[plakat]

   
Yes. Underwhelmed is a good word to describe it, although it has good potential to be a unique niche headphones. If you ignore A/B comparisons with other headphones, the TH500RP does sound very natural and "nice". Very low fatigue and pleasant to listen to. Also the build quality is top notch and matches the price range.
 
Ultimately the main issue is the expensive price. I just think there are too many good competitors in the $500+ market.  If the price eventually drops down to say $300 then it will be much more favourable (think of the difference between the RRP and the actual street price of AKG headphones for example).
 
Also the brand Fostex has a good reputation as being technically excellent (they made half the world's OEM earphone drivers, including some iPod earbuds, Denon, Beats, Sennheiser, etc.. etc..) so it's surprising that they made something this "weird" in the year 2014. If this headphones was made by some niche company like Grado or Ultrasone then I'm sure I would've been less critical.

 
Yes, the comparison with contemporary cans is what makes it seem unimpressive. I don't doubt someone may like its rather special properties, but I, too, think the price puts it on the wrong battlefield.
 
Fostex is technically very capable and I don't think the TH500s sound is unintended. Just an interesting decision...

 

[arnaud]

Interesting to note is what one of the (or chief?) designer said during the pre-release PR event in Tokyo earlier this year. From the little I understood (all in Japanese), he was basically implying that his wish was to take this planar revival further and he'd love to work on a radical new driver design.

He specifically mentionned about the constraints of keep the same TR50p basic driver and only slightly altering the trace pattern / geometry: there's only so much bass extension you can get out of it.

I was a bit let down by what I heard on that day (it's indeed like there's no sub-bass), and actually mentioned it to the designer after the pr event (i liked better what I had heard months before). I was hoping they would alter the voicing prior to release and from reading impressions here, they indeed seem to have tame down the upper mids again and brought back the sweet / warm sound of initial prototype I heard.

At the current msrp, I'd agree with previous posters that fostex has a steep road to climb to get this new planar as popular as their recents totl dynamic offerings. The sad part is that, if that one doesn't sell well, there's probably then limited chance that Fostex will actually invest in novel planar driver r&d.

 

[Beagle]

   
Yes, the comparison with contemporary cans is what makes it seem unimpressive. I don't doubt someone may like its rather special properties, but I, too, think the price puts it on the wrong battlefield.
 
Fostex is technically very capable and I don't think the TH500s sound is unintended. Just an interesting decision...

 
Sometimes it takes months to realize how good or "accurate" a headphone is. Sometimes you find out you've been "wrong" all along. I've had this happen often. I still feel that all headphones are "wrong" and not accurate (nothing in audio is), but they are fun to have for whatever the occasion calls for.

 

[sandalaudio]

Interesting to note is what one of the (or chief?) designer said during the pre-release PR event in Tokyo earlier this year. From the little I understood (all in Japanese), he was basically implying that his wish was to take this planar revival further and he'd love to work on a radical new driver design.

 
 
I was also at the Tokyo Headphone festival and listened to the demo unit there. I remember that the TH500RP was featured as the front cover picture of the official flyer for the festival. The demo unit I heard there was not too far off from the production model I just bought. The demo unit did have less bass, because it reminded me of K501.
 
I decided to buy this despite some of the negative reviews I read, because I thought the demo unit sounded interesting with some unique magic to it.
As you mentioned, I also read an interview somewhere that they want to make a even better redesigned planar driver headphones someday. I am looking forward to it.
 

   
Sometimes it takes months to realize how good or "accurate" a headphone is. Sometimes you find out you've been "wrong" all along. I've had this happen often. I still feel that all headphones are "wrong" and not accurate (nothing in audio is), but they are fun to have for whatever the occasion calls for.

 
Headphones for me are basically referenced against the HD800 and T1 that I use most of the time. There are some cheaper priced headphones that I always recommend to my friends because of their good all-round performance, like the K550, HD598 or Philips X1. There are also some unique headphones that are fantastic but I can't really recommend to everyone, such as the Grados, DT880, PortaPro, etc. This TH500RP fits in to this category. It lacks the edge and focus, but the music feels nicely open and diffuse like staring at a distant scenery.

 

[Art Garfunkel]

Not your headphone, I guess. It does arouse my curiosity, since I did like the TH50' balance.

 

[plakat]

   
Sometimes it takes months to realize how good or "accurate" a headphone is. Sometimes you find out you've been "wrong" all along. I've had this happen often. I still feel that all headphones are "wrong" and not accurate (nothing in audio is), but they are fun to have for whatever the occasion calls for.

 
You're of course right that no headphone is correct when compared with an actual performance (my musical preferences have the advantage that nobody ever heard how e.g. a computer sounds... its always reproductions one way or another
 
Plus I consider it a good trait if a headphone does not impress me at first contact: normally those turn out to be better in the long run as they don't put on a show which wears off with time. Nevertheless the TH500 did not fall into that category for me: it was not boring in the sense of having a rather neutral personality, but in the sense of not enough structure and resolution. Again: for my taste. I can imagine it might fit better with other genres, but I enjoy my classical recordings almost exclusively on speakers. Small Jazz arrangements might be a good fit though...

 

[asdafaasda]

   
Sometimes it takes months to realize how good or "accurate" a headphone is. Sometimes you find out you've been "wrong" all along. I've had this happen often. I still feel that all headphones are "wrong" and not accurate (nothing in audio is), but they are fun to have for whatever the occasion calls for.

HD 800 at release

 

[Beagle]

   
You're of course right that no headphone is correct when compared with an actual performance (my musical preferences have the advantage that nobody ever heard how e.g. a computer sounds... its always reproductions one way or another
 
Plus I consider it a good trait if a headphone does not impress me at first contact: normally those turn out to be better in the long run as they don't put on a show which wears off with time. Nevertheless the TH500 did not fall into that category for me: it was not boring in the sense of having a rather neutral personality, but in the sense of not enough structure and resolution. Again: for my taste. I can imagine it might fit better with other genres, but I enjoy my classical recordings almost exclusively on speakers. Small Jazz arrangements might be a good fit though...

 
How many months have you had them?

 

[sandalaudio]

 
How many months have you had them?

 
I'm currently burning in my pair. Reviews said it will transform, so I'm enjoying the progress. On the other hand, the demo unit at the Tokyo show must have been running for a long long time, and it had very similar signature to my production model.
 
I thought the Fostex engineers did themselves a bad publicity at the Tokyo show, because their TH500RP demo unit was placed next to the TH600 (or maybe a 900, I can't remember), so the visitors made A/B comparisons there which really exaggerates the tonal difference.
 
I've just done a comparison with a bunch of my headphones, and interestingly I personally find the TH500RP most similar to the HD650 in terms of the overall tonal balance and the driving power required. (I was using a Lehmann BCL amp). You know that some people complain about the HD650 being too "dark", well I think the TH500RP has the similar kind of mid-focused frequency presentation. The TH500RP has a bit softer 3D air in the centre instrument (like a vocalist never sounds harsh), but the HD650 has more solid and objective bass. TH500RP makes the bass instrument sounds like it's part of the midrange.
When I say the lack of bass on the TH500RP, I don't mean it in the same sense as the rolled off weak bass on the K601, DT880, etc. The bass is definitely there on the TH500RP, but feels like a bumped up low-mid rather than a real deep bass extension. To me, both the high and low frequency on the TH500RP sounds like a midrange driver doing the hard work to deliver the wide bandwidth.

 

[plakat]

   
How many months have you had them?

 
I've heard them at several occasions over the past months, but did not own them. What I was trying to say is that they do not fall into that 'neutral and therefore not immediately impressive' category as their voicing is not neutral to me, but rather off, too mid-centric. I tried and re-tried them, but could not find enough interest to buy a pair.

 

[LFC_SL]

Echo sandalaudio as TH500 did not sound that special at national audio show UK 2014. Think it definitely needs quiet demonstration at a store

 

[Beagle]

   
I'm currently burning in my pair. Reviews said it will transform, so I'm enjoying the progress. On the other hand, the demo unit at the Tokyo show must have been running for a long long time, and it had very similar signature to my production model.
 
I thought the Fostex engineers did themselves a bad publicity at the Tokyo show, because their TH500RP demo unit was placed next to the TH600 (or maybe a 900, I can't remember), so the visitors made A/B comparisons there which really exaggerates the tonal difference.
 
I've just done a comparison with a bunch of my headphones, and interestingly I personally find the TH500RP most similar to the HD650 in terms of the overall tonal balance and the driving power required. (I was using a Lehmann BCL amp). You know that some people complain about the HD650 being too "dark", well I think the TH500RP has the similar kind of mid-focused frequency presentation. The TH500RP has a bit softer 3D air in the centre instrument (like a vocalist never sounds harsh), but the HD650 has more solid and objective bass. TH500RP makes the bass instrument sounds like it's part of the midrange.
When I say the lack of bass on the TH500RP, I don't mean it in the same sense as the rolled off weak bass on the K601, DT880, etc. The bass is definitely there on the TH500RP, but feels like a bumped up low-mid rather than a real deep bass extension. To me, both the high and low frequency on the TH500RP sounds like a midrange driver doing the hard work to deliver the wide bandwidth.

 
Thank you for the detailed reply. I've owned a lot of headphones that at first sound disappointing because they "don't do anything". Alas, they are not supposed to.

 

[MuZo2]

You know that some people complain about the HD650 being too "dark", well I think the TH500RP has the similar kind of mid-focused frequency presentation. The TH500RP has a bit softer 3D air in the centre instrument (like a vocalist never sounds harsh), but the HD650 has more solid and objective bass. TH500RP makes the bass instrument sounds like it's part of the midrange. When I say the lack of bass on the TH500RP, I don't mean it in the same sense as the rolled off weak bass on the K601, DT880, etc. The bass is definitely there on the TH500RP, but feels like a bumped up low-mid rather than a real deep bass extension. To me, both the high and low frequency on the TH500RP sounds like a midrange driver doing the hard work to deliver the wide bandwidth.

Spot on. At recent event , I heard Alpha dogs and also spoke to owner, during discussion I asked him about TH500RP and he had big grin on his face. Then I heard TH500RP at same event and understood why.

 

[Beagle]

Arrived from HeadRoom yesterday. I had a chance to give it a couple of hours last night and again this morning. I am using the Burson Soloist amp.
 
Thus far, I am enjoying the TH500RP very much. It's like a HiFiMan without the razor blade in the top end. I find them very musical, delivering music in a very organic way. It's not a flat, neutral sound...it does seem to emphasise even-order harmonics the way tube gear does. The sound is of one piece, very seamless...and the treble is all there and not camouflaged either. Bottom is solid, not muddy and stays out of the way, nor omnipresent and lingering, like too many other headphones, (especially closed). But the TH500RP's strong suit is TIMBRE! I think in this regard it is up there in Audeze territory, albeit less expansive. And these are super comfy (as opposed to feeling like you are wearing a motorcycle helmet).
 
I did run frequency tones through them at a good level on repeat for a few hours in order to exercise the diaphragms a bit.
 
This is just the first few hours so I will see what unfolds. I think they will probably need a lot of time on them before their true colors will show....planar diaphragms are usually like that.

 

[cute]

  Arrived from HeadRoom yesterday. I had a chance to give it a couple of hours last night and again this morning. I am using the Burson Soloist amp.
 
Thus far, I am enjoying the TH500RP very much. It's like a HiFiMan without the razor blade in the top end. I find them very musical, delivering music in a very organic way. It's not a flat, neutral sound...it does seem to emphasise even-order harmonics the way tube gear does. The sound is of one piece, very seamless...and the treble is all there and not camouflaged either. Bottom is solid, not muddy and stays out of the way, nor omnipresent and lingering, like too many other headphones, (especially closed). But the TH500RP's strong suit is TIMBRE! I think in this regard it is up there in Audeze territory, albeit less expansive. And these are super comfy (as opposed to feeling like you are wearing a motorcycle helmet).
 
I did run frequency tones through them at a good level on repeat for a few hours in order to exercise the diaphragms a bit.
 
This is just the first few hours so I will see what unfolds. I think they will probably need a lot of time on them before their true colors will show....planar diaphragms are usually like that.

I got mine yesterday, well....they aren't what I was expecting.  The bass is there, but the low end is lacking.  They remind me of the PM-1/2, but without the bass, but the treble is fantastic.  I decided they wouldn't be a good fit for me, so RMA'd and shipped back to Headroom today.  I was expecting more, after having the Alpha Dogs, and ZMF X Vibro.  I'm sure that for $699 price I can find a better fit for myself, be it used or whatever.  I have the Alpha Prime preordered so we'll see!
 
I think the impressions from those that heard them prior to final release, were spot on what I heard!  Sorry to disappoint!