[dynamics]

  Absolutely, the TH900 is said by many to be best sounding closed-back HP on the market today closely followed by W3000ANV.  The sound signature of the D7000 and TH900 is similar in the way as soon as you hear both you know they are closely related, however you soon realise that TH900 is the big brother of the 2 with its tighter beeper bass, and with its more forward clearer midrange, overall it has more refined detailed sound.
 
Before you decide on buying new HPs, If you get a chance to audition the TH900s you should, considering you already know the D7000s

Interesting, I have to agree with TH900s being a bit treble hot, the funny thing is I did not feel this way "At All" when I had the E1 muses edition, in fact I would say the pairing had a very smooth top-end....... However, now with the Femto in my chain the TH900s top-end sounds quite aggressive which is the only gripe I've had with the femto, so maybe its what you pair with rather than the HPs themselves
 
I strongly disagree with the lack of midbass punch, I find the midbass/midrange to be by far its strongest point using both E1 and femto. If you head over to the TH900 thread you will read loads of posts with this point of view
 
Do you know if your th900s had the original pads? because same people who have experimented with aftermarket pads say they change the signature quite significantly

Beautiful!
 
I can't wait to purchase them next month.
 
I am using the Philips Fidelio X1 after owning the D7000.  The Philips Fidelio X1 are unbelievably good.  They have the perfect sound signature in which I crave.  They remind me a bit of the D7000 as far as bass goes, but Fidelio has more bass.   The bass is never over powering though, everything is very detailed and balanced.  Philips has created something special here. 
 
But I miss the comfort of the D7000.  Once, you put the D7000 on...it's hard to find another headphone more comfortable.  I hear the TH900 is about the same level of comfort.
 
I got rid of my T90 and HE-500 fast .  I preferred the Fidelio over both them .  It's not always about neutrality and flat sound.  I like a bit of an excitement and musicality.  Denon's had that and so does Fidelio.
 
Thanks a lot for you input.  I will be purchasing the TH900 most likely in November .

 

[Norway]

Gandah; Nice to see someone agree on the hot treble, haha. I tested TH900 with many amps, but were unable to get the treble down without using EQ. The pads on TH-900's were stock, but this was an early make with the poor steel/aluminum stand, not the wooden one that it ships with now. Maybe they've changed it, because I thought the midbass punch was lacking compared to D7000. Not saying there was no physical impact, just that they didn't hit as hard as I perceive D7000 to do.
 
I recently got a Vioelectric V200, which is dark sounding yet detailed and clear sounding. I think it might be excellent for TH-900. It's amazing with D7000 for sure.
 
Quote:

 
Beautiful!
 
I can't wait to purchase them next month.
 
I am using the Philips Fidelio X1 after owning the D7000.  The Philips Fidelio X1 are unbelievably good.  They have the perfect sound signature in which I crave.  They remind me a bit of the D7000 as far as bass goes, but Fidelio has more bass.   The bass is never over powering though, everything is very detailed and balanced.  Philips has created something special here. 
 
But I miss the comfort of the D7000.  Once, you put the D7000 on...it's hard to find another headphone more comfortable.  I hear the TH900 is about the same level of comfort.
 
I got rid of my T90 and HE-500 fast .  I preferred the Fidelio over both them .  It's not always about neutrality and flat sound.  I like a bit of an excitement and musicality.  Denon's had that and so does Fidelio.
 
Thanks a lot for you input.  I will be purchasing the TH900 most likely in November .

 
I absolutely love Philips Fidelio X1 too. An amazing headphone at a ridiculously low price. Wish they had exchangeable pads.
 
Comfort level of TH-900 is about equal if not better than D7000

 

[Gandah]

  Nice to see someone agree on the hot treble, haha. I tested TH900 with many amps, but were unable to get the treble down without using EQ. The pads on TH-900's were stock, but this was an early make with the poor steel/aluminum stand, not the wooden one that it ships with now. Maybe they've changed it, because I thought the midbass punch was lacking compared to D7000. Not saying there was no physical impact, just that they didn't hit as hard as I perceive D7000 to do.
 
I recently got a Vioelectric V200, which is dark sounding yet detailed and clear sounding. I think it might be excellent for TH-900. It's amazing with D7000 for sure.

Yeah man I agree, but, E1 muses>GSX mk2>TH900 = Smooth top-end, where FEMTO>GSXmk2>TH900 = treble hot.  So I think its more to do with source rather than amp
 
I also have the old coat-hanger HP stand TH900s S/N:0356 I've never used the stand I don't think I ever will it's a bit silly

 
I've read a lot about the V200 and v800 they have a huge following and said to pair well with almost any HP, next meet I will have to give them ago

 

 

[dynamics]

   
I absolutely love Philips Fidelio X1 too. An amazing headphone at a ridiculously low price. Wish they had exchangeable pads.
 
Comfort level of TH-900 is about equal if not better than D7000

I agree.  These headphones can compete with the best of them and that's not an overstatement either and in fact they simply outclass models that are a lot more expensive.  They've become one of my favorite headphones I've ever owned.
 
I hear there is a rumor that Philips is going to create an upgraded version of the Fidelio X1 with exchangeable pads.  Let's hope that's true and hopefully they keep the pricing in a similar range.
 
Do you use the stock cable for the Philips or you have a different one?  I heard something about high impedance issues with the stock cable, so  I bought one with a lower impedance and should receive it this week.  I'll see if I notice any changes.

 

[PanzerIV]

Just wondering, do you guys notice a big improvement by using the Asus E1 on a pair of hifi loudspeakers through an hometheater or it's mostly just about the headphone listening?

I have one right now paired on my KEF Q900 since I have 30 days to test it before getting a refund and I'm pretty sure I can hear a good improvement through the speakers too but I just want to know your opinion too.

 

[TheManko]

Surround receivers for the same price don't have dacs nearly as good as what you get in the Essence One. There's so many parts and license costs involved in surround receivers that you have to pay quite a bit before you get one with great dacs in it.

 

[palmfish]

I picked up a B-Stock Pioneer VSX-1122 last spring for $200. My E1 Muses sits right on top of it and I'll be damned if I can hear a difference between them.

 

[TheManko]

I used to have a Pioneer VSX-2021 and heard a clear upgrade when compared against a Hegel HD10 and Violectric V800. It was actually that receiver which made me abandon surround sound altogether, because music always lost all its energy when I used it, even in direct mode compared to the separate dacs. I'm completely happy now with a couple B&W CM8, two subwoofers, stereo amp and Muses Edition dac.

 

[palmfish]

Nice speakers

 
 
That's actually my headphone/2-channel system in the photo. The VSX is a capable enough 2-channel amp and also drives my HD 800's with no problems.
 
I love surround sound (music and movies) and have a completely different home theater system in another room.

 

[Gandah]

I did benefit a little SQ improvement pairing E1 muses too hometheater amp speakers, I agree with Manko it really depends on a number of things, eg:- the dac on my Sony TV isn't as good as the dac out of my HDX-1000 Networked media tank, or Apple TV, but putting them through the E1 muses gave better SQ, 2 channel only of course
 
However, I've come to learn this also depends a lot on what your dac was ultimately design for, E1 muses excels more with headphones rather then speakers, and my Femto dac is the other way round

 

[Froog]

If I buy an E1 today, how do I verify it's the newer revision with A10 pots and without the volume controller imbalance issue?

 

[daerron]

The DACs in my Yamaha RX-A3010 is more than decent enough. I also wasn't very happy with the sound out of the AVR till I added a power amplifier, which makes you realise how much AVR manufacturers skimp on the amplification part in their AVRs nowadays. The preamp section is actually pretty decent. I have always compared the DACs I've owned so far with the DACs on the AVR and the differences were quite small and not as notable as on my headphone rig. I think there are many more factors at play at increasing the sound quality with speaker systems such as room correction and room treatments, amplification which might be more beneficial than adding a DAC.

 

[Mach3]

  If I buy an E1 today, how do I verify it's the newer revision with A10 pots and without the volume controller imbalance issue?

The pot are clearly label B10 or A10

 

[ASUSXONAR]

  If I buy an E1 today, how do I verify it's the newer revision with A10 pots and without the volume controller imbalance issue?

 

  The pot are clearly label B10 or A10

Only the MUSES edition should have the pot with the gain jumpers. If you get a MUSES Edition unit that does not, then it needs to be sent to ASUS for a swap. The pot in the MUSES edition has a different scale to suit use of the gain jumpers. If you buy a standard it will come with the same pots they always have. The pot was never changed for imbalance, it was a change made to accommodate the gain jumpers in the MUSES Edition units only.

 

[Froog]

   
Only the MUSES edition should have the pot with the gain jumpers. If you get a MUSES Edition unit that does not, then it needs to be sent to ASUS for a swap. The pot in the MUSES edition has a different scale to suit use of the gain jumpers. If you buy a standard it will come with the same pots they always have. The pot was never changed for imbalance, it was a change made to accommodate the gain jumpers in the MUSES Edition units only.

Thanks for answering truthfully. In other words, the standard E1 still suffers from channel imbalance. Darn it, that's a deal breaker for me. Would you happen to know if there's an availability date on the "E3" (Essence III)? Is the "E3" pricing similar to that of the standard or MUSES ed? MUSES is probably over my budget.