a material that doesn't resonate as much as wood.

i'm not saying the headphones sound bad. i'm saying that the reason they sound good isn't because of the exotic woods that are being used.

 

[markl]

OK, then when you design build your own headphones, you can implement your own theories.

In the meantime, I'll just assume based on results the experts and engineers at Sony knew what they were doing.

 

[Zanth]

I'll place money on the table for the "wood makes it sound different/better/coloured" camp.

 

[zeplin]

the wood on all the soveriegn AT phones is called Asadazakura is from a tree called Asadazakura. assuming that there is little or no resonance in headphone housing, whether wooden or plastic, is completely wrong. this is why the chambers in which the drivers inside the headphones sit are constantly being changed and altered/tweaked in order to change/better the sound. just because the chamber is small, doesn't mean it doesn't affect the sound. that's like saying headphones won't damage your hearing because they are small vs speakers that can go much louder...it's all relative.

wood not used in loudspeaker production? what are my wooden speakers made out of then?

 

[ProFingerSk8er]

here's all the ATH-W serise..
http://www.audio-technica.co.jp/atj/...eup/index.html

does anyone know what to use to clean/polish these wooden earcups?

as far as i know... most mid-price, high-dollor speakers are made out of wood...no?

 

[markl]

zeplin,
The argument is that it's MDF, very high-density fibreboard of pressed wood. I agree, if it comes from trees, it looks like wood, feels like wood, is used in application like wood, it's still wood! What this really says is that there *is* a certain kind of wood with ceratain characteristics/density that *is* good for speakers. It is worth noting, though, that most quality speakers use real wood veneers on the outside of the enclosure, so I guess that introduces "resonances" to the otherwise sonically "perfect" MDF.

Also, many of the pictures I've seen of the various wood-cut-outs/supports that make up the separate chambers inside some speakers appear to be cut out of normal wood, where MDF is used on the outside enclosures.

OTOH, the enclosures in a headphone are not analogous 100% to the enclosures of a speaker, IMO. The enclosures of the headphone act more like the walls and ceiling and floor in your house in the case of speakers. The headphone enclosure is the "room" in which the sound takes place, there is space behind/around the driver, much like there is space behind above and around the speaker in a room.