[sarora]

I have had the TH-900 (with cabling I did myself, custom wood cups and angle pads from Lawton Audio) and using the WA6-SE amplifier with the USAF 596 "Mighty" rectifier -- awesome combo already. I recently got two Warm Audio EQP-WA for my studio - also have a Goldpoint 47 step attenuator SA2X so I can switch between my studio monitors and headphones. DAC is the Gungnir Multibit by Schiit Audio. Wow! -- the tube EQ with the TH900 is unreal. Improves the sound and gives you complete control over everything; I love it. They're a bit pricey at $699 (so about $1400 for two units), but they aren't just for headphones - they are amazing though and I really love what they do, can't emphasize how much it changed the listening experience. Warms everything up, cleans those highs, and smooth bass. 

 

[up late]

I mean if somebody was to compare balanced hd800 vs stock th900, ofcourse there will be differences ? Hd800 has removable jacks, that make going balanced a breeze vs th900.

Now th900 MkII is being released, just in time. I wanted to make sure somebody stated the th900 has less clarity than hd800 did them both in a fair comparison

huh?

 

[socks mk2]

[redacted]

 

[up late]

thanks for clarifying

 

[punit]

   I recently got two Warm Audio EQP-WA for my studio 

Interesting product....guess it acts like a tube buffer & also has EQ
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EQPWA

 

[AppleheadMay]

Man, my th900 is already with crazy clarity and transparency....can't believe what even clearer would have done ? Probably very boring ?

Though, I do have silver recabled and balanced jacks

 

as zolkis said, we're splitting hairs here. the th900 has great clarity but you'd have to give the hd800 a hearing to answer your question.

and yes, we know all about your silver cables and balanced jacks.

 
 
I surely can believe silver on a TH-900 sounds pretty clear. For me there is a distinct difference between a simple copper cable, a decent one and silver. I'd never condssider putting silver on a pair of phones that some already consider as bright. The only phones I've heard that warrant a silver cable are the HD650 (and 600, 580). I now have a silver plated copper cable on them and am considering selling it to put pure silver on it again. Maybe ridiculous to put a cable on a phone that costs 3 times as much as the phones itself but to me the HD650 is worth much more. For some genres they are the best phones in their class.
 
When it comes to balanced, I don't hear a difference at all. I tested it at length this summer with a balanced source, a GS-X MkII and three phones: HD650, HD800 and LCD-XC. I gave up on balanced alltogether. 
 
The HD800 has as much similarities as it has differences compared to the TH-900. I compared them at length this summer. Both have their strengths but to my taste the TH-900 was a clear winner (but I can understand people having the opposite opinion of course). The HD-800 beats it in size of the soundstage of course but since I do prefer the more intimate sound of phones I still preferred the TH-900 in that area. I'm not a fan of crossfeed either, I don't want my phones to sound like speakers. I did trry harware and software options and the software option really was a joke.
 
Now on to the Pioneer M1. Having listened to it for over three months now I can say that is a pair of phones I'd call well balanced (and I use it single ended of course ). A real high-end allrounder. It made me decide I can cut down on my inventory of phones. The HD-600 and one of my LA-900s still have their place but I can safely cut down on my collection of TH/LA-900s and am thinking of letting the LCD-XC go as well. Planars aren't really my thing anyway and neither are stats for that matter, I gave them more than enough tries. Man, the money I'm saving with this!

The only pair of phones I still lust for are a pair of W3000s again.
 
All this is FWIW, IMO and YMMV of course. Opinions are just opinions. 

 

[up late]

i respect your right to believe that you can hear a difference between copper and silver cables

 

[AppleheadMay]

i respect your right to believe that you can hear a difference between copper and silver cables

 
Thanks! Sometimes, it's all between the ears ...
But indeed I believe I do hear a difference, more than subtle (to me at least) between silver and copper, at least on the HD650. Haven't found any other phones where I find the need to try silver.
But on the contrary, I find no difference at all between balanced and unbalanced, no matter what I tried even in a fully balanced setup. 
You know I'm a bit of a Lawton fan but I also hear no difference at all between the different type of woods and I did try the two extremes. Seems logical to me when dampening is used anyway.

 

[BlakeT]

I own both the HD800 and TH900 and run both balanced.  Both cans are incredibly detailed- top notch.  The HD800's are slightly more detailed (with the right songs with extreme micro detail, the HD800 wins).   Which is not to say the TH900's are deficient in any way shape or form when it comes to detail extraction.  They are both microscopes.

 

[Whazzzup]

I own both the HD800 and TH900 and run both balanced.  Both cans are incredibly detailed- top notch.  The HD800's are slightly more detailed (with the right songs with extreme micro detail, the HD800 wins).   Which is not to say the TH900's are deficient in any way shape or form when it comes to detail extraction.  They are both microscopes.

I'm leaning that way now with the hd800s. The mid detail is better, the bass is tight. Vocals are cleaner and you can hear vocal inflections, the sound stage wider because of this balance. I'll caveat it's a mighty fall from monster bass slam and biting Mids of th900 at first. That sub bass rumble is sublime. At first I thought this can't be right with the hd800s, give it a few hours and then you start the wow, flip back to th900 and go ya, I get this 800s now. Granted I'm going through my S phase for the forseeable future but have full intentions of th900 my bass head off after. Down the road six months to a year, I'll see where I'm at.

 

[zolkis]

Wow. The modded TH900 continues to amaze me, especially with its sub-bass impact and sound stage. I preferred it to the Audeze LCD-3F and X both for bass and sound stage, and the modded TH900 mids actually come close to the orthos. IMHO the XC is outclassed as narrow and dull sounding in comparison. The X comes close in signature, but overall I prefer the TH900 even though it's more colored. Maybe the taller and larger sound stage plays a strong subconscious string of preference, but as far as musical enjoyment goes, I prefer the TH900. The Stax L700 is also in the same class (a notch under the Omegas), but it is faster and more neutral with better mids and similar or better sound stage. In the sub-bass though, the TH900 trumps everything. For the price range one cannot go wrong with either the [modded] TH900, or the Audeze X, or Stax L700. For stock headphones I'd rate the L700 first, the X second, and the TH900 third. With the mods, and not considering the 20-25 Hz range, I'd put the L700 first, modded TH900 second, and Audeze X the third. Since I have a Stax 007 and I need a closed heaphone, so far there is no competition for the TH900 and even less for the modded ones.
 
Note that I haven't heard the Ether C, which may be even better, with its carbon fiber cups and planar driver. Nor the LCD-4, nor the Abyss, but these are 3 times the price. Nevertheless one thing I am skeptical about is whether any headphone is better than the modded TH900 in the sub-bass impact and sounding so physical. It certainly betters the HE1000 as well in that area, and also the HE6+EF6 (although the latter is less colored and overall better). It's not even the driver, but the ingenious loading that makes it this good, competing with transmission line speakers. In my eyes (coming from speaker design) that makes the TH900 one of the most technologically advanced headphones out there, together with the distant ancestor hero Sony R10.
 
Again I wonder what the Fostex bio-dyna drivers could do in a Sony R10 or similar style enclosure with wooden driver plate, or a carbon fiber version. Certainly such a TH900 version that would be more welcome than the minor changes in the TH900 mk2. Fostex does seem to have the technical know-how for this, perhaps the question is time, or economics.

 

[punit]

After I got the DNA Stratus the TH900 has become my Fav HP. Its the perfect combination of Fun & Reference quality sound now and gets the max head time from all the HP's in my collection.

 

[Whitigir]

After I got the DNA Stratus the TH900 has become my Fav HP. Its the perfect combination of Fun & Reference quality sound now and gets the max head time from all the HP's in my collection.

Yes, this I agree very much. It is also very easy to drive, unlike HD800 and the likes. This justify the price of th900 totally in my view

 

[up late]

like the th900 and most dynamic cans, the hd800 only requires a few milliwatts to reach dangerously loud volume levels. so the hd800 is not difficult to drive per se. system matching to try and tame that notorious 6khz treble peak is another matter, however.

 

[Whazzzup]

like the th900 and most dynamic cans, the hd800 only requires a few milliwatts to reach dangerously loud volume levels. so the hd800 is not difficult to drive per se. system matching to try and tame that notorious 6khz treble peak is another matter, however.

The S takes considerable more power to match similar sound levels than th900.