[obsidyen]

 
I read a review that said these were harsh, especially at high volume. Do you not find this?

No, not at all. I wonder what his source/amp was? For instance Schiit products are usually bright (e.g. Jotunheim) so they will make a headphone sound brighter and leaner. With Mojo and MacBook Pro 2016, it has very smooth and detailed treble. Obviously if you're coming from headphones like LCD-2 or Oppo PM-3, you might find these to be bright but you need time for your ears to adjust to the sound signature. To my ears, TH900 has bright and strident treble, TH610 has smooth and detailed treble. PM-3, for instance, has recessed and muted treble.

 

[MartynB85]

 
Quote:

Google TH-610 measurements and you can pull up Inner Fidelity's measurements showing isolation numbers. Compare those to a pair of headphones with which you are familiar.

 
Cracking advice, thank you. I wasn't aware this data was available, very helpful. Compared these to my AKG's and the Fostex are very similar, obviously loads better than my he400i's.
 
I like the sound of the sound signature of these going by reviews. How is the soundstage? And instrument separation? I would be trading my he400i for these, I'd hate to feel it was a downgrade.
 
Thanks
 
EDIT:

 
No, not at all. I wonder what his source/amp was? For instance Schiit products are usually bright (e.g. Jotunheim) so they will make a headphone sound brighter and leaner. With Mojo and MacBook Pro 2016, it has very smooth and detailed treble. Obviously if you're coming from headphones like LCD-2 or Oppo PM-3, you might find these to be bright but you need time for your ears to adjust to the sound signature. To my ears, TH900 has bright and strident treble, TH610 has smooth and detailed treble. PM-3, for instance, has recessed and muted treble.

 
I'm not sure what kit was being used, perhaps not a great chain. I'm coming from HE400i's, not listened to any other decent cans, these do hurt after a while and I have to reduce the volume quite a bit.

 

[430011]

Martyn,
I have not heard the HE-400i, but I did own the original HE-400, which I understand are pretty different. I could never fall in love with the HE-400, they had a 'glare' to them that just bothered me. It was almost like how 96kbs MP3s have a digitalness to the sound, the hifiman made uncompressed tracks sound like that. I've heard a number of other very high end planar phones since and none of them have grabbed my attention. The LCD series and HE1K are very technically proficient, but I keep coming back to dynamic drivers.

Soundstage for the 610s I think is excellent. They throw a larger stage than HD-650, but just not quite as large as the HD-800. For me I would say the Fostex is like the child of the 650/800, splitting the difference for warmth and soundstage. The end product is a headphone that has a fuller, warmer, euphonic sound while retaining a large soundstage with good detail. Add to that they don't do too bad a job at isolating. I would say they are good headphones for listening, as opposed to critiquing.

A couple nitpicks for full disclosure. I have a large head and find the clamp to be light, such that they don't feel super secure on my head. Light head bobbing is no problem, head banging not recommended.

The cable has a nice quality feel to it, but is mildly stiff and can somewhat act like a hose, where you need to conscientiously uncurl it to avoid kinks. I don't notice cable microphonics.

 

[obsidyen]

TH610 soundstage is as big as open back Sennheiser HD700. Like Evan99 said, bigger than HD650 but smaller than HD800, which is the king of soundstage anyway. It's semi open anyway, not really truly closed. I think it has better soundstage than LCD-2, PM-2, PM-3 and HE400S planars.
 
Like Evan99 said, TH610s are good headphones for just enjoying music. However, I should that clarity and detail retrieval are top notch. I can notice sounds in songs I didn't notice before. TH610 strikes a great balance between music enjoyment and analyzing. I say to myself "I'll just listen to a couple of songs and do something else" then I find myself listening to music for hours. TH610 is indeed addicting.

 

[MartynB85]

Evan99/obsidyen
 
Thank you both for your input, appreciate it.
 
I too think I may prefer dynamic drivers, I do enjoy my 400i's however. It wasn't love at first listen, I think I enjoy the larger soundstage, imaging and resolution that I haven't experienced before. My only other cans are AKG K550's, with EDM i don't really prefer these or the 400i's, the 550's do extend lower but don't have the speed of the planars, think the 550's slightly edge it for me. But any other genre of music and the 400i's destroy the 550's, to a point that I actually don't enjoy the music at all with the 550's, and of course they should given the price difference.
 
I think the 610 might be just what i'm looking for. 
 
I do have a medium/small head, do you think I may have difficulty getting a good seal? No head banging will occur here.
 
I too find myself thinking 'I'll have a short music session' but then spend hours listening to entire albums without realising. It is amazing the difference a good set of cans can make. I listen to music I normally wouldn't and thoroughly enjoy it, close your eyes and you would think you were there.

 

[SeeSax]

Hey Folks, thinking of grabbing a pair of these after missing out on about three different drops of the TH-X00. The only thing that has me cautious is a review stating that the bass quantity is much less on the TH-610 than the Massdrop variants. Has anyone found the same? I mean, I'm not a bass head, but the reason I want to add a set of these to my two other set of cans (LCD2F and HE-560) is that I'm looking for a more "fun" headphone with some nice musicality and some deep bass. The LCD2 have awesome bass, but, this is head-fi after all and I want to spend some money! Any comments on the bass, compared to other comparable cans would be welcome. I was initially looking at the MDR-Z7 from Sony, but it would seem to be a bit of a one trick pony with some seriously rolled off treble which I do not like. I like my treble and my bass and do not want either to be rolled off. Thank you for any info!
 
-Collin-

 

[TJ Max]

  Hey Folks, thinking of grabbing a pair of these after missing out on about three different drops of the TH-X00. The only thing that has me cautious is a review stating that the bass quantity is much less on the TH-610 than the Massdrop variants. Has anyone found the same? I mean, I'm not a bass head, but the reason I want to add a set of these to my two other set of cans (LCD2F and HE-560) is that I'm looking for a more "fun" headphone with some nice musicality and some deep bass. The LCD2 have awesome bass, but, this is head-fi after all and I want to spend some money! Any comments on the bass, compared to other comparable cans would be welcome. I was initially looking at the MDR-Z7 from Sony, but it would seem to be a bit of a one trick pony with some seriously rolled off treble which I do not like. I like my treble and my bass and do not want either to be rolled off. Thank you for any info!
 
-Collin-

 
I'm in the same boat as you! I'm looking for a fun pair of headphones since I already have more neutral headphones. I was looking at the MDR Z7 also and I was put off for same reason you were. I just returned the Brainwavz HM9, V moda M100, Sony MDR-1A, and Bower and Wilkins P9. None of them worked for me.
So now I arrived that the Fostex TH-610. I'd like a little extension in the bass, while still getting detailed mids and satisfying highs. But it seems like manufactures who wanna give extra bass always go overboard and sacrifice everything else by boosting the mid-bass up way too high. (mdr-1a, P9)
I'd like to know how well they sound for electronic synthwave, Jazz, 80s pop, Fusion-Rock, and Classical.

 

[SeeSax]

I'm in the same boat as you! I'm looking for a fun pair of headphones since I already have more neutral headphones. I was looking at the MDR Z7 also and I was put off for same reason you were. I just returned the Brainwavz HM9, V moda M100, Sony MDR-1A, and Bower and Wilkins P9. None of them worked for me.
So now I arrived that the Fostex TH-610. I'd like a little extension in the bass, while still getting detailed mids and satisfying highs. But it seems like manufactures who wanna give extra bass always go overboard and sacrifice everything else by boosting the mid-bass up way too high. (mdr-1a, P9)
I'd like to know how well they sound for electronic synthwave, Jazz, 80s pop, Fusion-Rock, and Classical.

Well, crap. I was looking at the P9. It sounded perfect!

-Collin-

 

[DavidA]

 
 
Quote:

   
I'm in the same boat as you! I'm looking for a fun pair of headphones since I already have more neutral headphones. I was looking at the MDR Z7 also and I was put off for same reason you were. I just returned the Brainwavz HM9, V moda M100, Sony MDR-1A, and Bower and Wilkins P9. None of them worked for me.
So now I arrived that the Fostex TH-610. I'd like a little extension in the bass, while still getting detailed mids and satisfying highs. But it seems like manufactures who wanna give extra bass always go overboard and sacrifice everything else by boosting the mid-bass up way too high. (mdr-1a, P9)
I'd like to know how well they sound for electronic synthwave, Jazz, 80s pop, Fusion-Rock, and Classical.

If you want fun try a Ypsilon S2 driver in a rosewood or mahogany wood cup, granted its DIY but it sure is the most fun headphone I have.  And I use it for the genres you listed: jazz, 80's pop, rock, EDM, classical along with K-pop, J-pop, and even R&B.
This is the latest one I've built and will be on its way to the owner in a few days:

Yes they look like Grado's but don't sound anything like them

 

[430011]

I really would recommend you find somewhere to try the Fostex out before buying. I feel like the TH-610 are more hifi oriented than fun. It's just that they have a little more bass presence than some other hifi oriented cans and are a little warmer and easier on the ears. I'm unfamiliar with the B&W and Sony headphones, so I can't compare.

 

[TJ Max]

I really would recommend you find somewhere to try the Fostex out before buying. I feel like the TH-610 are more hifi oriented than fun. It's just that they have a little more bass presence than some other hifi oriented cans and are a little warmer and easier on the ears. I'm unfamiliar with the B&W and Sony headphones, so I can't compare.

Your description sounds perfect!

 

[TJ Max]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X3218QW/

Will these cable work with the TH-610?

 

[obsidyen]

TH900 has more sub-bass than TH610 on stock form. TH-X00 I haven't heard, but from impressions I guess it has mid-bass boost to cater to a wider audience. Check the previous pages, there were comparisons. TH610 doesn't have boosted bass but it's very linear like planar headphones so you can hear everything down to 20 hz. It has, however, more impactful bass compared to planars so you feel the bass more in your ears. TH610 takes EQ really well though so I can increase the bass by EQ'ing without any distortion. However if you want crazy sub-bass get TH900 (it has harsh treble though) and TH-X00 if you want more mid-bass (from comparisons this has a less refined sound than TH610).
 
 
I think TH610 is a great compromise between fun sound and HiFi sound. It has superb, but not exaggerated bass that extends down very low. Thus, I'm not really sure if this is the headphone for you, SeeSax. I think you should audition it. I feel like you want exaggerated bass.
 

   
I'm in the same boat as you! I'm looking for a fun pair of headphones since I already have more neutral headphones. I was looking at the MDR Z7 also and I was put off for same reason you were. I just returned the Brainwavz HM9, V moda M100, Sony MDR-1A, and Bower and Wilkins P9. None of them worked for me.
So now I arrived that the Fostex TH-610. I'd like a little extension in the bass, while still getting detailed mids and satisfying highs. But it seems like manufactures who wanna give extra bass always go overboard and sacrifice everything else by boosting the mid-bass up way too high. (mdr-1a, P9)
I'd like to know how well they sound for electronic synthwave, Jazz, 80s pop, Fusion-Rock, and Classical.
 

 
MDR Z7 has mid-bass bloat. M100, muddy. I also considered P9 before TH610 but I really loathe bloated mid-bass. Others I don't know. TH610 has detailed mids and smooth yet detailed and exciting highs. It has impactful, linear bass response. There's no mid-bass bloat, it's perfectly in line with sub-bass and very linear. For the genres you mentioned, TH610 is perfect. I've tried all those genres and never once thought that TH610 wasn't good with a particular genre. I think TH610 is what you're looking for. 

  I would call it an audiophile's bass headphone. 

 

[430011]

  I would call it an audiophile's bass headphone. 

I would definitely agree with this. However, and I think obsidyen may agree with me, I would not call this a basshead's audiophile headphone. I think the 610 picked up the basshead label somewhere early on and I think that is a mis-characterization.

 

[obsidyen]

 
Quote:

I would definitely agree with this. However, and I think obsidyen may agree with me, I would not call this a basshead's audiophile headphone. I think the 610 picked up the basshead label somewhere early on and I think that is a mis-characterization.

I agree, this is why I said "audiophiles bass headphone" and not "basshead headphone".

 It doesn't have bloated bass, it has linear bass that doesn't roll of at all. For instance Fidelio X2 probably has more mid-bass than TH610 but bass rolls of quite early (around 60-70 hz) on X2 so it doesn't have the sub-bass quality of TH610. Same roll off can be seen on headphones like HD650 and MDR-Z7. Their bass is loose and unrefined compared to TH610's technically perfect bass.