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Fostex TH600 Dynamic Headphones
Oct 14, 2014 at 4:23 AM Post #2,358 of 3,438
Does anyone have an EQ profile for the TH600s? Preferably for Electri-Q?

Also, I owned a pair of D2000s for the last two years. Have the TH600s coming in two days. Am I going to be super happy?
 
Oct 14, 2014 at 9:20 AM Post #2,359 of 3,438
keyweez360 said:
Does anyone have an EQ profile for the TH600s? Preferably for Electri-Q?

Also, I owned a pair of D2000s for the last two years. Have the TH600s coming in two days. Am I going to be super happy?
Click to expand...


My belief is you will notice a slight improvement.  I currently have all the Denon's, had the TH900 and auditioned the TH600 for 10 days..............my D2000 is Lawton modded and custom wood cups on it so it's not fair compared to a stocker but I'd say there is little difference.  Some guys have golden ears and can really pick up differences in headphones so YMMV. 
 
Oct 14, 2014 at 9:53 AM Post #2,360 of 3,438
Yikes. I'm certainly not as knowledgable or well versed in audio wizardry as a lot of the people on here, but for what I paid, I really hope I notice an upgrade going from the D2ks to the TH600s.

Did also buy a new dac/amp to replace my current (E10 to E10k)

Crossing fingers for golden ears!
 
Oct 14, 2014 at 6:55 PM Post #2,362 of 3,438
Oct 15, 2014 at 3:56 AM Post #2,363 of 3,438
buttuglyjeff said:
   
And I like mine so much, its getting the full treatment from Lawton Audio.  So, don't put full faith in a single review...
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Careful, there has been people I've read about that got the Lawton mods done and did not like it for making the treble more present and reducing the bass presence. (Myself included!) Hopefully you will actually like the effects, but they are not universally positive.
 
Not to mention, it's quite expensive. I don't know about you, but spending 200 bucks for some angle pads and dampening is not a bargain. Nor is $400-600 dollars when you consider "upgrading" to one of his wooden cups. At that point, you are well on your way toward being able to buy another completely different headphone.
 
My experience was from buying a lawton modded TH-900 back over this summer. I did not like them very much. I'm not sure whether it was the Lawton modding I didn't like or the actual headphone, but I suspect it was the mods, since now I have a stock D7000 and love it. Based on everything I've read, I should have liked the TH-900 more than I did.
 
*I do admit I am a basically a bass-head. If the goal of the Lawton mods are to reduce the bass or bass bloom, then it's probably going the opposite direction of what my personal preferences are. I actually enjoy the little warm bloom that looser cans like the X1 have. It adds a little fullness to the whole sound.
 
Oct 15, 2014 at 6:19 AM Post #2,364 of 3,438

weissglut said:
  IMHO that's a little bit disappointing for a high end headphone of a Japanese brand. At least their headphone amps are still made in Japan.
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As long as quality control is rigid I don't think 'Made in China' is actually a problem (besides still having a cheap touch to it). I consider both the TH600 and the TH900 to be some kind of technology or capability demo by Fostex to help their parents business (Foster is making OEM speakers, headphones etc.) and maybe its even intentional to show their japanese and their chinese factories.
 
The TH900 is a product of proud with the Urushi cups, which of course have to be made in Japan. The interior of the TH600 is in my opinion not inferior due to its chinese provenance (but maybe due to budget limitations of other considerations like model differentiation). The TH600 is not a bad headphone by any measure.
 
But I concur that nowadays 'Made in Japan' has more of a quality touch to it (people living there seem to dispute that btw).
 
Oct 15, 2014 at 6:42 AM Post #2,365 of 3,438
twerk said:
   
Careful, there has been people I've read about that got the Lawton mods done and did not like it for making the treble more present and reducing the bass presence. (Myself included!) Hopefully you will actually like the effects, but they are not universally positive.
 
Not to mention, it's quite expensive. I don't know about you, but spending 200 bucks for some angle pads and dampening is not a bargain. Nor is $400-600 dollars when you consider "upgrading" to one of his wooden cups. At that point, you are well on your way toward being able to buy another completely different headphone.
 
My experience was from buying a lawton modded TH-900 back over this summer. I did not like them very much. I'm not sure whether it was the Lawton modding I didn't like or the actual headphone, but I suspect it was the mods, since now I have a stock D7000 and love it. Based on everything I've read, I should have liked the TH-900 more than I did.
 
*I do admit I am a basically a bass-head. If the goal of the Lawton mods are to reduce the bass or bass bloom, then it's probably going the opposite direction of what my personal preferences are. I actually enjoy the little warm bloom that looser cans like the X1 have. It adds a little fullness to the whole sound.
Click to expand...

 
 
Thanks for the warning, but I do understand what I'm getting myself into.  And I'm not a bass head.  To be fair, I'd be less willing to gamble a pair of TH900s, then my TH600s....
 
Oct 16, 2014 at 4:02 PM Post #2,367 of 3,438

 
Came in yesterday. 
 
Purchased from Amazon-fulfilled seller AudioDeluxe. Everything came in what looks like an actual Fostex-branded manufacturer to retail shipping box. Headphone box was inside of that. Anything I can check to verify authenticity?

Only had a few hours to listen, and I'm an absolute infant regarding headphones compared to just about all of you guys, but my first impressions are as follows.

Against my D2000s I immediately noticed how powerful the bass sounds with the TH600s. It seems tonally more present in the mid-range and just a lot cleaner, less spread. Doesn't shake my ears as much as the D2000s but somehow sounds more grand, epic. Also seems to exhibit a larger spectrum of lower-end frequencies as I swear I'm noticing more bass tone variation. 
 
Separation and soundstage are also significantly improved, as I now feel a strange sensation of different instruments or tracks coming from different parts of my head and surroundings. The TH600s sound less congested than the D2000s as a result, a weakness I didn't even recognize in the Denons until making the comparison. For fun I also listened to QSound Labs' binaural barber shop demo and it actually scared the crap out of me.
 
One of my favorite changes in sound signature versus my D2000s is in the vocals. I always found my Denons to be a little sharp, sibilant even. But with the TH600s I'm finding I still get the same volume and clarity, but with less of an edge. So the experience has been less straining so far.

Only factor I'd currently leave in the D2000's favor are the earpads. They're not quite as comfortable or form-fitting on the TH600s, but that could change in time as they break in. Both headphones warm my ears up about the same though.

Side note, the E10K sounds much cleaner and tighter than the vanilla E10. No more distortion in audio or weird feedback when plugging in headphones, and no more audio cut off. Very welcome bump in quality.

Overall I'm quite happy with the Fostex TH600s so far. Got them running some burn-in right now but plan to play with them a lot more for sure. This is all assuming they're real of course...
 
smily_headphones1.gif
 
 
Oct 16, 2014 at 8:59 PM Post #2,368 of 3,438
plakat said:
  The TH900 is a product of proud with the Urushi cups, which of course have to be made in Japan.
Click to expand...

Urushi is just one name for that treatment used across Asia. Japan does not own the market for that level of finish. It can be just as good in Korea or Thailand.
 
Oct 16, 2014 at 11:33 PM Post #2,369 of 3,438
oregonian said:
 
My belief is you will notice a slight improvement.  I currently have all the Denon's, had the TH900 and auditioned the TH600 for 10 days..............my D2000 is Lawton modded and custom wood cups on it so it's not fair compared to a stocker but I'd say there is little difference.  Some guys have golden ears and can really pick up differences in headphones so YMMV. 
Click to expand...


Thanks for your honest impressions. From what I've read it seems like the TH-600 is an improvement, but I think I'll save some money and go with the D2000's.
 
Oct 17, 2014 at 1:55 AM Post #2,370 of 3,438
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