[Flyingdog02]

I just got my Fostex thx-00's in the mail a day ago, and I was shocked at how underwhelming they where.
Coming from V-moda m100's and sennheiser ie80's i thought it would be a huge upgrade, I thought they would be my end game headphones.
I'm running em out of my Fiio e17, just streaming through YouTube or through my ps4 controller with Netflix etc.

They sound so similar to my vmodas, I can barely tell them apart. I think the only identifying factor between them is less siblinace.

Would higher quality audio files or a better amplifier make a big enough of a difference?
I was expecting SOO much more.
I'm seriously thinking about selling them, but want to give them another chance
Or is high end audio just not for me?

 

[Russian1]

I just got my Fostex thx-00's in the mail a day ago, and I was shocked at how underwhelming they where.
Coming from V-moda m100's and sennheiser ie80's i thought it would be a huge upgrade, I thought they would be my end game headphones.
I'm running em out of my Fiio e17, just streaming through YouTube or through my ps4 controller with Netflix etc.

They sound so similar to my vmodas, I can barely tell them apart. I think the only identifying factor between them is less siblinace.

Would higher quality audio files or a better amplifier make a big enough of a difference?
I was expecting SOO much more.
I'm seriously thinking about selling them, but want to give them another chance
Or is high end audio just not for me?

 
Well, you're not in "high end audio" yet. You did not make it even to the "middle audio". 
And that's not bad - as you did not loose $5000 just to realize that it's not worth it. 
 
If you're in this game (I mean world of audiophiles) first thing you have to know: 
- 5% upgrade in sound quality is considered a HUGE upgrade and worth spending $ thousands and thousands and thousands. 
But these are the rules of the game. 
 
 
But as the side note - Fostex thx-00's are way overrated on the pages of this forum. From what I know they did not deserve it.
I mean they're considered "a good bang for your buck" but that's it. 

 

[Flyingdog02]

Thanks for the reply, I guess when you put it that way, I didn't lose to much
I guess I'll stick to my 150-200$ headphones and be happy with that

 

[CheerioCoil]

They do look pretty though. I had my reservations about the reviews, since the way certain reviewers hyped it up so much sounded like a marketing gimmick. Sorry to hear about your disappointment.

 

[Flyingdog02]

Yah but honestly maybe they are good, I'm streaming through YouTube on a portable amp
My untrained non audiophile ears might just not be able to tell the difference
So

 

[CheerioCoil]

$400 though... You ought to be able to tell the difference. 

 

[TMRaven]

Pretty sure your amp and source materials are good enough, but it's just that you haven't trained yourself yet in the subtleties of the hobby.  I'm not saying that's a bad thing either-- hell it's potentially a good thing because over time you won't go crazy spending thousands of dollars for next to no audible upgrade.

 

[techboy]

YouTube? E17? Anything would sound terrible.

Get good 256 AAC or 320 MP3 along with Fiio E12 or O2. You should notice a difference. Trust me.

 

[unfitstew]

Well, you're not in "high end audio" yet. You did not make it even to the "middle audio". 
And that's not bad - as you did not loose $5000 just to realize that it's not worth it. 

If you're in this game (I mean world of audiophiles) first thing you have to know: 
- 5% upgrade in sound quality is considered a HUGE upgrade and worth spending $ thousands and thousands and thousands. 
But these are the rules of the game. 


But as the side note - Fostex thx-00's are way overrated on the pages of this forum. From what I know they did not deserve it.
I mean they're considered "a good bang for your buck" but that's it. 

Overrated is not a good word. It is basically telling people that they shouldn't like something that they like. I know I have no right to judge since I am very new here. I have the thx00 and personally like them. They are very fun headphones. That being said I completely understand that if you don't like the signature of the thx00 then it is a disappointing headphone. It is by far not a perfect headphone.
Moving onto OP's question. I think you would benefit from having a good dac/amp. A dac/amp would help with all of your headphones. For the thx00 a dac would be more important considering how easy it is to drive. If you are willing to splurge on one get the o2/odac combo. If you still can't tell much of a difference I would say sell it and if you are still interested in a headphone get something with a different sound signature than the headphones you already have.

 

[katulu]

OP,
 
 What kind of music are you listening to? What are you hoping to achieve?
 
If you want the headphones to make the Youtube music sound better, I'm afraid that's not possible...
 
At the least, get some quality files (for me, FLAC), if you really want to listen to music...

 

[Roderick]

  Pretty sure your amp and source materials are good enough, but it's just that you haven't trained yourself yet in the subtleties of the hobby.

What he said. I't takes time to appreciate and aknowledge the small differences. If op can barely tell a difference between v-modas and fostex a better dac or amp won't do any difference.
 
It takes time and practise to educate your hearing. Like russian1 said 5% improvement in sound is can be considered a big upgrade but on the other hand it is so minimal difference that most people would not even notice it.
 
Take some of your favorite songs, or just music you know very well. Switch between fostex and v-modas and see if you can hear a difference. Just browsing through youtube with random music is not the best way to determine differences between headphones. Then try listening exlusively on one headphone and after several days start using the other headphone. Differences should be obvious. If not obvious you should atleast notice something different between them.
 
If you still can't hear a difference, congratulations! You saved yourself some money. Just be happy with v-modas
 

 

[Flyingdog02]

Thx, you put that pretty well
I honestly was expecting a 5-10% difference right off the bat without dac/better amp
I'm starting to be able to tell the difference but it's to small of a change to justify the 400$

 

[Flyingdog02]

What he said. I't takes time to appreciate and aknowledge the small differences. If op can barely tell a difference between v-modas and fostex a better dac or amp won't do any difference.

It takes time and practise to educate your hearing. Like russian1 said 5% improvement in sound is can be considered a big upgrade but on the other hand it is so minimal difference that most people would not even notice it.

Take some of your favorite songs, or just music you know very well. Switch between fostex and v-modas and see if you can hear a difference. Just browsing through youtube with random music is not the best way to determine differences between headphones. Then try listening exlusively on one headphone and after several days start using the other headphone. Differences should be obvious. If not obvious you should atleast notice something different between them.

If you still can't hear a difference, congratulations! You saved yourself some money. Just be happy with v-modas

 

Just ordered some t50rp's, I think I'm gonna sell the thx-00's
Thx for the help everyone

 

[Russian1]

Thx, you put that pretty well

I honestly was expecting a 5-10% difference right off the bat without dac/better amp

I'm starting to be able to tell the difference but it's to small of a change to justify the 400$

 


Similar thing happened to me a year or so ago.
I bought Hifiman HE-560 and they sounded no better than my good old Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO.
I mean I could hear slight difference - HE-560 were a tiny little bit airer and had a little bit less bass. But that's it! They were a little bit different, they were no better at all.
And they were no 5 times better considering the price.

But after several months I started to notice and appreciate some things like:
- instrument separation (I mean if there're three violins - you could hear every violin playing its' part)
- instrument positioning - you could point the finger where exactly(!) every violin is
- sound stage is wider, this magical "music out of your head experience" which comes to you in an hour or so.
- it appeared that bass is not just bass; I mean I got to know that there's low bass (subbass), mid bass and high bass

All these things I wouldn't have known if I had sold my HE-560 at once (which was my first intention).

And there is such thing as a "brain burn-in".
I mean you have to listen to the new cans 50 hours or so to tune your brain to the new cans, especially if you're not experienced in mid-fi cans.

* edit: of course I listened to lossless quality music like flac and on mid-fi gear

** btw, still got and love Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO

 

[tobzy]

I have also had a similar experience in upgrading headphones. Not these in particular though.
 
Paying twice the price compared to my old headphones my expectations were high.
So when I only got a marginal difference I was also disappointed. 
 
After some more listening I started hearing differences and began appreciating the upgrade. 
Still nothing major though. 
 
 
Only you can decide if you think its worth it.