[stjj89]

  I recently tried out the TH-900's on a Schiit Lyr 2/ Bifrost combo and I can see why people can be overwhelmed by the treble. It's definitely amp specific. With the HP-A8C the treble is not fatiguing like it is on the Lyr 2/ Bifrost.

 
I have a Bifrost/Lyr 1 at home and the TH900 sounds terrible on it (I don't use the TH900 on this setup usually). Discounting the hiss from the Lyr 1 (which has too much power for the TH900), it makes the TH900 sound too bright and thin. I absolutely do not recommend the Lyr or Lyr 2 with the TH900. IMO, YMMV of course.

 

[Edric Li]

 

  I recently tried out the TH-900's on a Schiit Lyr 2/ Bifrost combo and I can see why people can be overwhelmed by the treble. It's definitely amp specific. With the HP-A8C the treble is not fatiguing like it is on the Lyr 2/ Bifrost.

 
I have a Bifrost/Lyr 1 at home and the TH900 sounds terrible on it (I don't use the TH900 on this setup usually). Discounting the hiss from the Lyr 1 (which has too much power for the TH900), it makes the TH900 sound too bright and thin. I absolutely do not recommend the Lyr or Lyr 2 with the TH900. IMO, YMMV of course.

 
Totally agree. The hiss from Lyr2 pairing with TH900 was terribly loud. 

 

[Thenewguy007]

 
How old are you?

 
30s

 

[up late]

i suspect that the state of our hearing and our music choices plays a greater role in how much the th900's treble affects us than our ancillary gear choices

 

[james6333]

No "loss of treble" here, believe me ...

It would be interesting to hear what you think about the Fostex.

They are next on my list. Maybe a month or two away.

 

[defbear]

Is the perceived excess treble similar to the Sennheiser hd800's? Worse?

 

[tomatoshoe]

Has anyone here listened to the Sony MDR-Z7? I'm really interested to see how the two compare.

 

[Thenewguy007]

Is the perceived excess treble similar to the Sennheiser hd800's? Worse?

 
To me it is/was worse (same as the Beyerdynamics T1).
The HD800's treble problem is more with the sibilance than the brightness of its sound.

 

[defbear]

That is too bad. The only single ended outfit I own is a Bifrost Uber - Lyr2 setup. The Lyr2 has some new Russian Gold Lion tubes which helped a bit. I haven't seen much talk about using the th-900 with a balanced cable. Does anyone run the th-900 balanced? I'm like everyone else in that at time, I wish my HD800's had more bass. I have a LCD 2 -F's with the Vegan earcups. Since if got the Audeze's, do I really need the th-900 ' s for more bass?

 

[socks mk2]

[redacted]

 

[Whazzzup]

Is the perceived excess treble similar to the Sennheiser hd800's? Worse?

To me it is/was worse (same as the Beyerdynamics T1).
The HD800's treble problem is more with the sibilance than the brightness of its sound.

Euphonically speaking I have no idea what sibilance may mean in relationship to brightness

Beyerdynamics t-1 sig pro etc may have the bass slam as th900 does. It's interesting that chord brings them to meets as one of their testers. It probably isn't as sharp a high end as grado etc....however I have never tested against th900
The openness that folks seem to describe in hd800 still intrigues me as a th900 complement. But looking forward to rob 777 test on a8 as that's my my primary dac amp. Hugo is an alternative also enjoyable.

 

[Sonic Defender]

  Has anyone here listened to the Sony MDR-Z7? I'm really interested to see how the two compare.

 I​ sold my Z7 just before getting the TH 900. The Z7 is very nice, but I found it lacked sub-bass, enough so that it was a factor, but not a deal breaker for many I'm sure. The Z7 has a very nice evenness about it, but that is achieved by rolling the treble off a little. For the money the Z7 is quite good, but the TH 900 is most certainly to my ear the better headphone across the board. For those who have treble issues with the Fostex, as mentioned several times, for most a gentle parametric EQ cut (some trial and error likely to get it right) and the issue should be resolved. The Z7 lacked depth to the sound, it is hard to articulate, but somehow it sounded a tad flat. While I say that I don't want to over emphasize that factor as it wasn't terrible, and I was comparing the Sony against an HE 560 which I felt had overall excellent depth. 

 

[defbear]

Before head-fi.org saved me from commercial audio I purchased some over ear headphones that I'm not proud of. Perhaps I was in search of Bass and didn't know it. So I have an original pair of Beats Studio, a set of Parrot Zik 1 ' s and the new Blue Mo-fi phones with the built in amp and Bass Boost switch. I really enjoy the Zik and Blue headphones. I could be happy but I have become a bit snobbish in that I think Balanced sounds better in every situation. So a balanced set of th-900 ' s sounded like just the ticket until the question of excessive treble came up. I do not mind using EQ though.I have a hdvd800 amp and an Audio-gd Master 11. My Sennheiser hd800's have no problem with biting treble with either amp. I do not care for the hd800's with the Schiit stack. Too bright. I'm going to do the multi bit upgrade on the Bifrost uber.

 

[Whazzzup]

• 
  C

Before head-fi.org saved me from commercial audio I purchased some over ear headphones that I'm not proud of. Perhaps I was in search of Bass and didn't know it. So I have an original pair of Beats Studio, a set of Parrot Zik 1 ' s and the new Blue Mo-fi phones with the built in amp and Bass Boost switch. I really enjoy the Zik and Blue headphones. I could be happy but I have become a bit snobbish in that I think Balanced sounds better in every situation. So a balanced set of th-900 ' s sounded like just the ticket until the question of excessive treble came up. I do not mind using EQ though.I have a hdvd800 amp and an Audio-gd Master 11. My Sennheiser hd800's have no problem with biting treble with either amp. I do not care for the hd800's with the Schiit stack. Too bright. I'm going to do the multi bit upgrade on the Bifrost uber.

Jury is out concerning what benefits balanced brings. Certainly louder but not necessarily better but personal preference at this level is whatever it is.
Don't worry about the high end, more concerning should be your predisposition to U shape cans. Super bass extension, so if you like music that this shines in, you will love em. 900 and beats in the same paragraph is a sin.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Before head-fi.org saved me from commercial audio I purchased some over ear headphones that I'm not proud of. Perhaps I was in search of Bass and didn't know it. So I have an original pair of Beats Studio, a set of Parrot Zik 1 ' s and the new Blue Mo-fi phones with the built in amp and Bass Boost switch. I really enjoy the Zik and Blue headphones. I could be happy but I have become a bit snobbish in that I think Balanced sounds better in every situation. So a balanced set of th-900 ' s sounded like just the ticket until the question of excessive treble came up. I do not mind using EQ though.I have a hdvd800 amp and an Audio-gd Master 11. My Sennheiser hd800's have no problem with biting treble with either amp. I do not care for the hd800's with the Schiit stack. Too bright. I'm going to do the multi bit upgrade on the Bifrost uber.

Hey, main-stream audio isn't a shameful thing, it has a place. Anyway, as has been said balanced is louder as more power is delivered, and to a threshold louder will be perceived as sounding better. As for the treble issue, you will find hundreds of people who say they don't have an issue with the treble so see for yourself, and for sure a gentle parametric EQ cut will tame the treble if you find it too energetic for you. It also will be greatly dependent upon what you listen to - hot mastered rock or pop = edgy treble so unless you have a rolled off headphone you should perceive the music that way.