Fostex TH900 Impressions & Discussion Thread

[BrainFood]

My question was only about the 900's..   I guess they are going to be fine direct out a laptop, being that efficient

 

[MuppetFace]

I don't think cables make much of a difference---let alone a huge difference---in how headphones sound. That has just been my personal experience.
 
I would only ever re-cable if the stock cable were too annoying to deal with on a regular basis, such as on the D7000 where the stock cable kinks and twists up due to the way it comes packaged. The Japanese have an obsession of sorts with fabric jackets on their cables, and while it looks nicer than rubber aesthetically, I find it's less pleasant to use on a regular basis.
 
I definitely wouldn't re-cable either the W3000ANV and TH900 personally, unless you were going to reuse the jacks. The former has a lacquered wooden plug, whereas the latter is plated with a mirror platinum finish. If you ever wanted to resell either, recabling would greatly diminish their value as well, I think.

 

[MuppetFace]

 
Quote:

My question was only about the 900's..   I guess they are going to be fine direct out a laptop, being that efficient

 
 
They'll be fine as far as volume goes, no doubt about it. There's always a question of headroom though, and in that sense an amp certainly wouldn't hurt (aside from the added expense of course). I find they sound a bit more lively with even a small portable amp like the UHA-6S. It's not a night and day difference though, so I'd say it's more of an enhancement rather than a requirement.

 

[BrainFood]

coolio...

 

[MuppetFace]

PriceJapan currently lists the TH900 at $1,983 USD. Guess I really lucked out getting mine for $1,750.

 

[gzone3lement]

 
Quote:

PriceJapan currently lists the TH900 at $1,983 USD. Guess I really lucked out getting mine for $1,750.

 
For sure!

 

[Ahzari]

Don't know if this has already been asked, but as far as soundstage and comfort - how does the Fostex compare with the D7k? I'm starting to realize I prefer the rather loose fit of the D7ks to other more clampy headphones; from whats been said about the 900s isolation so far it seems to share the Denons looser fit, is that true?

 

[MuppetFace]

 
Quote:

Don't know if this has already been asked, but as far as soundstage and comfort - how does the Fostex compare with the D7k? I'm starting to realize I prefer the rather loose fit of the D7ks to other more clampy headphones; from whats been said about the 900s isolation so far it seems to share the Denons looser fit, is that true?

 
 
The fit is similar to the D7000, yes. The overall exterior design of the headphones is very similar, just with fancier materials on the TH900. The comfort and level of isolation is more or less the same to me.

 

[DaveBSC]

 
Quote:

You may see 2 pairs of LA7000 in my profile (both different in cup material and size) but I am actually waiting for the packages to arrive.
I don't even want to give them a try before I have both since I want to A/B with a stock D7000.
Meanwhile I will be able to test with 3 different pads though.

 
I'm definitely interested in your LA7000 impressions, the Lawton modified Denon is probably the most direct rival for the Fostex both in terms of cost and sound.

 

[DaveBSC]

 
Quote:

I even wish Stax would do so, but they are old-school. I guess detachability as an option would satisfy everyone.
 
I think cable quality trumps any improvement over one less connection. At least, to my ears, the HD800s and Audezes have become my favorite dynamic phones while I came to reject the ones with captive cords, like JVC DX1000s, Grado PS1000s, Beyer T1s, and Denon D7000s over time.

 
Stax cables have very specific requirements in terms of capacitance IIRC. You can't just hook up any old DHC or Twag and expect it to work. I've never seen a Stax headphone with any sort of aftermarket cable, nor have I ever seen any company attempt to make and sell one.
 
I'm not sure I agree with high-end cables always beating the loss from a connector on the headphone. From what I've heard anyway, replacement cables make little difference on headphones like the Q701 unless the detachable system is removed and the cable is hardwired. Solder, dissimilar metals, and two dirt cheap copper wires in those last few inches of the connection really hurt. At the very least it's impossible for them to help. You probably like the sound of the Sennheiser and Audeze better, not the cables.
 

 

[rgs9200m]

 
Quote:

 
 
Stax cables have very specific requirements in terms of capacitance IIRC. You can't just hook up any old DHC or Twag and expect it to work. I've never seen a Stax headphone with any sort of aftermarket cable, nor have I ever seen any company attempt to make and sell one.
 
I'm not sure I agree with high-end cables always beating the loss from a connector on the headphone. From what I've heard anyway, replacement cables make little difference on headphones like the Q701 unless the detachable system is removed and the cable is hardwired. Solder, dissimilar metals, and two dirt cheap copper wires in those last few inches of the connection really hurt. At the very least it's impossible for them to help. You probably like the sound of the Sennheiser and Audeze better, not the cables.
 

 

I didn't mean that high end cables always are better, in fact I have been burned where high end cables messed up the sound, like with flabby bass or some other frequency response anomaly. So recabling with captive cables is, I think, too big a risk. That's another reason I like detachables.
Thanks for commenting.

 

[kiteki]

 
Quote:

 
I'm not sure I agree with high-end cables always beating the loss from a connector on the headphone. From what I've heard anyway, replacement cables make little difference on headphones like the Q701 unless the detachable system is removed and the cable is hardwired. Solder, dissimilar metals, and two dirt cheap copper wires in those last few inches of the connection really hurt. At the very least it's impossible for them to help.

 
Cool, how about the 3.5mm jack?
 

 

[Ahzari]

Oook
 
So just got back from the LA Head-Fi meet. - awesome - my first head-fi meet and the V-Moda fortress after party was a really nice treat (insanely lavish/beautiful pad).
 
I was lucky enough to get to A-B Jude's TH900s with my Signature Pros out of a 6SN7 tube amp (can't recall the brand) source was a SACD player (also can't recall the brand - sorry).
 
The TH900s were just excellent, especially considering I was in a noisy environment and probably not getting the best case audio experience (compared to my very well isolated Signature Pros). The TH900s in comparison to my Ultrasones were more musical and fun. By that I mean they had a sweeter/smoother treble, meatier bass, and a excellent midrange that rivaled the Ultrasones. They also had a bigger soundstage and softer clamp (which I personally favor - as MF has mentioned, the clamp and overall feel is quite similar to the D7000s, but physically even more beautiful to look at.. I mean they really look like ultra expensive headphones while still being quite light weight).
 
That said, I want to note I wasn't WOW'ed by the TH900s, I think I'm passed that stage, but to my ears they are a audible step above the D7000s and while similar to the Signature Pros in overall quality of audio reproduced, the TH900s are just a bit more musical which becomes noticeable on pop/lounge vocal tracks, while less noticeable on rock and classical tracks. This observations are based on about 20-30 minutes of A-Bing and discussing with a fellow head-fi'er and my girlfriend.
 
To sum up, I'm a believer now, very likely my next headphone purchase (though I don't know when that will be). The only other headphone that was in the TH900s league in regards to musicality was a recabled LCD3 that also sounded excellent, but for me the comfort of the TH900s in addition to the sound quality make it a stand out can.

 

[Anaxilus]

 
Quote:

I was lucky enough to get to A-B Jude's TH900s with my Signature Pros out of a 6SN7 tube amp (can't recall the brand) source was a SACD player (also can't recall the brand - sorry).

 
Eddie Current Super 7; modded Marantz CD transport via coax > Perfect Wave DAC mk 2.  It was just a regular CD.  

 

[Ahzari]

 
Quote:

 
 
Eddie Current Super 7; modded Marantz CD transport via coax > Perfect Wave DAC mk 2.  It was just a regular CD.  

 
Hey Anaxilus, it was great meeting you today! Thanks for adding/correcting my left out info 

, really missing the Fostex right now 

... lol.