Premium RP planar magnetic driver mounted in a solid wood housing finished with “Aizome,” a traditional Japanese dyeing method

The flagship of the RP headphone lineup

This product is the flagship of the RP headphone lineup, carefully assembled at a factory in Japan with the latest Fostex-developed premium grade RP planar magnetic driver built into a solid wood housing dyed with Aizome indigo from Tokushima, known as the representative indigo dyeing process in Japan.  The one-of-a-kind texture of the traditional Aizome, which brings out the beauty of the individually different wood grain, and Fostex’s RP technology, a flat diaphragm used for 50 years, play together in this headphone flagship.
*RP and RP technology are Fostex’s proprietary technologies that move the entire surface of the planar diaphragm in regular phase (Regular Phase).

Premium RP planar magnetic driver

The RP technology planar diaphragm driver technology, developed in 1974 and continually refined ever since, has a newly developed planar diaphragm, much larger than the conventional RP driver used in T50RPmk3/mk4. In addition to increasing the number of magnets that sandwich the diaphragm and a newly designed pattern and shape for the printed coil, the magnetic circuit components have been redesigned to optimize the magnetic flux distribution. All of these work together to suppress unwanted resonance in the diaphragm. This simultaneously achieves high sensitivity, smooth frequency response, and excellent transient characteristics, enabling accurate and delicate reproduction from heavy bass to high frequencies, and the ability to express a clear sound image in space with a clear sense of localization.

Hard maple solid wood housing finished with “Aizome”, a traditional Japanese dyeing method

The solid hard maple wood housing, known as a material for guitars, is dyed with Awa Aizome from Tokushima, which has long been valued for its high-quality dyeing. The wood is carefully dyed one by one by skilled craftspersons, resulting in a deep indigo colour that beautifully reveals the unique grain of the hard maple wood. Dyeing with Aizome, made exclusively from the indigo plant, allows the hard maple’s density and specific gravity to take advantage of its properties that do not add unnecessary colour to the sound, allowing the player to use a firm, deep bass range and clear, extended treble range.

About dyeing with Awa Aizome

Genuine indigo, the dye used in Aizome, is a natural dye with a long history in Japan. It was even used in ukiyoe prints from the Edo period. Among indigo dyes, Tokushima’s Awa Aizome has long been known throughout Japan as an indispensable dye for high-end dyed goods because of its rich and luxurious appearance. The TH1000RP and TH1100RP housings are dyed with Aizome made exclusively from natural tade indigo, which does not damage wood and is repeatedly applied by hand and over days, with a period to cure in between. During this process, changes in temperature and humidity affect the drying of the dye, and the conditions under which the fine colour particles penetrate the wood structure vary depending on the grain of each housing. The result is a one-of-a-kind housing with a deep blue hue unique to indigo, while the smooth grain of the maple wood beautifully emerges, and the texture of each housing is completely different, even from left to right.

* Genuine indigo used to dye the housing is also used as part of the blue in Hokusai Katsushika’s ” Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji “.

7N grade cable for internal wiring and highly reliable detachable connector port

The removable connector on the headphone body, as well as the detachable connector terminal, are both rhodium-plated terminals. Balanced connection is also supported with the optional XLR terminal cable (ET-H3.0N7BL), and a 4.4 mm balanced cable (ET-TH4.4BL) is also planned for release.