Fostex TH900 Impressions & Discussion Thread

[gimmeheadroom]

I have the blues, they're surprisingly good all around headphones. I was expecting deep V but vocals sound normal on these. My TR-X00 is unlistenable for a lot of vocals.

So, I'm still pining for a pair of greens, but I realize it's not likely to happen.

 

[jmills8]

Yes yes the "V Shape" strong treble and strong bass makes one think the mids are further away. The Mids are not further away but the strong treble and bass are closer. In my experience not every track are giving my that V Shape sound. On many tracks I got even bass , mids , treble , the mids , vocals are up front and the bass is not pounding but just giving warmth back ground. This Album theres no "V Shape".

 

[Whazzzup]

V is for victory

 

[PointyFox]

Yes yes the "V Shape" strong treble and strong bass makes one think the mids are further away. The Mids are not further away but the strong treble and bass are closer. In my experience not every track are giving my that V Shape sound. On many tracks I got even bass , mids , treble , the mids , vocals are up front and the bass is not pounding but just giving warmth back ground. This Album theres no "V Shape".

Yeah, even though the sound is v-shaped, it doesn't seem to make mids "further away" or recessed sounding, probably because we tune the volume to compensate for the loudness of the mids usually.

 

[SennheiserNoob]

Got a reply, "The tuning of TH900mk2 (BP) is the same as the limited models, SB and PW. Practically, it reduced very low freq. and the sensitivity increased around 500Hz."

 

[Whazzzup]

Or is V for vendetta?

 

[XGeneX88]

I'm probably going to buy a TH-900 and see there are theories/arguments/statements that they do not sound the same. Tried going through some pages finding material but it's a bit overwhelming and in some cases convoluted. Can someone please provide me a general understanding/idea of how the different versions differ? Can you also please let me know if there are tuning revisions after a specific serial # for example? I understand there is a RED, BLUE, GREEN, and Pearl White version. Would appreciate any info on how they sound if there are any differences to the original "Red". Def. looking for a model with removable cables..

 

[Bret Halford]

I'm probably going to buy a TH-900 and see there are theories/arguments/statements that they do not sound the same. Tried going through some pages finding material but it's a bit overwhelming and in some cases convoluted. Can someone please provide me a general understanding/idea of how the different versions differ? Can you also please let me know if there are tuning revisions after a specific serial # for example? I understand there is a RED, BLUE, GREEN, and Pearl White version. Would appreciate any info on how they sound if there are any differences to the original "Red". Def. looking for a model with removable cables..

It's not so complicated, there is the normal tuning that is currently available in the classic Red. This is a definitive V shape headphone (in a very good way) with to my ear the heaviest bass slam, there's also a 500 hz dip at the bottom of the 'V'. Older special editions like the Black and Green also have this OG tuning.

Then there is the 'anniversary' tuning that was first introduced with the Blue version and is also used on the Whites and new Purples. It's not a radical retune, but by Fostex description they have lowered the bass boost to produce a flatter more neutral response. To my ear, they have shifted the 500 Hz null downwards, producing a flatter extension in bass and a slightly more neutral overall sound.

The difference is not enormous, and is less than I recall a pad swap producing on the Red 900s to my ear (the above comparison is all stock). I wouldn't let tuning differences scare you off from either version if you like the color

 

[XGeneX88]

It's not so complicated, there is the normal tuning that is currently available in the classic Red. This is a definitive V shape headphone (in a very good way) with to my ear the heaviest bass slam, there's also a 500 hz dip at the bottom of the 'V'. Older special editions like the Black and Green also have this OG tuning.

Then there is the 'anniversary' tuning that was first introduced with the Blue version and is also used on the Whites and new Purples. It's not a radical retune, but by Fostex description they have lowered the bass boost to produce a flatter more neutral response. To my ear, they have shifted the 500 Hz null downwards, producing a flatter extension in bass and a slightly more neutral overall sound.

The difference is not enormous, and is less than I recall a pad swap producing on the Red 900s to my ear (the above comparison is all stock). I wouldn't let tuning differences scare you off from either version if you like the color

Awesome! My guess is I'd probably enjoy the bass more on the OG tuning vs the flatter tuning. My bigger concern would probably be the treble honestly. I've read that the TH900 can present treble as a tad harsh / piercing and I wonder if the Anniversary tuning may have a smoother treble up top compared to the OG tuning (or vice versa). Any idea if one version has a smoother treble presentation vs the other? Also.. are the mids about the same on all of them then? I didn't even realize there was a black or purple version.

So...

OG Tuning - RED, GREEN, BLACK (heavier bass emphasis but dip at 500hz)
Anniversary Tuning - BLUE, WHITE, PURPLE (more linear bass, no dip at 500hz)

Do I have that right?

 

[Bret Halford]

So...

OG Tuning - RED, GREEN, BLACK (heavier bass emphasis but dip at 500hz)
Anniversary Tuning - BLUE, WHITE, PURPLE (more linear bass, no dip at 500hz)

Do I have that right?

Yes, that is right to my experience.

One other factor for OG is there are a lot of good measurements for it, whereas the anni tuning is more speculative. There are quite good pre built EQ profiles available to shift them to harmon etc with lowered highs.

 

[PointyFox]

OG Red Mk1 vs. AT Purple:
More sub-bass slam/volume. Slightly more treble slam/volume. Less upper bass. Thinner sounding. More separation between sounds.

I don't perceive either as having piercing treble, and now that I'm used to it, every other headphone sounds muddy to me.
Previously the headphones I've heard with the most slam were the Focal Clear OG and Hifiman HE6se. This one has quite a bit more.

 

[Bret Halford]

@SennheiserNoob shared the succint response they got from Fostex support on the topic:

"The tuning of TH900mk2 (BP) is the same as the limited models, SB and PW. Practically, it reduced very low freq. and the sensitivity increased around 500Hz."

[BP=Purple, SB =Blue, PW=White]

The anni sounds to my ear like an anti-909. Whereas the 909 shifts the 500 Hz null up to about ~1.1 kHz the Anni shifts it down. I don't know the policy on reposting measurements, but I've shamelessly graffiti'd some of Crinacle's nice measurements to visualize my theory:

It's fairly clear to see the shift of the 909's resonance upwards, the result is the warm upper bass and mids are drawn out further from the boosted hump on the 900. We also see some marginal shift in the upper mids slope (steeper slope on the 909 to accommodate the closer null).

Below is my totally speculative, BS curve on how I imagine the flatter bass response and 500 hz voicing might translate in FR based on my listening impression:

I have mirrored the 909's inflexion, it makes sense the mid's slope would be further reduced as the null moves away towards bass, but to my ear I'd be hard pressed to say there is a real difference in the treble response between anni and OG. The more evident shift is in Bass, the BS plot shows a speculative scenario where the null is tuned for ~125 Hz. There's less slam from the upper bass because the null is there, but there is still very comparable levels of sub bass between the anni and OG to my ear, I think there may be even some overshoot from the steeper slope that make them a little bassier briefly as well.

The 900 has a lot of warmth from the upper bass / lower mid boost, and it can also sound thin for some genres because of the 500 hz null. The Anni tuning can seem a bit bass light because of the dip ~100 Hz (speculative), but still delivers biodyna levels of sub bass very comparable to the OG 900 and 909 to my ear. FR curves are of course only one way of describing headphone sound, but I hope this speculation may help others that are similarly inclined.

 

[waveSounds]

Little update on the Yaxi pads versus stock. I managed to grab about 10 mins to do a comparison so these are only brief, very brief, impressions, but they're as follows:

The highs are definitely dialled back, and the mids are more prominent. The overall presentation does seem to be one that lends the impression of a more expansive soundstage, but haven't done enough of a listen to confirm that it actually is. Bass also seems a tad down in quantity compared to stock, but not to the extent that the mids and highs are affected, something to bear in mind though if you don't want to give up any of the low end.

 

[PointyFox]

According to Yaxi, the pads should have increased bass, not decreased it and should have decreased highs, not kept them the same.
Maybe their charts aren't exactly true.

 

[waveSounds]

I'll have to do another listen but that was how I interpreted the bass differences in that, albeit extremely quick, comparison.

The Yaxis are a lot fatter than the stock pads, so perhaps there actually is more bass but as your ears are further from the driver it feels slightly diminished.

I'll do some side by side pics of the pads.