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Fostex TH900 Impressions & Discussion Thread
Dec 11, 2012 at 9:12 PM Post #2,641 of 18,765
Quote:
dukeskd said:
Yes, all the the 160 Burson amps have a reputation of being on the warm side, akin to a "tube sound". Nothing wrong with that if you want to enjoy the music, however, if I do feel analytical I just go with the Phonitor + HD800, etc. It's always good to have options!
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That's not really what I meant.  The TH900's have their own unique sound and sense of presence with low impedance "analytical" amps, the likes of which you don't seem to have right now.  I don't have a Phonitor, but given my experience with the HD800 in other setups, I can safely say the TH900 with a more SS sounding amp (again, low impedance) sounds nothing like Phonitor -> HD800.  Basically the TH900's already supply all the warmth you need so you want to give them something that really takes advantage of their superb decay.
 
@Trogdor: yeah, the conductor's closer to what I'm describing there ^, but with some extra low end.  I could actually imagine some wanting to EQ it down a bit, but the quality of said bass is still pretty great regardless so it would sound fine after doing so.  I personally have no issue with it as-is, though.
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 12:05 AM Post #2,642 of 18,765
Quote:
driver 8 said:
 
That's not really what I meant.  The TH900's have their own unique sound and sense of presence with low impedance "analytical" amps, the likes of which you don't seem to have right now.  I don't have a Phonitor, but given my experience with the HD800 in other setups, I can safely say the TH900 with a more SS sounding amp (again, low impedance) sounds nothing like Phonitor -> HD800.  Basically the TH900's already supply all the warmth you need so you want to give them something that really takes advantage of their superb decay.
 
@Trogdor: yeah, the conductor's closer to what I'm describing there ^, but with some extra low end.  I could actually imagine some wanting to EQ it down a bit, but the quality of said bass is still pretty great regardless so it would sound fine after doing so.  I personally have no issue with it as-is, though.
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Definitely understand what you're saying but the TH900s are my go-to headphone for EDM/hard rock music. Combining them with the HA-160 is a match made in heaven especially when listening to those genres. When it comes to classical, that appears to be problematic and I do prefer the Phonitor + HD800 for my SACDs of Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Brahms and the like. I also love modern film soundtracks with the TH900 + HA-160, if you ever listened to The Dark Knight Rises soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, you know that some of the themes in the soundtrack are dominated by cellos/double bass that carry the emotions that are interpreted by the listener(especially Bane themes). Another plus for using the HA-160 is the PRaT, it is unbeatable IMO.
On the other hand, if the TH900 was the only headphone in my arsenal, I would go down the route you are describing.
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 6:38 AM Post #2,644 of 18,765
Quote:
hubert481 said:
Anyone using TH-900 and BHA-1 ?
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It will be interesting to see how they perform with that gain switch on low.
 
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Dec 12, 2012 at 12:12 PM Post #2,645 of 18,765
2. Question to the TH-900 owners:
Did you recognice any differents after 100 hours listening (burn in)
Some people say, it depends on the model - some need burn in,some not - what about the TH-900 result by burning in? - thank you!
 
Dec 13, 2012 at 9:55 AM Post #2,648 of 18,765
Quote:
hubert481 said:
2. Question to the TH-900 owners:
Did you recognice any differents after 100 hours listening (burn in)
Some people say, it depends on the model - some need burn in,some not - what about the TH-900 result by burning in? - thank you!
Click to expand...

Yeah, definitely. Highs calm down a lot and so does the upper bass and vocals are more fleshed out. It takes a few months of normal use.
Actually, they seem to sound better at each session after 20 minutes of playing.
 
Dec 13, 2012 at 5:18 PM Post #2,650 of 18,765
Not much difference to me after at least a couple hundred hours, incl. an initial "burn-in" to weed out any defects (ex.: driver failure on some HE400 or LCD2/3s etc.)
 
Amplification has a much more noticeable impact. I'm a big tube fan but couldn't find a satisfactory combination on any of my tube amps.
 
Was ready to give up on it esp. compared to my other 'phones but then I had a few long computer sessions and I figured I'd just get at least some more mileage out of it and hooked it up straight to the headphone out of my Audiolabs M-DAC and interestingly, with my favourite filter settings it actually sounded pretty good. That's right, gasp shock horror, a DAC-integrated solid-state amplifier, albeit a very good one.
 
It tamed the brightness/sibilance just enough while keeping the bass tight enough that the qualities I always heard in the TH900 finally weren't overwhelmed by the strong coloration on either end of the frequency range. My (solid-state) Peachtree amp is also doing OK with them, though the W3000ANV still sounds better to me (those mids & voices!). But  somehow the M-DAC sounds just right with the TH900; for bass-heavy fare like electronica it's the most fun for sure but even other genres now sound pretty good, so it might stick around for a while longer.
 
Dec 13, 2012 at 6:28 PM Post #2,651 of 18,765
The Denon, Fostex, and Grado phones are low impedence phones and all need a very low impedence, high current output amp, which will control their bass and highs.  Those are qualities that are more typical of SS and tube hybrid amps, than of tube OTL amps.  Their bass is flabby, and highs are strident with other amps.  
 
For example, the MF X-CAN v8 is superb with these phones - it drives them to perfection.  I'm sure there are lots of others... but... this is one, which I experienced with my Grados and Denons - which surprised me.  I was not impressed by the Denons, until I heard them with this amp (and with the Markl Mods, of course).    
 
UPDATE:  I don't know what all the amps are that mate well with these low impedence phones.  I'm sure there are many.  You have to review their specs to identify their output impedence and current output to determine if they might likely mate well with low impedence phones.  One amp which is reportedly great with low impedence phones, which is a tube amp... is... the MAD EAR+ amp.  You have to experiment a lot, and rely on the reviews and forum comments you find.  
 
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