[unspool]

A good outcome Audio Jester. Glad you're enjoying the TH900. It's a lovely headphone.

 

[Audio Jester]

Quote:

I actually think that leap forward isn't a bad way to do it.. you save a lot of $ just going straight to the top and you still got to enjoy some great headphones on the way at meets until you found the right one. My progression was the more natural one in phases, but if I were to do it all over again I may just have done what you did (my first "real" pair of headphones was the D2000s as well). Congrats on the purchase I'm one of those that agrees with the price considering the materials and amazing sound - its a work of art in every respect.

This has been my strategy from the beginning, upgrade as high as I can without any stops along the way.  So far things have gone well...    

 

[Magick Man]

Got my replacement TH900's today.  I have only been listening to them for 2 hours.  Once they had burnt in a little I started to realise that these were worth the price of admission.  To keep things in perspective I have listened to various flagship cans at meets and with friends, but my primary headphones for many years were D2000's.  So it is understandable that for me the TH900's were serious leap forward in all respects as compared to what I am used to.  This reply has taken me 15mins to write because I keep getting lost in the music I am listening to.  The clarity, soundstage and separation are amazingly impressive even on my current budget system.  Beautiful in aesthetic and sonority, what more could you ask?

Indeed. That's why they're my favorite dynamic cans, the clarity is astounding.

 

[BournePerfect]

Clearer than the HD800s, Magick Man. I just (temporarily I think) sold my HD800s to help fund these. A loss in clarity/detail/ ransparency are my main fears-hopefully unfounded.
 
-Daniel

 

[Magick Man]

Clearer than the HD800s, Magick Man. I just (temporarily I think) sold my HD800s to help fund these. A loss in clarity/detail/ ransparency are my main fears-hopefully unfounded.

-Daniel

Lower bass distortion numbers. You won't lose on clarity, but they don't quite have the resolution or soundstage of the HD800s. That's what I use the SR-009s for.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Got my replacement TH900's today.  I have only been listening to them for 2 hours.  Once they had burnt in a little I started to realise that these were worth the price of admission.  To keep things in perspective I have listened to various flagship cans at meets and with friends, but my primary headphones for many years were D2000's.  So it is understandable that for me the TH900's were serious leap forward in all respects as compared to what I am used to.  This reply has taken me 15mins to write because I keep getting lost in the music I am listening to.  The clarity, soundstage and separation are amazingly impressive even on my current budget system.  Beautiful in aesthetic and sonority, what more could you ask?

Might I ask why you needed to get replacement headphones?

 

[AnakChan]

Quote:

Might I ask why you needed to get replacement headphones?

 
Scratch & rotation issue.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 
Scratch & rotation issue.

Thanks.

 

[Audio Jester]

Scratch & rotation issue.

On a side note, the distributor did not feel there was a rotation issue with the first pair I sent back, but the second pair I received were perfect and had no rotation problem (as far a i could tell). Thought that was interesting.

 

[AnakChan]

Quote:

On a side note, the distributor did not feel there was a rotation issue with the first pair I sent back, but the second pair I received were perfect and had no rotation problem (as far a i could tell). Thought that was interesting.

 
You should have showed him my video of the swivel issue as a reference :-
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/595683/fostex-th900-impressions-discussion-thread/1095#post_8478154

 

[songmic]

Quote:

On a side note, the distributor did not feel there was a rotation issue with the first pair I sent back, but the second pair I received were perfect and had no rotation problem (as far a i could tell). Thought that was interesting.

 
Same here. When I pointed out my TH900's swivel issue and sent a picture of it, my distributor told me that it's normal for the TH900 to have such asymmetrical rotation angles, showing a picture of their own demo unit TH900 which also had the same issue! It was only when I contacted Fostex headquarters in Japan that they recognized theat theirs too was a faulty unit.

 

[SmettMark]

Do you guys think the TH900 will be good for rock and metal? Or are there better choices for that? I'm currently looking for a headphones that are comfortable, good for rock/metal, and efficient. I want it to be efficient because I plan on using it in different places at my house, so I don't want a huge setup like a Woo Audio WA2 or a Burson HA-160. An O2, asgard, or an NFB-12 will be fine for me, but not a huge setup.  Denons are said to be great for my genres, and the TH-900 is said to be a big improvement over them so I'm guessing it will be a good choice for me. If there is a better open/semi-open headphone in the 2000 dollar price range which will be better for me, please let me know.

 

[songmic]

Quote:

Do you guys think the TH900 will be good for rock and metal? Or are there better choices for that? I'm currently looking for a headphones that are comfortable, good for rock/metal, and efficient. I want it to be efficient because I plan on using it in different places at my house, so I don't want a huge setup like a Woo Audio WA2 or a Burson HA-160. An O2, asgard, or an NFB-12 will be fine for me, but not a huge setup.  Denons are said to be great for my genres, and the TH-900 is said to be a big improvement over them so I'm guessing it will be a good choice for me. If there is a better open/semi-open headphone in the 2000 dollar price range which will be better for me, please let me know.

 
In that case, the TH900 should be the perfect headphone for you.
 
Comfortable? Check.
Good for rock and metal? Check.
Efficient? Check.
 
The TH900 is one of the few headphones that shine in virtually every genre you throw at it. If you primarily listen to into rock and metal, the LCD-3 (a.k.a. the king of bass) may be the ideal headphone sonic-wise, but it's nowhere as comfortable and as efficient as the TH900. The LCD-3 is not comfortable by any means, and it requires a powerful amp to get the most out of it. On the contrary, the TH900 is one of the most comfortable flagship headphones (next to the HD800), can be driven efficiently by small amps like O2 or Asgard, and still has plenty of high-quality, deep, satisfying bass. I felt the TH900's performance in bass section was superior to its treble or mids, and even better than the LCD-2(another great bass headphone)'s performance in bass.

 

[tokendog]

Quote:

 
In that case, the TH900 should be the perfect headphone for you.
 
Comfortable? Check.
Good for rock and metal? Check.
Efficient? Check.
 
The TH900 is one of the few headphones that shine in virtually every genre you throw at it. If you primarily listen to into rock and metal, the LCD-3 (a.k.a. the king of bass) may be the ideal headphone sonic-wise, but it's nowhere as comfortable and as efficient as the TH900. The LCD-3 is not comfortable by any means, and it requires a powerful amp to get the most out of it. On the contrary, the TH900 is one of the most comfortable flagship headphones (next to the HD800), can be driven efficiently by small amps like O2 or Asgard, and still has plenty of high-quality, deep, satisfying bass. I felt the TH900's performance in bass section was superior to its treble or mids, and even better than the LCD-2(another great bass headphone)'s performance in bass.

 
I can agree and share a similar perspective.  The TH-900 is the first head phone, for me, that competes directly with the LCD-3 and wins when comfort is factored in.  The TH-900's bass is extremely nice, but yes, it is beat by the LCD-3.  The LCD-3 still dominates this specific quality.  The TH-900 is not a light weight in comparison and holds it in own without issue.  The area where the TH-900 trumps the LCD-3, at least to me, is comfort;  be it in both the feeling of the pads on the ears, but more so the weight off of the head.  The TH-900 is much lighter and has far less clamping force than both the LCD-2 and LCD-3.
 
The TH-900 also trumps the LCD-3 in the separation of instruments and the clarity around the instruments.  You can hear each individual instrument and it is clearly apart from the other instruments, every thing just sounds so much more distinguished and that allows all of the sounds to be more distinct to my ears.
 
The LCD-3 is a wonderful sounding headphone - one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of using, but if I had to choose one can that fits all genres for me, it would be the TH-900.  It wins in looks, holds it own in sound, and is built of materials worthy of it's $2,000 price.  Some would say, if they could set the price of these cans themselves, that the LCD-3 and TH-900 are easily worth $1,000 on sound alone.  To go from the LCD-2 to the LCD-3 and gain such a small overall increase in sound quality, you pay $1,000.  But that's the way it works with headphones and diminishing returns... However, the TH-900 is actually built from materials and workmanship that in and of itself adds a significant value to it's price.   Then you still have the competitive sound it provides...to me, it's an easy choice.  Then again, that's the beauty of headphones...you have quite a few choices to choose from.

 

[Asr]

So what amps are folks using with their TH900s? I was going to reacquire a GS-X but have been thinking about reverting back to unbalanced gear for my dynamic setup since it'd make more sense with the headphones that I'm going to use, including the TH900. Budget up to $2500. I was seriously contemplating the Burson Soloist (there's actually a local dealer here, so I'm probably going to demo it anyway) but not sure of any other options.
 
Hoping for a Black Friday deal somewhere but even if there isn't one I'm probably going to buy a TH900 anyway.

 
I'm probably crazy for buying expensive headphones while being unemployed, I'm sinking to new lows!

 
Edit: I see that Eddie Current already has a Black Friday deal listed for the Super 7 at $1500, hrmmm.....