[Tano]

Fostex TH610. For me, it sounds bettter than the 900. The stock tuning is way better and with EQ they sound just like the 900.

Kennerton Magni are also a great V shape closed back, but it needs EQ (just like all HPs)

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Tyll covers different variations of Fostex/Foster/Denon here


I am personally using modded TH600 (Dekoni TH900 sheepskin pads, Lawton Tune-Up, Mahogany Cups)

 

[ThEvil0nE]

I think Emu Teak is still available too

 

[Kordzik]

Thanks for the recc! I'll probably but second have so burn in won't be necessary I hope. Can you describe their sound please?

You need to burn them in for 100 hours otherwise you will have very little bass . After burn in they have better bass then fostex th x00 or denon d7100 that I also have . They sound vey clean on the edge of being bright , very detailed and with amazing soundstage that some people say sound like open back headphones and clean sound of plannars. Bass is the best I have ever heard in headphones , very deep but clean and precise . I hate headphones that cant play whole spectrum of sound and either lack bass or top end , these are perfect for me . These can go against headphones in $2000 range . These are horn headphones and vocals on these sound like singer is whispering to your ears , I love it . You can read more about them here .... https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kennerton-lsa-hp2.956588/

 

[TheTexorcist]

I bought a set of used MK1 Th-900 from a forum member here and dont regret it one bit. I came from a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250 ohm for reference. Running them both with a Schiit Hel, might not be the best amp/dac but it gets the job done. I do wish they had more mids sometimes, some music can sound thin, but nothing Peace EQ cant fix. Overall im pretty satisfied with em. I have yet to try different pads and such, but will get around to it eventually. So if you are open to shopping used, you can definitely save ALOT of money.

 

[OnlySoMany]

The TH900 are the most overrated headphones, ever. They sound really bad, they are super fatiguing and I'm not sure how people enjoy them at their price.

This is coming from someone who enjoys some V shape headphones.

I had them as well, didn't like them at all. Super boomy and overall meh.

To the OP, if you really are dead set on getting a pair, just get one used off of usam for half the price or check classifieds here.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

USAM?

 

[Yeutez]

Used Ultrasone Ed. 10

 

[mapotofu]

I also enjoy listening to the V-shaped eq of the TH900s. As a more reasonable alternative, I would recommend the TH-X00 which I actually prefer for some music. I also owned the Emu Teaks before but preferred the X00s.

 

[kith86]

I'll never be able to live with myself knowing I settled for less... I also have no idea how they sound relative to the 900

I have them both

610 more relaxed which translate not as bright as th900, less resolution, less in forward vocal and slightly harder to drive, the imaging and positioning also not as acurate as th900 but the tonal more balance than th900, less dynamic too

People said th900 super bright headphone, i somehow disagree, adx5000 for me is the most bright headphone out there, also if you found 900 bright, you probably will like 610 they're just different enough but lacking some dynamic and imaging somehow bother me, for some track th900 still better


Almost forgot, i modified my TH900 with 610 earpads, i didnot like the TH900 stock pads at all

 

[HipHopScribe]

I have them both

610 more relaxed which translate not as bright as th900, less resolution, less in forward vocal and slightly harder to drive, the imaging and positioning also not as acurate as th900 but the tonal more balance than th900, less dynamic too

People said th900 super bright headphone, i somehow disagree, adx5000 for me is the most bright headphone out there, also if you found 900 bright, you probably will like 610 they're just different enough but lacking some dynamic and imaging somehow bother me, for some track th900 still better


Almost forgot, i modified my TH900 with 610 earpads, i didnot like the TH900 stock pads at all

It’s the huge peak around 6kHz on the TH900 that probably gets most people. The ADX5000 doesn't have that as bad specifically at 6kHz, but it also has some other annoying peaks around 4-5kHz, so it kinda depends on where your hearing is most sensitive which is gonna sound brighter/harsher.

I think the TH610 is a good answer, that 6kHz peak is tamed some, but the better answer is probably the E-MU Teak, which tames that 6kHz peak even better than the TH610 and is overall more even keeled in terms of frequency response while still giving you some of that Foster driver sound that people like with Fostex.

https://www.emu.com/teak.html

Either that or try to find an old Denon AH-D5000 on the used market, but those are probably getting hard to find in good shape.

EDIT: For reference

https://crinacle.com/graphs/headpho...IEF_Neutral_Target,TH900,Teak&bass=5&tool=711

 

[kith86]

It’s the huge peak around 6kHz on the TH900 that probably gets most people. The ADX5000 doesn't have that as bad specifically at 6kHz, but it also has some other annoying peaks around 4-5kHz, so it kinda depends on where your hearing is most sensitive which is gonna sound brighter.

I think the TH610 is a good answer, that 6kHz peak is tamed some, but the better answer is probably the E-MU Teak, which tames that 6kHz peak even better than the TH610 while still giving you that Foster driver sound that people like with Fostex.

https://www.emu.com/teak.html

Either that or try to find an old Denon AH-D5000 on the used market, but those are probably getting hard to find in good shape.

Based on my listening journey i never bothered with TH900 peak on that area, i bothered only about it's bass which is more prominent with it's stock pads.

I guess this proved that probably i have different sensitivity then, maybe related to my age or something or just my personal preference, based on what you described now im sure im not to try to blind buy it, since i also now feels TH610 kindda boring, if those tame makes the song less exciting then i conclude emu teak it's not for me or not worth to blind buy, it's like the energy of the song is gone with TH610, it's hard to audition EMU here, not find it yet, and im gladly satisfy with my TH900, but if i hear something better or perhaps cheaper, probably i will sell it.

In the other hand somehow i bothered about certain sharpness on piano notes sounding i found on ADX on certain volume level, maybe that;s 4-5khz peak you talked about, i more sensitive to that for sure, if that's 5-6khz area bump that cause th900 seemed exciting to my ear then i gladly accept that.

 

[dstarr3]

Another rec for the E-Mu Teaks. Favorite headphone I've ever heard. Also a member of the biocell driver family like the TH610 and TH900