[Canadian411]

  I didn't speculate people thinking

. I'm just saying it sound bad for me

, also I didn't ask for your opinion. I just speak what suit me. I don't care what the others feel about my opinion and it's 100% right for me .
so I'm gonna say it Fostex Th 900 not that bad ,but also not that good. it's just normal headphones nothing special .

 
If you are "really" serious, maybe you have a defective one, try to find a local retailer and compare your TH900.
I am honest when it comes to recommending the headphones to others, definitely TH900 is one of best headphone I heard, clarity is as good as HD800, HE6 etc.
 
Try to find a solution instead, if you don't like it sell it before you downgrade.

 

[agooh]

your advice accepted , I will try another Th900. I will remove that bad image in my head and try them again.
Thanks

 

[plakat]

I'm all for the starvation diet @up late proposed...
 
Of course part of the price goes into those beautiful cups... for those who just want the sound signature, the TH600 offers most of that at a much more reasonable price. I'm fine with what I paid for the TH900 and like them for what they are: a statement product in technical as well as design aspects.

 

[richardlu]

The bass is pretty good,very powerful. But the midrange is a little vague...It's very detailed and special overall.

 

[MunDa]

Is ifi micro idsd a good match with th 900?

How does this compare with the lcd 3 fazor model? I'm struggling to decide between lcd xc, 3f, X and th 900.

 

[zolkis]

Well :For stax 009, it should be around 1300-2000 $ but it sound better than th900 by 10 times at least.
For enjoyable listening the lcd 3f which is 7 times better than th900 and for the price it should be around 1100-1400 $

 
I have auditioned the LCD-3 many times, and I consistently liked my (modded) TH900 more, and even the HD800 I liked more (with the right amp). The LCD-3 is just too dark for me, or over the threshold I consider too dark. However, I can imagine there are a lot of people who like the LCD-3 more, especially with tube amps. But there is not that much difference between it and the TH900.
The Stax 009 is indeed a different world, resolves a lot more in a spatially different way, it's quite an experience. But it costs 4-5 times more, with the right amp. A used Stax 007 is about the same price as a new TH900, and I would choose it if I needed to have only one headphone. But the amp you need with the 007 is the BHSE... 
When I don't compare the TH900 to the Stax, i.e. in the office, I don't miss really anything. The TH900 has a different presentation, but it's good enough for enjoying the music both emotionally and intellectually . Peace.

 

[MunDa]

I have auditioned the LCD-3 many times, and I consistently liked my (modded) TH900 more, and even the HD800 I liked more (with the right amp). The LCD-3 is just too dark for me, or over the threshold I consider too dark. However, I can imagine there are a lot of people who like the LCD-3 more, especially with tube amps. But there is not that much difference between it and the TH900.
The Stax 009 is indeed a different world, resolves a lot more in a spatially different way, it's quite an experience. But it costs 4-5 times more, with the right amp. A used Stax 007 is about the same price as a new TH900, and I would choose it if I needed to have only one headphone. But the amp you need with the 007 is the BHSE... 
When I don't compare the TH900 to the Stax, i.e. in the office, I don't miss really anything. The TH900 has a different presentation, but it's good enough for enjoying the music both emotionally and intellectually . Peace.

Have u auditioned the fazor version of lcd 3? It's supposed to be on the more neutral side. Is lcd 3 darker than the hd 650?

 

[citraian]

Have u auditioned the fazor version of lcd 3? It's supposed to be on the more neutral side. Is lcd 3 darker than the hd 650?

The LCD 3 is way more neutral than HD650. The Fazor is indeed on the more neutral side.
What kind of music do you like and what kind of sound would you like your headphone to have?

 

[JackarlTwo]

I'm all for the starvation diet @up late
 proposed...

Of course part of the price goes into those beautiful cups... for those who just want the sound signature, the TH600 offers most of that at a much more reasonable price. I'm fine with what I paid for the TH900 and like them for what they are: a statement product in technical as well as design aspects.

@plakat. I see you have the SPL phonitor 2 on your profile page. How is it with the th900, especially compared to Violectric v281?

 

[MunDa]

The LCD 3 is way more neutral than HD650. The Fazor is indeed on the more neutral side.
What kind of music do you like and what kind of sound would you like your headphone to have?

I think the hd650 is a good can but I find it to be too warm and the soundstage is kind small. I'm lookin for more clarity and larger soundstage and good bass. I tried t5p and t1 the are way too bright. I listen to jazz/swing 50% and the rest is mixed rnb hip hop classic

 

[citraian]

I think the hd650 is a good can but I find it to be too warm and the soundstage is kind small. I'm lookin for more clarity and larger soundstage and good bass. I tried t5p and t1 the are way too bright. I listen to jazz/swing 50% and the rest is mixed rnb hip hop classic

If you like HD 650 but want more clarity and soundstage my suggestion is that you stick with the LCD-3Fs. Great pair of cans

 

[zolkis]

Have u auditioned the fazor version of lcd 3? It's supposed to be on the more neutral side. Is lcd 3 darker than the hd 650?

 
No, not yet. In turn, I liked the LCD-3 (old) much more than the LCD-X with the fazor. I also liked it much more than the HD650. I can imagine the LCD-3 with the fazor may sound slightly more open. I think the LCD-3 (either old, or new) is the one to buy from Audeze. I could perhaps make peace with the darker sound, but the sound stage is also narrower (yet well focused and enjoyable) compared to the other ones I like with enough genres (TH900, HD800, K812, Stax 007 and 009). The TH900 is the only closed headphone which plays with the big ones for my taste (I didn't like the D7000 that much), and its bass is better overall than all of the big ones (again, I have to specify that I made earpad and damper mods to the TH900 - the LCD3 has better, albeit less spacious bass than the stock TH900).
 
If I do a totally subjective comparison (inherently flawed, because genre variations) between these phones, when each is amped close to its best:
(mTH900 and m007 refers to my modded ones; ~= means more or less similar, with some variance, perhaps better; > means better in most cases that matter to me; >= means mostly better or similar)
- bass impact, slam, energy: mTH900 > LCD3 >= TH900 > m007 > 009 > K812 > HD800. Take that to movies, electronica, metal, rock.
- perceived instrumental bass quality (musical resolution, dynamic gradation, speed, control): 009 ~= m007 > mTH900 > LCD3 > 507 > K812 > HD800 > TH900. Mostly with jazz, instrumental, classical.
- mids (resolution, tone, harmonics): 009 > m007 > K812 ~= HD800 > mTH900 > TH900. With any music.
- treble (naturalness, musicality): m007 > 009 > K812 >= mTH900 = TH900 >= LCD3 > HD800. With any music, except classical, where the HD800 sometimes moves up 1-3 positions.
- sound stage: 009 ~= m007 ~= HD800 > K812 >= mTH900 > TH900 > LCD3. The HD800 sound stage is biggest (tallest), but not always the best. Both Stax can enchant me more, for instance with big orchestra.
 
Now comes the twist. When I rank for my own musical enjoyment in general (and I listen to almost all genres):
009 ~= m007 >> mTH900 > K812 > HD800 > TH900 > LCD3.
YMMV! I am sure many people would have different preferences and ranking. Any of these headphones is "good enough" to enjoy music.
If I could tolerate dark sound more, the LCD3 would move up 3 positions with many genres.
Looks I am basically a Stax guy who enjoys the TH900 enough to keep it for the office and don't miss much of the Stax when they are not around. In all honesty, nowadays I use the m007 even for movies, giving up some of the bass impact for the better overall sound. But when bass energy is needed, the mTH900 so far has no peers. I miss that bass energy from all other headphones, except the LCD3 which comes close, and I repeat I don't miss much from the Stax when they are not around to make a direct comparison.
 
Note that I miss Hifiman completely, since I didn't like the HE6 and HE500, and heard but haven't compared the new ones (e.g. HE560), and Oppo, to the list above. They may rank well on this list, but I doubt they are better than the LCD3 or others on this list.
 
I need to note that when you're using something like the Smyth Realiser A8, or a good equalizer (already a compromise, but often not so bad) this list is totally different:
009 > m007 > HD800 > K812 > LCD3 > mTH900 >TH900. I think this is an interesting point, and refers to something like "neutral enough sound with good resolution and sound stage, and enough reserves in the bass to be tweakable without audible distortions". I mention this because I know people who opted for the Realizer for many reasons, and I consider them valid. A Realiser with a Lambda or a HD800 can be enough for many people. I myself am more like a purist, the simpler and shorter signal paths, the better. And if I want the best phone in all circumstances, it's still Stax at the moment . Feel free to disagree, but don't shoot .

 

[Mach3]

   
But when bass energy is needed, the mTH900 so far has no peers.

 
Care to share the link for the mods thanks?

 

[zolkis]

Care to share the link for the mods thanks?

Described earlier in this thread:
- order replacement pads (and optionally mounting plates) from your local Fostex importer
- earpad filling changed to active carbon foam (105/70 diameter, 15-17mm high at the back and 8-10mm high at the front). You can buy that from amazon. 15 mm thick works fine, the optimum is around 17 (so better buy 25 mm thick and trim). This made most change in clarity, bass, sound stage.
- foam damper changed to 5 mm thick 100% wool felt (e.g. from meervilt.nl), 73/48 mm ext/int diameter. This made most change in filling up the midrange, but the original damper is not that bad either with the new pads.
- polyfill in the cups halved in thickness (alternatively use 2 mm thick meervilt.nl wool felt, 78mm diameter). Optional.
Buy an Olfa cutter from amazon for cutting wool felt disks with precision.
I developed these mods together with @playitloud and we are still fine-tuning it. Total materials cost is less than $100. You will spend days or weeks fine-tuning it, but you will like the process . Be amazed of what difference small changes can do.
I have tried the basic Lawton mod and discarded it completely in favor of the above. Actually it caused a 2 month side-tour around the better (for me) solution. 
 
The mod done for the 007 is similar: I got 009 pads in which I changed the foam filling to active carbon foam. The dimensions are absolutely critical and are different from the original filling. Still fine-tuning, but improved enormously the already nice 007's, especially in opening up the sound, improving sound stage and perceived resolution, elevating a bit the slightly subdued treble, and making the bass deeper and with bigger impact.

 

[Mach3]

 

 
Thanks heaps for sharing with the community once again.