My TH900’s seem to have some deterioration of bass at lowest level. I have about 300 hours on my closed back TH900’s in 3 years. Example of loss, when i first played the Daft Punk track, ‘doing it right’, I’d get a full-bodied grumble at the lowest bass measure but now the grumble is gone. The phones don’t sound bad, but i feel i’m missing somehting now. i don’t recgognzie any loss of sound in other (less bassy) recordings. Running same amp, same streamer, same dac, all same equiptment. Not using a device. Any thoughts?
Perhaps the pads are worn out or not getting a good seal? (Although they shouldn’t wear out that fast) Sometimes cables that go bad can affect bass, I would also check your connections and interconnects. Did you change anything regarding power for your setup?
It might just happen that over time you have gotten used to the bass it had and it has become less impressive with more exclusive listening? What other headphones do or have you had so far?
The th900 does have a burn in period where the bass will change and end up in the desired response, so perhaps pre burn in was more desirable for you?
Thanks for your response. I changed the pads about a year ago. Less than 100 hours. Running with a MCTOSH headphone amp. plenty power. I have noticed an increased amount of break-up interuption of sound when my cable moves around. I’m using the stock cable. and when i sit a maximum of lenght from jack, it acts up the most. but the bass response seems low even if the chord is not acting up.
I don’t have any other quality phones to compare. just IOS stock stuff.
Yeah shouldn’t be an issue there then. New stock pads? Did you notice any changes there initially either?
Well that might be something to address but I can’t say that would cause the loss of bass you mentioned (but it might be worth it to get a nicer than stock cable anyways)
It really kinda sounds just strange. Same source material as well? Like is it the same file that you initially tested vs what you have now?
It could be a mental thing from continued use, it happens overtime, you get used to what the headphones can do and it’s not as impressive anymore. Something else I should ask is how much of a bass decrease is it from what you remember (perhaps like is it 1/4 or 3/4 the bass it had initially?). And you said it was gradual and not sudden?
Well, the biggest indication that something was wrong was that deep-low ‘grumble’ that actually vibrates the pad. It’s happened in the past month as far as i can remember. I can distincly remember that sensation with the particular track mentioned "doing it right’ because it has several frequencies of bass and goes very low. That robust grumble is gone now. I usually don’t listen to a lot of bassy digitial music (such as this track). So this track really stands out. I typically listen to acoutstic, blues, jazz, rock, etc… so the difference is prominently heard. Could i get my phones checked by an repair center for frequency response?
I would estimate that 3/4 decerase loss in bass (only at the lowest level). I’m not recognizing a loss at higher levels of bass. but the definitive grumble seems to be gone at all levels.
That McIntosh amp, did it have tubes in it of any sort? Tubes have a finite lifespan and when they start to go, they get dull and not as impactful and aggressive? This is pretty strange, it sounds like something is off
No tubes. I think your initial thought may have merrit. A faulty cord. I’ve noticed that it increasingly has been playing up in the past couple weeks. If the cord is compromised or moves in any way, it makes the music cut in and out. It appears to have problems even when i am close range to the jack as well as further away. Do cords often have issues to speak of? I’m guestimating 300 hours of usage… could be as much as 400. But not more than that.
Sometimes yes, but I’m not super confident in that the cord is causing your drop in bass (it could be but it’s not as common). The stock fostex cables are nice but not super durable from my experience. Right now on my th900 I have the fostex balanced upgrade cable but I will most likely swap that out soon for something more flexible and not as microphonic
What would your choice be for a 2nd cable, non balanced? Just curious.
Hmmmmm. Well not too many options out there because of the fostex weird connector (assuming you have the mk2 with the detachable cable). The moon audio black dragon cable is nice in sound (pretty sure they offer a fostex connector) and it is durable, but it is on the thicker and not as flexible side of things.
Cables from Lawton audio are also very nice and worth a look. Pretty nice in sound and feel
For something cheaper and good periapt makes a solid fostex cable
I haven’t tried too many cables on the th900 to say too much, still just looking for what’s out there at the moment
thanks for the help friend
Hopefully it’s just the cable, but I’m not really sure on this one, since it’s very strange. Typically driver issues will be more prominent and severe than a drop in bass, and your source gear and pads seem fine