Fostex TH900 Impressions & Discussion Thread - Page 248

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magick Man 

Naughty anime?

.......wife comes in...

Quote:

Originally Posted by dukeskd 

If electronic music is your main concern, I think the TH900 is one of the best cans for that genre. In my opinion, the TH900 squash the LCD-2 in the electronic genre enjoyability because there are many advantages: sound stage, bass quantity + quality, treble that the LCD-2 will never approach. The TH900 also gives you a sense of a sub-bass "rumble", something that all open-based cans cannot reproduce because of the inherent design. I believe that makes electronic music even more enjoyable.

+1. I had LCD-2 and 3 for quite a while, but they always lacked "kick/something" with electronic. Even with +6dB bass eq etc which I commonly used. Yeah the subbass was fantastic, but overall TH900 always ended up on my head. I never eq anymore since they are pretty perfectly balanced to me, gotta love the pressure from closed phones.

edit: added missing quote..

Would you recommend the TH-900 together with a HD 800? Would they "complement" each other? Is the TH-900 harder to amp than the HD 800?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fegefeuer 

Would you recommend the TH-900 together with a HD 800? Would they "complement" each other? Is the TH-900 harder to amp than the HD 800?

No - not at all..

That's a perfect open can - closed can combo..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fegefeuer 

Would you recommend the TH-900 together with a HD 800? Would they "complement" each other? Is the TH-900 harder to amp than the HD 800?

I think those two would complement each other well, because they are very opposite sounding headphones. The TH900 is colored yet euphonic, and works better with a wider range of genres including mainstream pop, rock, and electronica. The HD800 on the other hand is neutral and clinical, perfect for classic and jazz.

Thank you both. 

One last question: How would the soundstage compare to the LCD-2, D7000 and HD 800. Is it closer towards the latter or LCD-2?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fegefeuer 

Thank you both. 

 

One last question: How would the soundstage compare to the LCD-2, D7000 and HD 800. Is it closer towards the latter or LCD-2?

IMO closer to the D7000.  Not as large as the HD800,  While larger and better than the LCD-2..

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Originally Posted by preproman 

 

IMO closer to the D7000.  Not as large as the HD800,  While larger and better than the LCD-2..

Agreed, closer to the D7000... but still larger than it. Definitely isn't as large as the HD800, but in between the D7000 and HD800, especially with a good amp/dac.

The Fostex review is up at Headfonia.

http://www.headfonia.com/fostex-th900-and-th600/

Love his review on the th900..  Was surprise that burson, Pam am and Fostex HP-A8 didn't cut it for him.. so bad that he wasn't interested in reviewing it till he brought in the big guns ...that bakoons amp to show what th900 is capable of..

i wonder what his take with zana duex se.

interesting stuff.. Absolutely love this review.

Nevermind he did mention this..

"Without the Bakoon I probably would not consider owning the Fostex. Still if I have a Zana around, it probably would be an even better pairing."

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Originally Posted by songmic 

The Fostex review is up at Headfonia.

http://www.headfonia.com/fostex-th900-and-th600/

I like his review, but I'm curious about his description of the TH900 having a black background:

I don't think I've read any other review or impression mention the black background before with regards to the TH900.  This description is usually seen in Amp or DAC reviews, as it describes the ability of various source equipment of presenting a clean signal without the presence of hiss or extraneous noise.  To read that particular headphones, by themselves, can exhibit a black background more than others is news to me?

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Originally Posted by sunninho 

 

I like his review, but I'm curious about his description of the TH900 having a black background:

 

I don't think I've read any other review or impression mention the black background before with regards to the TH900.  This description is usually seen in Amp or DAC reviews, as it describes the ability of various source equipment of presenting a clean signal without the presence of hiss or extraneous noise.  To read that particular headphones, by themselves, can exhibit a black background more than others is news to me?

Agreed, the term black background usually applies to DAC's or more commonly, amps. Considering the TH900's high sensitivity, one would find it counterintuitive to say that the TH900 has a blacker background than the likes of LCD-2. However, I owned and compared both the TH900 and LCD-2, and I can see where Mike is coming from in his statement. I think it's a characteristic of the TH900 that is often overlooked by its other strengths. The TH900 indeed sounds very clean and free of grain compared to most other flagship headphones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunninho 
I don't think I've read any other review or impression mention the black background before with regards to the TH900.  This description is usually seen in Amp or DAC reviews, as it describes the ability of various source equipment of presenting a clean signal without the presence of hiss or extraneous noise.  To read that particular headphones, by themselves, can exhibit a black background more than others is news to me?

I know exactly what that reviewer was trying to say. Most headphones don't contrast active sound vs silence very well. It's usually only the especially high-quality ones that are able to really highlight the relationship of silence versus music. For me this aspect is most evident with ambient electronica - as it sounds way better on headphones that are capable of such signal purity & clarity. The sample set of headphones that can portray an ambient-electronica layer that comes from nowhere and disappears back into nothingness, along with a sense of that nothingness, is really small. Literally most headphones I've heard are incapable of that kind of sound and for me neither the Audeze or TH900 really do it either (so I disagree with the reviewer). The set of headphones that I'd call capable of it are this few: Sony Qualia 010, Stax SR-007 (and SR-009), Sennheiser HD800.

Edit: to correct myself from a previous version of this post, I call this aspect of a headphone its "blackness" if that makes any sense. Most headphones don't have deep, abyss-level "black" silence levels where you can really hear the effect of a lack of signal. Once you move up to something like the HD800, the shortcomings of all other posers become obvious.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr 

 

I know exactly what that reviewer was trying to say. Most headphones don't contrast active sound vs silence very well. It's usually only the especially high-quality ones that are able to really highlight the relationship of silence versus music. For me this aspect is most evident with ambient electronica - as it sounds way better on headphones that are capable of such signal purity & clarity. The sample set of headphones that can portray an ambient-electronica layer that comes from nowhere and disappears back into nothingness, along with a sense of that nothingness, is really small. Literally most headphones I've heard are incapable of that kind of sound and for me neither the Audeze or TH900 really do it either (so I disagree with the reviewer). The set of headphones that I'd call capable of it are this few: Sony Qualia 010, Stax SR-007 (and SR-009), Sennheiser HD800.

 

Edit: to correct myself from a previous version of this post, I call this aspect of a headphone its "blackness" if that makes any sense. Most headphones don't have deep, abyss-level "black" silence levels where you can really hear the effect of a lack of signal. Once you move up to something like the HD800, the shortcomings of all other posers become obvious.

Maybe the new 'Abyss' headphones solve this problem fpr $5000?

Anyway, a black background is up for interpretation by the listeners themselves. From what you are describing here, especially the part when sound appears from nowhere, is more a feature of how dynamic the headphone is, is it not? From the headphones I own, the Stax SR-009 achieves this perfectly.