[Ryanr1987]

Not sure whether to bite the bullet. I love a ultra thick, lush creamy sound. How do they compare to the 650 in that regard? Is the bass roll of worse? These could either be mh perfect phone or a nightmare!

 

[Boffy]

I own the HD650, but I only tried the TH500RP at a local headphone shop for about 40 minutes. The first thing that I notice right away is that TH500RP has less bass, so yes I do think the bass roll off is indeed worse. However, because TH500 has less bass, there is more air in the treble than the HD650 and the soundstage is noticeably bigger as well.
 
HD650 and TH500RP both share relaxing and lush sound, but they are still different from my experience. I personally prefer the HD650, because it is more forgiving of badly mastered recordings and suits a wider genre of music, though TH500RP is no slouch in this either. HD650 is richer and has more authority, so it is a pleasant listen at a higher listening volume. TH500RP, on the other hand, is more delicate, but this is a good thing. At quieter volumes, acoustic tracks sound mesmerizing, and female vocals in particular sound less congested. Hope this helps. 

 

[Steve Wilcox]

I'm also keen to hear more about the Fostex TH500-TPs.  My Alpha Dogs have largely supplanted my HD650s and the former do sound remarkably open for a closed back headphone. I absolutely love my Alpha Dogs but I'm looking for some open back cans to supplement these - I do miss that open, airy sound that open cans can only truly produce. The HD650s are great cans but I do find they lack the 'excitement' that the Alpha Dogs provide. I'm really looking for that extra bit of excitement with open sound stage and airiness.
 
I'd be interested to hear how the Fostex compare to the HiFi Mans (400i and 560) at around this price point.  Should I wait for the Audeze EL8's?  Or should I save some money and go for the Beyer DT880s?  I have a very old set of Beyer DT411s - they weren't very expensive and are not in the same league as the aforemetioned cans but I do love their openness and timbre and I understand these would be traits of the DT880s.
 
It would be great if 'Mr Speakers' could work his magic on some open cans!
 
I'll be amping with an Asgard One, but may upgrade to a Lyr Two at some point - I'd also be interested to hear how much difference this will make? The Asgard actually sounds quite 'tubey' to me and has plenty of power - I really don't have any 'problem' with it.  I've just heard so many postives about the Lyr, particularly combining well with the Alpha Dogs.

 

[Robert777]

I think they are worth an audition, or a chance purchase if you can find them somewhere at a good price with a generous return policy.
 
I purchased them and at first was not too impressed with the sound but kept them because I liked the build quality, comfort and the cable. 
 
They have since become my most listened too headphones. The detail is not on par with my HD800's and the bass is not to the scale of my TH900's but they present a very coherent and enjoyable spectrum of music. They need a lot of power but reward you with a fatigue free and comfortable listening experience.
 
It is also a lot of fun to try different pads and internal damping to tailor the sound.
 
Cheers.