[pervysage]

Just finished watching the latest Game of Thrones episode with the TH900's. They are basically a jack of all trades 

 
 
That episode though, Ermahgerd 

 

 

[up late]

deleted

 

[up late]

Lets agree on one thing up late, TH900 are fantastic set of headphones

i think we might agree on more than just that

 

[Whitigir]

For all the Hypes and technology from Utopia....the final review and impression made on it was not by much impressive . For $3999 ? I would rather stick with my 900.

 

[Sethivict]

For all the Hypes and technology from Utopia....the final review and impression made on it was not by much impressive

. For $3999 ? I would rather stick with my 900.

Is it the french Focal you are refering to? They should be ground breaking, Steve Guttenberg call them the best headphones in the world ( After the Abyss)

 

[Whitigir]

Is it the french Focal you are refering to? They should be ground breaking, Steve Guttenberg call them the best headphones in the world ( After the Abyss)

There is no such thing as best headphones in the world....there is the most expensive headphones in the world, and it is the Orpheous second generation. Would it be called the best in the world ? Nah....most expensive, sure

 

[Sethivict]

There is no such thing as best headphones in the world....there is the most expensive headphones in the world, and it is the Orpheous second generation. Would it be called the best in the world ? Nah....most expensive, sure

I agree with you completely, unfortunately I only read the reviews that are "new" and still "hyped". I can't wait to read impressions when people get used to the sound. I agree with you and Schiit, that Hi Fi is getting overpriced very fast. Utopia was made with the idea to get as close to live experience as possible but so far I can't seem to find any note from the reviewers about that experience. They create good speakers though but still very very expensive.
Anyway, Guttenberg is well known to like everything.

 

[Mundus]

Being a basshead, TH900 is a godsend. I love me some bass but I thought I could never have lots of bass authority but also an incredible amount of detail in all frequency's, not just highs. TH900 proved me wrong.

 

[thatonenoob]

Honestly the TH900 is so tempting at this point, I almost feel the splendid urge just to buy it.  Sigh.

 

[up late]

what's stopping you?

 

[thatonenoob]

what's stopping you?

Oh you know, the usual wallet. haha

 

[up late]

that can be quite an impediment

 

[pervysage]

  They look amazing mate, how do they sound overall compared to stock?

 
Sorry about the late answer but I wanted to give them a good listen before I gave any impressions.
 
Right off the bat I will say that I am extremely impressed and to me the upgrades were definitely worth the money and the "risk" of changing a headphone that I already very much enjoyed and have had in my possession for a long time. 
 
I am really caught off guard by the (in my opinion) significant difference in sound but then again it makes sense that changing to wider wooden chambers (and different type of wood) and putting in the Lawton dampening kit would result in this much of a change in sound. I am trying not to over exaggerate or anything like that but I am just super excited with how they sound now. To me it is the same feeling as when you get a brand new headphone and are going through your music library and hearing things in your favorite songs that you have never heard before. Why I'm so caught off guard is because I expected changes like bass quality and a wider soundstage but did not expect to start hearing additional details in recordings to this extent.
 
So the main things I immediately started to notice after the upgrades:
 
- Wider soundstage. This was expected with the Lawton cups being significantly wider than the stock cups (you can see this in pictures). The TH900's have always had an amazing soundstage providing that outside of the head listening experience that makes you turn around in your seat and wonder if you just heard something behind you in your room. The Lawton cups boost this even further.
 
- Better controlled bass. Once again, TH900 has always had impressive bass, that is why everyone loves this headphone so much. The Lawton upgrades give the same amount of bass slam but it is it is better controlled. Honestly, at times I have found the TH900 to be a tad fatiguing on certain tracks when it comes to the mid-bass thump. All of this is gone now and you are just left with very clean, detailed bass that can still rock your head. 
 
- No more fatiguing highs! I myself have experienced and seen many posts from TH900 owners about the fatiguing highs that this headphone can have with treble hot tracks. The Lawton upgrades have definitely brought this under control. It is not to the point where you are suddenly losing details because it is overdampened, just enough to get rid of the fatigue.
 
- Like I said above, the dampening definitely did not mess up the clarity and detailed sound of the TH900 by any means. In fact I feel there is increased clarity and details. Likely this is a result of the bass being tuned better and everything in a track just being wider apart but I can hear details so much easier than before and some tracks are kind of shocking me with things I have not heard before. This is coming from someone who owns a HD800... so yeah, it is pretty bizarre to me.
 
Overall, it is still the same old TH900 but everything now is just BETTER. Cosmetically, obviously the Lawton cups look damn good. Love the new eyecandy sitting on the table. This actually brings me to an additional point:
 
- Good comfort. Yes, TH900 has always been a comfortable headphone but I have to say the Lawton pads blow away the stock pads. They are pricey but as you touch them with your hand or have them on your head, they feel great. The wider Lawton cups definitely increase the weight sitting on your head (something to consider if you do not like heavy headphones) but this is a non-issue for me. The new pads are super comfortable so the increase weight does not really bother me at the moment.
 
Lastly, I will say once again, to me, this upgrade was definitely worth it. When I got the TH900 almost 3 years ago, I could never imagine trying to modify them in any way, same as many people here talk about today. At the time they were perfection, as is. The stock cups are definitely lovely but there are some benefits to be had sonically if you are willing to upgrade to wider cups. It's unfortunate that it comes at the cost of having to put those beautiful stock cups in storage but Lawton's offerings on cups look just as beautiful. When I got my HD800 a couple years after, I kind of stopped listening to music on headphones (more so on speakers) and was mostly just gaming with headphones. In these times, the TH900 was just sitting on my desk not being used and collecting dust. Now I can see myself using the TH900 as a daily driver again and am quite happy that the mods have breathed new life into these phones! No more fatigue, just pure effortless clarity and FUN 

 
Now I should probably take these things off my head and go to sleep 

 

 

[AppleheadMay]

   
Sorry about the late answer but I wanted to give them a good listen before I gave any impressions.
 
Right off the bat I will say that I am extremely impressed and to me the upgrades were definitely worth the money and the "risk" of changing a headphone that I already very much enjoyed and have had in my possession for a long time. 
 
I am really caught off guard by the (in my opinion) significant difference in sound but then again it makes sense that changing to wider wooden chambers (and different type of wood) and putting in the Lawton dampening kit would result in this much of a change in sound. I am trying not to over exaggerate or anything like that but I am just super excited with how they sound now. To me it is the same feeling as when you get a brand new headphone and are going through your music library and hearing things in your favorite songs that you have never heard before. Why I'm so caught off guard is because I expected changes like bass quality and a wider soundstage but did not expect to start hearing additional details in recordings to this extent.
 
So the main things I immediately started to notice after the upgrades:
 
- Wider soundstage. This was expected with the Lawton cups being significantly wider than the stock cups (you can see this in pictures). The TH900's have always had an amazing soundstage providing that outside of the head listening experience that makes you turn around in your seat and wonder if you just heard something behind you in your room. The Lawton cups boost this even further.
 
- Better controlled bass. Once again, TH900 has always had impressive bass, that is why everyone loves this headphone so much. The Lawton upgrades give the same amount of bass slam but it is it is better controlled. Honestly, at times I have found the TH900 to be a tad fatiguing on certain tracks when it comes to the mid-bass thump. All of this is gone now and you are just left with very clean, detailed bass that can still rock your head. 
 
- No more fatiguing highs! I myself have experienced and seen many posts from TH900 owners about the fatiguing highs that this headphone can have with treble hot tracks. The Lawton upgrades have definitely brought this under control. It is not to the point where you are suddenly losing details because it is overdampened, just enough to get rid of the fatigue.
 
- Like I said above, the dampening definitely did not mess up the clarity and detailed sound of the TH900 by any means. In fact I feel there is increased clarity and details. Likely this is a result of the bass being tuned better and everything in a track just being wider apart but I can hear details so much easier than before and some tracks are kind of shocking me with things I have not heard before. This is coming from someone who owns a HD800... so yeah, it is pretty bizarre to me.
 
Overall, it is still the same old TH900 but everything now is just BETTER. Cosmetically, obviously the Lawton cups look damn good. Love the new eyecandy sitting on the table. This actually brings me to an additional point:
 
- Good comfort. Yes, TH900 has always been a comfortable headphone but I have to say the Lawton pads blow away the stock pads. They are pricey but as you touch them with your hand or have them on your head, they feel great. The wider Lawton cups definitely increase the weight sitting on your head (something to consider if you do not like heavy headphones) but this is a non-issue for me. The new pads are super comfortable so the increase weight does not really bother me at the moment.
 
Lastly, I will say once again, to me, this upgrade was definitely worth it. When I got the TH900 almost 3 years ago, I could never imagine trying to modify them in any way, same as many people here talk about today. At the time they were perfection, as is. The stock cups are definitely lovely but there are some benefits to be had sonically if you are willing to upgrade to wider cups. It's unfortunate that it comes at the cost of having to put those beautiful stock cups in storage but Lawton's offerings on cups look just as beautiful. When I got my HD800 a couple years after, I kind of stopped listening to music on headphones (more so on speakers) and was mostly just gaming with headphones. In these times, the TH900 was just sitting on my desk not being used and collecting dust. Now I can see myself using the TH900 as a daily driver again and am quite happy that the mods have breathed new life into these phones! No more fatigue, just pure effortless clarity and FUN 

 
Now I should probably take these things off my head and go to sleep 

 

 
 
I have been listening to quite a few Lawtons for years, ever since the D7000.
You descbribe what I've been hearing all along: a really improved version of the same headphone without changing the overall sound signature.
I had quite a few pairs of Lawtons over the years and I modded one step by step. Using one of the three mods (a question I've seen popup often) simply doesn't work, using the pads or dampening alone just makes the TH-900 sound off, it's the combo that works and has worked ever since the Dx00 series.
The cable is optional though, he uses Jena Labs wire in his Black Scorpion cable. What the cable does is adding even more detail without being harsh or bright, just a smooth flow of detail. I know he tried a lot of cables (or in his own words "I think I tried them all") before finally deciding on the Jena Labs one which is why on 2 of my 3 Lawtons I simply looked no further and had these hardwired. Trying all the cables myself would have been an expensive hobby by itself. In any case, I would recommend that whatever you try you stick with copper on these babies, silver might make them bright. 
 
As for the added size and weight I really don't mind. I have A/B'd all my Lawtons to a stock TH-900 a lot and I must say these feel a lot firmer on the head and a stock TH-900 feels like a toy afterwards (by lack of a better word), somehow too light. The thicker and angled pads secure these very well on your head, it gives a more secure feeling than the TH-900 for me.
And the weight is in no way comparable to an Audeze LCD, these are heavy and feel more clamping after prolonged use.
 
Congrats on your phones Pervysage, they look great don't they! 

 

 

[fuzzybaffy]

Don't wear yourself out, AppleheadMay. People can do searches on Lawton cups on their own.