[namaiki]

  Gotcha. Nothing to treat the pads?
 

Be careful with the earpads. Mine started peeling already. Kind of a crack with small bits breaking off. I purchased a second pair of the earpads for about $100 from Fostex's Australian distributor. I've had mine for just over two years now. I hope the same doesn't apply to the headband.
 
I probably could have purchased 3rd party earpads as long as they had the same shape. Not like the one from the Denon D2/5/7k as that one seems to affect clarity.

 

[Mach3]

Personally I use this for all my leather pads. Works great leaving them soft. Cost $18.50 AUD and last ages.

 

[Mortalcoil]

Keep in mind Mach3 that the pads on the 900 aren't leather in the traditional sense.....more of an eggshell membrane concoction.

 

[Whazzzup]

Protein, have a free pair of lawtons as a back up. I don't do anything to the th900, cleaning wise.

 

[tokendog]

Gotcha. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[germay0653]

Pads are available at Full Compass for $33.71 each.  Read carefully, that's each, not per pair.
 
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/460942.html

 

[up late]

all tube amps are not warm...

 


Agreed!

Many tube amps tend to emphasise the midrange relative to the frequency extremes. This balance suits the TH900 very well.

I had two pairs of TH900 modified by Lawton: one pair with a "warm" or "euphonic" wooden ear-cups and another with "analytical" wooden ear-cups (relative to the stock ear-cups). I left the third pair unchanged.

The "theory" says that the ear-cups are heavily damped acoustically so the type of wood should make no difference whatsoever. To my great surprise, the two modified pairs not only sound different from the stock pair, they also sound different from one another though they are identical in every way (same shape and size of the cups, same damping material, same upgrade cable...) except for the type of wood selected.

The biggest surprise of all was that I much prefer the pair with "analytical" wooden ear-cups! In comparing the three pairs, I discovered that the stock (unmodified) TH900 is pretty "euphonic" already. Just a modest improvement in transparency and articulation in the "analytical" pair bring the midrange and image into better focus and improve the sonic balance of this pair over the already wonderful stock headphones.

wouldn't describe the th900 as euphonic but dry. the w3000anv and rs1 with their fuller mids and "wetter" presentation do sound euphonic to me.

 

[Llloyd]

Anyone want to explain their perceived differences between the th900 and he-500.  The 500s are sonically great but when i wear them in certain settings, mostly when i'm leaning over a computer for 8+++ hours a day(bad posture) I end up with neck pain.
 
I've heard a lot of people saying the 900 does not sound like a closed phone(at least when it was first released), but I find it hard to believe that it would sound open either.  Maybe someone could go into detail about this if you don't mind me asking.  People with higher end rigs preferred.  I'm probably going to get this phone soon either way but just asking out of curiousity.

 

[paulchiu]

  Anyone want to explain their perceived differences between the th900 and he-500.  The 500s are sonically great but when i wear them in certain settings, mostly when i'm leaning over a computer for 8+++ hours a day(bad posture) I end up with neck pain.
 
I've heard a lot of people saying the 900 does not sound like a closed phone(at least when it was first released), but I find it hard to believe that it would sound open either.  Maybe someone could go into detail about this if you don't mind me asking.  People with higher end rigs preferred.  I'm probably going to get this phone soon either way but just asking out of curiousity.

 
I listen to both HD800 and TH900 with 300B tubes from multiple makers on my Cary 300 SEI for two years now.  Most importantly, the TH900 is more comfortable for me over long hours. I never tried the HE500.
With the tubes, the natural sounds of voices and violins are layered and clear on both phones.  The articulation of space is wider with the HD800, but awfully close with the Fostex.  With integrated amps like Grace M903, the difference between these two cans are less.  In terms of that open/closed aspect.

 

[Mach3]

Anyone want to explain their perceived differences between the th900 and he-500.  The 500s are sonically great but when i wear them in certain settings, mostly when i'm leaning over a computer for 8+++ hours a day(bad posture) I end up with neck pain.

I've heard a lot of people saying the 900 does not sound like a closed phone(at least when it was first released), but I find it hard to believe that it would sound open either.  Maybe someone could go into detail about this if you don't mind me asking.  People with higher end rigs preferred.  I'm probably going to get this phone soon either way but just asking out of curiousity.

I have both and the reason why TH-900 sounds open is because it not really 100% closed. They have vents on the edge of the cups, which is why they leak a lot of sound for a closed headphone. Both the HE-500 and the Th-900 have very different sound signature, the HE-500 are more neutral. While the TH-900 is U shaped. To me the TH-900 have better sound stage and more micro detail.

 

[Llloyd]

@paulchiu @Mach3 : thanks for the info.  I'm aware in the difference in signature but I'm actually a little surprised that the detail would be better.  Also I never would have expected the th900 to be compared to the HD800 in terms of space.  Very interesting...

 

[gammarayson]

How are these cans with classical music, specifically orchestral, piano and chamber music? I own Stax Lambda Pros and 007s and Sennheiser HD800s. Like so many, I find the HD800 great, sometimes am bothered by the prominent treble in less than perfect recordings. I have never tried closed headphones before, so I wondered what qualities  a can like the TH900 could bring to my preferred music genre. More weight in the bass, more "fun"? I tried some Audeze LCD3f and Oppo PM1s and didn't like them at all. I haven't heard Hifiman's HE-6 or 560, but I am basically looking for an alternative to the HD800s.

 

[HemiSam]

Strongly recommend you audition before buying, if at all possible, given your existing collection of cans and what I believe would be relatively high expectations.  
 
I may take the dive on some 007's once my KGST amp arrives.  MkI or MkII will be the biggest decision.  I like new, but...
 
Best of luck.
 
HS

 

[tokendog]

If you prefer the HD800s and not the LCDs, you will likely not like the TH-900s. The TH-900s are more inline with the LCDs than the HD800s. They are more bass-oriented but it's very accurate, very rich, and has an extremely low distortion - one of the lowest.
 
However, when someone says they do not like the LCDs and are considering the TH900s then it raises a flag for me since the two are very similar in my opinion/perspective. Unless it was just the design of the LCDs that you did not prefer...then you may actually like the TH900s.

 

[gammarayson]

I tried both the original and later "fazor" versions of the LCD3s and didn't like the rolled off treble which seemed to lack detail when listening to violins etc. Certainly easy on the ear, but I suppose I'm spoilt with my Stax. Nevertheless, I like different flavours in presentation according to my mood, so was thinking of a slightly warmer/more forgiving/sweeter sound than I'm getting at the moment with my HD800 without compromising too much on treble detail and soundstage. I must try and audition some TH-900s, if only to educate myself