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Amp recommendations for Fostex TH900? - Page 2

post #16 of 46
11/22/12 at 1:43am

If you like tubes - like me - you may want to consider Woo Audio for the TH900s. I have the WA6SE, its a relatively neutral amp compared to their WA22 and WA6 (have not demo'ed their other offerings yet); of course neutrality is dependent on the driver and rectifier tubes used, I tend to go for a warmer sound so I use the Sophia Princess and 6FD7 drivers. With that setup I get great bass, smooth treble, and excellent staging. 

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post #17 of 46
11/22/12 at 7:25am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ahzari View Post

If you like tubes - like me - you may want to consider Woo Audio for the TH900s. I have the WA6SE, its a relatively neutral amp compared to their WA22 and WA6 (have not demo'ed their other offerings yet); of course neutrality is dependent on the driver and rectifier tubes used, I tend to go for a warmer sound so I use the Sophia Princess and 6FD7 drivers. With that setup I get great bass, smooth treble, and excellent staging. 

 

I had considered the WA6SE, as it was one of the few tube amps that is supposedly a decent match with the AH-D7000 (TH900's predecessor). However, I'm considering purchasing this new amp.

 

http://www.musicalsurroundings.com/Fosgate/fozgateheadphamp.html

 

While the output impedance of WA6SE is measured 30 ohms in low gain output (which is pretty high, considering TH900's impedance is only 25-30 ohms), the Fosgate Signature Headphone Amplifier's output impedance is only 4.7 ohms. That should provide a better damping factor than the WA6SE. Plus, it has a pair of RCA outputs as well as inputs, which means I can use my Emotiva airmotiv 4 desktop speakers with it too. Lastly, its bass boost and surround sound feature seems quite interesting.

 

It costs $1,500, which isn't really cheap but moderately priced compared to most high-end tube amps out there. I'll try this FosFos (Fosgate/Fostex) combo and share my impressions.

 

For the record, as you may have guessed, this amp is made by none other than Jim Fosgate, founder of Rockford Fosgate and creator/inventor of Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound technology, the latter of which won him a special Emmy and is incorporated into the surround sound circuitry of this very amp.

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post #18 of 46
11/22/12 at 1:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by songmic View Post

 

I had considered the WA6SE, as it was one of the few tube amps that is supposedly a decent match with the AH-D7000 (TH900's predecessor). However, I'm considering purchasing this new amp.

 

http://www.musicalsurroundings.com/Fosgate/fozgateheadphamp.html

 

While the output impedance of WA6SE is measured 30 ohms in low gain output (which is pretty high, considering TH900's impedance is only 25-30 ohms), the Fosgate Signature Headphone Amplifier's output impedance is only 4.7 ohms. That should provide a better damping factor than the WA6SE. Plus, it has a pair of RCA outputs as well as inputs, which means I can use my Emotiva airmotiv 4 desktop speakers with it too. Lastly, its bass boost and surround sound feature seems quite interesting.

 

It costs $1,500, which isn't really cheap but moderately priced compared to most high-end tube amps out there. I'll try this FosFos (Fosgate/Fostex) combo and share my impressions.

 

For the record, as you may have guessed, this amp is made by none other than Jim Fosgate, founder of Rockford Fosgate and creator/inventor of Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound technology, the latter of which won him a special Emmy and is incorporated into the surround sound circuitry of this very amp.

 

I'm not quite sure where you got your information.. this was taken off directly from the Woo Audio website for the WA6SE (low gain starts at 8 ohms not 30...)

 

 

  • Technical Specifications :
  • Headphones impedance : 8-600 Ohms
  • Input impedance: 100 Kilo-Ohms
  • Frequency response: 15 Hz - 40 KHz, -3dB
  • Power output > 1 watt
  • Signal/Noise: 93 dB
  • THD: <= 0.3%
  • Voltage: AC 110/220 V, 50/60 Hz
  • External dimension (each unit): 6"(H), 5½(W), 13"(D)
  • Weight: AMP 12 lbs, PSU 10 lbs
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post #19 of 46
11/22/12 at 2:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ahzari View Post

 

I'm not quite sure where you got your information.. this was taken off directly from the Woo Audio website for the WA6SE (low gain starts at 8 ohms not 30...)

 

 

  • Technical Specifications :
  • Headphones impedance : 8-600 Ohms
  • Input impedance: 100 Kilo-Ohms
  • Frequency response: 15 Hz - 40 KHz, -3dB
  • Power output > 1 watt
  • Signal/Noise: 93 dB
  • THD: <= 0.3%
  • Voltage: AC 110/220 V, 50/60 Hz
  • External dimension (each unit): 6"(H), 5½(W), 13"(D)
  • Weight: AMP 12 lbs, PSU 10 lbs

 

No... what you're seeing is this the recommended headphones impedance range of the WA6SE, not the output impedance of the WA6SE headphone amp itself. 8-600 ohms does NOT mean that the output impedance at low gain is 8 ohms and 600 ohms at high ohms (a headphone amp output being 600 ohms would be nearly impossible to use for most headphones); it means that WA6SE can drive any headphones whose impedance are from 8 to 600 ohms.

 

I asked Woo Audio directly via email, and they replied that the WA6SE's low gain output is 30 ohms and while high gain output is 150 ohms.


Edited by songmic - 11/22/12 at 10:26pm
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post #20 of 46
12/2/12 at 12:21pm
I tried my TH900 briefly with Lenben CS300XS using NOS Raython 5751 tubes and Amperex Bugle Boy EL84 sounded very nice - however I did not have much time to listen critically. I have heard the AH-D 7000 shares similar DNA to the Fostex and some respected HeadFiers have reported excellent system matching.
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post #21 of 46
12/26/12 at 10:26am

This thread seems to have bogged down a bit.

Still...

There is a so far unmentioned news item recently come out which is

quite apropos:

A new Fostex flagship dac/amp: HP-A8C.

Announced by Drew of Moon-Audio.

He is taking pre-orders @ $1,999.

Delivery expected in May.

I have only been able to find one review out at this point.

Favorable - enthusiastic -  except for some niggles about the remote.

 

http://noblehifi.blogspot.com/2012/11/fostex-hp-a8c-review.html

 

What the review doesn't have - as far as I noticed - and what would be

needed for me to make a buying decision - is comparisons with other

dac/amps on the market within its general price range.


Edited by haarvi - 12/26/12 at 10:29am
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post #22 of 46
12/26/12 at 2:11pm
The Mjolnir is great with these phones. Not many people have rewired them, but if you have these with the LCD-3 nearby, then it's a great amp for both.

I have mine cabled with the Black Dragon (Cu) cable and some Furutech 700 (Au) connectors.
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post #23 of 46
12/27/12 at 11:06am

The reviewer of the Fostex HP-A8C found that the dac/amp had a noticeably 

good synchronicity with the TH900.

Made for each other, we are told.

But still no comparisons to other amps. 

 

On a related note...

Consider the Sennheiser HDVD 800 amp (and dac?).

$1999, same price as the Fostex number.

Advertised to synergize with the Sennheiser line of phones.

Garnering hopes among some head-fiers that it might be the long anticipated

ne plus ultra for the HD800s.

Initial impressions, unfortunately, haven't been that enthusiastic.

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post #24 of 46
12/27/12 at 2:04pm

I have been living with the TH-900 + Burson HA-160 for over a month now and must say it is a very good combination. If you are into enjoying the music and not refining the treble + bass to the extreme, then the HA-160 is perfect. The TH-900 sounds well controlled with the Phonitor but I can hear it's clearly not optimal and the sound reproduction may be lacking (I recently obtained the Sony SA5000 and found that the SA-5000 + Phonitor is an amazing pairing).

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post #25 of 46
1/10/13 at 10:42pm
And the winner is ...
BRYSTON BHA-1
Perfect amp - plays music as is - authentic without any doubt.
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post #26 of 46
1/14/13 at 3:11pm

This Post won't be helpful to anyone I would imagine, but I just had a very good demo with the TH-900 and the HD800 on the HP-A8C. Both headphones sounded very good, and the Fostex amp is a very good piece of equipment in person. There was a good amount of head room - especially with the Fostex cans. I can't really provide any comparison information because I was there to evaluate headphones and couldn't A / B anything. The source was a Stello CDT100 through a balanced cable to the HP-A8C, and I demo'd several tracks that I was very familiar with.  

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post #27 of 46
1/14/13 at 3:36pm
Hi Afgan Vet,
Great to read that the Fostex HP-A8C is out and being auditioned.
Your positive impressions are an early data point.
Further reports, with comparisons, will tell more of the tale.
BTW:
I had posted - a few posts up in this thread - that initial reports of the HDVD8000 with the Senn HD800
were "not enthusiastic"
Several very enthusiastic reports about the way of the HDVD8000 with the Senn HD800
have come out since then.
Edited by haarvi - 1/16/13 at 7:47am
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post #28 of 46
1/14/13 at 3:49pm
Burson HA-160DS
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post #29 of 46
1/14/13 at 3:54pm

What's the thoughts on the EC 2A3 with the TH900s?

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post #30 of 46
1/14/13 at 3:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Croozer View Post

Burson HA-160DS

 

I used the Soloist/TH900 on a demo setup, that combination sounds great. It was being fed by a Chord QuteHD

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