[Fegefeuer]

The HD800 will give you a broader midrange presentation, more air and separation between instruments. I think it is the very best headphone for large orchestral music such as classical. It works great with some jazz. Trumpets, sax, clarinets all have proper timbre and don't sound harsh or cold provided your DAC/amp is on the 'full bodied, rich & smooth' side of things.
 

 
I vouch for that duo as well. Most important is the balance/neutrality of the HD 800 (in addition to above impressions, especially the huge soundstage and grand imaging finesse) which makes for the very best complimentary headphone you could buy for the Fostex. 

 

[rgs9200m]

The HD800 and TH900 are very different animals. (There appears to be agreement on that at least around here from following the forums here.)

 

[Justin_Time]

I have noticed excellent imaging on the th900 and detail that I have never heard before.
Soundstage wise it's not as good as the PS1000 I have.

As far as amp and dac goes, they are both flagships costing many times over what the headphones cost.

So my question stands.

In a nutshell, the HD800 and TH900 have very different sonic signatures.
 
Compared to the TH900, the HD800 has a more spacious soundstage, more forward presentation--say first row vs. 15th row in a concert hall--better transparency, faster attacks and decays resulting in (the appearance of?) more details, tighter but less impactful bass and more tendency toward sibilance and hardness (depending on associated components).  Overall, the HD800 to me has a more open sound with better resolution but also more tendency toward sounding analytical and bright (less musical) than the TH900.
 
All these are simply tendencies that can be modified (reinforced or suppressed) with judicious choices of associated components (DAC, amp, cable). I can make the HD800 sound silky smooth with the GS-X Mk2 or warm with the Bakoon HPA-21 or even lush with the EAR HP-4.  I can also bring the presentation (midrange/center image) of the TH900 forward with most tube amps.
 
I believe it is worthwhile to have both headphones in your collection:  they are both outstanding headphones but they excel in different domains.
 
I hope this helps.      

 

[deuter]

In a nutshell, the HD800 and TH900 have very different sonic signatures.

Compared to the TH900, the HD800 has a more spacious soundstage, more forward presentation--say first row vs. 15th row in a concert hall--better transparency, faster attacks and decays resulting in (the appearance of?) more details, tighter but less impactful bass and more tendency toward sibilance and hardness (depending on associated components).  Overall, the HD800 to me has a more open sound with better resolution but also more tendency toward sounding analytical and bright (less musical) than the TH900.

All these are simply tendencies that can be modified (reinforced or suppressed) with judicious choices of associated components (DAC, amp, cable). I can make the HD800 sound silky smooth with the GS-X Mk2 or warm with the Bakoon HPA-21 or even lush with the EAR HP-4.  I can also bring the presentation (midrange/center image) of the TH900 forward with most tube amps.

I believe it is worthwhile to have both headphones in your collection:  they are both outstanding headphones but they excel in different domains.

I hope this helps.      

It does help immensely, thanks to all for providing varied prospective.

I should also state I do have the PS1000 too, does it add another variant or am I duplicating.

 

[BlakeT]

   I can also bring the presentation (midrange/center image) of the TH900 forward with most tube amps.
 
  

 
I've always used a tube amp with my TH900's.  Perhaps that is why I have never understood all the complaints about a recessed mid-range in the TH900.  I do agree it is slightly recessed but not enough to really bother me.  Perhaps it is because of my tube amp.

 

[Justin_Time]

It does help immensely, thanks to all for providing varied prospective.

I should also state I do have the PS1000 too, does it add another variant or am I duplicating.

The PS1000 is probably the least flat and the most musical of the three HP--musical or euphonic is usually the crutch I use when I like what I hear but have no idea how to explain it...No, you are not duplicating.  The PS1000 does not sound like any other headphones.  In addition to the severe V-shape FR, I think it is the slow decay with this HP that gives it that rich signature Grado sound. 
 
The PS1000 has even a more severe V-shape FR than the TH900, thus more "bloom" in the bass and more tendency to sibilance.  It sounds best to me with very high-quality amps with clean midrange but very tight control of the bass (to avoid bloated sound) and very sweet treble (to steer away from sibilance). The HeadAmp GS-X Mk2 and the Bakoon HPA-21 are two SS amps that I like a lot  with the PS1000.  Both SS amps produce musical sound with punchy bass, airy mid-range with plenty of inner details, and smooth treble, with the Bakoon being warmer in the midrange and the GS-X Mk2 being silkier in the high frequencies. 
 
Absent the control of both frequency extremes, you can compromise with inexpensive tube amps that are rolled off at both ends  (bass and treble) such as the inexpensive MAD Ear+ HD, which is my favorite amp with the PS1000. Or if money is no object, two other tube amps that pair well with the PS1000 are the Woo WA5 and the EAR HP-4.  With these superb but expensive amps--you are dropping about 5 grands here with upgraded tubes and all--the brightness (sibilance and harshness) of the PS1000 is reduced to a very low level though not entirely eliminated. There are many other excellent tube amps that can achieve excellent sound with the PS1000 (Apex Teton and Pinnacle; Eddie Current 2A3 and EC 445...) but I have not heard them long enough to make a recommendation.
 
The bottom line is, with one of these four amps, the GS-X Mk2 or Bakoon HPA-21 for SS, the Woo WA5 (LE if you do not need power for the HE-6) or EAR HP-4 for tubes, you should be able to handle all three headphones (Grado PS1000,m HD800 and TH900).
 
I apologize to everyone for derailing this TH900 thread but I felt compelled to complete the answer to deuter's multi-faceted question.

 

[up late]

the th900's mids sound slightly recessed with the tube and ss amps that i've heard. that's the can's sound signature and the fr graphs show that. doesn't bother me either.

 

[Mortalcoil]

It does help immensely, thanks to all for providing varied prospective.

I should also state I do have the PS1000 too, does it add another variant or am I duplicating.

 Yes it would add another variant in terms of being more of a neutral sounding hp with maybe a slight emphasis on the treble side of things (lol sounds like Grado).
 
Think of the 800 in reference to your PS-1000 same audiophile type of sound (slightly bright...yes slightly bright) yet with "Gobs" more detail and air (pulled the Gobs thing out of my old skool Head-fi over used audiophile cliché / terminology chart)

 

 

[Mortalcoil]

  The PS1000 is probably the least flat and the most musical of the three HP--musical or euphonic is usually the crutch I use when I like what I hear but have no idea how to explain it...No, you are not duplicating.  The PS1000 does not sound like any other headphones.  In addition to the severe V-shape FR, I think it is the slow decay with this HP that gives it that rich signature Grado sound. 
 
The PS1000 has even a more severe V-shape FR than the TH900, thus more "bloom" in the bass and more tendency to sibilance.  It sounds best to me with very high-quality amps with clean midrange but very tight control of the bass (to avoid bloated sound) and very sweet treble (to steer away from sibilance). The HeadAmp GS-X Mk2 and the Bakoon HPA-21 are two SS amps that I like a lot  with the PS1000.  Both SS amps produce musical sound with punchy bass, airy mid-range with plenty of inner details, and smooth treble, with the Bakoon being warmer in the midrange and the GS-X Mk2 being silkier in the high frequencies. 
 
Absent the control of both frequency extremes, you can compromise with inexpensive tube amps that are rolled off at both ends  (bass and treble) such as the inexpensive MAD Ear+ HD, which is my favorite amp with the PS1000. Or if money is no object, two other tube amps that pair well with the PS1000 are the Woo WA5 and the EAR HP-4.  With these superb but expensive amps--you are dropping about 5 grands here with upgraded tubes and all--the brightness (sibilance and harshness) of the PS1000 is reduced to a very low level though not entirely eliminated. There are many other excellent tube amps that can achieve excellent sound with the PS1000 (Apex Teton and Pinnacle; Eddie Current 2A3 and EC 445...) but I have not heard them long enough to make a recommendation.
 
The bottom line is, with one of these four amps, the GS-X Mk2 or Bakoon HPA-21 for SS, the Woo WA5 (LE if you do not need power for the HE-6) or EAR HP-4 for tubes, you should be able to handle all three headphones (Grado PS1000,m HD800 and TH900).
 
I apologize to everyone for derailing this TH900 thread but I felt compelled to complete the answer to deuter's multi-faceted question.

 No worries .....we have all been derailing this thread for the last few pages hoping to answer deuters question.  Derailing just like this post I am typing presently .....lol.
 
Good post by the way Justin_Time,  I know I would find it pretty helpful if I had such a question.

 

[chancee]

Hello everyone!  Hoping someone can help me with a problem I'm having.  I just bought the TH-900's a few months ago and I just got the Anedio D2 for Christmas.  I'm getting a very faint crackling sound during certain areas of all my songs.  Especially with women's voices when they hit a really strong note...  It sounds a bit like it does when an MP3 deteriorates when playing back on a high-end setup.  
 
My setup is pretty simple so I'm not sure what the problem could be.  I'm not even using a separate amp, I'm just using the amp on the DAC with my headphone plugged into the front.  I'm playing FLAC files on Jriver and Audirvana.  I get the results both places.  My USB cord is a wireworld cable.  Brand new.
 
Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks... Chance

 

[Mortalcoil]

  Hello everyone!  Hoping someone can help me with a problem I'm having.  I just bought the TH-900's a few months ago and I just got the Anedio D2 for Christmas.  I'm getting a very faint crackling sound during certain areas of all my songs.  Especially with women's voices when they hit a really strong note...  It sounds a bit like it does when an MP3 deteriorates when playing back on a high-end setup.  
 
My setup is pretty simple so I'm not sure what the problem could be.  I'm not even using a separate amp, I'm just using the amp on the DAC with my headphone plugged into the front.  I'm playing FLAC files on Jriver and Audirvana.  I get the results both places.  My USB cord is a wireworld cable.  Brand new.
 
Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks... Chance

Hey chancee welcome to Head-fi.  One solution would be to manually adjust the volume knob on your Anedio slightly (sometimes with a stepped attenuator dust can be a factor and cause crackling).
 
Otherwise it could be your quality of download or source material.  Hope this may shed some light on the issue otherwise perhaps another member may be able to chime in.
 
Great Christmas gift by the way.  Almost forgot make sure all firmware for that DAC is up to date.

 

[HemiSam]

To isolate the problem I suggest you try an alternative USB line if you have one.  Also try a different amp/DAC if you have one, preferably with the current USB line.  If one of these eliminates the problem, at least you've isolated it.
 
Best of luck.
 
HS

 

[chancee]

Thanks for the responses... I think I may have it narrowed down a bit more so hopefully I'll be able to figure it out.  Last night someone in my family needed to use the Mac and I was forced to switch computers.  When I hooked up my rig to a Windows computer, the distortion was gone.  So it obviously has something to do with the Mac... 

 

[plakat]

@chancee Thats interesting... as normally DACs work better with Macs. But I have a somewhat similar problem: may Benchmark DAC2 offers USB1 and USB2 mode. The latter gives subtle distortion with my Macbook Air (that has USB3 ports, which should be backwards compatible without problems), but not my older Macbook (which offers only USB2 ports). When I switch the Benchmark to USB1 mode the problem is gone on the Air... Sorry, but I can't offer a solution as I did not investigate any further, the Air is normally not used for music, so it did not matter that much. But maybe you can use that as a pointer when searching for a solution...

 

[HemiSam]

Yeah...that's a good finding.  I'd play around with the software on the Mac...whatever you can pump music out of with/without add-ons and see what you can find.  On my car related performance software, everything is geared towards Windows based operating systems so I keep a windows 7 machine for that.  On the music stuff, it seems there's definitely a bent for the Mac's.  Interesting to me....
 
HS