Fostex TH900 Impressions & Discussion Thread
May 12, 2012 at 1:27 PM Post #661 of 18,761
I really don't want more restrained treble, that is for sure. The vocals do sound nothing short of magical in certain songs, but I have not heard TH900. Based on your descriptions, both sound amazing though. ;D Definitely a headphone I'd need to listen to before purchase, and likely that's not going to be possible.
 
May 12, 2012 at 1:36 PM Post #662 of 18,761
Also just to clarify, by "more restrained," I don't remotely mean to suggest the treble on the TH900 is dark, muted, or shelved. It's still on the brighter side of neutral. It just happens to be closer to neutral than the W3000ANV's in my opinion, which I found to be a little too bright for my liking at times. The difference though isn't vast. Both are still north of neutral.
 
Language is a rather imprecise tool for describing sound, unfortunately.
 
May 12, 2012 at 1:53 PM Post #663 of 18,761
Yeah, I understand. But it's still less bright, which is what I'm interested in knowing. I also don't really find ATH-W3000ANV bright in a bad way, not at all. It never sounds uncomfortable to my ears, just sparkling.
 
May 13, 2012 at 5:04 AM Post #665 of 18,761
Quote:
 
Hard to say.
 
If you like the specific coloration of vocals on the W3000ANV, then no, the TH900 isn't going to be too similar. The midrange on the TH900 is clearer and more transparent sounding by comparison, though it still has a certain special quality to it like the W3000ANV, just different. For me the effect of the W3000ANV here is somewhat akin to a filter, that "antique hue" I'm always on about when I mention it. To my ears it's more sultry, romantic, ambient, hypnotic, and heavy-lidded. Like sitting in a smoke filled nightclub or an opium den. The TH900's presentation of vocals on the other hand sounds more lifelike, more alert and awake, refreshing, sincere, full-bodied, and most importantly to me it has a sense of presence that makes the W3000ANV sound a bit thin and shallow by comparison.
 
Neither one is better than the other for me per se, and both suit different moods. Most of the time however I prefer the TH900. It's just more satisfying with a wider range of music for me. I have to be in the right mood to choose the W3000ANV over the TH900, but when I am in the right mood, it's hard to beat.
 
As far as treble goes, I prefer the TH900 hands down, but then I tend to prefer less bright and "sparkly" top ends. The W3000ANV isn't overly bright to me, but it is brighter than the TH900 somewhat. I feel the upper registers are closer to neutral on the TH900 than W3000ANV. In both cases the treble is clear, crisp, detailed, exciting and involving. I don't think the TH900 loses out by being more restrained in this regard, but some may like the little bit of extra bite that the W3000ANV has up top perhaps.
 
This is sort of an oversimplification, but for me it comes down to this: I'm of the opinion that in most technical aspects and in presentation the TH900 handily bests the W3000ANV, however the W3000ANV has a very specific coloration that the TH900 (and most other headphones) do not reproduce, so if you're looking for that coloration in particular, the TH900 isn't going to replace it.

 
i think that's an apt description of the w3000anv. the th900 is shaping up to be an excellent sounding closed headphone if these impressions are anything to go by. 
 
May 13, 2012 at 8:59 AM Post #666 of 18,761
Hard to say.

If you like the specific coloration of vocals on the W3000ANV, then no, the TH900 isn't going to be too similar. The midrange on the TH900 is clearer and more transparent sounding by comparison, though it still has a certain special quality to it like the W3000ANV, just different. For me the effect of the W3000ANV here is somewhat akin to a filter, that "antique hue" I'm always on about when I mention it. To my ears it's more sultry, romantic, ambient, hypnotic, and heavy-lidded. Like sitting in a smoke filled nightclub or an opium den. The TH900's presentation of vocals on the other hand sounds more lifelike, more alert and awake, refreshing, sincere, full-bodied, and most importantly to me it has a sense of presence that makes the W3000ANV sound a bit thin and shallow by comparison.

Neither one is better than the other for me per se, and both suit different moods. Most of the time however I prefer the TH900. It's just more satisfying with a wider range of music for me. I have to be in the right mood to choose the W3000ANV over the TH900, but when I am in the right mood, it's hard to beat.

As far as treble goes, I prefer the TH900 hands down, but then I tend to prefer less bright and "sparkly" top ends. The W3000ANV isn't overly bright to me, but it is brighter than the TH900 somewhat. I feel the upper registers are closer to neutral on the TH900 than W3000ANV. In both cases the treble is clear, crisp, detailed, exciting and involving. I don't think the TH900 loses out by being more restrained in this regard, but some may like the little bit of extra bite that the W3000ANV has up top perhaps.

This is sort of an oversimplification, but for me it comes down to this: I'm of the opinion that in most technical aspects and in presentation the TH900 handily bests the W3000ANV, however the W3000ANV has a very specific coloration that the TH900 (and most other headphones) do not reproduce, so if you're looking for that coloration in particular, the TH900 isn't going to replace it.



I think that MF's comparative description of the two presentations are spot on. I could not have articulated it any better. Very nicely done.
 
May 13, 2012 at 1:16 PM Post #667 of 18,761
Hmmmm...
 
These things really are gorgeous. Going to wait for more word on them as I think they'll be pretty popular. No rush, but I will eventually need a closed can. :D
 
May 13, 2012 at 11:30 PM Post #668 of 18,761
Aren't these to be limited to 2000 units, or something like that?
 
May 13, 2012 at 11:33 PM Post #669 of 18,761
There's no mention of that at the Fostex's product page. I assume that it would be mentioned...
 
May 14, 2012 at 2:51 AM Post #671 of 18,761
Ok so spending a lot more time with the TH900s..
 
Genre wise, I don't listen to that much hip-hop, but wow - the TH900s make hip-hop tracks extremely fun (more than any other headphone I have listened to). The bass is so clean and deep its just incredible. Isn't as amazing with EDM, but still just excellent.. All together though, music is so enjoyable on these headphones that I am finding myself crawling into genres I wouldn't normally listen to (classical, slow-alternative, classic rock etc). 
 
I want to get some more listening done and hopefully some pictures for a "real" review from my end (coming soon).
 
May 14, 2012 at 10:22 AM Post #672 of 18,761
The Fostexes soar in the upper mids and highs but are somehow not clinical. Bass is very transparent also. Voices are natural. 
One thing is that they seem very efficient and I do not need to set my volume control very high. 
This is something to watch for if you have high gain system and a stepped attenuator. They seem as efficient as an IEM (I can actually use the IEM setting on my amp).
 
May 16, 2012 at 9:02 AM Post #673 of 18,761
Dude
 
No offense but you could feed Haiti for a week with your headphone collection
Quote:
Far from objective or complete, but I felt compelled to make a video at 2AM about these guys:
 

 
May 16, 2012 at 10:44 AM Post #674 of 18,761
Just a quick note here, the Th900s sound beautiful with my Rudistor RP010B. Every part of the spectrum just seems right in place, the bass is subterranean and very nicely integrated with the rest of the music,
and the vocals and instruments are very natural (especially a saxaphone in something I was listening to).
The Rudistor/Fostex combo is one of those happy marriages made in heaven, somehow better than my tube amps.
(I'm going to have to change my opinion about solid state I think. I see it can be great.)
CD player is an upgraded EMM CDSA.
 
And God Bless the non-stepped volume control on the Rudistor. I would give anything to have these on every amp to get the right level. 
I basically can't stand stepped volume controls.
 

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