Ahzari
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2011
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Time for a good crossfeed, Asr (Phonitor)! However, I for one enjoy the imaging and soundstage of the TH900s, especially useful for audio mixing. In that regard, I find them even better than HD800s, but the separation/air is larger or better in the HD800s, and that's not surprising since they are open-back.
Updated Impressions 12/28:
The TH900 continues to impress me. I finally tested it out on some metal music - until now had only listened to classical, folk, & electronica/trip-hop on it. And when I say metal, I mean serious metal - some of my most aggressive metal, the kind of stuff that stresses headphones in general and most headphones just can't take it. The kind of stuff that I typically listen to on the AD2K because it just takes it and dishes it back out in only the bad-ass way that it can, like this:
I'm just going to put it this way: if the TH900 had the forward-moving insistent drive of the AD2K, I think I could seriously part with the AD2K, because the TH900 kicks serious ass with metal! So much that it's nearly tearing the AD2K a new one - the TH900's bass/mid-bass is nicely heavy, compared to the lightweight-sounding AD2K. I'm still going to keep the AD2K of course, but the TH900 is killing it on metal. Everything in the bass/mid-bass/lower mids area, specifically bass guitar & male vocals, just sounds nicely heavy & full and certifiably "metal". I previously recommended the Audeze LCD-3 for metal and will now have to do the same for the TH900, it's that awesome!
I definitely know where you're coming from, in my earlier setups (HA-160D, Lyr, ancient E9/E7), I always had a noisy background but when I got the Phonitor that stopped. I absolutely hate hissing noises instead of black background, it would always drive me crazy. I also upgraded my DAC and that helped a lot in creating hiss-free signals to my amplifiers (both RCA and XLR outs balanced are available with my Mytek). I agree with the subtle crossfeed implementation comment, it is one of the best I've heard to date (time to try out Smyth Realizer).
Not me, no way. :eek:
Updated Impressions 12/28:
The TH900 continues to impress me. I finally tested it out on some metal music - until now had only listened to classical, folk, & electronica/trip-hop on it. And when I say metal, I mean serious metal - some of my most aggressive metal, the kind of stuff that stresses headphones in general and most headphones just can't take it. The kind of stuff that I typically listen to on the AD2K because it just takes it and dishes it back out in only the bad-ass way that it can, like this:
I'm just going to put it this way: if the TH900 had the forward-moving insistent drive of the AD2K, I think I could seriously part with the AD2K, because the TH900 kicks serious ass with metal! So much that it's nearly tearing the AD2K a new one - the TH900's bass/mid-bass is nicely heavy, compared to the lightweight-sounding AD2K. I'm still going to keep the AD2K of course, but the TH900 is killing it on metal. Everything in the bass/mid-bass/lower mids area, specifically bass guitar & male vocals, just sounds nicely heavy & full and certifiably "metal". I previously recommended the Audeze LCD-3 for metal and will now have to do the same for the TH900, it's that awesome!
I also finally got around to comparing the TH900 to the OII MKI directly, as opposed to guessing. (I now have the Burson Soloist set up simultaneously alongside the BHSE.) I could post the results but I think I'll save it for a full mini-review to come later. Maybe I'll just say that the TH900 is starting to win me over back to dynamics in favor of electrostats and I'm seriously contemplating parting with the 'stat gear now....
Btw, the TH900 happens to fit perfectly in the OII's flight case.
Thanks for the suggestion but I'm not likely to get a Phonitor. My previous experience with the Auditor (same amp but without all of the various controls) didn't go well with my preferred headphones and it was a particularly bad choice for the Audio-Technica AD2K. I wouldn't personally use (or recommend) the Auditor/Phonitor for low-impedance headphones in general.
Updated Impressions 12/28:
The TH900 continues to impress me. I finally tested it out on some metal music - until now had only listened to classical, folk, & electronica/trip-hop on it. And when I say metal, I mean serious metal - some of my most aggressive metal, the kind of stuff that stresses headphones in general and most headphones just can't take it. The kind of stuff that I typically listen to on the AD2K because it just takes it and dishes it back out in only the bad-ass way that it can, like this:
I'm just going to put it this way: if the TH900 had the forward-moving insistent drive of the AD2K, I think I could seriously part with the AD2K, because the TH900 kicks serious ass with metal! So much that it's nearly tearing the AD2K a new one - the TH900's bass/mid-bass is nicely heavy, compared to the lightweight-sounding AD2K. I'm still going to keep the AD2K of course, but the TH900 is killing it on metal. Everything in the bass/mid-bass/lower mids area, specifically bass guitar & male vocals, just sounds nicely heavy & full and certifiably "metal". I previously recommended the Audeze LCD-3 for metal and will now have to do the same for the TH900, it's that awesome!
I also finally got around to comparing the TH900 to the OII MKI directly, as opposed to guessing. (I now have the Burson Soloist set up simultaneously alongside the BHSE.) I could post the results but I think I'll save it for a full mini-review to come later. Maybe I'll just say that the TH900 is starting to win me over back to dynamics in favor of electrostats and I'm seriously contemplating parting with the 'stat gear now....
The Realiser ... although I have no interest in crossfeed that thing always interested me for surround sound. I should read up on it a bit. I think it will be too expensive for my needs though, I have a nice surround speaker set and don't need to watch a movie quietly with phones.
It could be fun for the occasional video game. However I do tend to collect all interesting games for Mac available as well as some old Dos games for old times sake but actually never play them (10-20 hours a year should be fairly accurate). So again, a bad investment for me. Which is why I got me a cheap external SoundBlaster Recon 3D.
Still the Realiser intrigues me.
The wait for mine is killing me! My ZDSE/DP1 need some TRS love.
-Daniel
Well that's the thing, isn't it. I think the best solution is to always have a secondary setup of speakers that you can listen, to make you remember how real surround sounds like. When will you be getting your TH900, Applehead?
When I'm finished buying and tuning motorbikes. :tongue_smile:
That stuff costs a fortune.
I have my three speaker setups the way I want now (desk stereo, living room stereo and living room surround) except for the dacs. My headphone setup is non-existent for the moment, all I have is a D7100 and it plays from the phones out of my speaker amps.
I'll be keeping the D7100 for all-round use and add a TH900 for music, probably with a HP-A8 used as dac as well as amp. I'll need a second Dac for the living room, that one 'll be the NA-11S1.
Meanwhile I see the TH900 is getting cheaper. It just needs to lower in price a bit in Europe as well. No use for me to buy it in Aussie or the US, import taxes and VAT will get the price well over the regular price here. Unless one of you is planning to visit Belgium and wants to smuggle one in.
I wonder how the D7100 will compare to the TH-900. Comparing the square wave graph on innerfidelity they don't seem to be that different though I don't reallykow how to interprete how they should be different.
Regarding all round use, I find the TH-900 is quite forgiving. Would be a great all rounder besides the lack of isolation.
I wonder how the D7100 will compare to the TH-900. Comparing the square wave graph on innerfidelity they don't seem to be that different though I don't reallykow how to interprete how they should be different.
Regarding all round use, I find the TH-900 is quite forgiving. Would be a great all rounder besides the lack of isolation.
There is no comparison... TH900 > D7000 > D7100. The sound signature of the D7100 is quite different (and worse) than the rest of the Foster lineup because it is not made by Foster but by Denon themselves.
I wonder how the D7100 will compare to the TH-900. Comparing the square wave graph on innerfidelity they don't seem to be that different though I don't reallykow how to interprete how they should be different.
Regarding all round use, I find the TH-900 is quite forgiving. Would be a great all rounder besides the lack of isolation.
There is no comparison... TH900 > D7000 > D7100. The sound signature of the D7100 is quite different (and worse) than the rest of the Foster lineup because it is not made by Foster but by Denon themselves.
Was it actually ever confirmed that Denon made the D7100 themselves? They mentioned doing some of it in-house, but I honestly think that's nonsense (along with the "flat tuning" advertised on the box).
Yeah, I agree on the sound. The D7100 is pretty terrible IMHO.