Figured I’d get a thread going for the higher end fostex, know a fair amount of people on here have or had them, classic biodyna fun, with a more v shaped tuning on the stock, a warmer fun slightly more relaxed tuning on the ltd, and a fairly neutral and linear tuning on the 909 (ofc the differences are more than that, but this is just a post to get things started)
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Does the TH900 have a similar sound signature to the TH-X00 line? Really liking the Ebony right now, so I may decide to upgrade to one of those down the line if that is the case.
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Sorta, although I think the technical differences tend to account more toward overall difference than the signature in this case imo. I’d say if you enjoy the ebony, if you don’t mind something more forceful and slightly more v shaped the 900 make a ton of sense to try, but they are also more picky on amp pairing so be prepared for that otherwise you might get a poor experience. You can both tell they are fostex cans and have similar strengths to each other imo
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Hmmm okay, that’s really good to know. I don’t really have a lot of source gear at the moment, so I guess that will be a long ways down the road before I may decide to pick up a pair then. Thank you for the insight!
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You would be rocking the v200 and soekris right? I think that’s a good match and would not have any problems with the fostex, so I wouldn’t worry about synergy problems. You can still go higher though and get rewarded for it
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Correct - but before I buy any more headphones, I would probably like to upgrade my source gear next… but considering how much I just spent on headphones, it will probably be a few months before I even think about buying anything 
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Enjoy what you have now, don’t rush it - and know that when you are ready and if a TH900 is still on your radar that your HPA V200 and dac1321 will play the heck out of the Fostex 900 series. That is the same chain I was using at my lounge chair setup in the other room. I enjoyed it very much.
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Honestly, even if I upgrade my source gear I think I will end up keeping my v200 and 1321 because I genuinely love the sound is gives off. Same thing with my Asgard 3, I love the value it provides.
Also eventually I will move out and have multiple rooms to mess with, so who knows what will be where in the future for me lol
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On the road to Lawton Purplehearts, I purchased X00 pads as well. Really like what they do to the stock sound of the TH900’s. They barely touch the back of my ears, so comfort isn’t an issue. The more time I spend with them and the TH909’s, the happier I get with them. After hearing some higher end cans, I think I would be fine if these were the last pairs I bought. I just thoroughly enjoy the Fostex sound.
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I am very fond of my 909s too and I’m with you, even after hearing others ranked higher in the HP pecking order I still believe that the 909s are performing higher than they get credit for.
Also, that Fostex sound…
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We need to expand 909 gang for sure
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Is the th909 more source picky than th900.?Just theoretically of course…
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Not really, about equally picky at least from my experience. Generally pairs well with the same amps, but perhaps you might want to lean a slightly different direction
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With amps or with headphones? If amps would usual picks like pass or mz3 still work or are there better picks?
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Ah sorry I meant with amps, but they are still relatively similar when it comes to pairing, but I do think the 909 is a bit more flexible with what it sounds good with from a signature perspective
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This was my experience having both stock - brand new from factory sets of Th900MK2 (Limited Edition) and TH909 - I ended up preferring the 909 over the 900mk2 LE. The 909 was my daily driver because it was so versatile. Not only sound but for fit/comfort. To this day the only other headphone I find close to that (comfort) is the HEKv2 I have.
This should not be read the the 900mk2 LE is a slouch, the differences were noticeable but not damaging, and if I did not have the 909 to compare with I would not have been any the wiser. I ran them on multiple Amp/Dac combos and both of those headphones are my favorites in the sub $2K msrp.
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Let’s see I got th909 in today and early impressions are very positive. I also have vio550 and og th900 ordered so I am curious which one I will prefer for th900. My sapphire blue edition is my daily driver and I am very happy with it but since there was an opportunity to pick up og th900 in a bundle deal with vio I was not able to resist.
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Nice on the 909 and congrats on the incoming v550 and th900!
I wanted an OG to go with the MK2 LE and 909 so I could hear the differences between all models for myself, but that never materialized for me. I think that you will be pleased with the hpa v550 too, with all three of those headphones.
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So just today I got the Fostex 900 Pearl White limited edition, and while I have my doubts about only 50 existing nationwide I must say I am an absolute fan of the headphone so far. I’m a big mid centric fan and even these mids are just forward enough to get a pass for me, honestly more than having forward mids what really seals the deal for me is how forward sounding the headphone is in general. Currently using it with the RS6 (Harmonic Control 71) where I feel that it’s forward and energetic sounding enough without the accuracy that this headphone has going away. There were many things that surprised me about this headphone (since I didn’t research it at all basically, just got the recommendation in the past) but the main surprise is the staging. WOW, it’s the most amazing staging in terms of accuracy I’ve heard (at least depth, I think left to right I’ve heard other stuff at least on par) but when listening to Heize - Knock Sir (Tree only look at you)
It was an immediate WOW. I’ve heard this song and this album a billion of times with literally at least 12 different headphones, IEMs, sources etc and this was the first time I heard this amount of depth. The dynamic range was nuts, from the beginning lullaby to when she starts singing. Felt awesome and I noticed that basically every song I heard the stage was clearly defined as well at crazy depth. It’s unlike anything I’ve heard and personally feel it’s the most reference headphone I’ve heard at least in staging. One thing that was surprising is that it’s not the widest, I just kinda expect fostex headphones to sound wide but I guess this one isn’t that wide, specially in comparison to the Hawks and Verite. Another surprise was slam, the headphone actually dosent have as much slam as I expected although it definitely does have great slam in bass region in particular. To be honest based of what I’ve heard I can te that with the right amp pairing in the future this will really start to shine and it’s still great right now as it is. The balance that this headphone has of treble, bass and mids is outstanding and very surprising as it almost feels more refined than most things I’ve heard.
So far I’m loving the treble energy, that’s the main reason I got it and it’s not a let down and it’s suuuuuper far from fatiguing whike still being fun, loving the tonal balance of the headphone too. Ended up burning it in for at least 7 hours I think and used it for at least a full hour, super joy to listen to it. I guess the only negative is the stage width but even then I’m confident that due to the more narrow nature of the RS6 plust the fact that I’m not pairing it yet with a wider amp that’s gonna be a non-issue and something that will keep on just improving.
my Fostex UwU
Also shoutout to the unboxing, was the most premium luxurious unboxing I’ve had coming with the stand it comes with, the little bag and just the entire presentation
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@Littledrummerboy your enthusiasm and excitement is bringing back feelings in vivid color and it’s catchy. I have been missing my Fostex as of late, even making comments around of re-buying etc.
I loved the Pear White Limited Edition I had, and I super, super enjoyed the 909 and I have a 610 that I did the full level 2 lawton mod on so yeah, Fostex power! Enjoy my friend !
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