Modhouse Tungsten

A handcrafted masterpiece with a natural sound signature

The Mod house Tungsten is the latest headphone from Mod house Audio and is one of the most hyped headphones in the market. There is at least a 6-month delay if you were to order one from their website.

Mod House Audio are a small boutique brand previously best known for its meticulously handcrafted modifications of some classic headphones. But with the Tungsten they moved to a different level, designing a headphone from scratch using 3D printing to handcraft this headphone exactly they way they wanted, and it shows.

I’ve been listening to the Tungsten for the past few months, and I’m genuinely shock by how good its sounds especially once you give it the power it deserves. It is also one of the few headphones I have heard that does not need, in my opinion, any EQ to sound fantastic.

Mod house have delivered a headphone that not only comfortable, visually striking but also offers a sound signature that blends some warmth, lots of detail, and a spacious soundstage.

Before getting into the details on the sound, lets get into the unboxing experience.

Unboxing Experience

The Tungsten comes in simple yet functional “fishing tackle” like box, that reflects Mod house’s artisanal approach:

Open this box reveals the Tungstens protected with some foam packaging:

Removing the foam you see the headband and a small pouch containing the cable:

While it doesn’t have the elaborate unboxing experience of mass-market brands, the focus is clearly on the headphone itself.

Inside the box, you’ll find: • The Modhouse Tungsten headphones • A high-quality braided cable (available with different terminations) • A soft carrying pouch • A warranty card and care instructions

Modhouse online checkout process does offer a range of customization options, including different cables and headbands, allowing you to tailor the Tungsten to your preferences. The most important customisation is whether you want a single-sided or double-sided model. I borrowed a single-sided model for this review, I will show some measurements comparisons later of both models but my impressions in this review are based on that single sided model.

Design, Build Quality, and Comfort

The Modhouse Tungsten is a visual interesting headphone:

But a little rough to the touch where you can really feel that 3D printed finish:

Build Quality

So while it is built with a strong emphasis on durability, some may find raw finish compared to the finely polished finishes of many mainstream flagship models at similar price ranges.

And, for example, when compared with the Mirph1 that I recently review (another 3D printed ‘Artisal headphone’), the Tungsten feels ‘cheaper’ even though it is double the price:

However, this design choice aligns well with the Tungsten’s identity—purpose-driven, practical, and built to perform rather than simply to impress with visual refinement.

The steel rods used for adjustments feel sturdy and are designed for long-term durability.

The headband strap, made of genuine Alcántara, offers a soft and plush feel, preventing hot spots on the head despite the 520-gram weight.

Though not the lightest headphones around, the Tungsten distributes its weight well, allowing for extended listening sessions without discomfort.

Cable quality

The Viking-Weave cables provided with the Tungsten are exceptional, some of the nicest cables I have used:

I love the feel of the cable:

And the splitter is high quality:

It comes with some quality dual 3.5mm terminations:

The specific one that came with the Tungsten I borrowed as the XLR cable:

And it looks great in the Tungsten:

Comfort

Comfort is one of the Tungsten’s strong points. The earcups are large and well-padded, providing ample room for your ears to breathe. These are the stock ZMF Caldera Hybrid pads:

The earpads are made from plush memory foam and covered in high-quality velour or leather, depending on your preference.

Each earpads is attached via strong magnets which clever attach in the right location so the driver grills are aligned for the best sound quality:

Magents on back of earpads:	Alignment on the earcups:

There is a cloth cover protecting the driver which you can see clearer in this photo:

Power requirements

Before I get into my subjective opinions I thought it would be useful to highlight the unique power requirements of the Tungsten.

Note: this information was originally provided in a post by Solderdude over on ASR, but I thought these recommendations were the most sensible and realistic way to describe powering the Tungsten, as there are lots of “subjective” opinions around the internet.

120dB peak SPL

• To achieve 120dB peak SPL (impressively loud levels - don’t listen this loud):
• Requires 50V, equivalent to 300W from an 8-ohm amplifier.

120dB peak SPL

• For 110dB peak SPL (loud levels - also too loud for even though this is peak):
• Requires 16V, equivalent to 30W from an 8-ohm amplifier.

100dB peak SPL

• For 100dB peak SPL (comfortable loud levels):
• Requires 5V, which is achievable with a headphone amplifier capable of delivering 80mW into 300 ohms or 0.8W into 32 ohms.

These power requirements underline the importance of pairing the Tungsten with a capable amplifier to unlock its full potential, but also that you can listen at comfortable levels without ‘breaking the bank’ for expensive headphone amplifiers, for example, a Schiit Midgard will get the Tungsten to comfortable listening levels.

For the past few weeks though, I mainly used the Tungsten with the FiiO K17:

At about 80 on Medium gain I could power the Tungsten to very decent levels using the K17, so lots of headphone for both EQ and tracks with large dynamic range.

But it worked comfortable well with the other 2 amplifiers in the first photo, specifically the Schiit Midgard and the JDS Labs Element IV.

I was even able to power it to reasonable listening levels (roughly 80dB SPL) using a FiiO JM21 DAP via its balanced (capabale of 500mW of power at high gain), this provided enough power for some portable listening on a few walks around my neighbourhood, but this was on max power. Basically, expect to need a decent desktop headphone to power it to good levels especially with some headroom (for high dynamic range tracks and EQ).

Sound Quality

The Modhouse Tungsten delivers a natural sound signature with excellent detail retrieval and a spacious soundstage. It’s a headphone that feels equally at home with delicate acoustic tracks and more dynamic, bass-heavy genres.

Bass

The bass on the Tungsten is deep and well-controlled, with a slight emphasis that adds warmth without overpowering the rest of the frequency range. Tracks like “Billie Eilish – Bad Guy” showcase the Tungsten’s ability to deliver punchy, textured sub-bass that feels satisfying and immersive.

Midrange

The midrange is natural and slightly forward, making vocals and instruments sound lifelike and engaging. Listening to “Norah Jones – Don’t Know Why” is a treat, as her voice is rendered with exceptional clarity and warmth.

Treble

The treble is smooth and detailed, with a slight roll-off that prevents harshness. This makes the Tungsten a non-fatiguing headphone, even during long listening sessions. Tracks like “Vivaldi’s Four Seasons” highlight the Tungsten’s ability to handle high-frequency detail with finesse.

Soundstage and Imaging

The open-back design gives the Tungsten an expansive soundstage that rivals more expensive headphones. Imaging is precise, allowing you to easily locate instruments and vocals within the soundscape. Tracks like “Pink Floyd – Money” demonstrate the Tungsten’s excellent spatial capabilities.

Specifications and Measurements

There are subtle differences between the Single Sided and Double Sided Tungstens so I thought it might be useful to put them in a table:

Measurements

Note: Measurements were taken using my KB501X soft ear Pinna and a 711 clone coupler. Data is available on my measurement database here.

Frequency Response

The Tungsten has an exceptional smooth bass and midrange response:

It also has that now popular 1K-2K “soundstage” dip.

Here are some comparisons with some of my other headphones:

I highlighted a few areas:

1. The Bass, the Mirph1 was tuned to give a little bass boost, while the HD800s in this comparison has replacement pads which did bring the sub-bass down but both the XS and the Tungsten have exceptional linear bass
2. All these headphones go for that recess in the 1K-2K region for “soundstage”
3. The Mirph1 has gone for a different treble tuning but the other 3 measure similar treble but, if I listen using a sweep, the Tungsten has no obviously treble peaks or dips while all these other headphones did have some HRTF artifacts, so specifically for me, I would say the Tunsgsten has the best treble.

I also decided to measure some simple amplifiers at their maximum output to see the level and if there was any frequency response changes (there wasn’t):

So the US Apple usb-c and the FiiO JA11 ‘dongles’ were not really able to power it to any sufficient listening level, but the JM21 DAP as I mentioned earlier could get it to a decent level on max gain and the top measurement here was the FiiO K17 on medium gain at about 60.

Distortion

Distortion levels are impressively low across the frequency range with no peaks:

And as a percentage:

Rating

The Modhouse Tungsten totally deserves a pragmatic 5-star rating, while not cheap it delivers on sound quality and comfort to levels that are very hard to match at any price. It is the first headphone I have reviewed that I feel is properly “Endgame” for sound quality, where it needs no EQ adjustments at least to my tastes. While it is a little on the heavy side and the rough 3D printed feel does slightly let’s down compared to similar priced headphones from Meze, ZMF or Audeze, I still feel this headphone easily justify its price.

Conclusion

The Modhouse Tungsten is a beautifully crafted headphone that combines the best of artisanal design with outstanding sound quality. Whether you’re an audiophile looking for a warm and natural headphone or a music lover seeking a comfortable, well-built option, the Tungsten is an excellent choice.

Its combination of great sound, build quality, and modularity makes it a standout in it any price range, and it’s a headphone I highly recommend checking out and one that I will miss when I return it to its owner.