[Slim1970]

I just received the Dekoni Premium TH-900 fenestrated sheepskin
First impression ,, wow what a bass killer
The original non fenestrated , is more alive , grrrr ..


For me the bass is more than enough with the Lawton pads , i just pump the EQ around 500hz few dB's

Crap, I wish I would've seen this before I placed my order for the Dekoni fenestrated pads for my Fostex TH-900 MK2's. They look really nice but if they lessen the bass like you said then that's a deal breaker for sure.

 

[jmills8]

Crap, I wish I would've seen this before I placed my order for the Dekoni fenestrated pads for my Fostex TH-900 MK2's. They look really nice but if they lessen the bass like you said then that's a deal breaker for sure.

Yesh, I love the TH900s Bass slam. Dont remove that slam.

 

[Slim1970]

@AudioThief I've been driving my Fostex TH-900 MK2's with the iFi iCan Pro. I also have the balanced cable that Fostex made for them and I've been using the Mojo as dac. I must say this is cleanest sounding, hardest hitting most enjoyable sound I have ever heard out of a headphone. The bass is deep, detailed and layered, the mids are alive and smooth and the highs are detailed with amazing clarity. Part of it could be the balanced cable and the other part could be the system synergy. All I know is the iCan Pro drives them with aplomb. I know the iCan Pro is out of your budget but if you can splurge it's one of the best headphone amps I've ever heard. It drives every headphone I have with ease and it has tubes built in. So if you don't like the solid state (SS) sound switch over to tube or tube+ mode for more enjoyment and headphone matching.

I haven't tried the tube modes with the Fostex TH-900 MK2's yet because I find SS mode so enjoyable. Right now it's my favorite headphone that I own and worth every penny you've spent on it. Hope you decide on an amp that you like soon. It's all about personal taste and what sounds good to your ears.

 

[jmills8]

@AudioThief I've been driving my Fostex TH-900 MK2's with the iFi iCan Pro. I also have the balanced cable that Fostex made for them and I've been using the Mojo as dac. I must say this is cleanest sounding, hardest hitting most enjoyable sound I have ever heard out of a headphone. The bass is deep, detailed and layered, the mids are alive and smooth and the highs are detailed with amazing clarity. Part of it could be the balanced cable and the other part could be the system synergy. All I know is the iCan Pro drives them with aplomb. I know the iCan Pro is out of your budget but if you can splurge it's one of the best headphone amps I've ever heard. It drives every headphone I have with ease and it has tubes built in. So if you don't like the solid state (SS) sound switch over to tube or tube+ mode for more enjoyment and headphone matching.

I haven't tried the tube modes with the Fostex TH-900 MK2's yet because I find SS mode so enjoyable. Right now it's my favorite headphone that I own and worth every penny you've spent on it. Hope you decide on an amp that you like soon. It's all about personal taste and what sounds good to your ears.

Using the black with the TH900 on the go.

 

[Slim1970]

Using the black with the TH900 on the go.

Awesome, how do you like the iFi black with the TH-900's? I think iFi products match up very well with Fostex.

 

[jmills8]

Awesome, how do you like the iFi black with the TH-900's? I think iFi products match up very well with Fostex.

I demoed it three times and perfer it iver the Hugo and Mojo. Both the Hugo and Mojo have great dacs but lack some punch. The Blacks dac is very good and its amp is much better than the Hugo and Mojo.

 

[Slim1970]

I demoed it three times and perfer it iver the Hugo and Mojo. Both the Hugo and Mojo have great dacs but lack some punch. The Blacks dac is very good and its amp is much better than the Hugo and Mojo.

Your Chord comment got me interested in the iFi iDSD Black Label. I've been reading reviews on it and it seems to be quite the performer. It definitely has more features than the Mojo and Hugo V1. But it looks like Chord stepped things up on Hugo 2. The thing is the Hugo 2 is more than three times the price of Black Label. Since the Hugo 2 is a fairly new release there are no comparison videos or reviews between these two products and I'm interested in both at the moment. But I'm glad to read you are enjoying yours with the Fostex.

 

[ctaxxxx]

So I ordered some pads off eBay that @subwoof3r mentioned HERE. Got them in today. Some quick impressions below.

Black1 pair: More mid-bass impact than the stock pads. The treble is much less peakier, but the upper mids are pushed forward, which to me is worse since this shrinks the soundstage and sounds a little more harsh to my ears. It reminds me of the Fostex TH-X00 signature. Don't like...

Black pair: Slightly more mid-bass impact than Black1. Also same as above, but treble and upper mids are smoother. These are more comfortable too. I actually like these. It's like an improvement over the Fostex TH-X00 signature. They do get hot though...

Not sure which I prefer more (Stock vs Black). I like the additional impact, but I feel like it washes out the other frequencies. Think all I need to do is adjust my EQ settings though (I like to boost the bass). But for now, I'm going to use the Black pads instead of the stock. Black1 might go in the trash...

 

[GU1DO]

So I ordered some pads off eBay that @subwoof3r mentioned HERE. Got them in today. Some quick impressions below.

Black1 pair: More mid-bass impact than the stock pads. The treble is much less peakier, but the upper mids are pushed forward, which to me is worse since this shrinks the soundstage and sounds a little more harsh to my ears. It reminds me of the Fostex TH-X00 signature. Don't like...

Black pair: Slightly more mid-bass impact than Black1. Also same as above, but treble and upper mids are smoother. These are more comfortable too. I actually like these. It's like an improvement over the Fostex TH-X00 signature. They do get hot though...

Not sure which I prefer more (Stock vs Black). I like the additional impact, but I feel like it washes out the other frequencies. Think all I need to do is adjust my EQ settings though (I like to boost the bass). But for now, I'm going to use the Black pads instead of the stock. Black1 might go in the trash...

I am like you , i didn't like the black1 which look like stock th-x00 pads ,,

Lotown pads are in the middle between these two ,, for me they are the most balanced pads ,
but still you have to try it with your amp ,, result deffer with each amp ,,

if you check my old posts ,, first time i tried the lowton pads with audeze deckard amp and i didn't like them ,,
sound stage was heavily reduced and upper bass was to much so i returned to stock pads,
later i updated my gear to the the fostex hpa8 amp , with that i tried the lowton pads again , and it was amazing.

so as you can see results sometimes don't match between members exactly because of these variances in gear ,
beast thing to do, is to try more and more pads with different materials and shapes , and that's what i did
thankfully the headphone design made that easy to replace pads ,

I have all Dekoni pads that fit fostex TH headphones (5 on-hand & 2 coming this month (total 7 pairs))
+ Dekoni TH-X00 Attenuation Rings , which could be used with any pad ,
+ 3 or 4 hifiman HE pads ( velour , leather , extra large ,..)
+ ZMF Ori Pads ,
+ famous pad : Brainwavz Angled pads (most over rated pad here in head-fi)
+ TH-X00 Stock pads
+ TH-610 Stock pads
+ finally the Lotown pads ...

Choices are huge ,, specially with the TH-X00 Attenuation Rings,
to summarize things .. my 3 best pads beside stock are :

Lotown pads (most of the time , best balance for my amp and taste)
Dekoni TH-900 sheep Skin ( if i want relaxed experience )
Dekoni X00 Premium (not sheepskin) for most fun sound with extreme bass - (only with chord mojo)

and i am still experimenting

 

[ctaxxxx]

I am like you , i didn't like the black1 which look like stock th-x00 pads ,,

Lotown pads are in the middle between these two ,, for me they are the most balanced pads ,
but still you have to try it with your amp ,, result deffer with each amp ,,

if you check my old posts ,, first time i tried the lowton pads with audeze deckard amp and i didn't like them ,,
sound stage was heavily reduced and upper bass was to much so i returned to stock pads,
later i updated my gear to the the fostex hpa8 amp , with that i tried the lowton pads again , and it was amazing.

so as you can see results sometimes don't match between members exactly because of these variances in gear ,
beast thing to do, is to try more and more pads with different materials and shapes , and that's what i did
thankfully the headphone design made that easy to replace pads ,

I have all Dekoni pads that fit fostex TH headphones (5 on-hand & 2 coming this month (total 7 pairs))
+ Dekoni TH-X00 Attenuation Rings , which could be used with any pad ,
+ 3 or 4 hifiman HE pads ( velour , leather , extra large ,..)
+ ZMF Ori Pads ,
+ famous pad : Brainwavz Angled pads (most over rated pad here in head-fi)
+ finally the Lotown pads ...

Choices are huge ,, specially with the TH-X00 Attenuation Rings,
to summarize things .. my 3 best pads beside stock are :

Lotown pads (most of the time , best balance for my amp and taste)
Dekoni TH-900 sheep Skin ( if i want relaxed experience )
Dekoni X00 Premium (not sheepskin) for most fun sound with extreme bass - (only with chord mojo)

and i am still experimenting

I was always curious about the Lawton pads (and Level 1 mod). I got the Chinese made ones though cause they were almost 1/4 the price.

 

[AudioThief]

@ctaxxxx which pads are you using for the TH 900?

 

[ctaxxxx]

@ctaxxxx which pads are you using for the TH 900?

The Black pads that I mentioned 3 posts above. Smooths the highs while adding more mid-bass impact at the cost of slight treble clarity and soundstage.

 

[AudioThief]

The Black pads that I mentioned 3 posts above. Smooths the highs while adding more mid-bass impact at the cost of slight treble clarity and soundstage.

I'm blind, apparently. If I were to switch pads I would be looking at the Dekoni lambskin pads. Since lambskin is cool. But I'm scared to mess with the sound signature. I really don't like EQ, pad swaps etc.. Monitoring for now I think....

 

[ctaxxxx]

Is it possible to buy an extra plastic locking ring for the ear pads? I'm worried that I'll loosen the stock ear pads too much from taking the ring in and out.

Was listening to Hidden Orchestra's latest album with different the ear pads. Stock pad is definitely suited more for reference listening, and the Black pad for more fun listening (was too boomy).

 

[AudioThief]

Is it possible to buy an extra plastic locking ring for the ear pads? I'm worried that I'll loosen the stock ear pads too much from taking the ring in and out.

Was listening to Hidden Orchestra's latest album with different the ear pads. Stock pad is definitely suited more for reference listening, and the Black pad for more fun listening (was too boomy).

Just wanted to say, Hidden Orchestra kicks ass