Drivers:

The first and most significant choice we are offering is whether you would like drivers with magnets on one side or both sides.  At first glance this may seem like a small difference, but the impact on sound is rather significant.  The development of the dual-sided design ran in parallel with our single sided designs and took almost an additional 6 months of development.  By getting custom magnets made as thin as possible we have achieved a significantly higher performance driver and - along with optimizations to the frame – is even lighter than the single sided drivers!  The only downside is time to build and cost.  Subjectively I describe single-sided as a mild v-shape tuning and double-sided as truly neutral. 

V2 update: As highlighted in our news section, our drivers have been revised to improve efficiency and technical performance. Also the baffle design for SS has been tweaked to reduce the distance between driver and ear, which has increased sensitivity for SS more than DS. So now DS and SS are very close in sensitivity both around 80db/mW in my testing. By using new, higher quality gold we were able to optimize the traces and increase efficiency at approximately the same impedance. With the updated chassis and jack design the drivers are now user replaceable as well with no soldering required.

Cables:

The cable termination options are XLR (balanced), 4.4 Pentaconn (balanced), and 6.35mm (single-ended).  All options are premium Viking-Weave cables! Contact us or Viking Weave directly if you would like to order an upgraded cable.

V2 update: We are now using a new PCB mounting system for the jack and the jack hole is slightly larger to improve compatibility with third party cables, especially those with larger barrels. It is recommended to use cables with barrels in the 9-10mm range.

Grills:

Our default grills will be “Tungsten” colored aluminum that has been painted with Cerakote ceramic coating.  Cerakote offers a durable finish in a wide variety of colors. We are currently offering a selection of grill colors you can choose from at no additional cost. Check out our grill page for more options! Grills are compatible with both V1 and V2 chassis.

Pads: The default pads for single-sided are the ZMF Caldera hybrid pads. The default pads for double-sided are the ZMF Caldera Ultra-perf pads. Pads are easily swap-able with our magnetic pad mounting system. If you would like a different pad from the default please leave a note when ordering. If you would like to purchase a different set of pads with adapters please check the link below. While the pad adapters have been tweaked for V2, both adapters and all pads are compatible with both V1 and V2.

https://www.modhouseaudio.com/pads/caldera-pads-with-adapter-plates-for-tungsten

Case: The default case is now a hard travel case (similar to a pelican case) with pick and pluck foam.

Chassis: Our chassis is designed for comfort, modularity, and user serviceability. The headband is made of spring steel (hand formed and forged by us), the rods are stainless steel made by a local machine shop, and the rest of the chassis parts are made out of MJF nylon in California. This material works especially well with cerakote, which is absorbed into the surface to form a durable coating while keeping low weight and the design advantages of 3D printing. Now for V2 our default finish is a new UV powder coating finish that is thicker and more consistent than cerakote while having even better scratch resistance in our testing. We first tested this finish with some recent V1 orders with good results, but now with V2 we have purchased a custom coating formulation that is more matte in appearance and feel, which we think is even better. As far as we know we are the first to use this process for consumer 3D printed parts. The weight for V2 has also been reduced by about 20 grams. The new headband also has a lighter and more consistent clamp force.

A long journey and a team effort:

Work began on Tungsten over three years ago after the release of the T60 Argons. After years of tuning Fostex drivers, the next step forward would be to begin work on a totally custom design. After initially working with dynamic drivers, we weren’t able to get the sound we wanted and began work on a custom planar driver. While researching designs for planar drivers, Ryan discovered Matt from Torac Audio. Utilizing Matt’s knowledge with Ryan’s ideas, we began work on a series of custom designs. After 3 long years of trial and error and almost a dozen major revisions, we have now achieved something we are proud to bring to the market.

Tungsten goes for the gold

Through multiple driver versions with a variety of materials, we found 24k gold to be the most rewarding.  Additionally, we opted to use custom magnets designed to be as thin and acoustically transparent as possible.  We are also proud to announce we have finished our first double-sided driver design, which uses magnets on both sides of the diaphragm.  This has resulted in a stronger and more uniform magnetic field to deliver even higher performance than was possible with a single-sided magnet array. 

While planar drivers have typically been lower impedance in the past, the creation process of the Tungsten led to a driver with a significantly higher impedance than normal.  While this makes them harder to drive for most amplifiers, it has allowed us to achieve a higher level of performance than we otherwise could. 

An issue some enthusiasts have faced is being able to pair the performance of planar drivers with the high output impedance of certain tube amps. The characteristic high impedance of Tungsten bridges that gap, allowing users to pair them with their favorite amps of any design. Due to the combination of high impedance and low sensitivity some care will have to be taken in choosing amp pairings.  Because the double sided drivers are going to be higher impedance on average and require about 30% less current to achieve the same volume as single sided, we recommend choosing double sided drivers for tube amp usage.  Please see further down the page for amplifier guidelines and examples.

A lot of high performance planar and electrostatic headphones have had to make trade-offs between technical performance, timbre, and tonal balance.  Tungsten seeks to achieve the best balance of these traits to provide the most well-rounded experience possible. 

Pads designed with acoustics in mind

After drivers, pads usually have the biggest impact on sound, so the decision was not taken lightly. An early partner in this project was Dekoni Audio. One of the first designs for pads for the Tungsten was the Xenon pads now featured on the T60 Argons. The first six versions of the Tungsten were all designed with these pads in mind. Through multiple successive generations, it was found a new design was needed. ZMF then offered us samples of an alternate version of their new patent pending Caldera pads to try on a prototype Tungsten. These pads are characterized by an asymmetrical Left/Right format that is fluted and provides a natural seal on the ear. These have been our pad of choice and are licensed through ZMF headphones for the Tungsten. Additionally, to allow for easy swapping the pads were fitted with a magnetic backing. This allows for an easier, cleaner fit as well as a better seal. After additional feedback it was decided that the ZMF Caldera Hybrid pads should be the default for single-sided drivers and the ZMF Caldera Ultra-perf pads should be the default for double-sided drivers.

Big sound, Light weight

There's nothing worse than finding a headphone that sounds just right only to have it cause hotspots or discomfort. Tungsten has been designed to offer a premium experience for comfort as well as longevity of the headphones. Like the drivers, the headband went through multiple successive versions to achieve optimal comfort. Each headband is made of hand-forged spring steel. The head strap features hand stitched genuine Alcantara.  To provide options for adjustment, Tungsten features stainless steel rods that allow for multiple settings as well as holding up to years of wear and tear.  Each part is also designed to be modular and user-serviceable (except for the drivers).

A one-of-a-kind cable

Through partnering with Viking Weave Cables, the Tungsten comes with a specially designed custom cable to match the performance of the headphones. The Gebo (X) cable uses a PVC Dielectric with 22 awg core and 22 awg shield of OFC Copper. 

The cups were designed with great cables in mind. For ergonomic, aesthetic, and durability the jacks were integrated into the cups and will fit cables of a variety of thicknesses and plugs. They use the standard pinout as many other 3.5mm offerings allowing the same cable to be used for a variety of headphones.  While any barrel size up to 10mm is supported, a barrel of 9mm or larger is recommended.  This is part of the reason we recommend Viking Weave and Double Helix Cables. 

The default termination is 4-pin XLR, with 4.4 mm Pentaconn and 6.35 mm TRS available upon request.

A premium package

We have decided to standardize on a pelican-style case as the default for Tungsten. This offers better protection in shipping than the boxes we were previously using.

Specifications 

·       Double-sided:

·       Weight: 500g

·       Impedance: 150 ohm average 

·       Sensitivity: 80 dB/mW average

·       Single-sided:

·       Weight 500g

·       Impedance: 140 ohm average

·       Sensitivity: 79db/mW

·       Cable: 6ft 4-pin XLR, OCC Copper Litz