[Empire1]

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Fixed that for you. Honestly without the lacquered wood cups these look pretty average, basically a repainted Denon Dx000 headband and strut assembly, even the cables are the same.

The cups aren't really that attractive. They're nice, but I personally preferred the wooden cups of the 7000s any day. 
 
I'd gladly pay $500 less and get cheaper wooden cups  

 

[336881]

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So all these hard working red urushi paints/coating/etc...really help to make the sounds better ?
I am just curious because I really want to get a better closed headphone than my Denon AH-D7000, I also tried UE8 but didn't like the clamping pressure.

 You could get a mod from Lawton audio. Level 1 isnt horribly expensive and said to make a big difference.

 

[Canadian411]

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The cups aren't really that attractive. They're nice, but I personally preferred the wooden cups of the 7000s any day. 
 
I'd gladly pay $500 less and get cheaper wooden cups  

 
I wonder if we can get TH900 without urushi cups for $1000, then it's I will definitely get it.

 

[extrabigmehdi]

Meh,  seems there's a plan from fostex, to push you into spending the 2000$.
There's the discontinued d7000 in one hand, and the new TH900 that is the only new model that looks remotely similar to the D7000.
Screw both denon & fostex.

 

[IEMCrazy]

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Meh,  seems there's a plan from fostex, to push you into spending the 2000$.
There's the discontinued d7000 in one hand, and the new TH900 that is the only new model that looks remotely similar to the D7000.
Screw both denon & fostex.

The TH900 isn't so much a "new target to herd everyone into"....it's a limited edition headphone to act as a catalog showpiece and drum up interest in the brand.  They're only going to make so many of them and then that's the end of it.  Maybe after that they'll come out with a TH890 or something that is basically a TH900 without the rare lacquer and all, and plastic cups for $1500 or $1200 or something (the D7k officially was $1100 or so.)  But the TH900 is thoroughly limited edition collectors item type fare, not a new target price point.  You buy it for the rareness, keep it for the sound.
 
Also, Fostex still sells the D5000 under a different model name....but it's limited to the Japan market for the time being.  Clearly Denon doesn't own these designs.  I wouldn't be surprised if the old models or new variants of them were to show up on the global market again at some point. 

 

[dharma]

Quote:

... Honestly without the lacquered wood cups these look pretty average, basically a repainted Denon Dx000 headband and strut assembly, even the cables are the same.

 
Actually, its's nearly impossible to see from photos, how gorgeous can be something made from wood. 
Sure, Japanese with their hundreds year old tradition of high-level lacquering, doesn't leave much room for doubts about possible very high-level finishing... but 'devil is in details', i would say in subtle microdetails. Have worked as re-finisher of pianos and have seen nice wooden stuff (and not only high glossy black Steinways) with my naked eyes and i have hesitated, in some rare cases, to cover naked wood again with nice lacquer layers (for wood protection)... its all in subtle details and 'uncontrollable' feelings or emotions... for this reason, some guys prefer protect smaller wooden stuff by putting them into (highest quality) natural boiling oil or protect them with natural wax (bee products).  
And as ex-photographer, have seen people with really very nice faces (for naked eye), but which are very hard to get on photos as 'really nice' faces and sometimes there are some other faces, which are 'nothing special' in real life, but for your surprise they nearly always somehow shine on photos (even on group photos). So... what's about Fostex HT900? I don't know, yet...
 
But about D7100... less wood ... and really big cups. Hope that new changes are fixing some issues as it is with D5000 and D7000. Those comfortable hp's are little unstable on head and they protect from outside noise not as much as sometimes needed...

 

[AnakChan]

Quote:

 
Actually, its's nearly impossible to see from photos, how gorgeous can be something made from wood. 
Sure, Japanese with their hundreds year old tradition of high-level lacquering, doesn't leave much room for doubts about possible very high-level finishing... but 'devil is in details', i would say in subtle microdetails. Have worked as re-finisher of pianos and have seen nice wooden stuff (and not only high glossy black Steinways) with my naked eyes and i have hesitated, in some rare cases, to cover naked wood again with nice lacquer layers (for wood protection)... its all in subtle details and 'uncontrollable' feelings or emotions... for this reason, some guys prefer protect smaller wooden stuff by putting them into (highest quality) natural boiling oil or protect them with natural wax (bee products).  
And as ex-photographer, have seen people with really very nice faces (for naked eye), but which are very hard to get on photos as 'really nice' faces and sometimes there are some other faces, which are 'nothing special' in real life, but for your surprise they nearly always somehow shine on photos (even on group photos). So... what's about Fostex HT900? I don't know, yet...
 
But about D7100... less wood ... and really big cups. Hope that new changes are fixing some issues as it is with D5000 and D7000. Those comfortable hp's are little unstable on head and they protect from outside noise not as much as sometimes needed...

 
In my review of the Fostex HP-A8 amp, I have a few pix of my TH-900 close up. Still I've probably PP the pix a little too much (they're slightly contrast-ier than straight from raw), but maybe it'll give viewers some idea.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/628736/initial-impressions-of-the-fostex-hp-a8-dac-amp

 

[dharma]

Quote:

 
In my review of the Fostex HP-A8 amp, I have a few pix of my TH-900 close up. Still I've probably PP the pix a little too much (they're slightly contrast-ier than straight from raw), but maybe it'll give viewers some idea.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/628736/initial-impressions-of-the-fostex-hp-a8-dac-amp

Thank You.
Not seeing TH-900 anytime soon in this part of world...
Transparent and... same time glossy mirroring lacquer, interesting. How much original microstructure of TH-900 wooden cups is possible to see through lacquer layers and how is the wood microstucture changing color when moving between different light sources?

 

[ajreynol]

I'm a bit late to the party but...
 
...the D7000 was discontinued?
 
and the D7100's are poor performers?
 
that all correct?

 

[MacedonianHero]

I'm a bit late to the party but...

...the D7000 was discontinued?

and the D7100's are poor performers?

that all correct?

You got it!

 

[MHOE]

 
Awfully overbassed (like D7100) and more treble? I cannot say I am impressed by TH900...

 

[extrabigmehdi]

Quote:

 
 
Awfully overbassed (like D7100) and more treble? I cannot say I am impressed by TH900...

 
Beside the frequency response,
good 30hz quare response,
decent 300hz square response,
THD  below 1% through the whole frequency response,
impulse response better than average:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/FostexTH900.pdf

 

[MHOE]

Quote:

 
Beside the frequency response,
good 30hz quare response,
decent 300hz square response,
THD  below 1% through the whole frequency response,
impulse response better than average:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/FostexTH900.pdf

 
To be honest, I would be very very surprised if headphones for more than 2000 dollars would technically perform badly... But I also expect frequency response that upgrades 1000 dollars D7000 and not the opposite!
 
It really reminds me of D7100:
 

 
 - D7100 is clearly worse but the amount of bass and treble is way too much with TH900, IMHO. Happy to stay with D7000 which measure the best (the most neutral across the spectrum - we could maybe mention D2000 as well...) from Dx000 and TH900 but keep features I like from these cans.
 

 

[extrabigmehdi]

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But I also expect frequency response that upgrades 1000 dollars D7000 and not the opposite!

The hd800 is also less neutral than the hd600 (according to general consensus). Although that's not too obvious from graph.

 

[MHOE]

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The hd800 is also less neutral than the hd600 (according to general consensus). Although that's not too obvious from graph.

 
Really? I can see it very clearly:
 

 
More neutral bass, midrange and less treble... Very obvious. I don't like HD800 (or HD700) anyway - would rather get HD650 or HD598 (maybe HD600) as my second headphones.