Massdrop / Fostex TH-X00 Ebony Measurements

Quick subjective impressions:

Less of a resonance play than Purpleheart. The wood seems more solid and doesn't add color. The least colored among the different cups. More refined and more dampened than Purpleheart or Mahogany cups. Wonder if this is the effect of the denser Ebony? Noticeably smoother lower treble. Doesn't have that slight sharpness of Mahogany and to a smaller extent the Purpleheart. Small sharp peak past 10kHz. Adds a bit of definition and increases audibility of noise such as tape hiss, but this seems preferable. Overall still a member of the X00 family.

Some history of this headphone: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...-measurements-and-subjective-impressions.623/
How to understand FR measurements: https://www.massdrop.com/talk/236/understanding-headphone-reviews?mode=guest_open
Recipient of GS award (NSFW!): http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...erbaf-best-of-2015-golden-schlong-awards.760/

Massdrop / Fostex TH-X00 Ebony Frequency Response (0db line = 100db SPL)


Measures flatter overall with smoother transitions compared to the others, but I don't want to make a hard call. Measurement is really tricky with these because of pads there can be significant differences if one is not careful with exact placement on the measurement rig.

Massdrop / Fostex TH-X00 Ebony CSDs



I tend to have more confidence in CSD measurements. They focus on the upper mids and treble where I see less variability to bass (which can vary depending upon seal - getting just the right about of seal can be tricky). Compared to Mahogany or Purpleheart, definitely smoother. I like what @CEE TEE said to me on it sounding more refined.

Massdrop / Fostex TH-X00 Ebony Distortion (at same levels as FR)



Measurements of other cups to compare (Mahogany and Purpleheart):
http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...-measurements-and-subjective-impressions.623/
http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...eart-measurements-and-quick-impressions.1681/

 

CSDs and Dist OTW.

 

All measurements uploaded.

 

Ebony is definitely the least colored. Purpleheart has the most interesting resonance play with the good and that. Mahogany is somewhere in between, but closer to Purpleheart. Collect them all. Haha.

 

Awesome!

 

Indeed. The measurments here seem to bare this out. Not a big difference, but a bit more extension on the ebony.

Could be even a partial mm shaved from the inside of the denser ebony cups causing this. Or perhaps a more solid coupling lowering Fs. Just guessing.

 

There wasn't anything that made me feel the bass was significantly different form listening to it, although I didn't have very much time before I had to sent them off.

From a measurement perspective, the Purpleheart has the highest distortion. I believe the drivers are the same, so the logical conclusion is that the purpleheart wood is resonating.


Here is the mahogany.


Here is the Ebony. More or less the same (it's difficult to reproduce distortion measurements exactly) as the Mahogany, but with the exception that higher order distortion is much less on the ebony. Again, probably a property of the woods. From measurements very early back of Grado cups, I know mahogany will tend to resonate at many different places. So these findings are not out of the ordinary.


What would be most interesting would be full spectrum plots for specific frequencies excited (35Hz, 70Hz, 1kHz, 3kHz, etc.). The wood does make a difference and it is measurable (with the right measurements). I think @Will was trying to explain this to people: that the wood does make a difference and it's not color or dye or placebo. It's pretty real.