[Restia]

I would say Th900/Th900 mk2 is more powerful on expression of details and building a large sound field. However. W3000ANV is much better when playing human voices. Sound of Th900 mk2 is a bit loose, maybe because of it's tesla unit. I would suggest W3000ANV for common use and TH900 mk2 if you have a balanced system.

 

[Edric Li]

 

I did. TH900 wins to my taste. T5p is just too dull to me. 

Was it the first or second generation of the T5p?

 
I heard both. I also heard AKT1p. All of them are kind of boring. 
 
The older units of T1 (under 1000 S/N) are not boring though. Violins sound lively on those. 

 

[Edric Li]

Is it just me or ATH fans always equal muddiness to good vocal?

 

[bflat]

Swapped out my Reflektor tubes to Phillips E188CC. No need for EQ now. Really nice combo imho - compliments the low end, brings mids just a little forward and gently smooths out the top end.

 

[Solarium]

Just received my MK II and fresh out of the box with my iDSD/Lyr 2 chain it's sound pretty good. I am glad to hear that the bass is not basshead levels or quantity. It's very well controlled, fast with a good extension into the sub bass frequencies. When a track needs it, the bass delivers. Mids are pretty neutral. The highs to my ears are pretty bright. These really punish so-so mastered tracks, but reward hi-res ones. At the moment I have -1 db at 8 kHz and -2 db at 16 kHz which sounds about right for my ears. I wouldn't be surprised if I just zero those out after some burn in.

Sound bleed is not bad. Certainly not full closed, but at moderate sound levels pretty safe in an office environment but not library. Soundstage is very well balanced in width and depth.

Aesthetically, these are beautiful and really stand out. Comfort is really good for my head.

Compared to my recent full sized headphones:

T5P - TH900 has deeper, more present low end, similar mids, just a notch below highs of the T5P but also not as glaring.
Ether C - TH900 has deeper low end and a little more quantity. Ether C has a little more warmth in the mids and the highs are more smoother than TH900.

Even so, the comparison is not fair because I was listening to the T5P and Ether C with a fully balanced latest Mjolnir/Gungnir stack. I would have loved to keep that stack, but I simply don't have the desktop space. At least with the Lyr 2, I can still try some tube rolling. I'm really curious how the TH900 sound on the Gen 2 Woo Audio W7.

Update 9/30 - I swapped iDSD for Mojo and like the combination better with Lyr 2. About 40 hrs of burn in and have settled on the following EQ - +1 dB 512 Hz, +1 dB 1K Hz, -1 dB 8K Hz, -2 dB 16K Hz. Pretty much minor tweaks to my own personal preference. Of all my prior full size cans, TH900 required the least amount of EQ to my liking which is neutral with a touch of added low end.

What do you think of the Mojo->Lyr2 compared to plugging into the Mojo directly? Do you think the Lyr made the TH900 slower and too tubey in any way?

 

[bflat]

What do you think of the Mojo->Lyr2 compared to plugging into the Mojo directly? Do you think the Lyr made the TH900 slower and too tubey in any way?

Mojo direct pairing is pretty good and satisfying. By adding the Lyr2, I get a little more forward mids and some smoothing out of the highs. I'm talking a couple percent, not night and day. I don't find Lyr2 or even Mjolnir2 to be slow and "tubey". They are as fast and tight as solid state, with just a touch of tubes for a little more organic presentation. Tube rolling gives you a lot of options that EQ cannot do.

 

[Solarium]

Man, after some critical listening with the TH-900, directly comparing to my HD800 with my Mojo and Mainline, I'm honestly a bit underwhelmed. I was expecting it to blow my HD800 and SE846 out of the water, and while the bass is ridiculously strong, I don't find the overall sound to be as addicting and sophisticated as my HD800. Am I doing something wrong? Perhaps it would sound a lot better with a different setup?

 

[doraymon]

Man, after some critical listening with the TH-900, directly comparing to my HD800 with my Mojo and Mainline, I'm honestly a bit underwhelmed. I was expecting it to blow my HD800 and SE846 out of the water, and while the bass is ridiculously strong, I don't find the overall sound to be as addicting and sophisticated as my HD800. Am I doing something wrong? Perhaps it would sound a lot better with a different setup?

I had a similar experience when I auditioned them a few days ago. I guess it's the recessed mids?
With which tracks you tested it, was there a particular track that really didn't sound right?

 

[bigbeard]

Man, after some critical listening with the TH-900, directly comparing to my HD800 with my Mojo and Mainline, I'm honestly a bit underwhelmed. I was expecting it to blow my HD800 and SE846 out of the water, and while the bass is ridiculously strong, I don't find the overall sound to be as addicting and sophisticated as my HD800. Am I doing something wrong? Perhaps it would sound a lot better with a different setup?

​I own the hd800 and th900 mk2. I agree, the hd800 can really blow it away in some regards. But, if you find the right music, the th900 can make the hd800 sound like something is wrong with it.

 

[Edric Li]

 

Man, after some critical listening with the TH-900, directly comparing to my HD800 with my Mojo and Mainline, I'm honestly a bit underwhelmed. I was expecting it to blow my HD800 and SE846 out of the water, and while the bass is ridiculously strong, I don't find the overall sound to be as addicting and sophisticated as my HD800. Am I doing something wrong? Perhaps it would sound a lot better with a different setup?

​I own the hd800 and th900 mk2. I agree, the hd800 can really blow it away in some regards. But, if you find the right music, the th900 can make the hd800 sound like something is wrong with it.

 
Correct. For example:
 
https://svbkvlt.bandcamp.com/track/devil-worship-you
https://www.beatport.com/track/pulsar-original-mix/4332586
 
I can't live without any of the two. 

 

[wldcohso]

Just in case someone wanted a pair.

 

[bflat]

After trying out different components and EQ I think the brightness that many hear on the TH900 is around the 4 KHz range. It does make sibilant recordings sound even more so, but a properly mastered recording is just incredible. My happy compromise was to reduce 4 KHz by 1.5 dB. Going more than 2 dB I feel loses some of the great detail. I really like the comfort of the stock pads so I must have the idea head shape for the TH900 LOL.

 

[GU1DO]

i just do boost 2db at 500Hz and is more than enough for me
thanks for your input ..

 

[Bonepark]

I know that this is not the Lyr2 tube rolling thread, but some of you seem to be using Lyr2 with TH900, so I'll ask anyway that which tubes do you prefer?
 
I bought the TH900mk2's beside the LCD-2's because I needed pair of closed cans (cannot wake up the baby at night). The sound signature is of course very different and same tubes doesn't work at all that used to work well with LCD-2's. So currently I have 2 sets of tubes in use:
-Philips JAN 6922 1/84, these worked well with LCD-2 giving lots of detail and musicality, but they are far too bright for TH900
-Amperex ECC88, these are quite similar than 6922 ones sold by Schiit, much warmer than JAN Philips and work better with TH900
 
So I'm hoping to tame the treble a bit, means that I'm looking for warm top end with good midrange. Any suggestions?
 
I use iDSD as a dac, it seems to be bit on the bright side on the top end, but so far I won't be changing it.

 

[bflat]

  I know that this is not the Lyr2 tube rolling thread, but some of you seem to be using Lyr2 with TH900, so I'll ask anyway that which tubes do you prefer?
 
I bought the TH900mk2's beside the LCD-2's because I needed pair of closed cans (cannot wake up the baby at night). The sound signature is of course very different and same tubes doesn't work at all that used to work well with LCD-2's. So currently I have 2 sets of tubes in use:
-Philips JAN 6922 1/84, these worked well with LCD-2 giving lots of detail and musicality, but they are far too bright for TH900
-Amperex ECC88, these are quite similar than 6922 ones sold by Schiit, much warmer than JAN Philips and work better with TH900
 
So I'm hoping to tame the treble a bit, means that I'm looking for warm top end with good midrange. Any suggestions?
 
I use iDSD as a dac, it seems to be bit on the bright side on the top end, but so far I won't be changing it.

Here's a couple suggestions:
 
1) Lyr 2 - it's a hybrid amp so don't expect major changes with tube rolling. I find the Phillips Miniwatt E88CC SQ to add a little smoothing on the treble and brings mids a touch forward. The "holy grail" Reflektor 75 does tighten up the low end a bit, but the mids stay flat, and the treble is a touch too sharp for my tastes.
 
2) Try using Audirvana player and enable PCM to DSD conversion. This will bypass the iDSD DAC filters and I find the sound to be a little thicker in the mids and the highs smoothed out as well. You do need some major CPU horse power though. On my MacBook Pro with i7 processor, the best I can do is DSD 64. Anything higher gets occasional pauses in playback. You might want to try just straight up PCM up sampling too. That should smooth out some treble as well.