Really liked the Yaxi TH900 alcantara pads on my Fostex TH900 mk2. Tamed the treble, increased the midrange. Ended up selling my TH900 mk2’s because of how fragile they are, and the lack of clamping pressure was also bothering.
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Hello
I hope for your sake you didn’t regret giving him up.
I’m amazed what you can get out of it when everything fits.
What I think is a real pity and shit is that Fostex can’t get it right to tune it halfway.
Surely everything is a matter of taste.
But there is more money to be made with the Th 900 I find it almost an impertinence.
With the Th 610 I let myself like that.
On Massdrop you can buy the Emu or on EMu even with optional cups nobody can top it and it costs less than the Th900 for example.
And it’s a pity that the EMu gets so little attention, although it is actually the better receiver.
And the Tesla more does not make the roast fat.
So the Yaxi on the Ebony are doing a good job.
Tomorrow I have hopefully some time to listen to all 3 listeners and see who is really “the better” one.
Denon D 2000 Emu mod or D7200 or converted Tr x to Ebony from EMu, 
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I felt the Fostex lacked clamp force as well so I gently bent them in an as even as possible manor. It really helped.
Due to my hubris, my attempt to replace the headband padding of my TH610’s lead to me stripping two screws trying to take apart the slide cover for the headband.
I’m assuming this is the correct screw if I ever decide to try and fix it?
FYI I used a phillips screwdriver on a JIS screw.
Looks like it. It says it’s for the TH-900 slide cover, but all if the fostex TH-XXX headphones have the same headband so it should work. How did the actual replacement of the padding go?
Hello,
You can buy another Headband from Beyerdynamic Custom game for example,is not bad Headband.
Screws you find everywhere 
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funny how much conversation this headphone is getting, being it’s discontinued, LoL!
Because it’s such a good headphone for an original retail price of $450-$520 depending on wood. They were also the cheapest readily available option for the Lawton mods before being discontinued. Imo they are the best bass in the price range and the rest of the FR is still good to boot. It also helps the discussion that these are very commonly pad swapped and modded, so everyone is talking about that kind of stuff all the time. Pretty much all my posts are about pad swaps or the occasional gushing post.
I do wish they would bring back the PH and ebony, maybe with a new wood to replace the less loved mahogany like cocobolo.
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that was a tongue in cheek, rhetorical question / observation. 
And that was a serious answer because I need to spread the good word of the religion that is the TR-X00
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Sure! Let’s add it to the HFGF list; Nighthawk Gang, RNHP Gang, Elegion, what do we call the X00 group? 
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00X, Licensed to Listen!
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X00MERS? I don’t know. I’m just a humble missionary hear to spread the word.
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Well, there’s a TR-X00 Ebony being offered at fleabay:
I am no way affiliated with the seller and I’m fine with my TH-X00, although I should replace its cups with the Emu ebonies sooner or later.
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Holy moly, that one went for $790! 
Another TR-X00EB popped up not too long ago:
At that point, just buy a new TH-610 and mod it. 
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I looked at it 35 min before it ended and it was still $460. That must have been quite the sniping duel.
The TH-610 does have some differences from the X00s (extra dampening) but an EMU with ebony cups would be about $150 to $200 less than that and sound nearly identical. I hope they enjoy it.
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I’m finally done with all my obsessives pad swapping. I’ve been comparing 6 pad options for my TR-X00 PH over the past week or so and I feel like I’ve gotten a good enough grip on the situation to share my thoughts.
Disclaimers:
- I have no treble sensitivity.
- I have long hair so I can not guarantee a perfect seal was achieved with all pads.
- My X00s have the Lawton Driver-side tune-up installed.
- For any pads that don’t have built in attenuation ring I used my Ovaltine rings.
- I’m not going to mention sibilance because (to me) they all had the same amount and only in songs that I know to be sibilant recordings, otherwise they are fine for me.
I primarily used these two song for testing as I know them well and I find they are good at exposing shortcomings and highlighting proficiencies (at least according to what I like). I have both songs in CD quality FLAC.
- WELCOME TO THE WORLD, Battle Tendency O.S.T. [Musik], Taku Iwasaki
- Rip & Tear, Doom (2016) OST, Mick Gordon
My test set up was:
Foobar2000 WASAPI Push > Topping D10 > Asgard 3
OK, Time to actually start talking about the pads, starting with the stock pads. I’m going to be brief with these since most any X00 owner has them and knows what they sound like. The treble is forward but not too much and I find its only harsh with harsh recordings, so it won’t smooth anything over for you. The mids are rather full sounding for a V-shaped headphone, but there is a dip around 3k. The bass is just what you would expect from the under $500 bass kings. Big, impactful, and very well detailed. And it’s not just one note bass, it can portray different bass notes as well as hit you in the head with the quantity. The sound stage is fairly narrow, but nothing I would personally complain about. The big problem with these is they are terribly uncomfortable for me. My ears are on the larger side and these press on them in such a way that is causes pain after about an hour, sometimes less. The foam is stiff and the protein leather is not the best feeling and gets oily easily. The shape is also a bit strange and I find makes the fit feel weird.
Next is the Accessory House Global (AHG) stock style pads. These are basically just leather stock pads. There are only two differences I can tell. First, the mids are a tough warmer, but only a touch. The second, they are more comfortable. The foam is a nice and soft memory foam and the leather is pretty nice, especially for the price. They are also a more normal flat-faced shape as apposed to the stock pads with all the rounded bulges on the face of the pad. Like I said, these are pretty much just a strait replacement for stock pads but with better comfort. If you really like the stock sound and just want a bit better comfort, these are the pads for you.
Next are the Dekoni Lambskin X00 pads. I linked the protein leather versions because these are technically a Drop exclusive, but if you email Dekoni they will sell you a pair for $70. I actually quite like these pads. They are the warmest option (only a bit warmer than the AHG stock style) and seem to have the least forward treble. Its still forward treble and will not fix a harsh track or anything, but it feels a bit more relaxed. This is helped by the extra warmth these add. It makes the sound a bit more full and I like it. The bass is about the same (a pattern you will notice) but the soundstage is a bit wider since the pads are thicker. The wider sound stage I feel relieves any sense of congestion or claustrophobia that the stock pads and AHG stock style pads have. The comfort is what I would call the minimum for my ears. The ear hole is JUST big enough for all but my ear lobe to fit and, thanks to the very nice memory foam, they stay comfortable for quite a while. The leather is the shinier kind so that could bother some, but not me.
Next are the AHG ZMF style pads. These are ALMOST identical to the ZMF Ori pads I will talk about next, but the ear hole is a few mm shorter and a few mm wider. Also the pads are a few mm thinner. When I say a few mm I mean 2 or 3 at most. The other difference seems to be build quality. While the AHG pads are perfectly well built, they are not as pristine as my proper ZMF pads. The foam is two pieces and one piece is a slightly smaller diameter than the other, causing a ridge on the outside of the pad. This is purely cosmetic, but worth mentioning since it suggests (at least to me) that these are technically knock off ZMF pads. Good knock offs, mind you, but still. Since I’m hear I’ll do comfort next. These are about the same as the ZMF pads for comfort, but the foam is a bit stiffer and I personally find this to make them a bit less comfortable. As for sound, these are about the same in the highs as the stock pads. Maybe a touch more treble but it also seems clearer. Probably due to the larger hear hole if I had to guess. The mids are kind of recessed, especially in the lower mids. This, in combination with a noticeable bump in the bass (specifically at 50Hz), leads to what I feel is a kind of hollow and slightly bloated sound. I don’t really like these pads when I have real ZMF pads and no other pad messes up the sound imo. They are cheap, very comfy, and may work better with the ebony or teaks, but I don’t like them for my PH. Almost forget to mention that these have a wider sound stage than any pad mentioned previously.
Up next are the ZMF Ori Protein pads (you will have to select the material you want on the page). These are very nice pads. Sound wise they have the clearest treble of them all. Its about the same as the AHG ZMF style pads (so a bit more than stock), but seems a bit clearer. The lower mids are still a bit recessed compared to the stock style pads and Dekoni pads, but not as much as the AHG ZMF style pads. The bass is also about the same as the stock and Dekoni pads, so these don’t have the hollow and bloated sound that the AHG ZMF style pads do. These are also the most comfortable so far. They have the tallest ear hole and my ears fit without any problem. The foam is a bit softer than the AHG ZMF style pads so that is good for me and the protein leather is very, VERY nice. I almost like this material better than some of my real leather. These are pretty much the best comfort of any of the pads I’ve tried, especially for extended periods of time.
A side note about my Ori pads, I’m not actually entirely sure that these are protein leather. I ordered lambskin, but noticed when I got them that they are less shinny than the lambskin pads pictured on the website or shown in Youtube videos (particularly Zeos’ ZMF motherload unboxing). I emailed ZMF and they said that they use a more matte finish leather for comfort reasons. I thought this was the case until I got my Ori Hybrids (lambskin with suede face) and the lambskin on these is as shinny as in pictures and videos. This leads me to believe that my Ori pads are in fact protein leather which is strang since protein was not (and still is not) an option in the dropdown for materials on the purchase page. I’ll attach a picture or two below. Maybe @Zachary_Mehrbach can shed some light on this situation for me?
(Ori hybrds on headphone. Mystery Ori pads in between)
Thanks for any help Zach
So last but not least, The ZMF Ori Hybrid pads (same link as other Ori pads).
I have very little to say about these as they seem to be almost identical to the Protein(?) Ori pads. The only difference is the comfort. The suede face is wonderful. It does not get itchy or hot like leather and pleather can and is so soft I want to upholster my entire life with this material. Spoiler, these make the normal Ori pads obsolete to me.
In conclusion, the X00 stock pads are basically obsolete in my eyes as the AHG stock style pads replace them with better comfort and an almost identical sound. The AHG ZMF style pads are not terrible, but I don’t like how they sound, so they are out as well (Thankfully I use them on my DT770 250ohm). The Dekoni Pads are a great option if you don’t have large ears and want a slightly warmer and more relaxed sound that is still rather similar to stock. The Ori pads are great, but just go the extra step and get the Hybrids. They are so comfortable and sound about identical to the normal Ori pads. The Ori Hybris are my personal winners, with the Dekoni Lambskins as my second place since it is a different but equally good sound to me, I just prefer the Ori sound personally.
Here are the rankings
Comfort:
- Ori Hybrid
- Ori Protein
- AHG ZMF Style
- Dekoni Lambskin
- AHG Stock Style
- Stock
Sound:
- Ori Hybrid (sound the same as Protein)
- Ori Protein (sound the same as Hybrid)
- Dekoni Lambskin
- AHG Stock Style
- Stock
- AHG ZMF Style
Overall:
- Ori Hybrid
- Dekoni Lambskin
- AHG Stock Style
- Ori Protein (replaced by Ori Hybrids)
- AHG ZMF Style (Better comfort than stock pads but worse sound)
- Stock (Better sound than AHG ZMF Style pads but the worst comfort)
Thank you reading this long and slightly rambling post. Now that this is finally over, it’s time to mess around with pad swapping my DT770 250ohm (please help me. I can’t stop myself.)
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I just took a look back and only the first 1/8th of this thread is actually about the X00 line being discontinued. Might it be worth renaming this thread to something like
“TH-X00/TR-X00/E-MU Teak/Denon biodynamic general discussion (formerly Drop discontinuing Fostex TR-X00 line)”
so it’s easier for people to find what is I think inarguably this forum’s primary discussion thread for this topic? Just a thought.