[Mortalcoil]

  I had a listen to the Ether C in the Schiit Show in Socal a couple of months ago. Somethings are fantastic about it, but I don't know... I hope I don't get in trouble for saying this, but there were some times when the treble felt out of control or wonky. Not in the sense that the treble got too loud or too overbearing, but it was as if the treble would get "blurted" out and lose control in some parts of the music. 
 
I wasn't able to do a side-by-side comparison of that with the TH-900, so I can't say which is overall better, but that aspect of the treble "blurting" out on the Ether C certainly concerned me. 

 
Its ok we don't mind statements like this in the TH-900 thread

 
Lets all face it Mr. Speakers has a rabid fan base who will follow Dan the Man at any cost.  As if all he touches is sonic gold.
 
Personally I have never been overly impressed with any of his offerings.  I still think he is a "Garage Tinkerer" based company and in some sense should be commended for that, I find it alarming though that yearly his company makes tremendous strides with the release of yet a newer "Moar Better" model.

 

[ejong7]

  I had a listen to the Ether C in the Schiit Show in Socal a couple of months ago. Somethings are fantastic about it, but I don't know... I hope I don't get in trouble for saying this, but there were some times when the treble felt out of control or wonky. Not in the sense that the treble got too loud or too overbearing, but it was as if the treble would get "blurted" out and lose control in some parts of the music. 
 
I wasn't able to do a side-by-side comparison of that with the TH-900, so I can't say which is overall better, but that aspect of the treble "blurting" out on the Ether C certainly concerned me. 

I think you might have suffered what I thought was with the Ether C, that the treble was just that tad bit brighter. Well at least I perceived it as brighter than the open Ether.
 
 

  What about soundstage vs TH900?

As far as I remember from my comparison the Ether C has better soundstage in terms of width.

 

[up late]

You likely mean the best closed headphone .

IMO the Hifiman HE-1000 is better - at double the retail price. Perhaps a bit less impact (though jerg has a mod for that already), but far better overall.
IMO also the Audeze LCD-3 is better (but the LCD-XC is not).

My modded Stax 007 Mk1 (which I prefer over the 009, and the HE-1000) sounds more dynamic and with better bass than my modded TH900, which is better than the stock in this regard (perhaps I could further improve the TH900). Also, it sounds more fluid in the midrange and treble, and has higher musical resolution. It's on another level altogether when I alternate them during listening. The Stax is slightly more expensive as well.

Also keep an eye on the Dharma Enigma D1000.

But I agree the TH900 is the best closed headphone at the moment.

i've said in the he1000 thread that the leading edge of notes sounded blunted to me which softened the sound noticeably. thought that the hd800 out-performed it for clarity, resolution, imaging and soundstage. planars are renowned for bass but the hd800 reproduced it with more precision and texture to my ears. my admiration for the hd800 has grown as a result of that comparison. compared to the he1000 and the abyss, the hd800 is looking like a high-end bargain if you can have such a thing.

 

[Aiyah]

You can have the connector removed and reterminated--I've had this done myself. There are 4 wires inside that will allow you to go balanced.

What are the colours of each wire? I'm about to do this with a TH-600 but I've read both negative wires are black. How do you determine which one is left and right?

 

[stjj89]

What are the colours of each wire? I'm about to do this with a TH-600 but I've read both negative wires are black. How do you determine which one is left and right?

 
By "myself" I meant that I sent it to a fellow head-fier to get it done Can't help you there, but maybe you could PM head-fier PETEREK? 

 

[CrocCap]

deleted

 

[Whazzzup]

You likely mean the best closed headphone .

IMO the Hifiman HE-1000 is better - at double the retail price. Perhaps a bit less impact (though jerg has a mod for that already), but far better overall.
IMO also the Audeze LCD-3 is better (but the LCD-XC is not).

My modded Stax 007 Mk1 (which I prefer over the 009, and the HE-1000) sounds more dynamic and with better bass than my modded TH900, which is better than the stock in this regard (perhaps I could further improve the TH900). Also, it sounds more fluid in the midrange and treble, and has higher musical resolution. It's on another level altogether when I alternate them during listening. The Stax is slightly more expensive as well.

Also keep an eye on the Dharma Enigma D1000.

But I agree the TH900 is the best closed headphone at the moment.

i've said in the he1000 thread that the leading edge of notes sounded blunted to me which softened the sound noticeably. thought that the hd800 out-performed it for clarity, resolution, imaging and soundstage. planars are renowned for bass but the hd800 reproduced it with more precision and texture to my ears. my admiration for the hd800 has grown as a result of that comparison. compared to the he1000 and the abyss, the hd800 is looking like a high-end bargain if you can have such a thing.

Well thanks for that breakdown. Hd800 is something to consider. Which do you prefer hd800 or th900 or how do they compare to your ears.

 

[up late]

haven't compared them directly. would want to do that before answering your question.

 

[zolkis]

Well thanks for that breakdown. Hd800 is something to consider. Which do you prefer hd800 or th900 or how do they compare to your ears.

 
When I compared them directly, with the Stax SR-507 in the mix, the TH900 was just too colored and was classed out by the other two for that reason, with classical and instrumental music. With electronic music, the TH900 is more fun. The 507 and HD800 sounded quite similar, the Stax with better mids and the HD800 more precise. But the HD800 doesn't have the slam, the sub-bass and the fun of the TH900, though it's more natural sounding in the bass. If it does not matter if it's open or closed, I would choose the HD800, since I like neutral sound. But the TH900 is good enough, and despite a closed phone, it sounds quite open. 

 

[Whazzzup]

Thanks for that. I like the slam and fun of th900 I guess I'll have to check hd800 out if I can.

 

[zolkis]

i've said in the he1000 thread that the leading edge of notes sounded blunted to me which softened the sound noticeably. thought that the hd800 out-performed it for clarity, resolution, imaging and soundstage. planars are renowned for bass but the hd800 reproduced it with more precision and texture to my ears. my admiration for the hd800 has grown as a result of that comparison. compared to the he1000 and the abyss, the hd800 is looking like a high-end bargain if you can have such a thing.

 
When the HD800 arrived, I'd never thought I would ever call it a bargain, but nowadays when we speak about thousands, yes the HD800 is an absolute high end bargain. And it has very good bass as well, when driven properly. My only grunt is some hardness in the mids and treble, but only when compared to Stax. When I compared head to head the HD800 to all Audeze planars (2, X, XC, 3),  preferred it over all of them. The HD1000 is a different story, but I agree the HD800 feels more precise, and not only in the bass.

 

[Mortalcoil]

The obvious benefit to owning the 900 and 800 is that depending on your mood you can switch things up a little.
 
If you are in that analytical intellectual type of mood grab the 800, likewise if you want to jam out and get the blood pumping reach for the 900.
 
Between the two I still find myself grabbing the 900 more often for an extended punchy and exciting listen.
 
The 900 can still be a precise listen if fed decent material.  Its a headphone that still knocks my socks of every now and then with its capabilities.
 
I still agree with what others have stated over the years in that for precision, detail retrieval, the 800 takes it up a notch or three.

 

[up late]

they'd complement each other well. can understand you reaching for the th900 more tho.

 

[fuzzybaffy]

  The obvious benefit to owning the 900 and 800 is that depending on your mood you can switch things up a little.
 
If you are in that analytical intellectual type of mood grab the 800, likewise if you want to jam out and get the blood pumping reach for the 900.
 
Between the two I still find myself grabbing the 900 more often for an extended punchy and exciting listen.
 
The 900 can still be a precise listen if fed decent material.  Its a headphone that still knocks my socks of every now and then with its capabilities.
 
I still agree with what others have stated over the years in that for precision, detail retrieval, the 800 takes it up a notch or three.

 
That's kind of how I view this whole headphone "game". I view headphones much like musical instruments; often times, guitarists/violinists/what-have-you will have several instruments of the same type, for different occasions. In the same way, I don't think it's wrong at all to have several headphones for different occasions. And that's what I plan on doing, as well. 
 
I went with the TH-900 first, because I'm really curious about its sound, and I already have an HD-650, so I already have a taste of the "Sennheiser" sound. And eventually, I'll own a HD-800 as well.

 

[up late]

i see them more as very small speakers that you wear on your head