Excellent - so the market is still working. You’ve found a few reasons to spend more on another similar product.
They are very close to the stock pad sound, so that’s 
from me.
You can order the Ahg Pads directly on their homepage if you live in Europe.
There they cost a little less and are delivered quickly.
But if you live in America there are surely better alternatives that might be better except for deconi.
Dekoni is by far the worst pad manufacturer in terms of sound tuning I find them terrible.
The only thing that is good is the Attununion rings.
What is also very good are the Yaxi pads, Alacantara version
They come from Japan and did quite well with the Ebony when I found the Ahg’s.
I haven’t tested them on the rosewood yet because of time constraints.
And A_Coconut word can be trusted, he made most of the pad’s experience with the headphones, with much own work and by trying, testing.
In terms of comfort the Ahg and Yaxi Alacantara pads are very good.
Currently I like to switch between the two.
Tr x 00 Ebony and modified Denon on rosewood.
The Denon D7200 stays untouched most of the time.
2 Likes
Saw some E-mu teaks for with no takers yet.
3 Likes
I hope I don’t derail the topic with this, but I was wondering what you guys think regarding how the x00 compares to open-backs in the sub $500 category. As someone who has never even seen an open-back up close, I don’t have any idea if it’s only considered a killer headphone in the context of closed-backs or generally in the price range, too. I happen to be in the market for an open-back, and the only reference I have in the range is the x00, is there anything worth looking into if I like its sound signature, and I’m looking for something that is not necessarily a downgrade?
1 Like
The X00s are definitely a good headphone in the price range, no conditions. What also helps the X00s stand out is that nothing else really does the same kind of sound signature with the same quality (particularly bass).
Imo it is still worth it to get other headphones if want to and can afford to. I would just recommend that you look for a complementary sound signature.
Some suggestions off the top of my head in order of increasing price:
Sundara ($350)
Grado Hemp ($420)
HD660s ($450)
Drop edition XX ($600)
Focal elex ($700)
2 Likes
I can vouch for the sundaras being a really good compliment to the x00.
2 Likes
I don’t think this has been mentioned before, but I just e-mailed Emu and it seems like they can sell additional stock pads for $20, although, they didn’t clarify if they are only available in addition to their headphones, nor if they have limited availability.
I might be wrong, but I’ve heard that Emu uses the same stock pads as the x00, and if that’s the case, then we would have a whole lot more options for playing around with the pads. For example, right now I’m thinking about taking apart the stock pads and switching out the foam with the AHG knock-off pad’s memory foam just for the extra comfort. Dekoni offer their attenuation rings for $20, as well, and contrary to what some might believe, they don’t have the exact same shape as the stock rings since the holes in those are a lot smaller. It might be worth comparing how that affects the sound, and honestly, it’s quite strange that one offers just the rings while the other a whole set of pads for the same price.
I also asked them about the cups they offer in matte finish, and it seems like they cost the same, and the ones currently available are > Rosewood, Purpleheart, Zebra, Bamboo <
Now, I’m a little unsure which way to go since I’ve noticed that the Emu Ebony has much less bass compared to an X00 with Emu Ebony cups (which I use now) according to the measurements I found here:
TH-X00 with Emu Ebony cups: https://i.imgur.com/WUPfU7z.png
Emu Ebony: https://i.imgur.com/bMDx9LP.png
I might be better off ordering a Purpleheart in addition if that’s closer to the X00 Ebony. Does anyone have any experience with how Emu’s Purpleheart cups sound (either on Emu or X00)?
I don’t know about E-MU cups, but purple heart has the most drastic sound change of the 3 X00 cups. It adds a pretty substantial amount of bass, unique lower mids, mahogany upper mids, and a boost to the treble. They are not going to sound like the ebony cups.
Edit: Crin also has a raw FR graphs for the E-MU Teaks.
Yeah, I’ve read a lot about what the X00 purpleheart is supposed to sound like (although, I’ve never heard one), but the graphs I linked compare the same Ebony cups on different headphones, not the Emu and Fostex cups, and there’s still a substantial difference between how the two sounds. I was just thinking that since the Emu seems to have generally less bass a Purpleheart might suit it better than an Ebony, despite the fact that I’m satisfied with the bass of my X00 Ebony.
Hello,
I have the emu cups Rosewood and Ebony.
Here a small summary in comparison.
Tuning both have the Dekoni rings mounted.
The Rosewood has the Ahg stockpads and the Ebony has the Yaxi Alacantara pads.
Lawton stage 1 insulation on the driver.
Rosewood:
Overall bright and atmospheric and lively in sound.
Treble goes quite high without bleeding in the ears.
Compared to Fostex mahogany the Rosewood is more tamed. What’s good is the highs are definitely sufficient, sometimes it distorts very slightly, so borderline but forgivable. Could also be due to my driver
The mids are present and full, compared to the Denon D7200 not quite enough but it fits the sound. It could have been a bit more present and defined.
But from the vocals it is good and lively the compromise is good. On vocals I am clearly in front of the singer.
The bass is the best I’ve been able to hear so far.
It goes really deep and has a very good contour without bleeding into the mids. In comparison to the Denon D7200 the rosewood beats very clearly.
Because there is nothing bleeding in or too thick. And it stays powerful from start to finish.
All in all, the stage is rich in details due to the vividness of the tuning, which is also reflected in the music. One is more in the middle of what is happening than removed. You can hear quite well when people talk at Hip Hop, you get the impression that you are involved in the conversation.
I find the cups altogether more groovy for all genres of music, except classical music there it could be a bit too shrill by the heights I like to hear you at all kinds because you are fun and powerful especially in the bass makes hip hop, rap, jazz, charts, rock really mood.
With the Ebony:
It is less bright than the rosewood.
So darker, the curtain is darker or the room is dark black.
So much more light off and spot on and the show begins metaphorically speaking.
The heights are at a similar level as the rosewood feels a bit less shrill and slightly tamed in a good way and also pleasant and cosy.
Being in the middle instead of in front of the singer makes me feel more like he/she is singing for me personally. So more intimate. Rich in details and also cleaner in singing the rosewood is slightly dirtier in direct comparison.
Compared to the Denon D7200 on the same level, I find the Ebony a bit softer and not so hard. The tuning in the mids is also more defined and refined.
The bass is not as punchy and dirty as the Rosewood but a bit more calm and full and with a lot of pressure. And it goes down just as low and rich in contour without bleeding into the mids.
The bass line of the Rosewood and Ebony are separate from each other compared to the Denon D7200, I notice that every time I put the D7200 on.
All in all the Ebony is the perfect choice if you want to go a little bit more chill out, for example when working on your computer. Everything a little more relaxed.
It’s as much fun as the Rosewood but a bit more reserved, which makes it a good choice for jazz and classical music. It’s crazy but I never liked jazz that much, but with Emu’s Ebony I got a little bit of a taste for it and even in a real oldschool way with a sip of whisky and cigar.
The rosewood has been trimmed to be fun with a very good listening pleasure.
In summary, both are very good with some limitations. And both go in the right direction but somewhere along the way they separate like a ypsilon.
That’s why I have one for full on fun without any consideration, all full on the face.
And the other one for a little quieter affairs.
I only have the Denon D7200 because it reminds me how good the Fostex/Emu/old Denon series is.
They are simply cleaner in all respects in comparison, the difference you hear with time and the listeners know something. Although the Denon D7200 is newer in terms of technology, it can’t compete with the old series when it is well tuned.
Another small example I had an online training a few days ago and I thought, take the rosewood, the woman got on my nerves while talking. I thought she had such a voice.
She was lively as a person but couldn’t take her seriously. I had her in front of me.
When I switched to Ebony, she was more bearable.
Her voice was then more bearable than before and could take her seriously and afterwards it reflected more what she was.
A lively person but still calm
5 Likes
Has anybody compared the EMU-Teaks to the TH-610’s?
The E-Teaks are back on Drop and I was curious.
1 Like
I was able to spend some time with them both, from what i remember I liked the teaks better. They where better detailed, wider, and not as aggressive. Bass quailty and quantity where decent. Timbre was pretty good too. But yea I would choose teaks.
1 Like
Hello,
Does anyone happen to know the exact name of the Purpelheart wood used in the name of where the cups are made?
I have looked a little bit and there are different kinds of rosewood from Honduras to Amarath.
Somewhere I have seen a wood link but I don’t know where it was, I think it is also listed where the wood is used.
I need it for a project where I might be able to get it running if the carpenter is willing to help.
A lot of purple heart comes from Brazil, but Lawton uses bolivian purple heart.
2 Likes
Hey,
Thank you so much.
Is this what would hear for the Project 
.
How does the Nighthawk Carbon and E-MU Teak compare to one another?
I haven’t heard the nighthawk, but from what I understand they are similar to the X00s in terms of dynamics, slam, etc. The main difference is in the tuning. The X00s are a warm V-shape. As for the nighthawk, I don’t know exactly, but I do know they have pretty decent amounts of bass and are pretty warm.
You know what really cheeses my onions? The fact that the pretty much universally disliked HE-350 is still available on massdrop but they discontinued the rather well regardled X00 line. I’m willing to bet that if they only discontinued the mahogany (the one people liked the least) and replaced it with another wood like wenge, bubinga, cocobolo, or sepele (especially bubinga and sepele since they even look similar to mahogany) then make a big fuss about a new X00, they would have continued bro sell just fine. I’m mean hell, all it took was joshua valour gushing over the ebony for those to sell out in like a day.
Fuck massdrop sometimes.
8 Likes
Yes, I agree completely.
I don’t know what Massdrop was thinking, apparently not much.
The only option is to keep an eye out for a used Denon D2000 or the Emu.
Another thing you might have to say is that Fostex did not really manage to make the cups the way Emu does.
Maybe the massdrop found out that way or it became really expensive in the end to import them from China to the Usa and then export them again.
If it would be the latter you can thank the people who chose an extraordinary man in 2016, ironically 
2 Likes
This is something I’ve been wondering a lot about.
First of all, how come everyone is so fixated on the X00 if the Emu teak comes at the same price and they are often regarded as the best out of all the variants? I don’t think I’ve come across the exact reason so far. Also, couldn’t people reach the same result just by switching out the wood on a Th-610?
I agree with you 100%, though.
1 Like