Fostex TH900 Impressions & Discussion Thread - Page 245

After having spent a good amount of time with the TH-900, I can safely say it is my favorite dynamic headphone I've heard to date. I'll say that coming from the Senn 598/800, the bass on the TH-900s was extremely disorienting to listen to at first. It didn't murk up the music, but the sheer quantity compared to what I had been using was fairly overwhelming. It's definitely not for everyone, and I can understand why a few Head-Fiers whose opinions I highly value ended up disposing of their TH-900s.

 

As for me, It took a while to get used to, but the TH-900 does something special. Much like the HD 598, it has an addicting sound signature that makes a lot of the songs I listen to an absolutely immersing experience. Luckily, that's exactly what listening to music is all about for me. This was a very worthwhile purchase. 

The TH900s are the choice (and now TH600s, too) if you want some "fun", but require crystalline clarity. That's their "party piece", their astoundingly low THD numbers.

I verify that the th900 is fun because I keep smiling non-stop each time I have it on.

 

The venerable LCD-3 is a serious piece of reference headphone, I know it cause I get frustrated and serious each time I have it on..audiophile people agrees too...definitely not fun at all... So I sell it and keep the fun phone.

 

I gave a pat on my shoulder for figuring all these out myself..

 

NO?

I can't comment about other high end headphones, but one thing I recenltly noticed that I like about the TH900 are the dynamics. Also, very often the "heavy" bass doesn't come up as overpowering in a sound sense, but I can physically feel a punch coming from the low end from within the cups which I love. Not generic disconnected bass "boom" shakers like in my D2000, but more immersive and it feels a part of the music. However, if I am in a more noisy environment or if I am fatigued, unfortunately the TH900 can sometimes eseem a bit shrill.
Edited by namaiki - 3/17/13 at 8:37pm

I also find the TH-900s to be fun.  I've owned the D7000s and those were fun also, but I've had more fun with my TH-900s than I ever did with the D7000s. :)

any comments abt the synergy of the WA7 w/the th900? I thought i read someone had purchased that pair recently.

 

I have the WA7 on order but it won't be here until the end of the month.

I'm baffled as to why your wouldn't plug the TH-900s into the Lyr.  Can you explain the problem to me.  Thanks

 

 It's too much power.  The Lyr is designed for very powerful headphones (orthos) and anything that doesn't require a lot of amplification can be damaged by it.  It states it on the product listing:

 

"Make no mistake: even though Lyr is the same size as Asgard and Valhalla, it’s one of the most powerful headphone amplifiers you can buy. We will not be responsible if you blow up your headphones with it!"

 

A lot of stuff on Schiit's website is humorous but in this regard they are being very serious.

 

Lyr is designed for headphones with low sensitivity, in other words headphones that demand a lot of power. Orthos such as LCD-2 or HE-6 are good examples. On the contrary, the TH900 is designed to be high sensitivity. It doesn't need the monstrous power of Lyr at all, in fact too much power can damage the headphones or degrade sonic performance.

 

What the TH900 needs is not the quantity of amplification, but high-quality amplification to truly shine.

D7k to TH-900 worth the jump in price? The th-900 are over my budget by quite a bit but if they are really good, I may consider. The d7k are at the tip of my budget.

 

That is hard to say.  The TH-900 is superior to the D7000 in the sense that you will be able to tell the difference in quality if you were to listen to both of them; even in a short 30 minute listening test.

 

If you were to use the TH-900 for a few weeks then step down to the D7000s, I am certain you would regret the decision.

 

If the D7000s are at the tip of your budget, then I would go with the D7000s.  If you want to have fun with your music rather than analyze it, then those cans were once the go-to, king of the hill, head phones for just that purpose.  As long as you never listen to the TH-900s, I can promise you will not be disappointed with the decision. :)

Well Token Dog, thanks for your input but here's the real problem. If I but the denon d7k, I would know that the lcd2 at the same price has better clarity and most probably sound more open. Unless, you say that the d7k and lcd2 are equal, are they?

I actually compare the d5k and hd650, same sit as Abv, but oh all the denon series have so satisfying bass.

So I was hoping the th-900 to have clarity and openess equal or better than any cans in its price range while having the awesome impact full and satisfying bass, but when I saw someone say the th-900 has less bass than the d7k I was kinda getting worried. Does it have more Midbass quantity and impact than say the LCD-2 or HD650 or d5k?