I prefer listening to live recordings.
Even on the studio recordings, timbre of the voice/instruments should be close to the live recordings.
My main criteria for judging headphones - when I listen to them, do they transport me in time and space to concert hall/studio where this music was recorded?
Too many headphones, even TOTL-priced ones, only create a very good reproduction, but never make me believe I'm present then and there.
I can't believe you are putting D8000 Pro and AB1266 in the same boat as TH900:
Neither of them has any bass boost or the 5Khz treble peak (especially Abyss
), both have more energy in the mids.
D8000Pro and AB1266 have a much flatter FR.
At least both of them have a flat bass, R10 drops like a rock below 100Hz, even the "bass-heavy" version:
https://www.changstar.com/www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,278.0.html
The "bass-light" R10 is even worse:
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...0-as-good-as-its-reputation.5263/#post-298367
TH900 is a very fun headphone, but it can't compete with truly TOTL headphones.
If it didn't look as good as it does, nobody would pay more than 300-500$ for it.
I'm not afraid to admit it - TH900's beauty was the deciding factor in my purchasing decision, not its sound.
We've all see that Youtube video - you know which one I'm talking about
That video is responsible for a big chunk of TH900's sales.
I've spent 500$-600$ on top of the 1700$ TH900MK2 cost me, trying to improve it's sound.
The TH610 pads did mitigate the recessed mids somewhat, but they couldn't make TH900 into what it's not designed to be - a natural-sounding headphone.
It has a great "wow" factor, but I can't listen to it over a long period of time.