Fostex X Massdrop TH-X00 Purpleheart Headphones - Reviews

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• Added by Added by Fashi
• Create date Create date Apr 8, 2016
• Tags Tags fostex-x-massdrop-th-x00-purpleheart-headphones

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• 4.00 star(s)
• Jun 7, 2017

Pros: Good extension on both ends, incredibly fun tuning, very detailed sounding, excellent sound separation, very comfortable, clean non distorting sound, excellent impactful bass and low-end rumble, smooth sounding, balanced & warm engaging sound signature, great out of head and intimate sound-stage especially for a closed back, build quality, looks, super easy to drive. Cons: Not ideal for tracking or mixing (they are forgiving), upper mids could use a bit more impact but on higher volumes they do make more of an appearance, sometimes a bit unfocused (too in your face) when it comes to imaging but this creates the engaging sound signature. In the end they need some juice and volume for that deep and controlled bass to appear. Too forgiving of the source. I received the Purpleheart August last year and have not been able to put them down since. They have become my daily driver, I can only say positive things about them. These headphones are incredibly balanced and have a W sound signature, meaning each part of the spectrum is presented but coloured in a way to sound as musical as possible. There is something very engaging about the Purpleheart's presentation. Despite me now owning the E-MU Teak and thinking it is a techncially superior headphone, the Purpleheart's have this intimate and almost speaker like presentation. It's sound is thick yet non fatiguing and feels just ow so musical. But it's not a neutral headphone by any means. I think searching for a neutral headphone within the X00 or E-MU series is not optimal. These headphones are for you to enjoy your music or sound, not for you to track or mix with. For neutral I'd go for the legendary HE-500 or the HD-600 or DT-880 instead. But first things first. About that bass. Knocking on their wood makes them knock back hard hitting bass, knock knock anybody home? I wouldn't have any less bass than this, which is why I chose the Purpleheart wood. I still wouldn't describe these as bass monsters, but as a well balanced headphone with and incredible bass body and definition. Though, these bio-dynamic drivers in combination with the elegant Purpleheart wood can smack your ears when called upon excuse moi française. And this is not the type of bass I was expecting either. I thought they would just vibrate on my head without too much definition. Quite the opposite turned out to be true. The bass while huge bodied, has very fine control and extension, not bleeding in or interfering with either the mids or highs. Some say they sound boomy at times but I don't get that impression at all, I don't channel them that way. Sound is very much alive and live sounding because of the body present here. The mids have this special flavor to them, the wood is resonating a bit here to create a very unique tonality that is hard to put down. While the upper mids lack some attack, this is actually a good thing since the headphone becomes less fatiguing. The definition and form of the mids is there and make their presence known even between the exciting treble and big bass. The timbre is on point, there is this warm liquid feeling to the mids that creates a warm organic sound. The texture of sounds are detailed and well rounded creating this sense of realism and accuracy. These cans can scream at the higher frequencies and with enough speed and definition as well. Other Head-Fi users mention that these headphones are harsh. I disagree, they might have prominent and forward highs but they never sound edgy or fatiguing to me. The HE-400(original) would fit that description to me. The highs extend incredibly well, and really sync in well with the other parts of the spectrum. The soundstage is increased because of this. All genres can be paired well with these cans but excel at RNB, Hip/Trip Hop, Electronic and Rock in my opinion. Timbre is excellent, instruments and both female and male vocals sound natural. The isolation is enough to filter out most pronounced disturbances within a normal living room. You can even use them outside or in a train, but some detail is lost in the music due to their semi open nature. Indoors though, you feel the airyness that comes with this nature. They won't be as holographic or transient as a HE-400/i, HE-500 or LCD-2/3 PLANAR series, but they sure get close enough. Again best of worlds ladies and gents. I would just let this beauty sit indoors and use a HD-25 aluminium outside. They pair well with each other. The headphones stock pads are very good in my opinion but in the main TH-X00 threads on Head-fi you have people recommending otherwise. The stock pads are very comfortable to me and are very well padded. They seal my ears good but your experience may differ. Third party pads are relatively cheap so no worries there. The sound signature is not fatiguing to me and I can listen to them all day, preferably on lower volumes then of course. So these headphones are incredibly euphonic with their speaker-like presentation, have a strong magnesium alloy construction with beautiful purple wooden cups and a nice long braided cable(3m), are comfortable and not ultra expensive. Even if you like a bit less bass I am having a hard time believing there isn't an X00 version out there for you, or an E-MU Teak/ebony/rosewood for that matter. I will be comparing the E-MU Teak to this headphone when I receive in a few weeks. This is the only indoor headphone you will ever need for any sound entertainment. Enjoy!

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Last edited: Jan 4, 2021

• 4.00 star(s)
• Nov 4, 2016

Pros: Bass punch, smooth FR, woody looks Cons: Mid-bass bloom, upper mids suckout, hard earpads Here's my review, featuring bunch of comparisons to one of their predecessors, Denon D2000. (I've used them Fostex's mostly through Modi Multibit DAC & Lyr 2.)     My sound preferences

1. I love some great sub-bass and lively highs to go with them.
2. The presence region needs to be "present" and upfront (think HD600 and a little bit less 3k, maybe).
3. My favorite full-sized headphones are an LCD-2.1

            Looks, comfort, cable

1. I don't give a hoot about bubble wrap marks. They are very, very difficult to see in my usually darkly lit apartment. Also, that very cool color & wood grain are hard to see well here - looks great in bright light though.
2. The earpads should really be thicker. That smaller opening is ok for me, but D2000 is way more plush on the head and clamp less (maybe because they are quite old). Are these tiny pads all about sound?
3. The headband adjustment doesn't extend a lot, but just enough for my big melon. I've had few pairs I need to extend fully besides these: M80 (too small), M100 (bit too tight), K701 (too small), CAL!. Others have had adjustment to spare. (D2000 has one more "click"/dent of adjustment, so no wonder there.)
4. The cable is what it is - long & thick - not a big deal. But it not being detachable might be one day. This is 2016, and these cost lots. This is a minus, no way around it.
5. I haven't used these with a mobile device, but could imagine they'd work ok there too - maybe a 3,5mm with a screwable 6,3mm (like the D2000) would be a good idea. I'm not going to have that standard 3,5mm-adapter sticking out of my phone - it just might break the output with any sideways force.

  Sound

1. The bass is monstrously huge, you have to want that to get on with these (or D2000). Ok, there are many hp's with more, but not at this range of quality or price that I've heard. It is quite clean though, but somewhat slow with all that mass it's producing.
2. Listening to RATM's Renegades or some of Dr Dre's beats these are a huge amount of fun!
3. The bass unfortunately bleeds some into the mids, I'd like less mid-bass bloom & force. D2000 has way clearer separation of bass and mids. There's clearly extra boom (upper bass) & bloom in comparison.
4. Mids are very laid back, which is quite ok, it's what I expected too. There's more of them vs D2000.
5. BUT, there is a dip in the upper mids / low highs that makes things like vocals, drum transients etc. sound distant. (Maybe in the presence region, 4khz-ish?) This isn't happening with the Denons...
6. ...Which makes snare drums & distorted guitars (palm-muted especially) sound more snappy and present with my Denons.
7. Highs are much less upfront than the D2000s, which seem more lively & snappy up top. Some call them too bright, I mostly disagree. Both tunings work for me. The Denons have some weird coloring and spikes up there in comparison, though. If you like lively (but colored) highs and more of a subs thump, them Denons provide.

  Conclusions

1. The PH's have a very warm tone to them, no way around it. That extra boost in mid-bass and smooth highs make them sound like a "HD650'fied" version of the D2000. I'm not sure they needed it.
2. This comparison has been quite a revelation for me... Damn it, I think I like the D2000 better! They were about half the price and have been deemed too boomy, slow and whatever. But, when compared to the PH they've got that big bass that doesn't boom too high in the frequency range or make the overall sound too warm for me. They have lots of snap, crackle and low pop that I just love.
3. BUT, trying to be somewhat objective - TH-X00 PH are a big win for fans of smooth highs, mid-bass warmth and cool looks.

    Stuff I noticed

1. The Purplehearts look better, but don't feel any better made. The Denons have some nice touches, like rounded edges of that lower part that terminates the headband adjustment. That silver color looks more spiffy too.
2. D2000's headband and pads look a lot like real leather in comparison, which I guess it isn't either. (There is no way it's the same material, though.) Could the Denon's have real leather?! Sure looks like it... So, D2K's materials seem better.

        There it is! What do you guys think of them? Have you compared TH-X00's to Denons Dx000-series?   Comment below, why don't you!

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Reactions: AT Khan View previous replies… sikki-six What kind of changes to equipment do you mean? I'm not going to buy a new amp or dac, they work just fine with other headphones. sikki-six D2000 is my favorite basshead headphone I've yet heard. sikki-six By the way, I love me some CAL!, here's my recent video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk2Yo-KoARU

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