A community for discussion around all topics related to headphones and personal audio.
Based on your impression, you like dynamic and weighty bass, I don't think planar can satisfy that crave, except abyss 1266 or Empyrean to a certain extent.
You can try Denon D9200 also. Focal is good for the above 2 along with those Denons, but soundstage wise is meh.
Usually, you can't have the best of both world, that is why some people have both susvara and utopia for complimentary set depending on mood.
Sounds like super awesome.
I have the D9200 and it's an amazing headphone. I'm a bass lover like you but I don't like any part of my sound overrepresented. I want fullness of range down to the depths and up to the highs.
As its planar counterpart I landed on the Arya Stealth. I feel they are on equal footing quality wise but each have their strengths.
The Arya is nuts for timbre in strings and does sub bass extremely well. Its detail is superb.
The D9200 is just so musical, smooth and accurate with lovely rich bass. It's a joy to listen to and the isolation it provides really draws you in.
If you told me I could only keep one I'd have a really tough time. I use the Arya just a bit more than the D9200, but mostly because it's cooler for extended wearing.
Sound wise they are a great pair that compliment each other. They both are great for any genre.
I just tried the D9200 today. It had the extension but too smooth for what I am looking for. I need a pair for angry expressive hard hitting (be it bass or vocals).
Focal Radiance is worth a try, but they are closed back
The "classic" Audeze lineup desperately needs EQ to sounds good, including the bass region. The potential is enormous though. Demoing them without EQ is, in my honest opinion, a waste.
Sold LCD-X, LCD-XC because there was something missing. Might be that, now as I think about it...
The retailer's fault
I really wonder why they don’t do it. Even the official seller for Audeze at High-End just puts all the headphones there without any possibility of EQ (admittedly, it’d be cumbersome due to how highly frequented that event is). With a few exceptions (CRBN, MM500, MM100) all of their headphones sounded underwhelming to me, and looking at the FR, it’s no surprise. I easily believe those would fare a lot better with some proper EQ.
Frankly if I have to use eq on a 1500£ headphone it’s not a good headphones
Then basically every high end headphone is not good because none of them have a decent bass shelf except for the DCA Expanse/Stealth.
Maybe you just like DCA expanse then. It’s absurd to not expect good tuning from an expensive headphone.
Have to agree here.
If they're doing half the job, it should obviously be half the price.
And tuning is at least half the job
Try the Arya before you make you're decision.
I have the TH900mk1 and have compared with my friend's LCD-XC. The Audeze has cleaner bass and portrays the texture better, but doesn't slam as hard as the Fostex even if you EQ the fuck out of its bass.
The main reason the TH900 isn't as well-reviewed imo is its sound signature. People love the bass, but the TH900's sharp treble is really the polarizing part. In comparison, the Focals don't really need EQ and the Audeze are a step-up in terms of resolution as long as you EQ.
If you don't really care about the TH900's treble, then you're good to go. But as another poster mentioned, there are also the more inexpensive E-MU Teak, Fostex TH-X00 / TR-X00, Fostex TH-610 headphones. These all use similar frame, drivers, and dampening to the TH-900, but the TH-900 has the strongest magnetic force in its driver. In practice, the TH-900 has a bit more resolution to my ears, but it's hard to tell when comparing.
The other is build quality. I find the TH900 has slightly better materials than a less pricier model like the E-MU Teak, but the hinge is the weak point for these Fostex frames. Some can get loose over time (requiring you to screw it back in) while the worst-case ones can just snap off and require getting a replacement part.
There are cheaper fostex options that are great. Theres the mod house argon's which are modified fostex headphones that have a good reputation with bass and sound big. I don't see people talking about it these days, probably because they came out a while back. And it's sub $500 from what I remember.
Another fostex I recommend is the drop.com ones. They're discontinued though. Th-x00. There's 3 different versions with slightly different sound signatures on each one. I have the purple heart one and the bass is awesome. Semi- Closed back.