[Greed]

Quote:

I bought these again today after returning my original pair a while ago after a lot of deliberation. Sadly, they seem to be immediately reminding me why I returned them the 1st time- fairly harsh treble lacking the refinement of the HD800 and sucked out lower mids giving it a weightless character and less (!) impact than both the HD800, and the HE500 I opted for instead of it the first time. I'm hoping burn in changes their character somewhat (although I don't believe in any significant burn-in changes) and gives them more body and warmth. I'm running them off the Matrix M-Stage which sounds good with both the HD800s and the HE-500s; both harder headphones to drive than the TH900s. I don't expect them to match the HD800s but at least be more enjoyable overall than the HE-500s, which are giving me that satisfying, tactile bass if not the full extension of the TH900s. When I had the Fostex last, I preferred the HD800s in a 6:4 ratio in overall music listening (for the HD800 vs the HE-500s its a 6.5 : 3.5 ratio) and at the moment its like 9:1 (if that) in favour of the HD800s

.

 
Your problem IMO.

 

[Shinsengumi]

I use TH900 with a HP-P1 and I love it. I don't feel it lacks bass at all. The bass is more punchy and defined than straight out of my iPhone. But it should be said that I haven't tried my Fostex on a really expensive amp/dac, so I might be missing out the full potensial. And since I'm really happy with this combo, my wallet would be happy if I never heard anything better.

I would be very thankful if you could elaborate your comparison between straight out your iPhone and through HP-P1. How would you describe soundstage, treble and midbass?

 

[jacal01]

Quote:

I would suggest looking the Yulong D100 MK II. Although you would need some kind of compatible iDevice DAC to couple to, so that might be an issue. I use the Pure i20 Dock for a bedside transport.  Works great and is rather inexpensive. There is also, VentureCraft Go-Dap, DD Socket 1, V-Moda Vamp, and CLAS+(Amp of Choice). Not too many compatible iDevice Dacs. It would be best to find some kind of digital dock transport. If you did that, you could get the WA7 if you wish. AnakChan, was very happy with the combo with the TH-600, so I'd assume it would be equally as good with the TH-900.

 
The are also a couple of new idevice compatible portable DAC/amps to consider:
 
CEntrance HiFi-M8
Furutech ADL X1
 
The X1 has about 100 mW available at 25Ω impedence; the M8 has 1.5 W total to play around with.  The X1 is targeted as a portable device; the M8 with a larger brick footprint, is more of a transportable device.  Both also have USB inputs, optical S/PDIF outputs.  

 

[HideousPride]

Quote:

I use TH900 with a HP-P1 and I love it. I don't feel it lacks bass at all. The bass is more punchy and defined than straight out of my iPhone. But it should be said that I haven't tried my Fostex on a really expensive amp/dac, so I might be missing out the full potensial. And since I'm really happy with this combo, my wallet would be happy if I never heard anything better.

Picked up an HP-P1 yesterday and quickly tried the TH-900s with my iPhone 5. It actually sounds pretty good, and I can see people being happy with it. It gets you most of the way there, but I still prefer the HP-A8C for home use by a significant margin.

 

[ariesq]

Anyone use anything for cord management? Maybe something that winds up the cord nicely?

 

[Oregonian]

Has anyone driven these TH900's with a vintage receiver/integrated amp from the headphone jack? 
 
Methinks they would sound amazing.............all my headphones sound great out of the 1978 Kenwood amp I have.

 

[3X0]

But those output impedances are so high!

 

[Kyle 491]

Well, scratch my comments about the HD800 trouncing the TH900s so easily; last night listening to them was divine (still on the first day of running them).
I think they are very sensitive to the quality of power being fed from the mains circuit into the amp and dac. Heavy power usage during the day in my area of the woods seems to impact the sound quality a great deal, an effect I also notice strongly on the HD800s. At night when there's less of a strain on the grid I get a much smoother and powerfully rich sound for a given volume level. I still wonder how much difference is due to personal confirmation bias or different sensitivities in the ear canal/brain during various times of the day.

 

[rgs9200m]

Quote:

Well, scratch my comments about the HD800 trouncing the TH900s so easily; last night listening to them was divine (still on the first day of running them).
I think they are very sensitive to the quality of power being fed from the mains circuit into the amp and dac. Heavy power usage during the day in my area of the woods seems to impact the sound quality a great deal, an effect I also notice strongly on the HD800s. At night when there's less of a strain on the grid I get a much smoother and powerfully rich sound for a given volume level. I still wonder how much difference is due to personal confirmation bias or different sensitivities in the ear canal/brain during various times of the day.

You might need a good power conditioner. I did some A/B comparisons and the good ones gave that late-night sound.

 

[bbbonthemoon]

Received my TH900 today,
Initial impressions are that they are great all-rounders, sounding very balanced, with nice bass and details. But they dont give you the wow effect of the HD800.
Will take them probably to my office.

 

[Trendin]

Totally agree with you [size=18.399999618530273px]bbbonthemoon[/size].
However, they are a huge step for me as i had AKG550 before (no bass!!!!).
What amp will you be using?

 

[bbbonthemoon]

I will be using Burson Conductor

 

[rgs9200m]

Quote:

Received my TH900 today,
Initial impressions are that they are great all-rounders, sounding very balanced, with nice bass and details. But they dont give you the wow effect of the HD800.
Will take them probably to my office.

Let'em burn in for about 50 hours (on and off). The bass calmed down and so did the lower treble and they became less pushy and you are just left with solidity and refinement.
Mine sounded a bit "hollow" when new, but that's all gone now.
It's a more intimate sound than HD800s, but it's just as valid.

 

[bbbonthemoon]

Quote:

Let'em burn in for about 50 hours (on and off). The bass calmed down and so did the lower treble and they became less pushy and you are just left with solidity and refinement.
Mine sounded a bit "hollow" when new, but that's all gone now.
It's a more intimate sound than HD800s, but it's just as valid.

Well, the main difference between HD800 that I can say is coloration and transparency. 
HD800 is very neutral and transparent, and with the "right" recordings it creates impression of the performer presence near you. That's what I call WOW effect. They can sound so natural when the recording is done right. Actually this is very different from most of the HD800 reviews, but thats what I hear.
TH900 on the other hand are much more forgiving headphones, and they produce very balanced and delightful sound, but it's always artificial to my ears.  
Well, have to say I became huge fan of HD800 these days

 

[rudi0504]

My another pair Fostex TH 900 just arrived this evening

Source : AK 100 FAD
Amp : RSA the Intruder
Headphone : Fostex TH 900