Ok after listening to my th900 for a month paired with the ifi Xcan amp I must say the bass is impressive.
However I noticed the highs are too shrill at times and I cannot listen to these cans for long periods because of the shriilnness. That should never be the case with pair of headphones that cost this much
Are the massdrop versions better in terms of reduced highs but still maintain the same low end?
in terms of pure musicality/ euphonia, the LCD3 + Alo Studio Six I tried bested them for the genres I listen to, and I'm not even a fan of the Audeze sound in general. The Fostex TH-900 (yes, a closed can ... gasp) + GS-X MK2, to my mind, remains the most entertaining combo out of all the high-end rigs I've tried, easily besting the Abyss + LAu and LCD3 + Alo Six in terms of "high from music" moments and presentation.No other combo makes me want to bounce and bob around as much. I don't really care if the Fostex's get slagged off by "true audiophiles" for being too hi-fi sounding or whatever. Obviously there's some bias here if you look at the equipment listed in my profile, but it's equipment I bought after comparing them with everything available in the market, so it's somewhat justified, in my mind.
http://www.changstar.com/index.php?topic=1061.108
David did an awesome job with this guide, as he said it's his opinion, I for one would rank the Fostex TH900 much higher up around with the HD800. I tried the HD600 HD650 HD 700 and HD 800 last year – the HD800 in balanced configuration was my favorite Sennheiser. however on some amps & some songs there was a nasty sibilant treble. when I tried the TH900 there was no sibilance at all and music was so much more enjoyable – the HD800 had a larger sound stage (it's an open h/p) than the TH900 (a closed h/p). The HD800 has more of an analytical sound with the TH900 having a more euphonic signature – both phones retreave significant detail. The other bonus is in Australia the TH900 are significantly cheaper than USA ($1500. – 1600 vs $1900 up to $2300). Rarely does that happen as Australia is usually expensive for audio gear. In fact I heard from a head fier one of the Fostex reps for Australia told him the TH900 were selling out quickly. Some on HeadFi have suggested the TH900 is as classy as the Sony MDR-R10 a legend in its own right. If your looking at the HD800 consider auditioning the TH900 you may be quite surprised with the results.
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f...hips-50-headphones-compared-14258/#post331097
I recently had the opportunity to try these biker build-off monstrosities at a meet in HK with a bunch of amps (Cavalli Liquid Gold, Alo Studio Six and half a dozen Woo Audio offerings being amongst them). They're good. Very good, in fact, especially with the Liquid Gold. But not really all that much better than a LCD 2, and the most I'd pay for these would be LCD 2 + aftermarket cable money. A LCD3 + Alo Six combo beats hands down this in terms of pure musicality. My champion pairing from the meet was still the Fostex TH-900 + HeadAmp GS-X MK2, which nothing could beat in my ears. We didn't have a Stax SR009 at the meet, but we did have a SR007 II and Woo Audio WES, and that imho beat this Abyss + Liquid Gold combo as well, easily. Seeing as an Abyss + Liquid Gold set costs about the same (maybe slightly more) than a SR009 + upspecced WA WES, I find the former criminally overpriced.
Replyhttp://headfijourney.blogspot.com/2013/07/abyss-ab-1266.html
or this;
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From my experience so far, however, the best amp for the TH900 was the Zana Deux SE, period. I know it's counterintuitive, considering that TH900 has a low impedance of 25 ohms and should be paired with a decent solid-state amp in theory, but the exceptionally low 3-ohm output impedance of ZDSE (which is surprisingly OTL in design) makes it possible drive it without any audible distortions. I've auditioned the TH900 with tons of different headphone amps, including those in the $3K league and above, but nothing - and I mean nothing - drove the TH900 better than the ZDSE did. In fact, some owners of Balancing Act, are even considering ZDSE just for their TH900.
Although the TH900 is my most favorite dynamic headphone, it has two weaknesses: smaller soundstage compared to the best open-back headphones, and not being neutral, that is, its relatively rolled-off mids giving it a V-shaped tonality. I can't really complain about the first issue, because it still has the widest soundstage I've heard from a closed-back headphone. The reason I said the ZDSE sounded best with the TH900 is because it solves the two issues completely, by throwing a massive soundstage and bringing the mids forward to make it more neutral, while sounding ever so clear and musical at the same time. The TH900 and ZDSE is a match made in heaven IMO.
