Wild Ziricote - Wild Chechen - Black Limba - Flame Marbled Walnut
Time to listen!!!
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Just WOW WOW WOW… amazing in every way… (Wild Chechen Type 4)
The fit and finish is spectacular!
The sound seems tighter but also deeper and fatter and also smoother in the upper midrage and lower treble where the stock TH610’s have a tendancy to be siblant on some brightly recorded tracks.
The sparkle, air, separation, width and staging is there and even sweeter since the edge has been just so slightly taken away at around 5-6k.
Im my opinion this has made the TH610 the perfect headphones with the Wild Chechen. Not sure how I’m going to go with the others since this has spoilt me now I think!
The bass is just sooo good, just sounds like a really good fat dynamic and fast kick that you get in a good live gig in a small/medium room with warm and tight bass from bass guitar.
Listening to everything from Glitterbox EDM night club stuff, to Steely Dan Gaucho, Tracy Chapman Baby Can I Hold You - nice bass… Super Tramp Still in Love…
And Hoff Ensemble - Polarity… WOW - feels like im in the room with that beautiful double bass and Piano!
Hoff Ensemble - Polarity by Hilton, on Flickr
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Stock TH610 pads. They are comfortable and from what I’ve read everyone thinks they’re the best sounding Pads. A lot of the others Pads end up sounding a bit bright. While you might get better width and staging with thicker pads it thins the sound out a little and brightens them too much. Not to mention the bigger opening in some of them creates issues with bloated bass and sharpness in the sibilance range… So i’ll stick with stock thanks!
Thanks @A_COC0NUT . I may at some point give some pads a try. I have a fair bit to keep me busy for now! 
Also not sure if you realise but the TH610 standard pad ear hole is larger than the THX00 but much smaller than the TH900MkII. My ears fit with some room to spare clearance to the front of the driver frame and from the pads edges. From photos, TH610 stock Pads looks more similar to the ZMF/Amazon Pads that @PapaEmeritus likes.
They are high end Phones… to be expected. Some of you have just been spoiled by the Drop editions pricing… I paid $699AU for my TH610 and they are worth every penny. I auditioned the TH610 against Sony ZR1 & Z7m2 , Focal Stellia & Elegia, LCD2-Closed, Fostex 900MKII and Senn HD820s using iBasso DX220 Balanced 4.4 AMP8, AMP9 nutube, AMP1MKII and Sony TA-ZH1ES DAC/AMP.
I loved the Stellia’s the most at the time but no way could justify $4500AU for a pair of headphones.
Now with the Lawton chambers, I’d probably rate these above the Stellia’s now the Sibilance has been addressed and the bottom end is fatter. The Stellia’s were a little more hollowed out to me but really really nice and going from memory the only thing that put the TH610 below them was the imaging a little and the occassional sharpness at 5-7k on the TH610 - which is now fixed with the Chechen Chambers. 
Here’s my original thoughts from a mini review and a Harman Curve overlay of the Stock TH610 against Stellia. Dark Yellow is Stellia, light yellow is TH610 stock.
About a year ago I listened to the Stellia when deciding on what headphones to buy and ended up going with the TH610 as I couldnt justify the cost difference.
They are different, but out of Elegia, Sen 820S, LCD2, Sony 7Zm2, ZR1 and 900Mk2 the TH610 had the most neutral sound while still extending down low with punch and not sounding hollow or boring like some of the others. Here’s my thoughts below from when i did a mini review.
TH610 headphones embarrassed many so called high-end closed-back phones.
Tried the Sony Z7m2 and Z1R but they were both a real let down - The 7Zm2 no matter which AMP i used just sound hollow and way too laid back in midrange, Z1R was fuller and warmer but just too bloated in midbass.
Focal Elegia - wow how bright do you like your mix… they have a clearly elevated top end that doesnt bite as such and it’s a bit tamer on AMP9 but with AMP1m2 and AMP8 they’d become fatiguing pretty quickly.
LCD 2 Closed actually sound quite good, but they are very bulky, heavy and ultimately the top end wasnt as smooth as I was expecting with a sibilant S on male and female vocals.
Fostex 900mk2 - wow that’s a lot of bottom end (way too much) and I was surprised how sibilant they were too - TH610 is much closer to neutral with a better top-end.
Senn HD820’s - yes they have that Sennheiser sound, wide wide imaging, luscious midrange, nicely present and airy treble, present low-end, nothing competes with the combined imaging and midrange and bottom end balance but are they worth $2400??. The bottom end was also a bit lacking compared to TH610.
The Stellia… How many unicorns, dolphins and dragons did they slay to create the ingredients for these?? Again I say OMFG!!! These are the real deal, end-game closed backs for sure, no doubt about it… and their price surely shows it, @ $4500 AU that’s even a bit rich for me. Having said that they do have a very slight bit of midbass bloat but the rest of the frequency range was very nice, full, present and accounted for with out any drawbacks except maybe being a bit dry at times compared to the TH610. The TH610 should’t be competing with any of the above mentioned headphones based on the TH610 price, but they most certainly do and have a sound I love apart from the occasional bite from brightly recorded mixes. I find the TH610 to be lush, warm, punchy, full and forward without being too pushy and a little bit of shimmer up top where it counts. Certain songs come on and I just have to crank the volume… i just cant help it they are such fun! Would I swap the TH610 for Stellia??? NO WAY. Would I like a pair of Stellia YES.
Stellia is the darker orange trace and TH610 the lighter trace. Similarish bottom end and midrange upto lower treble range but above that is where they differ the most.
Stellia was punchier and slightly into lower mids unfortunately. If the Stellia punch was 20 to 40hz lower they would have been absolutely killer. As it is the TH610 sound full, punchy and more natural… This tester actually said both headphones correlated to 69% of the Harman Curve and I’d 100% agree with the measurements based on my listening comparison.
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Here’s an updated Harman 2017 Curve of the Stellia vs Stock TH610.
You can see the slightly hollowed lower midrange, boosted bass and recessed highs of the Stellias.
You can also see the elevated 6K-8K peak in the TH610 that i believe the Lawton Chechen Chambers have fixed. The bottom end is also much fatter by comparison. I can listen on the iBasso DX220 AMP8 at elevated volumes with no fatigue anymore!
TH610vsStellia_Harman_Curve by Hilton, on Flickr
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Here you can see the hugely raised and boomy bottom end of the TH900s and the extra sharpness they have that caused the extreme sibilance that the TH610 has somewhat less of a problem with in that 6K range. (these are all stock measurements from Keiths site)
Notice TH610 is also alot smoother.
It will be interesting to measure the TH610 difference in the chambers once I get the minidsp ears!
TH610vsTH900mk2-harman2017_curve by Hilton, on Flickr
TH900 uncorrected very V shaped and peaky in the treble… exactly how it sounds to me.
TH900 by Hilton, on Flickr
TH610 uncorrected very flat with just a slight peak at 6k that I can confirm the Lawton Chambers have tamed! (at least in the Wild Chechen anyway)
TH610 by Hilton, on Flickr
You can compare a bunch of different specs here at Keiths site.
Youtube video of Wild Chechen to Black Limba change over inbound…
Black Limba only a subtle difference in sound so far but definitely a little warmer sounding in the 70- 120hz region… No sign of sibilance.
Lawton Black Limba TH610 by Hilton, on Flickr
Lawton Black Limba TH610 by Hilton, on Flickr
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Youtube video of Wild Chechen to Black Limba Lawton Chamber Changeover on TH610.
1080p is up - 4K is up!
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Hi @Deleeh
I suspect all cups will have a similar sound but the lighter woods (1-2) will have more reverb and more warmth, while the heavier woods (4-5) will have less reverb and be cleaner and more dynamic.
I would say the sound is maybe slightly more V shaped but that’s not really an accurate assessment.
I would rather say the bass from 100hz and down has been elevated, while the rest of the range stays mostly the same. With the new cups It’s like I’ve added 4-5db eq from 100hz and down and taken 2-3db off at 6khz. Which is roughly the EQ profile I was running in my RME ADI-2 DAC - I was running +3.5db @ 70hz and -2 to -3db @ 6Khz but no longer require that. However, with the new cups, the bass is not only boosted like with eq, it has more impact and warmth as well.
As far as the Sibilance goes (what you are translating as hiss) , the S and T sound of some singing and the cymbals sometimes have a very sharp piercing sound around 6khz in the stock TH610, and really badly in the TH900MKii. The Lawton cups have reduced that slightly to a point where it’s hardly noticeable at all. (either that or my ears are used to it - but I suspect it is reduced)
I’ll be sure to post more impressions once I’ve had some more time with the various cups.
Just some insight to the cup design from Mark - I’m sure he wont mind me sharing his thoughts on my question… How did you decide on the size of the cups??? to which he replied… (that I agree with completely)
"Myself, I feel one can only obtain just so much info from measurements, the real test is listening.
Rather than just making a copy of the original cups, we wanted to make as many improvements as possible to the design.
Cups serve a purpose, acting as a combination of speaker cabinet and body of a musical instrument.
If you treat them seriously this way, you can get a lot more out of the headphone itself.
We are on the second generation of our cups, original versions (2008-2011) were also deeper than stock cups and were an excellent upgrade.
Ultimately, with some very sophisticated new equipment providing almost total control, we were able to do everything we ever wanted in terms of perfecting the shape inside and out, getting wall thicknesses to taper just right, etc.
Development of the current generation was extended, many forms/shapes were tried before we reached the shape you now see.
I may be in minority, but I genuinely prefer closed to open headphones, all other things being equal.
But the catch always is reduction of soundstage size and a bit of a reverberant “sea shell” effect.
Bigger cups with correct internal volume and shape really help push the soundstage out.
We use a small piece of acoustic foam inside the cups which helps prevent some of the internal reflections which also helps the enclosure disappear a bit.
Customers are constantly surprised at what a difference cups can make.
Enjoy!
Mark Lawton"
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Wow - Im just super amazed and thrilled how good these sound! (Black Limba)
The more you crank the volume the more they punch you in the head!
Sounds maybe even better than my dual 10" subs in my room system! (which are tuned for a slight bass boost but not boomy bass)
Wild Ziricote Type 5 Lawton Cup… VERY different
Much less bass overall and what’s there is super tight and extends low. More forward mid range and top end - much more vocal oriented. No sharpness in treble but definitely brighter but not too bright.
So far favourites are Wild Chechen (Type 4) followed by Black Limba (Type 1). Black Limba was much much warmer and fuller sounding. More listening to be done!
TH610_Wild_Ziricote_Lawton_Cups by Hilton, on Flickr
TH610_Wild_Ziricote_Lawton_Cups by Hilton, on Flickr
TH610_Wild_Ziricote_Lawton_Cups by Hilton, on Flickr
TH610_Wild_Ziricote_Lawton_Cups by Hilton, on Flickr
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TH610 swapped over to Flame Marble Walnut Lawton Cups…
Ahhh thats better - a bit of warmth has come back as well as punch and depth to the bass. Very nice.
TH610_Flame_Marble_Walnut_Lawton_Cups by Hilton, on Flickr
TH610_Flame_Marble_Walnut_Lawton_Cups by Hilton, on Flickr
TH610_Flame_Marble_Walnut_Lawton_Cups by Hilton, on Flickr
TH610_Flame_Marble_Walnut_Lawton_Cups by Hilton, on Flickr
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Incase you’re all wondering… favourite is still Wild Chechen Type 4…
Still not certain if I like Black Limba Type 1 more than Flame Marbled Walnut Type 1.
I think im leaning towards Flame Marbled Walnut as 2nd fav.
The Limba has bass that can be overbearing with some electronic music that has lots of sub bass and defintely can have a tendancy to be more muddy and boomy with some types of music, but then with others they just rock hard. Definitely Bass Cannons but still not quite to the level of the TH900 (stock), which to me were definitely too bass heavy for me.
Much more listening to be done, but for now will be comparing Wild Chechen type 4 to Flame Marbled Walnut Type 1 back to back a few times and listening for more of the subtle changes now and doing another swap back to stock for another baseline.
PS. I loved the look of Wild Ziricote Type 5 and they are definitely the heaviest most dense wood but they are also much more clinical and clean with forward vocals and brighter topend. I could probably live with them but I think the stock cup with a bit of 4db eq bass boost 70hz and 2-3db cut @ 6Khz is much more fun. So I’d say stick to type 4 down to type 2 if you like to have a bit more warmth, the closer you get to 1 the more warmth but obviously. Type 1 is very warm and punchy, particulary the Black Limba as it’s almost a quarter of the hardness of the Wild Ziricote and about 1/2 to 2/3 of the Walnut.
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Thanks for all this @Hilton! Nice to have first hand accounts of how the different wood types sound!
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Great posts Hilton, but what will you do in the end? You can’t keep changing them out as the cups won’t last.
When you do find an absolute favourite, what happens with the rest? You have a good chunk of money tied up with those. Will you try to sell them?
I would say from my own listening, you can defintely go by what Mark says. I was a little sceptical at first, which is one of the reasons I had to see for my self and try a few different cup types out.
Marks assessments and his tone selector are pretty much spot on. I have to say I was suprised!
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I plan to get another pair of TH610 (or maybe 2) and keep 2 or 3 sets of cups. Likely to resell the Wild Ziricote… Though they do look spectacular in the right light! It will be hard to give any of them up though!
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