[L1C4]

I've owned them all, and actually, multiple pairs of each. Most of the added cost for the Fostex are the Japanese Cherry Birch housings with traditional "Urushi" lacquer. 
 
I will agree that both the TH600/900 sound more 'fun' than the D7000, but that doesn't translate to accuracy.
 
Fostex obviously thought they could go out big with their prices, but TH900 retail is now $1,299.99 and the TH600 is $599.99 so your price comparisons are a bit off. Money also doesn't translate to better sound -- obviously, money can buy better R&D and good materials, but if you have a bad design or bad production, it doesn't matter.

 

[ati832]

  I've owned them all, and actually, multiple pairs of each. Most of the added cost for the Fostex are the Japanese Cherry Birch housings with traditional "Urushi" lacquer. 
 
I will agree that both the TH600/900 sound more 'fun' than the D7000, but that doesn't translate to accuracy.
 
Fostex obviously thought they could go out big with their prices, but TH900 retail is now $1,299.99 and the TH600 is $599.99 so your price comparisons are a bit off. Money also doesn't translate to better sound -- obviously, money can buy better R&D and good materials, but if you have a bad design or bad production, it doesn't matter.

I did not know this was a thread to argue on it's a thread to post your thoughts on th600's if you want to attack me then please do it via pm thanks, no need to get angry posting.

 

[Oregonian]

It's all subjective in audio as we know - but my experience owning both Fostex units, a D7000 (now a LA7000), two D5000's and two D2000's was that aside from the D2000 being a notch down (not far down mind you), the other four were close enough to each other that unless you have great ears (which I don't) you will be more than happy with a D5000 or a D7000 if you want the improved cup finish over the Fostex. 
 
That all said - I know many of you have great ears and can hear the difference from a TH900 to a D7000 but to me the cost differential was not worth it - not at all.  
 
My real point is - I love them all!  That Fostex/Denon sound is my favorite signature ever. 
 
Kind of glad I don't have golden ears! 

 

[Max Choiral]

  It's all subjective in audio as we know - but my experience owning both Fostex units, a D7000 (now a LA7000), two D5000's and two D2000's was that aside from the D2000 being a notch down (not far down mind you), the other four were close enough to each other that unless you have great ears (which I don't) you will be more than happy with a D5000 or a D7000 if you want the improved cup finish over the Fostex. 
 
That all said - I know many of you have great ears and can hear the difference from a TH900 to a D7000 but to me the cost differential was not worth it - not at all.  
 
My real point is - I love them all!  That Fostex/Denon sound is my favorite signature ever. 
 
Kind of glad I don't have golden ears! 

What do you mean by "subjective"? The difference between TH900 & D7000 is as night and day. You don't need to have golden ears to hear that

 

[Oregonian]

 
What do you mean by "subjective"? The difference between TH900 & D7000 is as night and day. You don't need to have golden ears to hear that

That's YOUR opinion.  I had them both. Side by side.  Didn't hear the night and day difference at all. 

 

[Max Choiral]

 
That's YOUR opinion.  I had them both. Side by side.  Didn't hear the night and day difference at all. 

ok-ok, no offence. No need to be angry

 

[Luckbad]

  If you can find a second hand ALO Pan-Am, since they have been discontinued, that sounds very good with the TH-600 as well.

 
Started searching for the PanAm. Hopefully I'll find one at a reasonable price at some point.
 
I contacted Little Dot and they did not recommend the MkIII or MkIV for the TH600 due to the OTL design and low impedance of the headphones. They recommended the I+ as the cheap option, then the Mk9 and Mk6+ as the best options (I believe both are OCL). Unfortunately, the Mk9 and Mk6+ are well beyond what I'm willing to spend on a headphone amp.
 
I'm also poking around at the Project Ember. Minimum impedance listed is 32 Ohm, so I'm going to ping them and see what they recommend.
 
Thanks all!

 

[DavidA]

   
Started searching for the PanAm. Hopefully I'll find one at a reasonable price at some point.
 
I contacted Little Dot and they did not recommend the MkIII or MkIV for the TH600 due to the OTL design and low impedance of the headphones. They recommended the I+ as the cheap option, then the Mk9 and Mk6+ as the best options (I believe both are OCL). Unfortunately, the Mk9 and Mk6+ are well beyond what I'm willing to spend on a headphone amp.
 
I'm also poking around at the Project Ember. Minimum impedance listed is 32 Ohm, so I'm going to ping them and see what they recommend.
 
Thanks all!

The Ember works quite well with the TH-600, its my favorite amp for them, I also have a Lyr2, Asgard2, Modi, BH Crack and Teac UD-301 and AH-01 to compare with.  The adjustable output resistance/impedance of the Ember lets it pair with a wide range of headphones from planars to Senn HD-6XX.

 

[Nilisco]

I ended up emailing fostex after all the conflicting info on what happened.
 
In summary:
 
The th-600 was discontinued but will eventually be replaced with something in a similar price range. The timing for this was unknown by the CSR, but I doubt it'll be soon. Really wish I would have got in on the B&H photo deal at 450$.

 

[Luckbad]

The Ember works quite well with the TH-600, its my favorite amp for them, I also have a Lyr2, Asgard2, Modi, BH Crack and Teac UD-301 and AH-01 to compare with.  The adjustable output resistance/impedance of the Ember lets it pair with a wide range of headphones from planars to Senn HD-6XX.

Thanks! Any recommended tubes for a basshead? I will use the amp at work and listen to a lot of ambient bass and liquid dubstep because it isn't distracting.

 

[DavidA]

Thanks! Any recommended tubes for a basshead? I will use the amp at work and listen to a lot of ambient bass and liquid dubstep because it isn't distracting.

Getting great sound with 12AU7 Telefunken and 12AT7 Bugle Boy.  Also just started using some 6SN7 but you will need the adapter so the cost goes up and IMO the 12XXX tubes work quite well

 

[roguepp88]

   
Started searching for the PanAm. Hopefully I'll find one at a reasonable price at some point.
 
I contacted Little Dot and they did not recommend the MkIII or MkIV for the TH600 due to the OTL design and low impedance of the headphones. They recommended the I+ as the cheap option, then the Mk9 and Mk6+ as the best options (I believe both are OCL). Unfortunately, the Mk9 and Mk6+ are well beyond what I'm willing to spend on a headphone amp.
 
I'm also poking around at the Project Ember. Minimum impedance listed is 32 Ohm, so I'm going to ping them and see what they recommend.
 
Thanks all!

 
Good luck, the minimal impedance for the Pan-Am is 32 Ohm as well,
which is just alright for the TH600.
 
There see that discounts around for brand new Pan-Am's since they are trying to clear the left overs I think.
A new one may also be coming out in the near future,
but I have no idea about that.

 

[obsidyen]

  I ended up emailing fostex after all the conflicting info on what happened.
 
In summary:
 
The th-600 was discontinued but will eventually be replaced with something in a similar price range. The timing for this was unknown by the CSR, but I doubt it'll be soon. Really wish I would have got in on the B&H photo deal at 450$.

I hope they make a new HP with smoother highs, a bit more mids but still *** kicking bass! I'd totally buy that.

 

[manbear]

The Ember works quite well with the TH-600, its my favorite amp for them, I also have a Lyr2, Asgard2, Modi, BH Crack and Teac UD-301 and AH-01 to compare with.  The adjustable output resistance/impedance of the Ember lets it pair with a wide range of headphones from planars to Senn HD-6XX.

You dont have problems with noise floor?

I used to own an Ember but got rid of it because it was too noisy with low impedance headphones. But i agree that its a good amp otherwise.

 

[DaemonSire]

You dont have problems with noise floor?

I used to own an Ember but got rid of it because it was too noisy with low impedance headphones. But i agree that its a good amp otherwise.

I found this very dependent on the tubes.  I have a Solstice (very similar to Ember), and on some tubes, it is very noisy and on others, quiet.  I found changing the output resistance from low to medium would quiet them down a lot as well.
 
Right now, I have a pair of Grado 325e going into my Solstice with a medium output resistance and it is very quiet.  But as I mentioned, a couple of my tubes are quite noisy so it may just take some experimenting.