[thisiscrs]

DMS and Joshua Valour are two of the most untrustable guys on Youtube imo.

Was looking for reviews for the headphones ... Didn't even know about the channel until just now. But good to know!

 

[Hyde00]

"Damn Doug, who pissed in your Cheerios?!"

LOL I died....... hahaha.

One of the YouTube comment says something like "DMS doesn't like bright headphones, so naturally he would always give bad review to bright headphones".

It's kind of like me giving review to alcohol beverages when I'm not the target audience since I don't drink alcohol at all.

I would, however, give a bad ass bubble tea review.

That being said, I'm a fan of sparkly treble and fan of Grado/Fostex/Denon in general so there is a pretty high chance I might still like TH616.

 

[Bret Halford]

Happy Friday, Fostex Fam! My plans of getting a 610 to compare to the 616 have been put on pause, as I had the chance to jump on the 2nd round of T60 RP 50th Anniversary editions. Needless to say, I've been enjoying the New Year basking in Fostex' Fiftieth feelz

Left to Right: TH616, T60RP 50th Anniversary (6050), T50RP 50th Anniversary (5050)

While they are sharing ear time with the new 6050, my listening with the 616 continues to be highly enjoyable... a very nice warm, slightly bassy take on the TH tuning. I'll probably share some listening comparisons of the new 6050 vs. stock and 5050 over in their threads but I haven't had the energy to write much since the holidays.

I hope things are off to a good start for you all too!

 

[Hyde00]

Damn that's a lot of anniversary gear lol, congrats!

 

[Bret Halford]

Damn that's a lot of anniversary gear lol, congrats!

Thank you! You can see why I had to cool it on the 610 plans... Wallets are one thing, but I only have the 2 ears

 

[Strayngs]

It is a great looking headphone.

 

[Blackrao]

Got to check out the Fostex TH-616 and it is a gorgeous looking headphone!

 

[jclyle]

The pad ear opening is a little too small for my ears. Has anyone tried after market pads with their 616s? I haven't pulled the pads off yet, but when prying them back I see what looks like the white mounting disc that's used in some of the 900 series products.

I'm running mine with Denafrips Enyo and Soloist 3XP. I'm not hearing any of the harsh treble that's been mentioned in some reviews. These are great headphones, I just need bigger pads if I'm going to keep them.

 

[Hyde00]

Not sure how familiar you are with other Fostex headphones, but they're generally sensitive to pad change, as in the sound most likely will change.

That's being said luckily most pads with 10 cm diameter will fit. So there's lots of options.

It looks like the stock pad is same as the TH610 pad. You could probably try TH909 stock pad and see what happens lol.

EX-EP-99 = TH909 stock pad

Otherwise most Dekoni Fostex/Denon pads should work too. Though if you want bigger opening then you'd need to at least go for either TH909 or TH900 pads.

 

[Brandfuchs]

I'm looking forward to a sound review where the TH900/TH909 ear cups are mounted on the TH616 :-D
If anyone does this, please share your thoughts!

 

[sabocat]

I’m coming to these from a pair of Senn 650’s and quite honestly I’m blown away. The bass is indeed strong with my set up but I don’t hear it bleeding into the midrange. The detail throughout the spectrum is pretty amazing.

 

[Hyde00]

I’m coming to these from a pair of Senn 650’s and quite honestly I’m blown away. The bass is indeed strong with my set up but I don’t hear it bleeding into the midrange. The detail throughout the spectrum is pretty amazing.

Are you using a banana holder?

But glad to hear you're enjoying it. I keep reading it's too warm but glad to see some people find it just right.

 

[sabocat]

Yeah that’s a banana holder lol, repurposed.

To my ears, the detail in the upper register more or less balances out the perceived warmth from the mid-bass hump. We know from psychoacoustics that the human ear prefers a bass hump, so no complaints here.

I also have to say I hear no harshness at all in the upper register. I imagine these cans are sensitive to source, which is maybe the reason behind that report.

My source is strictly vinyl, with a Dynavector 10x5 (low output) on a Thorens td-125mkII, connected to a Darlington labs step up/ phono preamp combo, and feeding into a microzotl2. The Darlington labs is an eerily quiet match for headphones.

 

[sabocat]

A few more remarks on tonal characteristics of this Fostex. Listening to Jan Garabek and Bobo Stenson quartet, “Dansere” album from 1975, on ECM. It’s a good test record. The alto sax is fully extended without being shrill, and it has a piercing effect without an etched sharp edge. The mid-bass doesn’t overpower the sub bass, nor does it intrude into the midrange, which itself does not seem as recessed to my ears as a true V shaped EQ. Need to listen to some vocals on that issue. The bass is textured and has a pleasant punch in tandem with the drums. The soundstage is intimate, but instrument separation is better than I’ve heard from my Senns or AKG. I’m not regretting my purchase.