Fostex TH600 Dynamic Headphones - Page 14

Quote:

Originally Posted by LinkPro 

 

Badly recorded J-Pop mostly. The sibilance is very blatant on some of those songs, and I did managed to get the CDs so bit rate cannot be a factor.

Maybe you just do not notice it then or maybe we have a different definition of sibilance because to my ears pretty much any badly recorded, low bitrate MP3 under about 192kb has bad sibilance on most headphones, especially the Denons and also Beyerdynamic. Low bitrate = Bad sibilance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Lust Envy 


The curves I have seen are sorta HD650 like, with more linear bass instead of the sub bass roll off. I LOVE the HD650, so again, I'm sure the LCD2 will impress me, just not as what I'd go with for my music tastes.

I think you should appreciate both clarity and flatness of bass... Mids are also very flat and, what is important, there is no overemphasis of male or female voices (that's actually VERY nice, no sense of glare!). Treble is consistent and near-to-neutral, with slight overemphasis near 10khz which makes some drums A BIT splashy at times (2-3db less and it would be absolutely perfect). But you know, HE-500 do have even more emphasis in this region, not talking about T1 etc. In reality, you have to pay attention to it to realise that slight imbalance.

However, it's not like you put the phones on your head, play a song and immediately became an Audeze fanboy :-) When you get your headphones, I would suggest do this:

1) Try all the possible headband extensions to find the one which suites you best (actually, it took me several weeks to realise I need to extend it to the max in order to let them comfortably sit on my head)

2) Listen to music and don't panic if you do not find it SPECTACULAR - just be patient and it will start to show up... You will step by step start to realise the balance and clarity across the spectrum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3rdear 

I think we might be in the minority in wanting a more balanced and less U shaped frequency response.  My ideal TH600 would lift up the mids from the TH900, keep the sub bass extension but lower the quantity, and having the treble toned down.  I don't expect anything like the LCD, but something where no part of the frequency is strongly emphasized at the cost of something else.

The treble of the TH900 is fine to my ears, but I too would like the TH600 to have less bass quantity while maintaining the extension and cleanliness. Resolving the subtle midrange suckout would be good too, but I'm not holding my breath.

People have said this configuration is highly unlikely---and I tend to agree---however it's not without precedent.

If one is operating under the assumption that more linearity = "higher-end" for an audio company, then yes: why would Fostex sabotage themselves by making their lower-end product more linear sounding? However some companies have elected to make their higher-end products (or at least their more expensive ones) the more distinctly colored in the lineup. JVC is a prime example, as is Denon now (with whoever their new OEM is...). It's also very common among IEMs, both universal and custom.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuppetFace 

 

The treble of the TH900 is fine to my ears, but I too would like the TH600 to have less bass quantity while maintaining the extension and cleanliness. Resolving the subtle midrange suckout would be good too, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

People have said this configuration is highly unlikely---and I tend to agree---however it's not without precedent.

 

If one is operating under the assumption that more linearity = "higher-end" for an audio company, then yes: why would Fostex sabotage themselves by making their lower-end product more linear sounding? However some companies have elected to make their higher-end products (or at least their more expensive ones) the more distinctly colored in the lineup. JVC is a prime example, as is Denon now (with whoever their new OEM is...). It's also very common among IEMs, both universal and custom.

MF, thank you for bring the thread back to topic. Hopefully I'll be able to help answer some of the questions i(n comparison to the TH-900 at least, I've not owned any Denons, etc.). In my hands for 2 weeks, and will probably start putting it through a customary 3 day burn-in, not knowing how much demo burn-in time it had today. Tests will happen primarily on my Fostex HP-A8.

P.S. The TH-900s on the right are mine which went on loan for the past 2-3 weeks and only got it back today.

Really liking the all-black matte finish. May I ask if the headband and cups are metal or plastic?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MDCLXVI 

Really liking the all-black matte finish. May I ask if the headband and cups are metal or plastic?

Magnesium.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnakChan 

 

Magnesium.

Thanks! So the cups themselves are also magnesium? That's very nice :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnakChan 

 

.... Tests will happen primarily on my Fostex HP-A8 ....

 

 

Thanks for being such a helpful and valuable member of this forum. I look forward to your review. Could you also comment on a comparison of the 600 and 900 without an amp and just on a smartphone (Note 2 if possible ).  Most of my listening is on the go and my E17 does not work with my Note 2 at this moment. Thanks in advance!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rayzilla 

Thanks for being such a helpful and valuable member of this forum. I look forward to your review. Could you also comment on a comparison of the 600 and 900 without an amp and just on a smartphone (Note 2 if possible ).  Most of my listening is on the go and my E17 does not work with my Note 2 at this moment. Thanks in advance!

Trying from my iPhone 4S right now. Works fine (i.e. not hard to drive). Seems to sound pretty much the same volume on both (although I'm kind of inclined to think the TH-600 is -a tad- louder but not by much...it could well be the pads 'cos my TH-900's definitely is more out of shape than the TH-600's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuppetFace 

 

The treble of the TH900 is fine to my ears, but I too would like the TH600 to have less bass quantity while maintaining the extension and cleanliness. Resolving the subtle midrange suckout would be good too, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

People have said this configuration is highly unlikely---and I tend to agree---however it's not without precedent.

 

If one is operating under the assumption that more linearity = "higher-end" for an audio company, then yes: why would Fostex sabotage themselves by making their lower-end product more linear sounding? However some companies have elected to make their higher-end products (or at least their more expensive ones) the more distinctly colored in the lineup. JVC is a prime example, as is Denon now (with whoever their new OEM is...). It's also very common among IEMs, both universal and custom.

The interesting thing about customs that I like is that they'll offer a line of IEMs of each frequency response within the same house sound signature--a linear, bass-y, and a more affordable lower model.  Frogbeats with the C4 and C5, Jerry Harvey with the JH13/16 come to mind.  With customs it makes sense that the bass heavy model would cost more b/c of the extra drivers.  I wouldn't mind seeing a similar approach with full-sized headphones, as opposed to something like the former Denon D5000/D7000/etc. line, which I think were mostly bass-head phones. 

In the end, I think I'd want something that was only partially or half-way U shaped from the TH600 with similar levels of resolution, imaging, and transparency to the TH900, and most importantly no glaring flaws.  

Wow, these look really nice.

I wish this was Fostex's revived D2000...

 Need more impressions! First headphone that I've been genuinely excited to hear. Loved my old D2k's and would dish out the cash for a more refined big brother (of sorts). Initial impressions/cost will determine whether or not I grab these or a $1k amp (first world problems, right?).

I may have missed it, but is there any speculation as to where the price range will land? I'm wondering if this will be in the D7000 range as far as price goes, considering the TH900 is significantly more expensive than it.

...If so, I hope the TH300 will get released in the future to fill in the lower gap.