[AudioThief]

Hi.

Long story short, I own the Denon AH-D5000 and looking to upgrade, but would be blowing the bank getting the TH900. My amp is a dragonfly red. I am thinking about spending a couple of hundred bucks on a dedicated desktop amplifier and a pair of cans. But I can only do that if I don't get the TH900 which seems like the only natural upgrade from the D5Ks, which I love.

So basically, either... buy the Fostex TH900's and nothing else right now, or..

Buying a new dedicated desktop amp

+

- Shure 1840/1540
- Hifiman HE400i
- Sony MDR-Z7
- Fostex th500rp
- Massdrop HD6xx
- Sennheiser HD600

Basically, my thinking is I need the headphones to either be a clear step up from the D5Ks in terms of resolution, overall sound quality etc, or at least equal in those regards and different enough to warrant owning both.

 

[Music Alchemist]

If you're risking so much of your money on the TH900, I think the alternative is the better choice.

If I could only choose one, I'd take an HD 650 or HE400i over the TH900 anyway. (I did used to have them all.)

 

[serman005]

Maybe read about a MrSpeakers AEON. It could work and is less outlay than the TH900 MkII. I am not sure any of those on your list will be clear upgrades over your Denon, TBH.

 

[AudioThief]

If you're risking so much of your money on the TH900, I think the alternative is the better choice.

If I could only choose one, I'd take an HD 650 or HE400i over the TH900 anyway. (I did used to have them all.)

Basically i have a budget where I can just cram the TH900 in now, and then get the amp down the road. Or get the amp + a cheaper headphone. Since I love my D5Ks I figure the TH900 should be perfect for me - I'm afraid I will find more "audiophile" headphones boring. My musical tastes are very eclectic. Basically I'm scared of buying a can I sit back thinking "why did I buy this?"

Maybe read about a MrSpeakers AEON. It could work and is less outlay than the TH900 MkII. I am not sure any of those on your list will be clear upgrades over your Denon, TBH.

Hmm, yeah. I already have the Fidelio X2s which have more present mids, so I'm thinking whats the point in purchasing headphones that aren't a clear step up from my current cans.. Could you mention any upgrades from the D5K ? Is the TH900 the only one that makes sense if you want a similar sound?

 

[Music Alchemist]

Basically i have a budget where I can just cram the TH900 in now, and then get the amp down the road. Or get the amp + a cheaper headphone. Since I love my D5Ks I figure the TH900 should be perfect for me - I'm afraid I will find more "audiophile" headphones boring. My musical tastes are very eclectic. Basically I'm scared of buying a can I sit back thinking "why did I buy this?"

In that case, the TH900 could scratch your itch. More audiophile-oriented headphones could indeed be too boring for some. (Though the TH900 is by all means an audiophile headphone; it just happens to have a less neutral tuning.) But it's hard to tell how much a headphone is held back on your system until you can compare with better electronics, so try to get an amp soon after.

 

[serman005]

Basically i have a budget where I can just cram the TH900 in now, and then get the amp down the road. Or get the amp + a cheaper headphone. Since I love my D5Ks I figure the TH900 should be perfect for me - I'm afraid I will find more "audiophile" headphones boring. My musical tastes are very eclectic. Basically I'm scared of buying a can I sit back thinking "why did I buy this?"



Hmm, yeah. I already have the Fidelio X2s which have more present mids, so I'm thinking whats the point in purchasing headphones that aren't a clear step up from my current cans.. Could you mention any upgrades from the D5K ? Is the TH900 the only one that makes sense if you want a similar sound?

I don't know, maybe an Atticus? It's a nice headphone, if you are okay with the signature. Also, have you heard the TH900 MkII? Does it sound like the D5K?

 

[AudioThief]

In that case, the TH900 could scratch your itch. More audiophile-oriented headphones could indeed be too boring for some. (Though the TH900 is by all means an audiophile headphone; it just happens to have a less neutral tuning.) But it's hard to tell how much a headphone is held back on your system until you can compare with better electronics, so try to get an amp soon after.

Yeah. Preferibly I should go and just sit down with a more "neutral" headphone at a store and listen for a while. I have access to nighthawks, oppo pm3 and hd700 at the local shops, guess I'll grab my DFR and laptop and head over there one of these days.

I don't know, maybe an Atticus? It's a nice headphone, if you are okay with the signature. Also, have you heard the TH900 MkII? Does it sound like the D5K?

Atticus is quite interesting, however I can't really get it in my country (I have to purchase used to afford any of them). I don't have the opportunity to audition high end gear, but from what I've heard, TH900 is more V shaped, has a more expansive soundstage, more bass and higher resolution compared to my D5Ks. So I guess in a way, D5K on steroids.

 

[George Taylor]

Just a thought, you could get the amp first, pair it with your current cans, and see what kind of difference they make with them. You might decide to not upgrade at all.

 

[Music Alchemist]

Yeah. Preferibly I should go and just sit down with a more "neutral" headphone at a store and listen for a while. I have access to nighthawks, oppo pm3 and hd700 at the local shops, guess I'll grab my DFR and laptop and head over there one of these days.

None of those are very close to neutral. In fact, the TH900 has more neutral measurements than the HD 700 and NightHawk. (Which I did own as well.) Here are a few links so you can see what I mean.

http://en.goldenears.net/17034
http://en.goldenears.net/25448
http://goldenears.net/board/GR_Headphones/5772639

 

[AudioThief]

None of those are very close to neutral. In fact, the TH900 has more neutral measurements than the HD 700 and NightHawk. (Which I did own as well.) Here are a few links so you can see what I mean.

http://en.goldenears.net/17034
http://en.goldenears.net/25448
http://goldenears.net/board/GR_Headphones/5772639

I'm incapable of understanding frequency graphs, but I trust your judgement! Wow, I gotta say I keep hearing that TH900 is so incredibly colored and super giga V-shaped but haven't heard the same about nighthawks/oppo/hd700. Nighthawks Ive heard are dark, hd700 bright and pm3 neutral is what people have been telling me.

Do you think the TH900 is more neutral than my current D5Ks? Is neutral and Vshape not describing the same thing?

 

[AudioThief]

Just a thought, you could get the amp first, pair it with your current cans, and see what kind of difference they make with them. You might decide to not upgrade at all.

Hello, yeah I've thought about this and it definitely strikes me as the "adult, grown up, responsible" course of action.

HOWEVER.... TH900s in my country are far and few between, and I have that "gotta have em" urge. But I think I've already been persuaded to just drop the "mid range balanced" option. Its either go for the th900 now, upgrade amp later, or just upgrade amp and see what I think. I could probably save some during summer (I'm a student) and have a larger headphone budget later as well.

 

[buke9]

You should go listen to others before you make up your mind. The Nighthawks are way to dark for me and the PM-3's are probably the most neutral of those you listed but boring to me. If you don't mind a brighter pair as your looking at the 900's the HD-700's are very good. They have been gotten a bad rep here as at one time they were $1000 and I got mine new for $450 but they have gone back up. They have decent bass not Fostex bass but good and great detail and soundstage worth a listen. I like them better with a good tube amp though.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I'm incapable of understanding frequency graphs, but I trust your judgement! Wow, I gotta say I keep hearing that TH900 is so incredibly colored and super giga V-shaped but haven't heard the same about nighthawks/oppo/hd700. Nighthawks Ive heard are dark, hd700 bright and pm3 neutral is what people have been telling me.

Do you think the TH900 is more neutral than my current D5Ks? Is neutral and Vshape not describing the same thing?

Just note how the blue/green lines deviate from the dotted line. All three have boosted lows, sucked-out mids, and boosted highs, to various extents. But the NightHawk has even more boosted lows and sucked-out mids. The one I had was also brighter than the measurements would suggest in terms of treble peaks. I wouldn't say it's dark in the sense of lacking brightness. it's just that the mids are darker. (Oh, and the PM-3 does measure more neutral than the others, but it's still not as neutral as some STAX headphones and so on.)

I have not heard the D5K. However, you can compare its measurements here. They measure very similarly, so at least you'll get that type of tuning you're looking for.

http://en.goldenears.net/en/?mid=GR...vision=-13756&category=275&document_srl=16296

 

[AudioThief]

You should go listen to others before you make up your mind. The Nighthawks are way to dark for me and the PM-3's are probably the most neutral of those you listed but boring to me. If you don't mind a brighter pair as your looking at the 900's the HD-700's are very good. They have been gotten a bad rep here as at one time they were $1000 and I got mine new for $450 but they have gone back up. They have decent bass not Fostex bass but good and great detail and soundstage worth a listen. I like them better with a good tube amp though.

Interesting. I will definitely be trying out the HD700 the coming week. They are around 500$ new here.

Just note how the blue/green lines deviate from the dotted line. All three have boosted lows, sucked-out mids, and boosted highs, to various extents. But the NightHawk has even more boosted lows and sucked-out mids. The one I had was also brighter than the measurements would suggest in terms of treble peaks. I wouldn't say it's dark in the sense of lacking brightness. it's just that the mids are darker. (Oh, and the PM-3 does measure more neutral than the others, but it's still not as neutral as some STAX headphones and so on.)

I have not heard the D5K. However, you can compare its measurements here. They measure very similarly, so at least you'll get that type of tuning you're looking for.

http://en.goldenears.net/en/?mid=GR...vision=-13756&category=275&document_srl=16296

Wow, going back and forth in two different tabs the measurements look almost equal. To me, D5K sounds pretty neutral although I know they are not. When comparing them to my X2s which I think have a tad less recessed mids, vocals seem more distant on the D5K and highs are a tad brighter, however overall the D5K is a much much better headphone. I wouldn't mind more present mids in the D5K but it doesn't bother me knowing how much better the headphones are overall compared to my other pair, if that makes sense.

The thing is that when I listen to music I listen to basically everything, but the only times I feel I want more of anything its always the bass in bass music (think oldschool dubstep, basically music where bass takes the main stage). The D5K has plenty of bass but lost a decent chunk of mid bass when I introduced the dragonfly red - however the sub bass improved. In the end what I'm looking for in the TH900 is the most engaging, "orgasmic" sound when listening to EDM/trap/hiphop/bass music. What I would be looking after in a more neutral set would be a euphoric feeling when listening to instrumental music like post rock, piano solos/classical, rock (think porcupine tree discography etc), metal etc.. Now the D5K is pretty damn strong in all of those genres imo, and I don't listen to a whole lot of vocal centric music, which is I believe the strengths of balanced/neutral cans compared to V-shaped cans? So maybe the V shape is for me ?

 

[Music Alchemist]

Just a quick tip: If you're looking for really strong bass, you'll want to boost it via EQ and use an amp. There's great info in this thread. (Notice how the TH900 is ranked #2.)

https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/the-hardest-hitting-headphones-are-the-extreme-bass-club.716711/

(Also, in case you didn't know this, you need to reduce the gain in your player by at least the amount of your largest boost/cut to avoid distortion.)