Has anyone used Fostex TH600 for their metal listening? This pair is high on my list and I read one person in the TH600 thread say they are great for metal, I'd just like that confirmed if possible.
This kind of fits in the metal thread, right? Like we can merge music and gear?
I had Grado SR325is, and liked a lot of things about them, but over time I realized that listening to them at anything above grandmotherly volume levels was like inserting live earwigs into my ear canals. I prefer the Senn HD600 sound a lot more, even though people wrongly say that they're 'too slow' for fast music. Bah humbug to that notion. In any case, I will have a decent chunk of cash Lord willing, and I want to upgrade.
I got to try the Fostex TH600 for the first time at a meet yesterday. I didn't listen to any metal, but I did try them with some hard rock. I loved them and definitely think they are great rock headphones. They went from being not even on my radar to the top of my wish list.
I got to try the Fostex TH600 for the first time at a meet yesterday. I didn't listen to any metal, but I did try them with some hard rock. I loved them and definitely think they are great rock headphones. They went from being not even on my radar to the top of my wish list.
Has anyone used Fostex TH600 for their metal listening? This pair is high on my list and I read one person in the TH600 thread say they are great for metal, I'd just like that confirmed if possible.
This kind of fits in the metal thread, right? Like we can merge music and gear?
I had Grado SR325is, and liked a lot of things about them, but over time I realized that listening to them at anything above grandmotherly volume levels was like inserting live earwigs into my ear canals. I prefer the Senn HD600 sound a lot more, even though people wrongly say that they're 'too slow' for fast music. Bah humbug to that notion. In any case, I will have a decent chunk of cash Lord willing, and I want to upgrade.
I use my Denon AH-D7000 for metal listening and I love them. I know Redcarmoose has also got a pair.
Something I learned a while back (after the Denon AH-Dx000 seried was discontinued) is that this series of headphones (the D2k, D5k and D7k) were made by Fostex for Denon. Now that the series is discontinued by Denon and replaced by a new line of (lesser) headphones, Fostex has kept the legacy going with the TH-600 as the new flagship. From what I gather the TH-600 is mostly a D7k where everything is just that much better, and with an even more neutral sound (less bass emphasis compared to the "bassy" D7k).
Now, I know from personal experience that the D7k is great for metal, and I'm willing to bet Redcarmoose will agree with me. Based on this the TH-600 should be a great metal headphone as well.
I use my Denon AH-D7000 for metal listening and I love them. I know Redcarmoose has also got a pair.
Something I learned a while back (after the Denon AH-Dx000 seried was discontinued) is that this series of headphones (the D2k, D5k and D7k) were made by Fostex for Denon. Now that the series is discontinued by Denon and replaced by a new line of (lesser) headphones, Fostex has kept the legacy going with the TH-600 as the new flagship. From what I gather the TH-600 is mostly a D7k where everything is just that much better, and with an even more neutral sound (less bass emphasis compared to the "bassy" D7k).
Now, I know from personal experience that the D7k is great for metal, and I'm willing to bet Redcarmoose will agree with me. Based on this the TH-600 should be a great metal headphone as well.
Yep, the AHD7000s are my go to metal headphones. I even love the sound of em straight out of a phone. They are also as responsive as a loyal dog to any changes up stream in the signal chain. They are keepers!!
I will not go into it here but I did some power cord change outs and some RCA interconnect changes that tightened up the bass, added PRaT and cleared up the woody mids. So the Denons actually respond to small changes. The bass is perfect, detailed,3D and in place.
This is all stuff I want to hear. Head-fi is OK, but it gets pretty old seeing a bunch of contradictory statements when researching a piece of equipment.
This is all stuff I want to hear. Head-fi is OK, but it gets pretty old seeing a bunch of contradictory statements when researching a piece of equipment.
The easy way is just to go to a meet and listen to gear. The last meet I was at everyone was letting everyone else change gear around. You get to hear your rig with other stuff to decide.
Going on a forum to learn about buying gear only goes so far. Opinions differ just because of everyone liking a different sound signature as well as different styles of music. Add to that the infinite outcome of each component sounding different and you have the reading you have here.
So it is the combo of equipment. That is why you read so many different opinions on headphones. Add to that the fact that at times folks feel different after using one set of headphones for awhile. At times it seems people are looking for the lost unicorn, something that does not exist.
You can get 80% there usually with spending only half the money, maybe the other 20% improvement could cost 4X the money. That is the law of diminishing returns in audio. In some ways heavy metal is easy to get right. It takes some luck and the maybe taking some chances with purchases.
I have even heard systems which were too good to play heavy metal, they were too detailed and girl-like. Heavy metal requires a certain sound, not always expensive like a system to play Classical.
there are a few things that metal "needs" to sound good (other than good recording ha ha)...speed and detail / accuracy in the mids, with reasonable high detail and a good mid-low response. everyone has a different idea of what something "should" sound like...
my he400's are fantastic metal cans, with all of the detail and speed as well as extremely textured and refined bass response. however, most of the time for guitar based music i prefer my much cheaper grado sr80i. the grados are definitely colored, but offer a certain tone and forwardness in the midrange that is addicting to me and sound "right" for a a lot of guitar based music, as well they are plenty fast and detailed.
my he400's can be easily made to closely resemble the tone of my hifi setup which i really love, and is highly detailed with out of this world bass response...but although the mids are forward enough they are almost too "lush" sounding in comparison to the grados...i have ended up playing with several different DSP setups to make my hifi match my grados more closely for guitar based music LOL.
not everyone will like the same thing, for overall music listening (different genres) the grados are a poor choice of can, where the HE400's would be considered an excellent choice. but i keep gravitating towards that undeniable tone, the forward crunch of an electric guitar and the somehow alive mid-bass that i've never heard outside of the grado. because of this and the fact that most of my listening is metal/rock, i've cancelled my Audeze-LCD wish list and put the RS1's up there instead.
i've been into hifi for decades, and when i'm tweaking to make my setup sound like a headphone i know there's something special there...for me. i can see how others would disagree, as the undeniably colored sound of the grados is very specific and not for everyone, and is nearly useless outside of more aggressive guitar based music.
I'm using old Denons at home too, 5000s with most of the markl mods and angle pads. Never heard the 7000 but it was commented at a meet that my 5000s sounded pretty close to them so seems we have similar taste. I guess I'll have to get some TH-600 when they break - you can tell looking at them that they've had a hard life so it probably wont be too long
there are a few things that metal "needs" to sound good (other than good recording ha ha)...speed and detail / accuracy in the mids, with reasonable high detail and a good mid-low response. everyone has a different idea of what something "should" sound like...
my he400's are fantastic metal cans, with all of the detail and speed as well as extremely textured and refined bass response. however, most of the time for guitar based music i prefer my much cheaper grado sr80i. the grados are definitely colored, but offer a certain tone and forwardness in the midrange that is addicting to me and sound "right" for a a lot of guitar based music, as well they are plenty fast and detailed.
my he400's can be easily made to closely resemble the tone of my hifi setup which i really love, and is highly detailed with out of this world bass response...but although the mids are forward enough they are almost too "lush" sounding in comparison to the grados...i have ended up playing with several different DSP setups to make my hifi match my grados more closely for guitar based music LOL.
not everyone will like the same thing, for overall music listening (different genres) the grados are a poor choice of can, where the HE400's would be considered an excellent choice. but i keep gravitating towards that undeniable tone, the forward crunch of an electric guitar and the somehow alive mid-bass that i've never heard outside of the grado. because of this and the fact that most of my listening is metal/rock, i've cancelled my Audeze-LCD wish list and put the RS1's up there instead.
i've been into hifi for decades, and when i'm tweaking to make my setup sound like a headphone i know there's something special there...for me. i can see how others would disagree, as the undeniably colored sound of the grados is very specific and not for everyone, and is nearly useless outside of more aggressive guitar based music.
I'm just going to piggy back with comments about my Grado 225i. And, as ferday states, there are people who disagree. Many people dislike Grados. It seems to be a love or hate thing. And, there are certainly more technically competent phones. But, if you like the sound-even if it is old school-maybe like certain musicians who love vintage orange amps-it just has a sound we like.
I have thought about the HE500 as an alternative. I went to a meet in June and very much liked the HE500 for different genres at the meet. But, I wasn't listening to my music for the most part. I did a lot of cross A-B between the HE500 (also some with the 400) and my 225 and with a Grado 325. But, it wasn't metal...in fact most of it was music I wouldn't be interested in....electronic music, hip hop, some classical. The closest I was able to hear to metal was some Led Zeppelin.
And, while the HE is a vastly techncially superior can, there was something about the foreward attach and guitar sound on the Zeppelin tracks with my 225, that just sounded right to me. I would call it an aggressive sound. But, it lacks perhaps the subtlety and stoundstage for some genres-classical in particular. But, even small ensemble accoustic music or jazz sounds pretty good through my Grados.
my preference for my own cans with "rawk" I thought it was mostly due to my familiarity with my own cans vs the HE500, but Ferday's comments make me think twice.
I'm considering at some point adding the HE500 as a second set of cans as I do listen to a good bit of non metal, but most of it is "guitar" music of some kind....but some jazz, ambient, etc.
The 225i is in the same series as the 80-it's about $200. They sound good w/ minimal tweeking...don't need amping with a cell phone or MP3 player, and can be listened to out of the box through dedicated components. I have a Schiit Asgard-2 and they sound better, but don't need them to enjoy them.
I auditioned the 60, 80, 225 and have heard the 325. For me the 225 were the sweet spot and I didn't want to exceed $200 for my first HP purchase. But for the money, the 80 is a great deal.
When I auditioned them, I took my Ipod to a store with a bunch of crappy low bitrate metal and rock. Going from my cheap ass earbuds to the Grados was a revelation. And, the fact that I could listen straight from my Ipod without a HP amp was a selling point for me at the time.
I haven't heard the RS1i-and I really look forward to listening to one at some piont. For those who are willing to spend around $700 and-like the Grado sound-the RS1i seem to be the rock holy grail. If I were to do it again and was wiling to throw down more coin, I'd probably go for the RS1i. I'm not saying they are good for eveyrone....if you don't like the Grado sound signature. The RS1i is essentially an upgraded high end 80,
You definitely want to audition first…some people find Grados uncomfortable. And, some just don't care for them.
But for the time being, my wishlist for my hifi system and expanding wireless Sonos system are taking priority over additional cans as I listen to most of my music via speakers. Saving for some tower speakers and a Sonos sub and playbar......
I usually prefer mellow and warm cans for metal, for a couple of reasons. The first being that metal is already a super aggressive genre and headphones that balance it out tend to work better. Both the Beyer DT990 and Ultrasone PRO 2900 are too sharp sounding a lot of the time and kind of take the enjoyment out of listening to metal. Even though I want to have fun with it, I also want to be able to crank the volume up, not be forced to turn it down to avoid getting a headache. The other reason is that metal is oftentimes not a very well-produced genre, and as many of you know so well already, listening to garbage on high-end equipment brings out all of the flaws and makes it that much worse.
I'd say that I prefer the Ultrasones about 20% of the time, and my Brainwavz HM5 the rest of the time, despite them being way less detailed and about a 5th of the cost.
Earsonics SM64!
Mid-forward, details², nice punchy bass, smooth highs, overall very musical presentation.
I couldn't ask for more
Right now I really don't have plans on upgrading. Everything that would classify as a real upgrade to my current rig is just way too expensive for me.
I'm sure you people know Alestorm. These pirate dudes.
I've seen them live three times so far...for the sake of listening to some "fun" Metal. And because some of my friends love them.
They released a live album/DVD a few days ago and I thought to myself "Why don't you give it a try?".
I really should not have done this.
This has to be one of the worst live recordings I've ever heard. The sound is super muddy, loaded with artifacts and even the band screwing up their songs because they are just beyond drunk, gets annoying after a few tracks.
Really nothing more than just a elaborate bootleg recording....
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