[Art Garfunkel]

 
an open can with a closed cup 

kim karkadashin haha

 

[czy6412]

Wondering if anyone tried to swap the earcup of TH900 to that of TH500rp (making TH900 open back). This could be very interesting.

 

[takato14]

  Wondering if anyone tried to swap the earcup of TH900 to that of TH500rp (making TH900 open back). This could be very interesting.

it'd probably make the TH900 sound awful

 

[Currawong]

There was a guy who made his D7000s open-back with great results. You lose the boomy bass.

 

[takato14]

  There was a guy who made his D7000s open-back with great results. You lose the boomy bass.

interesting
 
too bad it means sacrificing those gorgeous urushi cups
 
someone should totally anodize the TH500RP cups red and do this

 

[PETEREK]

  There was a guy who made his D7000s open-back with great results. You lose the boomy bass.

I wonder if he had any dampening applied to the inside of the open cups. I tried this on my old D2000 a couple years ago and it made the bass extremely flabby and bloated. I don't think the difference between the D2K and D7K drivers are that great, so that person had to have some dampening involved.

 

[Hachiko270296]

How do these actually sound?

It seems the people who post impressions don't go into detail very well..How is the bass? Linear? Mid bass hump? Mids? Are they romantic? Dry? Thin? Liquid smooth? Do vocals soubd seductive? Treble? Extended? Rolled off and dark? Grainy? Is airy?

How do they compare to the HE-500 and LCD-2?

 

[miko64]

I got these just a week ago and I am listening to them since now quite a lot. Mine has the serial #419, so I am wondering how many people already own these and how happy they are with them. Besides the TH500, I own LCD2, LCD-X, TH900, HD650 and a Bayer DT1350 and the Oppo PM3
 
I am not sure whether I share the comments I am reading in this forum iro quality of these cans. In short I would consider the following order of quality
 
PM3 < TH500 < LCD-X.
 
All of these three cans are quite neutral and you will see the respective differences when you compare them directly. 
My impression is actually limited to the type of music I am listening to - mostly classical music and opera. Having said this, I prefer a quite balanced sound, which does not overstate, nor understate the different part of the spectrum.  All the the can above (with the exception of possibly LCD2 / HD 650) fulfil this requirement to bigger or lesser degree. I am going to discuss the following three cans: PM3, TH500, LCD-X.
 
As said all of them are in mu view quite neutral and have a similar sound signature. The warmest representation of the three is the PM3 and the most neutral possibly the LCD-X (had difficulties to make a pick between TH500 and LCD-X). This means that the TH500 is in my eyes really good. [A good indicator of a headphone is to just play your preferred piece and listen to it - you will immediately find outliers - both positive and negative.] From the three can the TH500 surprised me most positively. You would expect a very good sound from a LCD-X; the TH500 is almost there.
 
Now where are the differences between the three.
 
a) The resolution of both TH500 and LCD-X is higher than with Oppo PM3 (on a stand-allone basis difficult to judge - it becomes only apparent when directly comparing them)
b) The bass of the PM3 is possibly overstated - but not as precise as LCD-X
c) The bass of the TH500 is precise as the LCD-X up to a certain degree. If you push it too hard (-say the thunderstorm in Handels Rinaldo), you will see that the bigger transductors of the LCD-X will outperform. I think this is a not too big sin, since a lot of dynamic cans have the same flaw and you do not listen every day to music massive amounts of energy in the 10 -25 Hz spectrum.
 
d) The mids are very good for all three cans - TH500 and LCD-X winning in terms of precision over PM3
 
e) Highs: Same as d), here the TH500 has 'slightly' less energy. (but by far more than the LCD2 for example)
 
Conclusion: I like the TH500 quite a lot and do not really understand the negative comments I have read in the thread before. If you like either PM3 or LCD-X you will almost certainly enjoy the TH500. In particular the price seems to be very competitive. You get about 95% (say) of the performance of the LCD-X for a fraction of its price. With respect to PM3 there is quite an improvement in quality (however PM3 is closed and TH500 is open)
 
Now where is the dark side?
 
a) The TH500 needs considerable amount of power. The sensitivity is in the order of the one of LCD2 and you almost certainly do not want to run it via your iPhone. It works very well with Chord's Hugo (TH500: c93dB per 1mW, PM3: c102dB per 1mW, LCD-X: c103dB per 1mW) 
 
b) The weight of the can is something personal. The TH500 is quite light (as the TH900). So it is not that heavy as the LCD-X.

 

[Currawong]

 

  There was a guy who made his D7000s open-back with great results. You lose the boomy bass.

I wonder if he had any dampening applied to the inside of the open cups. I tried this on my old D2000 a couple years ago and it made the bass extremely flabby and bloated. I don't think the difference between the D2K and D7K drivers are that great, so that person had to have some dampening involved.

My memory might have been wrong, but here are the measurements of an open-backed pair of D7000s: http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/DenonD7000DIYModifiedlmswjm.pdf
Looks like the bass doesn't drop off as I would have expected.

 

[Robert777]

It was a total impulse purchase but I just pulled the trigger on these; I should have them Thursday.
I had been looking for a headphone to compliment my TH900's.
I had spent ages researching and was trying to decide between Ether, HD800, HD700, PM-2, T1, LCD2, X2, W5000, HE-560, HE-400i, and the upcoming Audioquest Nighthawk.
I had ruled out the Ether due to its price and the Lcd2 due to comfort and price. I still have my eye on the Nighthawk but it is not out yet.
I had no criteria other than price; no more than £750.
The HD800 were winning in my mind and then out of nowhere I saw the TH500rp at a price cheaper than all the others.
I like Fostex, the build quality looked superior so I snapped them up.
I will post impressions next week.
 
Cheers.

 

[taropaste]

  Conclusion: I like the TH500 quite a lot and do not really understand the negative comments I have read in the thread before.

 
Thanks for your review. I had a brief audition with these a few months ago and was initially really impressed by them. After hearing them, I was excited to read more about them only to be disappointed by all of the negative reviews so I started doubting myself. Obviously, sound is a very personal preference but as I don't have the opportunity to audition them again I can't confirm my original impressions. But your review is pretty in line with how I felt about the TH500rp.
 
These are still on my short list but I will wait for a good price. I'm just glad to read that not everyone hates them!

 

[Robert777]

I have had my TH500rp’s for a few days now and I would like to offer my first impressions. I have been trying to articulate what I am hearing into the kind of impressions which I love to read on head-fi but I cannot quite find the right words. What I can say is that I enjoy these headphones and I cannot relate to the negative comments that I have read on this thread. The more headphones I hear, the more I appreciate personal taste and the difference that different kinds of music make. We really all hear music completely differently and some headphones definitely handle certain genres of music better than others. I find the TH500rp headphones to be beautifully crafted, impeccably built, light and supremely comfortable. I was concerned that the smaller ear openings on the pads may not fit my ears, but they fit perfectly. They feel safer on my head than my TH900’s. I like listening to the TH500rp’s at low volume levels and they leak slightly less, and isolate more, than my TH900’s. That was something that I was not expecting. I do tend to crank my TH900’s more so that must be taken into consideration. My desktop amp is the Fostex HP-A8 and it drives the TH500rp’s to ear bleeding levels, but like I said, I prefer to listen to them quietly. My sound impressions so far are that I prefer them to my TH900’s for some of my music but not all. I have recently been listening to a lot of male singer/song writer’s. Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Ryan Adams sound incredible on these. The sound is very relaxing, the instruments are well separated and the timbre of their voices is unlike I have ever heard before. My wife commented that the TH500rp’s are not very bassy but I do not agree. Again, we all hear so differently. I think the bass is well defined and not over done. I find that the TH500rp’s do not handle my heavier music so well. I listened to NoFX, Bad Religion, the Melvins, Nirvana and Modern Life is War. For this music I preferred the TH900’s. On the TH500rp’s I found the music a little too congested. I thought that the bass, mids and lows were too close together and missing a little sparkle. Overall, definitely worth a listen. They may work for you and your choices of music. You certainly cannot fault the build, comfort or price.
 
My wife is the photographer of the family. If I ask nicely, I may be able to get her to take some pictures for me and I will upload them.
 
Cheers.

 

[AppleheadMay]

I have had my TH500rp’s for a few days now and I would like to offer my first impressions. I have been trying to articulate what I am hearing into the kind of impressions which I love to read on head-fi but I cannot quite find the right words. What I can say is that I enjoy these headphones and I cannot relate to the negative comments that I have read on this thread. The more headphones I hear, the more I appreciate personal taste and the difference that different kinds of music make. We really all hear music completely differently and some headphones definitely handle certain genres of music better than others. I find the TH500rp headphones to be beautifully crafted, impeccably built, light and supremely comfortable. I was concerned that the smaller ear openings on the pads may not fit my ears, but they fit perfectly. They feel safer on my head than my TH900’s. I like listening to the TH500rp’s at low volume levels and they leak slightly less, and isolate more, than my TH900’s. That was something that I was not expecting. I do tend to crank my TH900’s more so that must be taken into consideration. My desktop amp is the Fostex HP-A8 and it drives the TH500rp’s to ear bleeding levels, but like I said, I prefer to listen to them quietly. My sound impressions so far are that I prefer them to my TH900’s for some of my music but not all. I have recently been listening to a lot of male singer/song writer’s. Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Ryan Adams sound incredible on these. The sound is very relaxing, the instruments are well separated and the timbre of their voices is unlike I have ever heard before. My wife commented that the TH500rp’s are not very bassy but I do not agree. Again, we all hear so differently. I think the bass is well defined and not over done. I find that the TH500rp’s do not handle my heavier music so well. I listened to NoFX, Bad Religion, the Melvins, Nirvana and Modern Life is War. For this music I preferred the TH900’s. On the TH500rp’s I found the music a little too congested. I thought that the bass, mids and lows were too close together and missing a little sparkle. Overall, definitely worth a listen. They may work for you and your choices of music. You certainly cannot fault the build, comfort or price.

My wife is the photographer of the family. If I ask nicely, I may be able to get her to take some pictures for me and I will upload them.

Cheers.

As a fan of the Fostex brand I'm glad to read some good news on the TH-500s again. These are still on my list.

 

[Robert777]

As a fan of the Fostex brand I'm glad to read some good news on the TH-500s again. These are still on my list.

I highly recommend you try them. Sound preferences are so subjective; you may like them, you man not.
One thing is for sure though, the build quality, design, weight and price are all excellent.
 
Cheers.

 

[moriez]

 

As a fan of the Fostex brand I'm glad to read some good news on the TH-500s again. These are still on my list.

I highly recommend you try them. Sound preferences are so subjective; you may like them, you man not.
One thing is for sure though, the build quality, design, weight and price are all excellent.
 
Cheers.

 
Agreed with all the above and it sparks a little interest again.
 
Besides the Fostex brand the looks on this one is really attractive. Just beautiful and having owned the TH-600 I'm expecting the same comfort level and build quality. At the same time, by just reading Steve Guttenberg's words it's supposed to be a good bit warmer sounding than for example the HE-560. I was fortunate enough to audition the HiFiMAN hooked up to a Schiit Lyr and my Yulong D200 DAC and while really enjoyable, I don't think I'd want it any more romantic than that. This plus impressions in here is what's holding me back.