I have always been curious about a bass heavy set of headphones for the times I like to get carried away with Electronic, EDM, or Dubstep listening aka Burning Man music. It’s not something I would want to dump a ton of money into. Are they good for all genre of music or really just for bass heavy genre?
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I listen to everything on them, really. EDM, Blues, classic rock, metal core, progressive metal, a touch of jazz, etc… It’s pretty good for all of the above, provided you aren’t being super analytical and just want a fun toe tapping engagement… with a crap ton of bass.
It doesn’t give you the mids of the Aeolus or HD650 though, that’s for darn sure.
Sound difference in a nutshell: E-Mu Teak is a dance club. Aeolus is a fine concert hall.
AND… to kind of put this back on topic, I have no idea what the Teak sounds like compared to a Lawton modded version. Might find out one of these days.
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So what about Fostex Lawton mod or Emu Teak or a ZMF Ori for your inner bass head?
The Ori is a different beast. It is the least planar sounding planar that I’ve heard. It has tons of impact and kick. …but it still doesn’t have the subwoofer air displacement quality of the Teak.
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So the Foster driver is regarded for its broad frequency response. That can be good and bad.
The highs can be harsh to put it mildly. What the Lawton mod does is that it brings a more neutral response to the headphone.
It’s done in three part; a “TuneUp” kit that addresses resonances behind the driver (basically acoustic foam on sticky tape), the pads used (but many use ZMF pad because, well they’re ZMF pads, which also affect FR), and lastly, the Lawton Chambers (cups).
The chambers are the most expensive component of the mod. Mark Lawton uses a mix of exotic and more traditional “tone woods”. They’re much larger than the standard cups than that of any of the Foster driver headphone. Remembering that the woods are really the only difference between Foster driver headphones, this in theory would make the largest difference in sound quality.
He has a whole “Tone Wheel” selector on his website.
https://www.lawtonaudio.com/tonewheel.html
I went with Marbled East Indian Rosewood (Type 4), which is still in the curing process (it’s the last pair available from this particular wood blank).
@PapaEmeritus has completed a few full Lawton Mods. He’d be the one to ask regarding their sonic qualities.
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Actually, Mark Lawton would be the man to ask! 
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Josh Valor has described listening to music through different headphones as looking at something through different lenses. I agree.
It comes down to personal preference and what is important to you as a listener, and trying to attain a headphone that will allow you to hear your music the way you expect it to sound. Some prefer detail retrieval, some prefer a natural timbre or a neutral frequency response (whatever that is). You might not even know what you’re chasing until you find it.
Anyway, if you’re interested in what a TR-X00 has to offer, I highly suggest you watch Josh’s review of the TR-X00 Ebony. I personally agree with everything he states in this review, and I currently own three TR-X00s. I was never even interested in the TR-X00 until this review. Good luck getting your hands on one!
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I have actually seen that review! 
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I like this review more. (Sorry Josh)
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I haven’t seen this review thanks @ProfFalkin !
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So my Chambers finally arrived!
I’m happy with how they turned out. As a quick background I intended to order these much sooner, but I had procrastinated and ended up with the final pair turned from the wood sample (hence the asymmetry). I still really like them and as with many wooden headphones, these are very difficult to photograph!
Marbled East Indian Rosewood.
I played around a bit with the color to try and make the photos as accurate as possible. Oddly, I got the cups down pretty close, but the mat that they’re on is much greener (saturated) than when photographed. I don’t get it.
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That’s a brave guinea pig!! One for all and all for one!!
Love it!! I had more than 20 at some point when I was a kid.
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Haha. He sure is.
My son is allergic to cats and dogs, so we ‘settled’ with rodents! 
Hamsters and now a guinea pig.
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Here’s another photo. The white speckles are pieces of foam packing peanuts. They kept sticking (static)!
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This is exciting! Can’t wait to hear how the mods turn out for you. I’ve been contemplating a doing more tinkering with the Fostex headphones and doing a Lawton mod.
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Thanks, I’m looking forward to it! 
I’ll definitely post the build with photos and write up a review afterwards.
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Fostex TH-610 Lawton Mod
I finally received my Fostex TH-610 for the mod.
It took me longer than I had anticipated to decide on which model Fostex to use for the mod. The TH-900 mk2 has the more powerful 1.5 Tesla magnet structure which translates to roughly more of everything sonically. That’s quite appealing, but the $1599 MSRP wasn’t. Since it’s a project on a headphone I’ve never heard (crazy, huh?), I decided to go with the much more affordable TH-610 with its 1(+) Tesla drivers.
The TH-610 is a more neutrally tuned Foster driver headphone. When I first received the 610 I was pleasantly surprised by it’s sound. Very resolving, with a wide sweeping, U-shaped sound. Just a touch of brightness. Boy do these have detail… I’d say more so than my previous detail-king Focal Clear (which are an excellent headphone).
The 610 paired wonderfully with the Chord Hugo TT2 I have on hand (thanks to a loaner program of which I was invited by fellow forum member @jb77- thanks Jeremy!). It really revealed the capabilities of both devices.
I had planned to keep them stock while I listened over the weekend so I would have a better sense of the changes made by modding them, but after a few hours of listening, I just couldn’t handle the tiny ear pads. My large ears were crammed into the small opening for far too long even though I was enjoying the sound, it was too uncomfortable to continue. I decided to swap the pads out for the ZMF Ori Lambskins. I also added Dekoni made attenuation rings designed for Fostex TH-610/TR-X00 (the Massdrop variants using the same drivers).
Man are the ZMF pads comfortable! I was able to continue listening without any discomfort, and with little change to the sound.
So today I wake up deciding to completely forgo my original plan since I already began to mod them the night before (pad swapping is a mod, right?).
Here are the photos I took during the mod. You can find similar photos on Mark Lawton’s website as that’s the only place to find instructions.
For the full mod you will need: Fostex TH900/TH610, Lawton Tune-Up kit, Lawton Custom Wood Chambers (cups), Lawton pads (I opted for ZMF based on their reputation and advice from members of various forums), and a Phillips screwdriver.
The Tune-Up kit consists of self adhesive strips that are essentially placed on the hard plastic surfaces of the driver housing/assembly. They are intended to reduce resonances in the driver chamber.
When you remove the pads this is what you’ll see underneath.
The stock cup removed. You can see the ‘gauze’ styled anti-resonance material.
The backside of the driver is exposed once you remove the stock cups.
This is where you apply the Tune-Up kit.
Here you can see the Tune-Up kit applied to the back of the driver.
For the TH-610 the kit consists of 3 pieces per driver.
This is where you add the most expensive Lawton component, and what I now affectionately call the “Boom-Room”.
You’ll notice that the Lawton Chamber uses a different style anti-resonance material compared to the stock cups.
After what amounted to about an hours worth of work (give or take a few minutes), you now have a completely modded Fostex TH-610!
Easy-peezy, lemon squeezy.
Shout out to my son whos desk I used for the mod.
Semi-Quick Take
It’s mostly what I initially heard in stock form. The highs have been slightly tamed, and there’s a little better separation. The soundstage which was already fairly wide for a closed-back (sort of) is now my own private little studio. Isolation stayed the same which wasn’t the best given that these aren’t a true closed-back.
Now the bass is another story. These Foster BioDyna drivers have excellent extension in both directions. To a point where if not implemented properly they can be too bright and too boomy.
What the Lawton Chambers essentially did was to create a subwoofer like enclosure that allowed the driver to really shine. It’s not boomy (don’t use any attenuation rings, it’ll make these unpleasant, and sloppy BassCanons). It’s present and very well extended.
I still need to further explore pads. I find the Ori’s to be to small for the better breathing updated drivers. I also think that I’ll benefit with a shallower pad. I’ll update when I receive new pads and add more photos.
With the combination of the Tune-Up and the Lawton Chambers I’m left with a better version of what the 610 was in stock form.
Was it worth it?
For me it was.
-Christopher
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I’m shocked! The 610 has much better padding on the backside of the driver than the TR-X00. The TR-X00 has none. You probably didn’t need the tune up kit at all starting with the 610.
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It was only 3 pieces per side. The stock 610 does a pretty good job at addressing resonances.
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