[HideousPride]

Fostex phones are not known for being difficult to drive. If by proper sound you mean loudness, absolutely, you can plug them straight into your phone or computer and they'll have volume to spare.

 

[spurxiii]

My Mad Dogs wasn't loud enough on my iPhone 4s

 

[yipcanjo]

Fostex phones are not known for being difficult to drive. If by proper sound you mean loudness, absolutely, you can plug them straight into your phone or computer and they'll have volume to spare.

 
 

My Mad Dogs wasn't loud enough on my iPhone 4s

 
Perhaps the comment should be amended:  The Fostex TH600 (and TH900) aren't known for being difficult to drive, but (in my experience) any T50RP-based headphones require quite a bit of juice to get loud enough and to sound their best.
 
My $.02

 

[HideousPride]

Just to clarify,

The TH-600 and TH-900 drivers are not the same drivers as those found in the T50-RP. They sound fine, and even good, straight out of a source without additional amping.

 

[stuartfang]

  Just chiming in.....
 
I'm a fairly longtime head-fi'er, but more so in the IEM arena.  I broke down a couple of years ago, bought the Fostex T50RP's, and loved the "modded" sound.  Eventually, my father-in-law helped me make my own "Thunderpants-style" phones, which has been my go-to set at work ever since.  They're pretty snazzy, and sound really good

 
wow wish I had a father-in-law who could make such beautiful headphone cups! Thanks for sharing

 

[Oregonian]

Just chiming in.....

I'm a fairly longtime head-fi'er, but more so in the IEM arena.  I broke down a couple of years ago, bought the Fostex T50RP's, and loved the "modded" sound.  Eventually, my father-in-law helped me make my own "Thunderpants-style" phones, which has been my go-to set at work ever since.  They're pretty snazzy, and sound really good




Anyhow, my co-worker (who also has the disease!) showed me his new pair of HE-500's, which sounded great.  Sadly, I'm not enthused about using "open" cans here at work, so I started poking around again.  A couple of years ago, I was at a head-fi meet (here in the Seattle area) and heard some Denon D5000's (or 7000's....I don't actually remember which) and was totally blown away.  I also heard LCD2's, T1's, Grado's, and so on.... but those Denon's were the ones that did it for me.  So, after coming into a bit of "unexpected money" this past week, I started poking around looking for some Denon D5000's that I could buy used.  After some further digging, I stumbled upon the Fostex TH-600 (and 900) family that, to my joy and surprise, is the spiritual successor to the Denon AH-Dxxx line.  I was stoked!

Needless to say, after reading almost 80 pages of this thread along with a bunch of external reviews, I placed an order for some Fostex TH-600's yesterday.  I'm looking forward to joining the conversation in a more meaningful way very soon

Gorgeous. Now have him make you some cups for your TH600........

 

[vincent215]

  Just chiming in.....
 
I'm a fairly longtime head-fi'er, but more so in the IEM arena.  I broke down a couple of years ago, bought the Fostex T50RP's, and loved the "modded" sound.  Eventually, my father-in-law helped me make my own "Thunderpants-style" phones, which has been my go-to set at work ever since.  They're pretty snazzy, and sound really good
 
 

Congrats, it's beautiful!!!

 

[Maxx134]

I'm in the market for my first pair of serious headphones, .....

I've narrowed down my list to the Signature DJ, TH600 and Yamaha Pro 500.


... I'm mainly looking for something that kicks arse...

Th600 should have the larger stage
They have very detailed sound as well.

Kicks ars

 

[cb3723]

I've both the Fostex TH600 & Ultrasone DJ Sig Pros and both are superb in there own rights. Bass wise there's not a great deal between them though the Fostex is more punchy I would say. Both cans are quite neutral, but I'd definitely say the Fostex have more detail and clarity than the Sig Pro's. The Fostex however can be edgy in the highs whereas the Sig Pros are much more forgiving.

Soundstage is noticeably larger with the Fostex and their ear cups are larger and deeper than the Sig Pros. Sig Pros have better isolation and higher clamping force, as they are designed for DJ use, but ear pads are finished in beautiful Ethiopian sheepskin leather which is non porous so doesn't suffer from sweat like cow leather does.

Fostex cable is very long, fixed non removable, unless modded, the Sig Pros are removable and have a twist to lock secure feature. Sig pros come with two cables, one with 3.5mm jack, the other quite long cable with 6.3mm jack.

Fostex come with no portable carry case, I just use the very nice box they came in to store, but not a portable option by any means, and the Sig Pro comes with an excellent hard portable storage case.

Fostex build is good but compared to Sig Pros look fragile in comparison. The Sig Pros were built to handle DJ abuse so are very robust.

Comfort on the Fostex is superior for prolonged use, the Sig Pros are very comfortable but higher clamping force may for some be tiresome for prolonged use.

If you want a more detailed sound, go for the Fostex, the trade off being edgy highs at times, but better soundstage. Not recommended as portable cans.

If you want detailed sound that's forgiving and not edgy, very portable as well as excellent for home listening and very robust build, go for the Sig Pro's, the trade off been slightly less detailing than the Fostex. Easily used as portable on the move cans.

Whichever you choose, they are both superb cans and a joy to experience.

The best of both worlds IMO is the Fostex TH900's, detailed, wider soundstage, and no edgy highs - very liquid, silky sound that is amazing. But still not recommended for portable use.

 

[gjc10212]

I've received a pair today and these are made in China and don't come with a 1/4 jack adapter... (thought I read somewhere that they were made in Japan).  The frustration of having these and not being able to listen to them because I need to order a 6.5mm to 3.5mm adapter is overwhelming

 

[akhyar]

^ the 600 are Made in China.
I believed the 900 are MIJ

 

[gjc10212]

I'm sure they will be fine.  They are very comfortable, more so than the Fidelio X1's I had, and DT770Pro I currently use.

 

[daanh]

I own the th600 for portable use. I shortened the cable and put a 3.5 mm plug on it.

I agree that the highs can be edgy. Will wooden cups help with this? Should i use dynamat as dampening on the wood?

 

[gjc10212]

Any suggestions on an amp around £300 ish mark, could go higher if sound quality scales up accordingly.. I listen to RnB/Hip-Hop, Dance/Electro, some acoustic now and then.  Edited to add, source will either be my PC, or Cowon D20, and I don't have a DAC. My source files are a mixture of flacs, wavs, 320kbps mp3 (and lower).

 

[ImmaLizard]

Just got my pair of TH600's today.  Can't wait to burn them in and report back but so far I am very pleased.  I'm hooked, this is not good....