[vlach]

was having a problem with the highs when i first got the th900 and thought it might be a deal breaker but that passed. still prefer the w3000anv's delicate treble tho.

hadn't done any headphone listening for almost a couple of months until last night when i broke out both cans and was surprised by the result. much preferred the w3000anv. it sounded better balanced. the th900 was sounding bottom heavy and i was missing the w3000anv's mids and highs. funny how it goes.

I felt exactly the same way when I compared the W3000ANV to the D7000. I sold the latter.

 

[TWerk]

Good to know I'm not the only one hearing this bright treble.

 

[Oregonian]

The treble is also sharp in my other phones though, so it might just be because of my lack of adequate amping.

Does anyone in here own a Macbook Pro? Or some Ipod device? I'd love to see if you also hear them as rather sharp without a separate amplifier.

May want to try a vintage amp some time buddy. Way more control on the tone controls.

And yes, age does wonders for treble sensitivity.......

 

[up late]

came back to both cans with fresh ears that's for sure. might have a very different experience next time.

 

[LSD25]

I tried mine on my friend's iphone, they sounded wayy too harsh, they gave off that hot sparkly treble, couldn't bear it.
 
They sound completely different on my amp, but even then I have to eq the treble down often. One reason why I think my amp makes these sound a bit bright is because the amp does not have a gain switch. It is permanently on high-gain and full volume. I also hear very low hissing sound when I have nothing playing.. that might be contributing to the overall presentation of TH900s as well.
 
HD800s sound beautiful with them though, not bright at all. I don't hear any hissing sound with HD800 either.
Wish I had a second amp for comparison.

 

[the-kraken]

May want to try a vintage amp some time buddy. Way more control on the tone controls.

And yes, age does wonders for treble sensitivity.......

I think Twerk is running the th900's straight out of an iPod/iPhone. Oh, the horror!

 

[TWerk]

The only amp I had when I purchased these was my Matrix M-stage, but I found it harsh sounding. I was hoping that would not be the case, since it works well with my other headphones. Because I didn't like the M-stage pairing, I started listening straight through my other devices. My other headphones sound quite good like this, but TH900 is still harsh.
 
I ordered a M1HPA and a TA-1 portable tube amp. One powerful desktop and one powerful portable, both noted as being rather warm and smooth sounding, exactly the direction I'd like to take these. So, hopefully at least one (or both) of them will solve the problem.
 
I agree with you Kraken, that an amp should be mandatory with these.... I mean, running a near 1K headphone with a $100 ipod isn't very logical. But like I said, I was hoping the M-stage would work for me, not knowing I wouldn't like it.
 
I hope I will like the new amps. Surely, I will share my thoughts with you here. I still think the TH900 sounds great with these cheap devices, well above most headphones, just not the in treble.
 
 

I think Twerk is running the th900's straight out of an iPod/iPhone. Oh, the horror!

 

[TWerk]

Sorry, miss post.

 

 

[AppleheadMay]

  I tried mine on my friend's iphone, they sounded wayy too harsh, they gave off that hot sparkly treble, couldn't bear it.
 
They sound completely different on my amp, but even then I have to eq the treble down often. One reason why I think my amp makes these sound a bit bright is because the amp does not have a gain switch. It is permanently on high-gain and full volume. I also hear very low hissing sound when I have nothing playing.. that might be contributing to the overall presentation of TH900s as well.
 
HD800s sound beautiful with them though, not bright at all. I don't hear any hissing sound with HD800 either.
Wish I had a second amp for comparison.

 
You surely have a mismatch in your system here. The TH-900 is a lot smoother in my system than the HD800 ever was.
I do and did put all of my amps on low gain with the TH-900 since the volume goes up way too fast otherwise.
Apart for more volume control I find I get a more spatial, open and cleaner sound wehen using low gain.

 

[TWerk]

   
You surely have a mismatch in your system here. The TH-900 is a lot smoother in my system than the HD800 ever was.
I do and did put all of my amps on low gain with the TH-900 since the volume goes up way too fast otherwise.
Apart for more volume control I find I get a more spatial, open and cleaner sound wehen using low gain.

 
That's wonderful to know.

 
Both amps I just bought have no gain control switches.

 

[citraian]

I guess it also comes to the music as well. On some songs, the TH-900 IS brighter than the HD-800. Can confirm that

 

[the-kraken]

I guess it also comes to the music as well. On some songs, the TH-900 IS brighter than the HD-800. Can confirm that

Possibly some music with a lot of stuff at the extreme edge of the upper treble register:

 

[Llloyd]

Possibly some music with a lot of stuff at the extreme edge of the upper treble register:

 
 
This is one thing that worries me.  A portion(less than 5%) of my listening comes from original vinyl rips that are sometimes worn or very old recordings.  It's nice to listen to the music as it was originally released.  Some of these recordings have very harsh treble(i'm looking at you smithsonian collection of classic jazz / anotholgy of american folk music).  One reason speakers are amazing: none of that hurts even the slightest.

 

[Gibalok]

I have denon ah-d7100 and HD650. I love punchy and tactile bass and intimate sound of denons 7100. Should i consider Fostex TH900 to my collection or LCD or Hifiman.

 

[AppleheadMay]

I have denon ah-d7100 and HD650. I love punchy and tactile bass and intimate sound of denons 7100. Should i consider Fostex TH900 to my collection or LCD or Hifiman.

 
TH-900 definitely. It's completely different from a HD650.
The D7100, even though I am one of the few who seem to somewhat like it, is nowhere near the quality of a TH-900 and and has nothing in common as well. The TH-900 is an improved D7000 but has no relationship to the D7100.
Concerning planars, I'm not a fan, imo it's an aquired taste. I used to have an LCD-2 for a while and it was about the worst thing I ever heard, so bad I decided to avoid planars in general. The new TH-500RP does peek my interest though but I see the opinions here on HF are generally negative.
 
 
Regarding the TH-900s treble: I never heard anything but smooth, natural highs, never had any harshness with any kind of music or any amp I tried it with, even the simple output of an integrated amp.
It is somehing I used to associate with the HD800 so what I read in the last few posts here is about the opposite of my experience and I have two pairs of TH-900 that are about 1500 apart in serial numbers.