[Dillan]

Didn't mean to start a debate, but I am learning more and more and it is interesting to me hearing the experiences and opinions!

 

[germay0653]

  Once again, I'll chime in with SE vs. balanced....
 
There is no intrinsic value for balanced over SE over reasonably short cable runs...... Crosstalk is most certainly negligble for 4-8 ft. runs. 
 
 
The real advantage for balanced is simply that it lets one take advantage of a balanced amplifier whose balanced output is probably (though not necessarily) superior than it's single ended output.  And the balanced output of a given amplifier may be better or worse than the SE output of another.   Let's keep things in perspective, people.

I agree with your comments and to add that the crosstalk, in this case, is caused by the shared ground at the TRS connector in a single ended connection.  As you say, the short lengths, hopefully with properly wound twisted pairs, probably will add negligible amounts, if any.

 

[pervysage]

Thinking of getting the Lawton mod (or might just get the DIY kit and do it myself).
 
Was trying to decide between Stage 1 (tune-up & angle pads) or Stage 2 (tune-up, angle pads & bigger wooden cups).
 
Is the jump to stage 2 really worth it? Do the larger dimension wooden cups really help? I saw that the different wood types are supposed to give you a different flavor of sound and am kind of skeptical at the moment but it is interesting.

 

[Whazzzup]

Thinking of getting the Lawton mod (or might just get the DIY kit and do it myself).

Was trying to decide between Stage 1 (tune-up & angle pads) or Stage 2 (tune-up, angle pads & bigger wooden cups).

Is the jump to stage 2 really worth it? Do the larger dimension wooden cups really help? I saw that the different wood types are supposed to give you a different flavor of sound and am kind of skeptical at the moment but it is interesting.

I have done the Lawton 1 DIY with cable upgrade. The question to start with is why are you thinking about it. What bothers you or what are you seeking in the mod itself. This may help others direct you to which. IMO the cups are more aesthetic but I will differ to those with first hand knowledge

 

[sloomingbla]

Hey guys, so after owning the th900s un amped for a while I wanted to ask,
how does the hpa8 effect bass quantity wise and treble?
Are there any other amps that tend to tame the treble and bring up the bass/mids?
If not, what amps are good at just reducing the treble and bringing out the mids?

Im looking for an amp/dac combo in the <1500$ range with these qualities if possible. Thanks guys!

 

[TWerk]

You might be able to do it with a DAC/AMP but that's a lot of money to spend for that kind of thing. I found by EQing the 8 and 16k down 3-5 DB you can tame in the upper treble easily. You're just relaxing it. You have more control over it with an EQ, whereas if you spend 1500 on a DAC/AMP and it's still not tamed enough for you (but might perfect for someone else), then what?
 
 
Also, I think the Lawton Dampening kit helps too, but only by a small amount.

 

[up late]

x2. eq would be far more effective at targeting those fr issues but if you want to go down the amp/dac path then a tube amp might help.

 

[Whazzzup]

Hey guys, so after owning the th900s un amped for a while I wanted to ask,
how does the hpa8 effect bass quantity wise and treble?
Are there any other amps that tend to tame the treble and bring up the bass/mids?
If not, what amps are good at just reducing the treble and bringing out the mids?

Im looking for an amp/dac combo in the <1500$ range with these qualities if possible. Thanks guys!

hpa8 has a supper low hit and rumble and mids bite. Fostex knew what they were doing with the match up, but it does not make it the best, depending on your preferences and amount of auditioning. now when i a/b against the hugo TT, at three times the price, I hear tighter low end, subtly less biting mids that come across as real and dynamic, the overall experience is more note worthy and sonically real and transparent. However i kept my hpa8 and use th900 exclusively through it. I use hd800S through the TT, dual amp and HP as it were. The A8 still slams that bass like a marshall stack at a glow stick rave convention. The mids cut like a knife and if there is any critique of it is the slight unrealness of that mid range, but you can see why foster opted for that and why it works as a whole. The A8 is endorsable another words 

 

[Whazzzup]

x2. eq would be far more effective at targeting those fr issues but if you want to go down the amp/dac path then a tube amp might help.

we still have not heard what this listener is after. For me it was to down the low end rumble and tighten up the bass. It did its job.

 

[sloomingbla]

  You might be able to do it with a DAC/AMP but that's a lot of money to spend for that kind of thing. I found by EQing the 8 and 16k down 3-5 DB you can tame in the upper treble easily. You're just relaxing it. You have more control over it with an EQ, whereas if you spend 1500 on a DAC/AMP and it's still not tamed enough for you (but might perfect for someone else), then what?
 
 
Also, I think the Lawton Dampening kit helps too, but only by a small amount.

Yes, and I may still eq what I can down if it is still a problem when I get a dac/amp - but still, I am just running straight out of my pc/iphone for the moment and I thought that if I could get an amp/dac that fixes the few small issues I have with the headphones
 
(treble kinda takes up the whole sound spectrum at the moment, and the bass/mids take a back seat. I feel kinda like when I turn the volume up the treble is hitting harder than the bass, lol.)
 
Then I would be set. Plus, the less eqing I have to do the less I will feel like I'm missing something every time I change a freq, if you know what I mean.
 
@Whazzzup What is the treble difference between the two? When I talk about bringing the bass up I guess you could say I just want the bass to be more noticable than the treble. The treble is the loudest part of most of the music I listen to right now, and so I kinda just want something that will balance that out a bit more. How does it sound out of those two amps to you?

 

[Whazzzup]

 

  You might be able to do it with a DAC/AMP but that's a lot of money to spend for that kind of thing. I found by EQing the 8 and 16k down 3-5 DB you can tame in the upper treble easily. You're just relaxing it. You have more control over it with an EQ, whereas if you spend 1500 on a DAC/AMP and it's still not tamed enough for you (but might perfect for someone else), then what?
 
 
Also, I think the Lawton Dampening kit helps too, but only by a small amount.

Yes, and I may still eq what I can down if it is still a problem when I get a dac/amp - but still, I am just running straight out of my pc/iphone for the moment and I thought that if I could get an amp/dac that fixes the few small issues I have with the headphones
 
(treble kinda takes up the whole sound spectrum at the moment, and the bass/mids take a back seat. I feel kinda like when I turn the volume up the treble is hitting harder than the bass, lol.)
 
Then I would be set. Plus, the less eqing I have to do the less I will feel like I'm missing something every time I change a freq, if you know what I mean.
 
@Whazzzup What is the treble difference between the two? When I talk about bringing the bass up I guess you could say I just want the bass to be more noticable than the treble. The treble is the loudest part of most of the music I listen to right now, and so I kinda just want something that will balance that out a bit more. How does it sound out of those two amps to you?

FYI the lawton dampening takes out a touch of the highs as well, although i had no problem with highs in th900. I have never tried the th900 out of my phone, don't have an adapter so can't go there. 
dac/amps are there to represent the music, offer balance and some fullness. The better ones offer up astounding mid detail that brings the notes alive, a three D effect to the soundscape. The highs are in general a side bar, they represent what 8 kHz peak and how can you screw that up. Well some hp have sibilance issues but dac amps generally don't focus on highs or thin them out or push them anyways. the importance of the lows in th900 is unmistakable, and the a8 throws super low and mid bass and has that knife cutting mids a bit. Cause the lows in th900, through proper dac amp, can be a bit much depending on your genres, thats why i got the level 1 dampening. I understand there are lots of sub 1500$ hpa8 out there and at least fir your budget. The TT isn't in that range so its moot point, its a better fit with hd800S in authority, bass slam, and mid detail. I brought it up cause i can't endorse the A8 as some type of wonder dac amp, just there is a synergy there with th900. 

 

[up late]

we still have not heard what this listener is after. For me it was to down the low end rumble and tighten up the bass. It did its job.

i thought he made it pretty clear - "tame the treble and bring up the bass/mids"

 

[Whazzzup]

 

we still have not heard what this listener is after. For me it was to down the low end rumble and tighten up the bass. It did its job.

i thought he made it pretty clear - "tame the treble and bring up the bass/mids"

It may tame the treble, dunno. It does tighten the bass a bit. It does not make them any more powerful and doesn't  seem to lose any sub bass either tho

 

[TWerk]

  Yes, and I may still eq what I can down if it is still a problem when I get a dac/amp - but still, I am just running straight out of my pc/iphone for the moment and I thought that if I could get an amp/dac that fixes the few small issues I have with the headphones
 
(treble kinda takes up the whole sound spectrum at the moment, and the bass/mids take a back seat. I feel kinda like when I turn the volume up the treble is hitting harder than the bass, lol.)
 
Then I would be set. Plus, the less eqing I have to do the less I will feel like I'm missing something every time I change a freq, if you know what I mean.
 
@Whazzzup What is the treble difference between the two? When I talk about bringing the bass up I guess you could say I just want the bass to be more noticable than the treble. The treble is the loudest part of most of the music I listen to right now, and so I kinda just want something that will balance that out a bit more. How does it sound out of those two amps to you?

Try pushing the pads down flatter against your face. You would be surprised how much this can help. I felt, when my pads were more plump, the headphones sounded brighter. My pads have worn down quite a bit (they are old), and the drivers now sit closer to my ears. Even putting books or something on the pads can help to flatten them out more if yours are quite firm.  It has the effect of smoothing treble, and boosting bass and midrange.
 
I said what I did about the amps, cause I felt the same way as you. I tried a number of amps and it was an exercise in frustration because for me, they all sounded really similar. You might spend a lot of money for not much result there. It's up to you though.
 
But deff try listening while pushing the pads in so the drivers come closer to the ears. If you put something on them to flatten them, it can be more permanent. It does help, a lot more than some amps I tried helped.
 
Oh yeah, and Whitigir has a mods page on another thread. His stock+ on the foam damper is how I like mine and I prefer it to the stock location for the foam.

 

[up late]

@whazzup - eq wil reduce the treble and increase the midrange and bass presence more effectively than the addition of a dac/amp will. that's all we're saying.

if sloomingbla wants to try and redress the issue by component matching then that's his prerogative. i'm not advocating eq as a cure all but it will enable him to adjust the th900's fr more precisely than component matching would. it's also a much cheaper option and easily reversed.

i think it's well worth exploring before embarking on physical mods and ancillary gear purchases.