Fostex TH-X00 Measurements and Subjective Impressions

The X00s were on display at the last SF meet at the Mass Drop HQ.

Closed headphones aren't really my thing so I won't really comment on the sound other than to say that they sounded pretty well balanced throughout the frequency range.

The build quality looked fantastic for a 400 dollar headphone.

 

Wow! That development story was very inspiring to say the least. It's good to know that there are still manufacturers willing to admit that they f*ed up somewhere in designing one of their headphones and to fix their design with the help of consumers (unlike a certain manufacturer). That's probably the best way to go in terms of marketing and building consumer trust in the world of audio that I could think of.

 

Saying, but not saying i heard these at a certain show. From what I remember from the very short listen and what stood out was the soundstage. I own the AKG K553s and for a closed back phone the presentation of the stage i'd say is comparable to an open back headphone. And for these the presentation to me was wide but spherical around the head in a sense, not saying it's bad but it was different. From there I thought positive things of the separation and imagery otherwise. Not to say that the newer iteration hasn't changed.

 

HMM. I've been looking for a good closed can. If these isolate better than the MMX 300 headset I'm using and are more comfortable than the PM-3, I might need them for work.

 

I've not seen the same distortion plots for the TH900 here, but it looks like the THX00 lacks the control down real low like the TH900?

 

Marv, can you provide comparisons with the Omni as they are both wooden closed-ish cans? I love the Omni but if the sound is similar I wonder if I should sell it and get the X00 instead then use the price difference for a better DAC.

 

Not a ton of midrange, guess the HD650 will be a good companion. Looks like I'm firmly eschewed in mid-fi purgatory! But all the flavours.. ALL THE FLAVOURS!

 

This. I'll have to do the same. Guess we should ask Fostex about it?

 

@purrin, could you compare those to T50RP mods pretty please? Mad Dogs and Alpha Dogs come to mind, of course. Pros and cons?

X00s look amazing, they should sound good, but still not a planar and probably not as comfortable as wearing those insane pads by Dan.

 

What exactly makes planars superior to dynamics? I for one am glad there is a new dynamic headphones in town.

 

Oh, phrasing. Just my personal liking, I did not mean it like that. If you like lows, and you get your hands on a planar, you'll always have second thoughts when considering a dynamic phone. At least that's my experience.

What I meant is that there is not such a big competition in good closed headphones market. Sure, there are a lot of lifestyle and/or portable headphones, including but not limited to HP50 or Momentums, and a myriad of phones that are just not as good, but at $300+ there are really not so many real options: Fostex mods and Fostex itself, maybe.

I was always thinking about getting a Mad Dog for office work or some portable use, but. Fostex is original; Mad Dog is a mod. Unpredictable SQ and low resell value. Fostex looks fantastic, a proper closed phone should have huge wooden cups IMO! And so on and so forth, I see $300-$500 as a battle between Mr. Speakers and this new lovely unit, hence the request for comparison.

 

I wish we could see the new measurement rig graph for the following compared to the TH-X00

 

Any chance you could snap a shot of the inside of the cups?

 

Consequently, listening impressions are probably going to be all over the map.

 

So excited to hear these things! I wanted to love the TH600 so bad, but the treble made my ears want to run away and hide.