[Bret Halford]

I combined the plot above with another from https://headphonetestlab.co.uk/test-results-manufacturers-e-h-fostex-th900.

No idea how accurate this is.

According to this, the anniversary tuning seems to have less bass and the 500 Hz notch shifted lower.
Because it has less bass, it should sound thinner, brighter, and have more mids.

That alligns very well with Fostex description of the tuning, these measurements look quite good to me!

 

[Bret Halford]

I just measured and reviewed my blue here (external link) with comparisons to the EMU Teak, but I don't have the regular version. The measurement rig I use is also different from ie. Crinacle or Oratory's. The anniversary tuning seems to have fuller mids and less bass boost. But I'd really need to measure the OG to be sure.

My biggest takeaway from pad rolling is that the EMU pads or similarly the Accessory House Denon pads make the TH900 a lot easier to listen to. Mids are much fuller and smoother. In stock form I still enjoy it but it is really track dependent - classical, jazz, and accoustic music sound brilliant but poorly mastered rock or metal can be overbearing. The biggest difference between EMU pads and Accessories House pads is that the latter further reduces the upper treble peak at around 11-12khz, so that is recommended if you find the treble too sparkly.

The TH900MK2 SB is pretty much my end game closed back. You can choose between two types of tuning with pad rolling, and there's also the option of swaping to different wood chambers offered by EMU and Lawton Audio. There's endless potential to this headphone.

Thank you for sharing these measurements, it's great to finally see a proper frequency response for these!

I overlaid with Crinacle's TH900 mk2 Red measurement, and as you note your rig does indeed seem to track very well (IEC standards doing there job I guess)!

Less dip at 500 Hz, flatter bass. Interesting to see it looks a bit brighter at peak too, but I always take the higher frequencies a bit more cautiously.

 

[gzbaga]

Thank you for sharing these measurements, it's great to finally see a proper frequency response for these!

I overlaid with Crinacle's TH900 mk2 Red measurement, and as you note your rig does indeed seem to track very well (IEC standards doing there job I guess)!



Less dip at 500 Hz, flatter bass. Interesting to see it looks a bit brighter at peak too, but I always take the higher frequencies a bit more cautiously.

That looks about right, and lines up with Fostex's description of the anniversary tuning too. It's also true that treble is often more variable. Makes me wanna hear and measure the OG myself.

For me the game changer was the pads. The EMU/Accessory House pads smooths off the treble peaks and make them lot more forgiving to modern genres while maintaining the technical excellence of the TH900 driver. I imagine other pads with similar smaller inner opening would work too, which is effectively achieved by reducing front volume resonance which can often casause treble peaks between 5-7khz.

 

[Bret Halford]

That looks about right, and lines up with Fostex's description of the anniversary tuning too. It's also true that treble is often more variable. Makes me wanna hear and measure the OG myself.

For me the game changer was the pads. The EMU/Accessory House pads smooths off the treble peaks and make them lot more forgiving to modern genres while maintaining the technical excellence of the TH900 driver. I imagine other pads with similar smaller inner opening would work too, which is effectively achieved by reducing front volume resonance which can often casause treble peaks between 5-7khz.

900's should come with a warning about being habit forming! I have both the 900 OG and the Pearl White Annis (as well as 909s lol) and despite the tuning differences being subtle I do find them quite complementary. The differences shown are relatively subtle and align very well with Fostex' description. It should not scare the prospective buyer from either model if they like the color.

Your point about pads is on point, they are much more dramatic in shifting the response, and between the OEM variants, Foster 1 Tesla (TH 610 or THx) and 3rd party pads (Dekoni, ZMF etc) there are tons of options for the 900 and its kin. For me, the ultra low distortion and stock sub bass driver performance of the BioDynas make EQ very attractive. The OG 900 is particularly nice in this respect as it is a very well measured headphone, I have profiles on hand to swap it to Harman, Diffuse Field etc... the 500 Hz dip is also very easy to remove directly with a single filter (about 2-3 dB boost depending on tilt desired) if it is objectionable.

 

[MrYaldi]

Apologies for the cross post but I posted this in the 80 page before noticing this, far more active thread:

Hi folks, seriously eyeing these up as I want a relaxed sounding headphone option for late night listening which will become clear when you see my current set up below:

Cambridge audio cxa81
Cambridge audio Alva Duo phono stage
Focal Chorus 726 floorstanders

As you can imagine I bask in glorious detail and sparkly trebly goodness on this system but it can be a bit fatiguing after a while and is certainly best at higher volumes which I can’t really do at night living in an apartment.

Enter the Fostex which is at the upper limit of my budget.

As much as I’d love to retain loyalty to focal and their in-country manufacturing, attention to packaging and overall sound via their headphones, I’ve read issues with comfort beyond 2 hour sessions. The fostex seem to tick the boxes for my needs however there’s one issue:

The cxa81 lacks a 6.3mm input. I am left with three options as I see it - a pricy xlr cable replacement; an affordable 3.5mm cable replacement, or go down the rabbit hole of desktop tube amps and dac/amps that will do the fostex justice.

My system was bought with longevity in mind and this will be no different. If an experienced head says the xlr route or £££ tube amp option is endgame and/or enough of a step up from a 3.5mm cable then I will heed it and make it happen.

This was my ted talk.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Apologies for the cross post but I posted this in the 80 page before noticing this, far more active thread:

Hi folks, seriously eyeing these up as I want a relaxed sounding headphone option for late night listening which will become clear when you see my current set up below:

Cambridge audio cxa81
Cambridge audio Alva Duo phono stage
Focal Chorus 726 floorstanders

As you can imagine I bask in glorious detail and sparkly trebly goodness on this system but it can be a bit fatiguing after a while and is certainly best at higher volumes which I can’t really do at night living in an apartment.

Enter the Fostex which is at the upper limit of my budget.

As much as I’d love to retain loyalty to focal and their in-country manufacturing, attention to packaging and overall sound via their headphones, I’ve read issues with comfort beyond 2 hour sessions. The fostex seem to tick the boxes for my needs however there’s one issue:

The cxa81 lacks a 6.3mm input. I am left with three options as I see it - a pricy xlr cable replacement; an affordable 3.5mm cable replacement, or go down the rabbit hole of desktop tube amps and dac/amps that will do the fostex justice.

My system was bought with longevity in mind and this will be no different. If an experienced head says the xlr route or £££ tube amp option is endgame and/or enough of a step up from a 3.5mm cable then I will heed it and make it happen.

This was my ted talk.

I answered your duplicate post in the other forum.

The TH900 is last on the list to be considered a relaxing option. You can buy a cheap 3,5mm cable. If you want relaxing though, this is not it.

 

[MrYaldi]

Perhaps I’m not effectively using audio parlance. What I meant was one that leaned warmer or more bass focussed instead of the brightness of the focal chorus 726.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Perhaps I’m not effectively using audio parlance. What I meant was one that leaned warmer or more bass focussed instead of the brightness of the focal chorus 726.

The Fostex TH900mk2 have speed and slam and are relaxing in the sense that a barfight is relaxing. If you want a relaxing pair of headphones you could consider the LCD-2C (that means "Classic", not "closed") or the Aeon Flow Open if the latter is still made.

 

[up late]

yeah, relaxing is not a word that i would use to describe the th900's sound signature. not sure where the sony mdr-z1r fits into @MrYaldi's budget but it might be worth considering.

 

[MrYaldi]

The Fostex TH900mk2 have speed and slam and are relaxing in the sense that a barfight is relaxing. If you want a relaxing pair of headphones you could consider the LCD-2C (that means "Classic", not "closed") or the Aeon Flow Open if the latter is still made.

I do have the timeless 7hz and enjoy the planar sound so the lcd-2c have my attention especially as my last experience with open back were the grado sr325e and obviously a positive one. Seems the lcd-2c run into the same issue as fostex re cable. 1/4”. So with that said how can I best utilise the saber dac in my Cambridge audio cxa81? Presumably not a cheap adapter to 3.5mm. Or is it a case of getting a separate headphone amp?

Or better yet is there a reputable 3m stew mini xlr to 3.5mm compatible with the audeze?

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I do have the timeless 7hz and enjoy the planar sound so the lcd-2c have my attention especially as my last experience with open back were the grado sr325e and obviously a positive one. Seems the lcd-2c run into the same issue as fostex re cable. 1/4”. So with that said how can I best utilise the saber dac in my Cambridge audio cxa81? Presumably not a cheap adapter to 3.5mm. Or is it a case of getting a separate headphone amp?

Or better yet is there a reputable 3m stew mini xlr to 3.5mm compatible with the audeze?

Both the Fostex and the LCD-2C are easily driven. The LCD-2C is not as easy to drive as the Fostex but it gets along with low end amps reasonably enough. I'm confused again about your comparison with the Grado which is not a planar and has an opposite sound signature from the LCD-2C. The Grado has emphasized mids, it's a dynamic headphone, it's bright. The LCD-2C is famed for smoothness and the bass slams and is quite excellent, but the response is slow and easygoing compare to planars like Hifiman.

Since you're in the UK (sorry if I got it wrong due to Brexit and other complexities) I can heartily recommend @jfunk shop customcans.co.uk, he can set you up with a lovely replacement cable with whatever plug is suitable for your amp and it will be very affortable. I would add that virtually no integrated amp or receiver made in the last decades has a headphone amp which is anything better than barely tolerable. So in the long run if you choose to enjoy quality headphone sound keep in mind you will want either a headphone amp or an all-in-one DACamp.

 

[MrYaldi]

Both the Fostex and the LCD-2C are easily driven. The LCD-2C is not as easy to drive as the Fostex but it gets along with low end amps reasonably enough. I'm confused again about your comparison with the Grado which is not a planar and has an opposite sound signature from the LCD-2C. The Grado has emphasized mids, it's a dynamic headphone, it's bright. The LCD-2C is famed for smoothness and the bass slams and is quite excellent, but the response is slow and easygoing compare to planars like Hifiman.

Since you're in the UK (sorry if I got it wrong due to Brexit and other complexities) I can heartily recommend @jfunk shop customcans.co.uk, he can set you up with a lovely replacement cable with whatever plug is suitable for your amp and it will be very affortable. I would add that virtually no integrated amp or receiver made in the last decades has a headphone amp which is anything better than barely tolerable. So in the long run if you choose to enjoy quality headphone sound keep in mind you will want either a headphone amp or an all-in-one DACamp.

Sorry I was referring to the open back wider soundstage element not the sound sig - should have been more specific. Thankyou for providing that link (root of my question being the replacement cable element so this is extremely helpful as it seems majority of cans in this range are 6.3mm as standard and as I said, I’m not a fan of adapters, though the grado one referenced above appears a solid option too.)

Will a ifi nano iDSD suffice in this price of headphones (£750-1300)? Or do I need to push the boat out a bit more?

Thanks again.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Sorry I was referring to the open back wider soundstage element not the sound sig - should have been more specific. Thankyou for providing that link (root of my question being the replacement cable element so this is extremely helpful as it seems majority of cans in this range are 6.3mm as standard and as I said, I’m not a fan of adapters, though the grado one referenced above appears a solid option too.)

Will a ifi nano iDSD suffice in this price of headphones (£750-1300)? Or do I need to push the boat out a bit more?

Thanks again.

Soundstage is really headphone specific. True, most open cans have wider soundstage than closed, but there are exceptions. The LCD-2C is not famed for wide soundstage and I'm not sure the Grado 325 is either.

It depends on the type and model of headphone, not the price range. If you have the ifi you mentioned, you could check in the LCD-2C thread, I suspect it will do quite nicely. If you don't have a separate headamp yet, I suggest trying your headphones with an appropriate cable out of your Cambridge. If you're happy with it, you're done. If not, you can consider a desktop, portable, or rack (shelf) format amp.

 

[waveSounds]

Sorry I was referring to the open back wider soundstage element not the sound sig - should have been more specific. Thankyou for providing that link (root of my question being the replacement cable element so this is extremely helpful as it seems majority of cans in this range are 6.3mm as standard and as I said, I’m not a fan of adapters, though the grado one referenced above appears a solid option too.)

Will a ifi nano iDSD suffice in this price of headphones (£750-1300)? Or do I need to push the boat out a bit more?

Thanks again.

Just go for the Nagra HD DAC X. The best budget option bar none.

 

[inseconds99]

Anyone else’s ear lobes touch the bottom of earpad. I wish the pads were an 1/8th inch longer for comfort sake. I use the th900 pads on THX00 and that touching drives me nuts.