Can anybody put the treble vs bass quantity into perspective? For reference Iād say the ah-d5k is still enjoyable but the 2k is too bright at higher volumes, as are the T1 2nd, DT880 600. The DT1990 and Tygr seem ok. I have my eyes on a cheap used pair, would need to replace the pads and audition it next week. I do have a AH-D5k already but I figure itād be quite an upgrade and if the price went into the 500 area I canāt imagine it not being worth it. The pair in question is red while the one for audition is white. Any pad swap suggestions to tame the treble? TH909?
It depends on the source chain, but Iād say itās a brighter v on a more neutral amp, but on a warmer one thatās a bit more relaxed in the treble it can become just v. If you find the 900 to be too much in the treble, Iād personally suggest looking for a LTD version of the 900 to tame the treble a bit, add more midrange body, and bump bass a slight bit, turning it into more a warmer signature with still a lot of the characteristics of the stock 900 just tamed and less vād. The 909 also accomplishes this somewhat, but is a bit more neutral and also more relaxed than the 900 and 900 ltd.
If you like the signature of the d5000, Iād likely rather look more into the 909 or LTD 900 (either sapphire or pearl white). You could also look into lawton mods with a stock th900, or even lawton mod your d5000 if you wanted to (but Iād personally step up first)
Also what is your current source chain atm? The 900 is picky and can be unpleasant in the treble depending on the pairing (could also potentially alleviate the problems you are having with the d5k as well)
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I was thinking of upgrading my Topping A50, it doesnāt cut it. I compared it against the RNHP at home and it sounded flat, distant and small in comparison. The RNHP was much more direct and engaging. Def. worth the upgrade. A50 really felt like a bottleneck.
At a shop I tried the RNHP, Conductor 3X, locally manufactured amps (paltauf khv-es, KVV & K audiohil, with adjustable bass/treble, stereo/mono switch, etc) DACs was the Hugo and some kind of studio DAC. There was also the Bakoon HPA-01 but I didnt listen to it.
With the LCD-X (very old headband model) I think the RNHP was best bang for $. I didnāt try the Conductor with it.
With the Arya V3 I liked the K audiophil the most (warm sounding amp I think). The RNHP fell very far back, probably least favorite. I guess the Arya is pickier than the LCD-X?
The Conductor sounded better than the RNHP overall which made me curious about the Soloist. Grander/Bigger and more impactful.
The Paltauf can drive everything and sounded grand but I felt like it was a compromise and it was mainly there for its party trick, being able to drive electrostats as well and its looks. Maybe muffled as well, not sure.
I was looking into the flux amps, perhaps Flux fa-22 or maybe a Burson soloist. I could get Lake People amps but Iām not sure what model to go for and idk if theyāre a good choice.
Other HPs Iām using are the HD Zeus,HD650,K612,Sundara,Denons, LCD-X, AD2000 and I listen to a lot of diff. genres.
Iām not planning on buying any other high-end headphones in the near future, so I think an amp around the 500-1000 price range would be suitable (I am open to other suggestions ofc).
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Would agree. The neve is a good match with the fostex, but it may accentuate lower treble harshness/forwardness
Oh the paltauf stuff is neat. Havenāt heard any of their stat stuff personally
Itās a nice amp but itās main draw is current drive, which does not play well with a th900. It does work pretty well/interestingly with something like a lcd x though
Not heard the audiophil, but the rnhp just doesnāt really have the grip and command for the arya, itās much better suited to more efficient/less power demanding headphones
It is the next step up for sure. Personally I think the soloist 3xp is quite a good value for what it is
My main gripe with the paltauf amp I heard (hpa-100) was that it somewhat lacked nuance and lower level information, good macro scale focus and nice warmth, but it felt more mechanical and lifeless because of that. I still think it could be worthwhile with some headphones, but it likely wouldnāt have been my first pick (unless you needed an amp around that price range for something like a mysphere 3.2, surprisingly good pairing there, but you can still do better)
Iād honestly just go for the soloist, itās an upgrade over the flux amps to my ears (although Iāve only heard the 12 and 10) and would have better synergy with the headphones you have/plan for. The lake people stuff is nice, the g111 is a solid pick, but the soloist is just the next step ahead. I do think a V280 is a great pick for the headphones you have if you can find one, but it would depend more on the dac you have and the sound youād be after (the 280 is a more grand and wide sounding amp thatās more relaxed and wider, but still pretty technical and dynamic, pretty nice)
I think if you liked the soloist, Iād go for that. Most other things Iād want to suggest would be above that price point or not have good synergy with all your stuff, the soloist is a great all rounder for the money. Also what dac are you currently using?
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Thx, very informative!
Yeah the reason Iām only after amps and not DACs right now is cause I use an Accuphase DP-400, though I acknowledge that DAC/Amp combos are probably nice because they synergize or so Iāve heard.
I have a hard time describing the sound of the DAC, it just felt less distorted vs a Meridian G06 and lower tier CD Players.
I did hear that the RNHP was a bit forward in the upper ranges as you described, and I also agree with the paltauf thoughts, so I guess we somewhat have the same hearing. Thatās good to know.
My guess from what Iāve heard the ~1k range would be the sweetspot for the stuff I have, I donāt think going far beyond would be justified p/p wise.
Oh nice, thatās pretty cool. In that case I would avoid the fa10 and potentially v280 as I think that might lean too far warm and relaxed with that sort of combos. Otherwise things like the soloist, neve, g111 should be pretty good there
I do think it can be somewhat mitigated with some of the more relaxed and warmer neutral dacs, but itās still there a bit no matter what you do. It just can become a bit much with some of the more analytical and brighter dacs
I think it can be, but potentially not for something like a th900 or lcd x. Iād want to go higher headphone wise first for it to make more sense to move up source gear wise, 1k on the amp and similar on the dac is a good place to be for those headphones imo (but they still can scale and get more out of them, just less value in a sense)
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Really not much else to say other than sorry for derailing the thread with the amp talk and thanks for the advice. Oh, and I will def. upgrade the amp once I get to the fancy stuff 
On reddit I saw a post by someone who put the D5k pads on the TH900, but they also talked about attenuation rings, are there potential issues with that?
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Lol donāt worry about that, most of it was relating to the 900 in some way so it still counts
So you can do that, if it will sound the way you want or not depends on the sound you are after. Generally it will tame the treble a bit and improve midrange and bass, but personally I found it can get a bit less clean and tight, and also mess with stage and presentation. So YMMV but itās worth trying, either make your own or buy some premade ones from like dekoni or something
Considering where I am right now and reading this it seems like I took a wrong way with my upgrade paths.
Just out of curiosity what are your favourite combos in those price ranges i.e. 2-2.5 k for dac+amp for th900/909?
I might consider scaling down and have also th909 on the way so exploring my options. I am sure I will manage to pick the least optimal lol
For more clean and forward pairings, I tend to like the LTA MZ2 + LPS (would say mz3 but thatās likely above budget) for something a bit more clean with a bump in the midrange, very holographic stage, more organic and slightly smoother, very dynamic, although bass control and grip is slightly lacking there. Most of the other amps in this price range with this signature cause the th900 to get too hot imo. Th909 might be good with a mass kobo 433 but that might be over budget unless used
I think some of the pretty balanced pairings are something like an xi broadway which is overall pretty balanced and high performing in most aspects, jack of all but master of none here. I also liked the v281 depending on the dac as it can become somewhat neutral but expand width and focus on grip and control while leaning a bit warm but mainly helping calm treble (the newer vio while they would be more just pretty neutral also pair well, although Iāve only heard the 590/550 not the cheaper ones). While itās above your budget and more nearing 3k, Iād def give a nod to a used eddie current balancing act, overall excellent and pretty neutral and clean with a bit of added warmth, very dynamically and spatially involving, improved tonality, also great resolving power and dynamic capability, a bit sweeter overall but keeping the energy and liveliness. But for most of these it really depends on the dac itās paired with in the end. If you can find a pass hpa-1 around 2-2.5k used, thatās an excellent pairing for these headphones and is pretty damn neutral while taking a slight edge off things
For something that leans more on the warmer and smoother relaxed side of things, the luxman amps do that well (p700u can be found in this range, not sure about the 750u) for something to bring up the midrange and body and soften and relax things, more smoothness and density, more forgiving, but might be too much for the 909 but depends on the dac. Iād also look into a bryston bha-1 being a pretty solid pairing actually, very impactful and slammy, great control, more macro focus without bleaching nuance out, nice tonal density
would you say bha-1 is step up from soloist? or at least has a better singery?
I basically consider two approaches now:
-keep La Voce and get an amp upgrade for my Fostex duo and leave the hobby for now 
. that amp upgrade would depend on how much I can get for cans I put on for sale but I dont think it would be much above 2k.
-sell La Voce and get DAC + AMP for that money and leave the hobby for now thats why I also conside DAC options
either way something that would be very solid paring for both Fostex is what I am after.
Yes to both, IF you donāt mind a warmer leaning amp. The soloist will be a more neutral clean combo
Iād rather do this lol
That is my preferred option as well since I do like La Voce. Just thought that if I am not planning on going higer with cans if it is not an overkill DAC for Foxtex Duo
I had the TH-900mk2 Pearls for about 6 months, and I ran them off a variety of sources. The Burson Soloist 3XP was exceptional at driving them. There was power for days, tons of space, and great punch. For DACS (or combo sources), I used an iFi Diablo, iBasso DX300, RME ADI 2 DAC, Burson Composer 3XP, and Schiit Bifrost 2.
The Bifrost 2 (with Soloist) was, by far, the best combination to my ears. The BF2 shaved the tiny bit of treble heat off the top, and made the 900ās a little more relaxed (and even more spacious, combined with Soloist). Second place, among what I listened to, was the Diablo in DAC mode, outputting to the Solost.
The 900ās are great cans. In my opinion, the TH-900mk2 are just about the best/easiest headphone to really discern differences between amps/dacs. Theyāre so clear, you can really pick up little nuances between different setups.
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I think going higher would be overkill dac wise, but honestly I think if you really like the cans and want to get the most out of them, the la voice isnāt overkill after an amp upgrade
I do agree with you here. I used BF2 + Soloist for a fair bit of time and then got La Voce as my main dac. I have 900mk ii saphire blue version and it is easy the set that hits best my preferences. I do enjoy current chain but wanted to slim down my collection and add adequate level of amplifier to my La Voce. I also have 909 on the way so currious how those will sound.
that was original plan, slim down and upgrade amp, just considering financial aspects of it as well
I guess I will see based on how selling develops and what budget I have to spend on it.
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I ran both my Th900mk2 Pearl White LE and my TH909s from a soekris dac1541 & Violectric V281 - it was a magic combo. Bifrost 2 + V281 was not bad like yuck but , the soekris was faster and more clear in presentation and the TH9xxās responded positively. The Bifrost 2 and Jot2 combo and the TH9xxās did pretty good IMO, but I had the other chain soā¦ Another fun setup was the BF2 + MLP. Both of the latter two combos were great for Friday night funk jams and just all around listening with the TH9xxās, but lacking some technical performance, that is where the soekris and the v281 cam into play allowed the Fostex to present their technical chops - that IMO are often looked over. The 909ās especially for me, are a really excellent set of HPās, and if that is all I had, think Iād be OK.
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I am very curious about those. You were kind of motivation I picked up 900 limited and now th909. I absolutely love 900 so I hope it will be similar with 909. Seems like we enjoy similar music and sound signature but you already moved up there where I am not sure I will go. But one never knows in this hobby.
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I did advance both DACs and amplifiers - and headphones, but a TH909 is not off the re-buy listā¦ I miss it and only sold it because of what I had that I could sell, I felt it would be the easiest to re-purchase.
FYI - the 909 was very nice with the Spring 3 KTE and Violectric V550ā¦
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