Anyone with listening experience with these two headphones, and can tell me how they differ? My priority is with low end response at loud volume. Does it sound good? Is it distorting when played loud? Is the midrange and treble sound good?
I’m looking for a “fun” headphone for listening to movies and EDM.
They have a huge price difference, $300 vs. $1800. I need dynamic sound, not flat boring sound. I also don’t want to feel like there’s anything missing in frequency response. Staging and imaging are nice to have but I’m not willing to pay a lot of $$$ for it.
I’ve not heard either of the headphones you mentioned but the maze 99 are well regarded as slightly dark and very warm. The TH 909 are a bit more controversial since the treble is a bit much for some (same goes for the TH 900) but the fostex headphones are considered some of, if not the best bass you can get.
A headphone I personally own and would VERY much recommend for your stated purpose would be the TR X00 purple hearts. Thay have to he baught used (around $300-$500 depending) as Drop sadly discontinued them but they are my absolute favorite headphone. They have great bass with powerfull dynamic slam and good sub bass extension. The mids are recessed a bit but surprisingly good for such an infamouse V shaped headphone (I never find them lacking but that might just be my preference). The treble is forward but will only bother those with a genuine treble sensitivity, unlike beyerdynamic headphones for example, which can bother even the treble insensitive. The ebony version are also a great option. Also if you do get these, look into pad swapping and the Lawton mods (especially the driver side tune up). A little work and some money can make these into unbeatable sub $1000 ultimate fun headphones or even endgame level if they are your style.
If you are willing to spend about $800 the campfire cascade are a great bass headphone as well. I again have not personally heard these but they get a lot of praise for their bass and are smaller, lighter, and even portable when compared to anything else thats been mentioned.
Oh, and one last recommendation is the koss porta pros. They are $30 are have great bass and are great for music and media. They dont have the best sub bass and are a little laid back in the treble. Overall a smooth warm sound.
I’m unwilling to buy anything used on ebay or elsewhere as I’m not confident I can return them for a refund if they turn out to be defective or nothing like what I was led to believe they should sound like.
The only Fostex I can buy then is the TH909s.
You might be able to find the campfire cascades new (I’m not entirely sure if they are still in production) and the fostex TH 610 are still a good option. They use the exact same driver as the TR X00 line but have a less fun, more neutral tuning for about $600 new. The same lawton mods and pad swapping will work for the TH 610 as the TR X00s.
It’s also worth looking into the maze 99s still. I don’t think I’ve heard anything bad about them really other than Maybe tha pads are a bit small. Check out the full thread if you want.
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The negative reviews of them made me cross them off my list of headphones.
I think the Campfire Cascades might be good, but I noticed this comment about the Floyd Rose FR52 headphones sounding just as good but only costing $150. I’ve also seen this headphone mentioned when compared to some Fostex headphones (in terms of bass). So I’m going to give them a try.
Hmm…
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Interesting. I would love to hear what you think when you get them.
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I think if youre looking for a “budget 909” you could take a look at a dt770 250 ohm… same v shape signature with good sub bass and slam
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The funny thing is I’ve been listening to DJ headphones for a long time, the Sennheiser HD8 DJs. But the upper midrange is far too recessed so it makes a lot of female vocal EDM that I listen to, sound very unenjoyable. It has tons of low end which can be EQ’d even further, and at loud volume.
But I was hoping to get that kind of performance (loud headphones, doesn’t sacrifice low end bass) with better tonal quality. I guess I will find out exactly how recessed the mids and highs are on the FR-52s.
I’ve been listening to my DT 1990 Pro for months now so I’m used to very good sound, just not much low end- but this is apparently because my amp is defective. I’d really like to keep the same sound signature just get strong low end with it.
By the end of the week I should have the FR-52s and the Topping A90 amp to test them on (and test my DT 1990 Pro). I think the FR-52s will sound similar to the Meze 99s in terms of being warm with good low end, but the FR-52s being DJ headphones might actually get a lot louder… They have crazy sensitivity level too, 110dB.
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