Fostex TH900 Impressions & Discussion Thread - Page 164

Mine are 315 from a few months ago from Drew. Congrats to you and Asr both. Not a better closed dynamic on earth. dudeskd, I also listen to quita a bit of electronic. These could very well be the best headphones on planet Earth for any kind of EDM. Listening to 009, I would prefer the TH900 in most cases. 

Some impressions from listening the past few hours, I haven't gone much into detail of the spectrum but more into the soundstage, since that is the easiest to judge from the get go.

I have to reiterate that these are quite better than the good ol' Denon D7000. In soundstage, controlled treble + bass, they will win any head-to-head comparison. One area that the TH900 may be equal or less is impact (especially with D7000's sibling D5000), but that isn't much of an issue for me.

I am quite surprised by the soundstage, compared to the JVC HP-DX1000, the TH900s has a linear width and height that can get quite expansive when the music calls for it. As for the JVC DX1ks, they have enormous width but a quite narrow height dimension to the sound. The 3D placing of instruments is very well done and I am surprised that closed-back cans can achieve all these qualities but Fostex has accomplished it (comparing to the LCD-2s that are open-back but lack highly in soundstage).

 

 

*duke . And I agree, EDM is amazing with the TH900s.

Edited by dukeskd - 11/23/12 at 5:30pm

Yea I feel the same way, the soundstage for the TH900 as a closed phone is quite remarkable - the best I've heard for closed and among the best even when you throw in open phones.. congrats.

 

I also listen to a lot of electronic with the TH900s - they are excellent headphones for that genre just as the D7000s were.

Would anyone be able to compare the soundstage of the TH900 and the Sony CD3000? I've been comparing the soundstage between my D7000 and my CD3000. The CD3000 has a very wide soundstage (similar to the R10) and the D7000 has deep soundstage but not as wide.

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum and too audiophile, I'm very excited about buying my new headphones. I've narrowed it to two pairs, and would like some advice if i can.

 

I read just about everything I can on the Audeze LCD3 and Fostex TH900, just can't decide. I think i would prefer open rather than closed but I also want comfort.  Are the LCD3 uncomfortable for long listening sessions, and are the TH900s in the same league as the lcd3s

 

the dac I use is a asus xonar essence one, more then likely will be upgraded later on.  However I'm very happy with it, it runs my 10 year old Pioneer SE-DJ 5000 flawlessly

I had an LCD2 for a month and swore never to buy any orthos's again for both SQ (or the complete lack thereof) and discomfort reasons.
I don't have a TH900 yet but had two LA7000 (the so called older and lesser siblings of the TH900).
No, they're not in the same league as LCD, they're way, way above!
All is IMO and YMMV of course.
And yes, I worded it rather strongly but that's exactly the way I feel about the phones you're asking about.

 

Hi Gandah and welcome to Head-Fi. The first thing I'd recommend you do is audition these headphones for yourself if you can, as we have individual preferences when it comes to sound and comfort.

 

Personally, I prefer the TH900 to the LCD3 in both areas. The TH900 is the most comfortable headphone I've worn and lighter in weight than the LCD3. It is also more efficient making it less amp dependent. Surprisingly, it doesn't sound like a closed phone to me compared to the LCD3.

Edited by unspool - 11/26/12 at 7:46am

Great!

 

Just as I'm about settled on the LCD-3 , the TH900 enters my orbit

I already have the LA7000's , but if the TH900 are THAT GOOD, and require no after market cable.....

Maybe I should just get the Fostex and re cable my T1's

 

Have there been any "issues" with the TH900's after purchase?

I have become a little gun shy regarding the LCD-3 , due to discussions regarding veiling and driver issues

no driver issues though there have been a few head-fi'ers that had a swivel cup issue where the cups would not swivel proportionally - from my understanding it does not cause any issue to audio and most have not gone after a fix as its a very small problem. Personally I have not had the swivel problem, but I can attest to the finish being very scratch resistant which is a good thing. I personally prefer the sound and comfort of the stock TH900s to the stock LCD3s.

Last night I decided to chill out with my TH900's, but the only source i had available was my Galaxy S3. I feel a little sheepish posting about this in a high end forum,  but i have to say that the TH900's did not disappoint! True to their ability to be easily driven they just delivered the audio fix i was needing.  Keep in mind I was listening to SomaFM so we are not talking high quality here, but that listening experience just solidified even more my love for these cans. .... Wish i was wearing them right now.... 

Yes, just by looking at the TH900 you can easily tell that they are more comfortable. As far as needing more power to run the LCD3 I don't think it will be a major concern in regards to the Xonar essence one.  Asus say they based there DAC design to some degree around the HD800, if this is true then it should not be a problem driving the LCD3's.  However sound signature with this combination of both TH900 and LCD3 could be a different story altogether, although there are great tutorials on the web, and on this forum on how-to change the sound signature of the essence one with it's swappable OP-amps, which I will more then likely get to once I decide on the headphones.

 

If anyone has the Essence one or has used it with the TH900 or LCD3, your thoughts would be much appreciated

Yeah...I think you're wasting your $ on either headphone if the Essence is gonna be your amp and source. Sorry...you'll be leaving a lot of cards on the table. Its fine for say the HD598 or anything in that range. Have a look at the rigs people put ahead of top flight headphones in terms of amping, dacs, sources, etc... The Asus is a non-starter with the TH-900s and especially the LCD-3s. As a short term stop gap, then it might barely do IMHO. 

Edited by MacedonianHero - 11/26/12 at 7:35pm

Yep I understand where you are coming from, and if I had my time over I would more than likely done more research, hence a different DAC.  However I would not of discovered audiophile equipment if it was not for the Essence one and my senn HD598 braking lol.. funny for you to mention them.  So yes in the not so distant future I will be looking for a top flight DAC.  For now Essence one is what I Have.

Edited by Gandah - 11/26/12 at 9:15pm

Don't succumb into peer pressure. I've gone all the way from Fiio E10 to V800/V200 and pretty much the only OMG moment I've yet had was with Realiser which had nothing to do with amps and dacs. But yeah we are in the high end forum so the differences MUST be always mind blowing. 

Gandah, the LCD3 is not as efficient as the HD800 and requires higher gain and power. The TH900 is very efficient and should play better with your current rig. MacedonianHero makes a good point though, headphones like the LCD3, HD800 and the TH900 will respond to a better quality source and amp. However, the TH900 is a forgiving headphone and should sound pretty impressive out of what you already have (as Audio Jester has found). So you can enjoy it now knowing that it has the potential to sound even better.    

Edited by unspool - 11/26/12 at 11:24pm