Ragnar-BY
1000+ Head-Fier
Well, as for 900s I don`t think that there is anything better for these headphones than Chord stack. A lot of people notice two problems with TH900 in cheaper setups - bloated subbass and harsh highs. With TT2 both problems are gone. Excellent control on low frequencies (power and low output impedance) and very nice treble (thanks to DAC transparency and noise shaper). I`ve tried a lot of different SS amps before. Violectric, Luxman, Bryston, Burson, Headamp - TT2 would easily beat even the best of them. I have not heard Wells Headtrip and Niimbus US4+ yet... maybe these ams would give better sound, maybe not. Anyway, I`m too happy with TT2 to continue amp rolling, which gets more and more expensive with each stepdo you have any experience of th909 open back ragnar? can you give some brief impressions of how your 900's sound with the chord stack? i'm thinking about going for the th909.
I love TH900 sound. Incredibly powerful subbass and and sparkling treble. Mids are recessed, so voices are slightly set back, but still sounds beautiful. Sound stage is huge, not HD800 huge but there are a lot of open cans which give you smaller soundstage. Image is good, although not as good as you can achieve with high-end open backs. Although, those who look for "neutral sound" could be disappointed. It is anything, but neutral. Very engaging, entertaining and emotional sound. My favorite pair of headphones of all times.
909 and 900 have much in common, but open backs sound differently. TH909 have better imaging, less bass and less sparkling treble. Midrange is recessed but not like in closed model. All in all it would be fair to say that 909 are technically superior, but lost some 900`s magic.
Both TH900 and TH909 are worth trying with TT2, especially if you look at price tags on other TOTL headphones. In 2019 Fostex`s flagships do not look expensive anymore