Fostex TH-900

Greetings all,

Didn't see a dedicated thread for the 900's and thought it would be convenient to collect the various pearls of wisdom in one place.

I will start off with a question. Which amp? Looking for very strong, speaker like bass and emotion. I am aware of the futility of this goal but would like to get as close as I can. Target price is ~$1000 and would like it to play nice with currently owned Gungnir Multibit and be something one can actually buy new. Currently eyeing the Mjo 2 and the Rag. I have a Burson Soloist and its not cutting it. Yes, I know, because Burson.

 

If you want your headphones to sound speaker-like why don't you try OOYH first?
Some folks love it, while others absolutely hate it. I belong to the former.
Unless you're willing to go for a TOTL amp, using OOYH kinda renders differences between most amps less noticeable.

 

I will check out Out of Your Head, thanks @songmic I guess I should clarify what I mean by "speaker like." What I am after with the TH-900's is bass. They have the detail reproduction I am after with a nice strong bass response. I am upgrading from the M100's and am looking to build a system that will give me that full, impactful, exciting bass experience one gets from a good speaker / sub setup. The Gungnir Multibit gets me the detail and soundstage I am after so now just need to find a synergistic amp that accentuates the low frequencies without becoming muddy or boomy.

@purrin , I have looked at the Sonet 2 for the HD800's but never considered it for the TH-900's. Since I am looking to strengthen the lows on the 900's, do you think it will perform better in that regard than the Mjo 2 or the Rag assuming stock tubes?

 

Gotcha. So increase my budget x 5, grab a Yggdrasil and Stratus / ZD S, and throw a handful of resistors inline.

Actually is helpful though. Gives me a place to start and a peak to shoot for.

 

Marv, though I trust that all of the amps you've been talking about would be the very best pairings with TH900, can't we go a bit below and find something SS and afforadable? After all to my ears TH900 doesn't seem to scale too much in comparison with HD650 and HD800.

 

Noob question incoming then.

Zout is largely set by the design of the amp, correct? Barring gain switches and soldering irons, it cannot be changed. Also, if this is discussed somewhere else that I can read up on, let me know. I find this of particular interest with the 900's and probably headphones in general as it is a piece of the puzzle that can explain why certain amps are more synergistic with them and why they just don't give the bass with the Fostex's I am looking for.

If I do find myself in the possession of a Rag, I will let you know how the resistors turn out.

 

There's a Fostex TH900 MK2 coming out... I wonder if they'll tame the highs a bit.

https://translate.google.com.tr/tra...ttp://www.fostex.jp/20151218/8177/&edit-text=

 

From the original page the mk2 just has new detachable cable. The other descriptions seem to be essentially the same as the original TH900.

 

I know but one can always hope... Fostex awakens.

 

That's not a subtle spoiler to the new SW movie, right? I'm going to cry if it turns out the plot got something to do with a detachable cable.

 

That was Empire where you had to detach the tow cable, so I think your good. Although, now that I think about it, there is a certain cable that needs detaching in the new movie as well.

 

ZDSE was excellent with the TH900, but I still preferred the HD800 in the same rig.

 

Bourne, did you get a chance to listen to the TH900's on anything else to compare the ZDSE to?

 

I know it's primarily for high impedance dynamics, but has anyone ever tried these with the Valhalla 2? Trying to find an amp that'll get the most out of the HD800 without short changing these. Tonal synergy aside, as I EQ.

 

Don't really know where to stick this one... but I guess here will do: