[twizzleraddict]

Quote:

I'm pretty sure Songmic HAS a ZDSE!

Yup, it's AnakChan I was referring to. Shouldn't hit "POST" too early in the morning before my coffee. 

 
 

 
And that's why I haven't responded to Greed yet. I'm seriously having a hard time to put this headphone down at the moment & I need to wake up early to work tomorrow.
 
telecaster is correct that songmic has the ZDSE. I talked to him (MF, & Craig) offline prior to purchasing Mr. Sneis' ZD. I still need to open up the PSU, take a pix, and ask Craig what wire to snip and where to solder to (to go to 100V).

 
Yup. Whenever you get your impressions solidified, would be good to see how they correlate to what Songmic had written not too long ago about the ZDSE and TH900 pairing.
 
 
 

I'm pretty sure twizzleraddict was talking about himself there's a comma there see 

 
joke aside I thought you went with the l2 did you end up with the dsha twizzleraddict?

I *did* get the L-2, didn't I? And it *is* tubed, isn't it? See how that lack of coffee thing works in my head? However, from what Doug@ECP tells me, the L-2 is very linear sounding, almost to the point of sounding like solid state. His theory is that "the things that make tube amps sound tubey are actually transformers, capacitors, and topology -- not tubes really." (Sorry I'm quoting you Doug, I hope I don't get slapped with a lawsuit here!) And the way he's addressed this is by leveraging specific components to present a very linear sound across the spectrum.
 
In any case, it's shipping this week so will hopefully be able to get some listening impressions by next week and post back here. I just got "ruined" by a listening session over this weekend when a fellow enthusiast brought over his small collection of Stax Lambdas. These do no wrong on everything except EDM, and even then, it actually competed quite well (although they didn't have the impact on the lower frequencies like the TH900s do). So it will be quite interesting when the ECP L-2 comes in.

 

[zardon]

Quote:

Zardon, I expect you  rate the Stax's above the Fostex's.
But what qualities do you think the Fostex might reveal ( if any) over the Stax's with regards Classical music only,
Piano in particular.) thanks Philip.

Well overall, I would rate the STAX 009 above the Fostex TH900's. I would actually rate the STAX009 above the Sony R10 as well. The Stax 009 headphones are deserving of their accolades, which is not always the case in the high end, in my opinion. That said, the Sony R10 are probably my most used headphone over previous years, they are addictive and produce such a wonderfully passionate view of music they are hard to put down. I am positive it is to do with the bio cellulose drivers in them. The TH900 use a similar technology as we all know, so this has to be part of the reason why so many Sony R10 owners seem to be loving the TH900.
 
My only issue with the STAX009 is that sometimes they do not invoke a warm feeling that can make you enjoy specific genre's of music. This is mainly in regards to rock music however as I feel they lack the weight necessary in the lower frequencies to drive the music forward in an enjoyable way. I had the same issue with my 'bass light' Sony R10 headphones but overall I love them.
 
This is when the Fostex TH900 have the edge, much like the classic Grado headphones they can make rock and pop music such fun, it is hard to not just get lost in the music. This is impossible to describe in a forum. It has happened so few times with me throughout the last 30 years - there are only a handful of headphones that can invoke such a feeling.
 
Since I got the TH900 I have actually not even used my Grados, that is how good they are in my opinion.
 
In regards to classical music, the TH900 do need a very controlled amplifier that can get the most from them. Compared to the Stax 009, the high frequencies are a little veiled, but you would need to moving directly between the headphones to notice it. They are actually a very sweet sounding headphone, balanced slightly on the warm side of neutral, which I like (same with the Sony R10). 
 
The Stax009 by comparison are brutally analytic, which at times is wonderful, but sometimes rather tiring.
 
Again, these are just my views, it may be a good idea to try and get to a meet if you can or speak to some guys who might live near you to let you hear them.
 
I know a couple of people who have bought them on Amazon intentionally with the knowledge they can send them back without an argument and get their money back (one of the good reasons to use Amazon - but obviously you need the money 'up front' to get them in the first place).
 
Cheers.

 

[Phil]

Thanks Zardon for the detailed reply.
Unfortunately the 009's are out of my price range so the more relevant comparison I'll need to consider is between the TH900 with either the Omega 007 mk II's or the SR-507's. Any thoughts?
I've tried the Koss ESP950's and liked them a lot but had problems ( the usual?)  regarding squeals and various head/hair noises ( probably due to its loose fitting nature) so wanted to go up in range in build quality at least.
The main reason I'm considering the Fostex is as you've  already mentioned above.  That is it's similarity to the Sony R-10s. Which I listened to  (and loved) briefly way back in 1989!  
  For a number of years  I own the next  model down ( big step down mind you!) CD3000 which also had the Bio Cellulose drivers.  Although more 'colored'  I remembered preferring to most of its rivals.
I agree that the best / only course of action is to try and listen to them.
Thanks again Philip.
 

 

[gzone3lement]

Quote:

For a number of years  I own the next  model down ( big step down mind you!) CD3000 which also had the Bio Cellulose drivers.  Although more 'colored'  I remembered preferring to most of its rivals. I agree that the best / only course of action is to try and listen to them.
Thanks again Philip.
 

 
I own both the CD3000 headphones and D7000 headphones. Unfortunately I haven't auditioned to the TH900's yet. Sometimes when I feel like listening to deeper soundstage with tight bass, I go for the D7000's. When it comes to wide soundstage and fat bass (though people refer to it as somewhat muddy bass), I go for CD3000's. I plan on staying away from auditioning the TH900. If I don't, I think I would have a tough time which headphones to sell. Saving up and keeping all three (D7000, CD3000, TH900) would be a nice collection.

 

[zardon]

Quote:

The main reason I'm considering the Fostex is as you've  already mentioned above.  That is it's similarity to the Sony R-10s. Which I listened to  (and loved) briefly way back in 1989!  
  
Thanks again Philip.
 

 
If you love the Sony R10's im pretty confident you will really enjoy the Fostex TH900. I do however dislike recommending headphones to anyone, as hearing varies and people use various amplification.
 
That said, I have a large friend base close to me all into high end headphones and not a single person in our group would argue that the Fostex TH900 share a similar sound characteristic to the Sony R10. Obviously there are differences, but with some material I would find it hard to tell the difference.
 
The TH900 has a much more substantial lower frequency response however and I have found it does need a lot of control to get the most from it. When you get it right however, it is marvellous.
 
I would recommend you pick up a pair if you enjoyed the Sony R10 in the past. In my humble view the Fostex TH900 are one of the most remarkable modern headphone designs and a complete bargain.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

I would almost completely agree with you. Except for pop/rock music.
 
This is more a problem with recording standards and quality, rather than the headphones themselves. The Stax009 can be brutally analytical of less than stellar recordings and I have found the TH900 much more 'enjoyable' for mainstream material. The added 'weight' from the TH900 in the lower frequencies, when controlled carefully by good amplification is much more effective for rock music specifically.
 
Again, im not saying you are wrong, You clearly have very acute hearing reading your posts over the years and you have contributed immensely to these forums, but I don't think the Stax009 are an ideal 'first choice' headphone for some of the genres I do enjoy.

I agree that with poorer recording quality the SR-009s can be ruthlessly revealing. But when the recording is good quality, I'd take the SR-009s any day of the week (unless I need the isolation of a closed headphone...and none are better than the TH-900s).

 

[zhunter]

Hi guys, my TH900 is on the way and I can't wait to experience it and compare to my current LCD-2 combo! Can you suggest me some great synergy DAC&Amp combo for the th900 in under $2.5k range? 
 

 

[myap2328]

Hi guys, my TH900 is on the way and I can't wait to experience it and compare to my current LCD-2 combo! Can you suggest me some great synergy DAC&Amp combo for the th900 in under $2.5k range? 

 

Cool! Comparisons please!

 

[Gandah]

Quote:

Hi guys, my TH900 is on the way and I can't wait to experience it and compare to my current LCD-2 combo! Can you suggest me some great synergy DAC&Amp combo for the th900 in under $2.5k range? 
 

I've often wondered how the Antelope Zodiac Gold or even Plus would pair up with the TH900s, reviews talk about how smooth and transparent the Zodiac sounds. Has anyone heard this pairing?

 

[Truesound]

Hi everyone, received my TH-900's today and WOW. I never knew it was possible for music to sound this beautiful. Even straight out of my Macbook Pro, these are sounding amazing. Also, the stand I got with mine is very nice. Fostex much have changed the stand that the cans come with as this one is much much nicer than the old one.

 

[zardon]

Quote:

Hi everyone, received my TH-900's today and WOW. I never knew it was possible for music to sound this beautiful. Even straight out of my Macbook Pro, these are sounding amazing. Also, the stand I got with mine is very nice. Fostex much have changed the stand that the cans come with as this one is much much nicer than the old one.

Excellent, great to hear it. beautiful phones, work well with so many less than brilliant sources, but they do step it up a notch with a quality amp and good source material.

 

[myap2328]

Excellent, great to hear it. beautiful phones, work well with so many less than brilliant sources, but they do step it up a notch with a quality amp and good source material.

Actually I find that if fostex were to make a flagship to compete with so many good phones and yet can be driven by an iPod. One word, amazing. Enough said

 

[songmic]

Quote:

Hi guys, my TH900 is on the way and I can't wait to experience it and compare to my current LCD-2 combo! Can you suggest me some great synergy DAC&Amp combo for the th900 in under $2.5k range? 

 
Not sure how much it costs in your country as it varies from country to country (in Korea it can be had for less than $2000), but the Eximus DP1 is my numero uno recommendation as a DAC/amp in one box solution. Technically superior sounding compared to Fostex's own HP-A8 and the Antelope Gold + Voltikus combo mentioned above. The headphone amp section is fairly good enough to drive the TH900, but it's the DAC section that makes it really shine.

 

[Truesound]

Quote:

Excellent, great to hear it. beautiful phones, work well with so many less than brilliant sources, but they do step it up a notch with a quality amp and good source material.

 
Yes, I'm waiting for my Burson Soloist SL to arrive. If they sound this beautiful just from a Macbrook pro, then I can't wait to hear them with an amp!

 

[zardon]

Mine are working beautifully through a SPL Phonitor 2730B and a REGA ISIS VALVE as source.