Fostex TH900 Impressions & Discussion Thread
Nov 26, 2021 at 10:24 PM Post #18,001 of 18,737
Thank the heavens :D I'm hoping anyone that reads my post can either glean something useful from it about the TH900, or perhaps indicate to me what other headphones might be good for me to look at.

Are the TH900 particularly more harsh then other fostex biodyna driver cans? Or are they generally similar in that regards across the board?
Nah the th610 is more even with less peaks in the treble if any to my ears. The denon line 5200, 7200, 9200 (edit the 9200 was more bright then the other 2 but just barley) are all more tame as well. ZMF auteur and Eikon are biodynamic drivers and aren’t harsh. I honestly don’t feel the th900 horrible but it is brighter then all those I mentioned. I think the 900 is more fun then any of the previously mentioned headphones and paired with a warm amp and dac are excellent for enjoyment. Currently using a Burson playmate 2 with classic op amps and it’s a wonderful pairing with plenty of grip and control in the drivers. I am selling the conductor 3 reference I just bought and that sounded absolutely stunning with the 900s bringing so much space and air with no harshness at all yet the most dynamic amp I have heard to date. I think it depends on what you our with the 900 in how it’s presents the treble being harsh or just a very detailed sparkle. The thx amps bring some nasty harnesses compared to the amps I just listed as well as the a90 (but the a90 seemed less harsh then the thx amps).
 
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Nov 26, 2021 at 10:25 PM Post #18,002 of 18,737
Thank the heavens :D I'm hoping anyone that reads my post can either glean something useful from it about the TH900, or perhaps indicate to me what other headphones might be good for me to look at.

Are the TH900 particularly more harsh then other fostex biodyna driver cans? Or are they generally similar in that regards across the board?

I don't mean to go too off-topic, but from what ive gathered, they can handle much more! I've heard people saying even 20db no problem, that they just take it in strides without distortion.
I will say, it sounded completely undisturbed by it. Very clean boost. I could also barely notice it impacting frequencies higher up.
Other top notch headphones with less V Shape sound which I used to own would be the Abyss 1266 tc or Final Audio 8000 pro , bit both cost over 3,500 usd.

 
Nov 27, 2021 at 11:16 PM Post #18,005 of 18,737
For anyone with th900 I highly recommend you listen to Hans Zimmer - why so serious on Tidal.

Boost the bass a bit and then play that. There's one part of the song (you WILL know it when you hear it) that almost brought me to tears with the bass performance. And turn it up when you get there. Just really unbelievable.
 
Nov 28, 2021 at 3:51 AM Post #18,006 of 18,737
Thank the heavens :D I'm hoping anyone that reads my post can either glean something useful from it about the TH900, or perhaps indicate to me what other headphones might be good for me to look at.

Has anyone noticed the TH900 being particularly more harsh then other fostex biodyna driver cans? Or do you feel they are generally similar in that regards across the board?

I don't mean to go too off-topic, but from what ive gathered, they can handle much more! I've heard people saying even 20db no problem, that they just take it in strides without distortion.
I will say, it sounded completely undisturbed by it. Very clean boost. I could also barely notice it impacting frequencies higher up.
Pads make all the difference and are why the th610 is less bright and more full in the midrange. If you put th610 pads on the th900 it makes a drastic difference in tonal balance - smoother and less bright but maintains the bass. The LCD-X I had, though detailed, was nowhere near as full and liquid as my th900s. Though I have also modded mine internally too.
 
Nov 28, 2021 at 7:53 AM Post #18,007 of 18,737
For anyone with th900 I highly recommend you listen to Hans Zimmer - why so serious on Tidal.

Boost the bass a bit and then play that. There's one part of the song (you WILL know it when you hear it) that almost brought me to tears with the bass performance. And turn it up when you get there. Just really unbelievable.
i can't envisage increasing the th900's bass presence for any musical piece
 
Nov 28, 2021 at 8:38 AM Post #18,009 of 18,737
I second the pad swap. I could not listen to my th900 with original pads. But dekoni sheepskin (i think) did the trick and now they sound good to my ears for most tracks (not all). I also lawton modded them. I drive via the simple fiio q5s. I tried ifi products like idsd signature but sound wise very bad , also on my hyla sarda iems the ifi killed the bass and made it so average. I also had the dethonray honey for a while but I also didn’t appreciate that sound on both th900 and hyla sarda. Plus it has problems with volume etc.. So for now I stick with the q5s.
 
Dec 3, 2021 at 3:19 PM Post #18,011 of 18,737
Does anyone have any recommendations for a small portable (or desktop) DAC/Amp combo that pairs well with these for using at work? Ideally from a smartphone.
Ifi or just a Cowon dap.
 
Dec 7, 2021 at 9:08 AM Post #18,013 of 18,737
back on TH900 after my server has been sent for an upgrade, so back with hugo from my iMac. fun stuff, even with the sq downgrade still makes listening enjoyable. I bet im on fostex for a while, the turn from NZ is only so fast
 
Dec 7, 2021 at 9:56 PM Post #18,014 of 18,737
Nah the th610 is more even with less peaks in the treble if any to my ears. The denon line 5200, 7200, 9200 (edit the 9200 was more bright then the other 2 but just barley) are all more tame as well. ZMF auteur and Eikon are biodynamic drivers and aren’t harsh. I honestly don’t feel the th900 horrible but it is brighter then all those I mentioned. I think the 900 is more fun then any of the previously mentioned headphones and paired with a warm amp and dac are excellent for enjoyment. Currently using a Burson playmate 2 with classic op amps and it’s a wonderful pairing with plenty of grip and control in the drivers. I am selling the conductor 3 reference I just bought and that sounded absolutely stunning with the 900s bringing so much space and air with no harshness at all yet the most dynamic amp I have heard to date. I think it depends on what you our with the 900 in how it’s presents the treble being harsh or just a very detailed sparkle. The thx amps bring some nasty harnesses compared to the amps I just listed as well as the a90 (but the a90 seemed less harsh then the thx amps).
I had TH610 and loved the sound, i can only just briefly audition TH900 that time and dont feel any harsh, but it's hard to find here in my country sadly :frowning2:, do you think it's worth to blind buy, my audio memory is not that good, i need more time with them that time but i couldnot, is they really worth the price different ($599 vs $1599), just need more oppinion to justify the purchase, i saw other oppinion on internet said, he audition both TH610 and TH900 but ended up with TH610 because the technicalities not so much different to justify the purchase (he had RME ADI 2 DAC), that's make me doubt, what do you think bout them both
 
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Dec 7, 2021 at 10:26 PM Post #18,015 of 18,737
I had TH610 and loved the sound, i can only just briefly audition TH900 that time and dont feel any harsh, but it's hard to find here in my country sadly :frowning2:, do you think it's worth to blind buy, my audio memory is not that good, i need more time with them that time but i couldnot, is they really worth the price different ($599 vs $1599), just need more oppinion to justify the purchase, i saw other oppinion on internet said, he audition both TH610 and TH900 but ended up with TH610 because the technicalities not so much different to justify the purchase (he had RME ADI 2 DAC), that's make me doubt, what do you think bout them both
Buy a used one , I bought two used ones 5 years ago and still going strong. I push 5 watts into them and eq the bass.
 

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