So my scumbag brain wouldn’t let me get away from this situation without hearing the 900s. I decided to take full advantage of Amazon’s absurdly lenient return policies. They came today, I was super carful getting them out of the box, didn’t even take out the cables, used my own so everything stayed in factory packing. I knew full well that unless they utterly blew my mind they were going right back in that box because holy shit that’s some money.
As far as I could tell they did literally nothing better than the Teaks do. They’re absolutely stunning to look at, but sound-wise they actually seemed like a downgrade. I only listened for like 3 minutes because I want to keep them in “new” condition for the return, so it wasn’t exactly an in-depth trial run, but I got the gist. Now my brain can rest easy knowing I got a much better deal with the Teaks. 900s are packed up with a return code ready to go.
Got the GL2000s coming soon so I need to have those fight it out with the Teaks, but if the teaks win I think it’s gonna be Lawton mod time.
Eh, burn in doesn’t make them new headphones. I 100% believe they’d improve, the Teaks certainly did, but improve enough to justify that price leap? No, not a chance.
No worries - That is a hunk of cash I get it and it has to be right for you.
I have a set of the mk2 Pearl Whites scheduled for delivery tomorrow. If all goes well I’ll be updating in the TH-900 thread soon.
I like the Bordeaux better myself too, but it was the special tuning only in the pearls and sapphire blue that I am after. Really can’t see the damn things when they are on my head…
My theory is that diminishing returns kick in properly at around $500. There are some fairly noticable improvements as you approach $1000, but only us obsessive audiophiles really notice that stuff. After that it’s mostly small things that are not immediately obvious, but are still there if you listen for them. Source gear also affects this and like I said, it’s just a theory.
I actually bought the liquid plat specifically for the 900s after multiple recs lol. I was really (foolishly) going all-in on those, the cable I just tested them with was a custom balanced I had ordered. OOF.
I expect the Teaks will play well with it once I get that balanced cable for them though. Just a shame I have to ebay the custom fostex cable. It’s so purty.
I’m guessing you’re also correct about diminishing returns beyond this point, a lot of people seem to think that’s the case.
Hi guys my TH610 Lawton Wlid Chechen sound even better with the new iFi micro iDSD Signature edition DAC/AMP… like a lot lot better!
Running ROON from ipad mini > iFi > TH610.
Way way more power without a hint of distortion. RME ADI-2 DAC has met its match!! Much more natural musical and fuller low end compared to analytical RME.
Treble is smoother and still present with no hint of harshness. RME can only dream of the power this iFi puts out. 4.1Watts… and it’s portable and fully unfolds MQA to 352.8Khz. Way warmer than DX220 and fiiO Q5 with no bloat, just full bass and zero distortion even at insane earlobe vibrating levels. It’s also got the 4.4 balanced pentacon connection. Love it!!
These cans definitely benefit from having at least 1000mw driving them that’s for sure. More snap, punch and control and less distortion is really noticeable. Can listen much much louder than I should be because they sound so clear. If anyone is thinking of changing their cans maybe buy a decent higher end amp if you’ve got an entry level Amp. I wouldn’t call RME ADI-2 I have as entry level mind you, but headphone amp stage is a little light on compared to this beast. The ifi has really woken them up.
Now I’m just working on different ways to make the rig more portable and tidy. Was playing around with chromecast audio optical into the ifi for a wireless connection to the phone and tablet and it works great. Only get upto 96k but that’s good enough for 90% of my music.
Have a small battery pack powering the chromecast. Nice to have something a bit easier to move around the house than the RME. I can’t believe how much better it sounds than the fiio Q5S tc with the THX amp. I also checked out the ifi diablo and it was a little less warmer (cooler sounding) than the signature but otherwise very similar.
I am currently running the Feliks Euforia at the Burn in.
And what I have heard so far with the Fostex drivers is also amazing.
I’ll wait a little longer with the Burn in and then I can say more.
But one thing is for sure, I have never heard the Fostex driver play so well.
Not even on the hybrid did it come out so well.
Updating my impressions because they’re a long way away from my initial thoughts. My teaks have been playing music almost non-stop since they arrived so burn-in is complete, and brain burn-in is locked in as well.
I did some EQ, they’re a bit more V shaped now, though nothing extreme. The most impactful thing I did was pull down the mids a bit as previously mentioned, but as I got used to their sound I became more tolerant of that range and was able to make make it more of a minor adjustment than I had originally.
They’re really delivering everything I want at this point. The low end has the intoxicating slam that I was looking for, some of my test tracks for big hits are shaking my skull while maintaining clarity. It’s only sloppy if the mix is sloppy, which does happen as metal production values are a shitshow. But the stuff that is mixed really well? Good lord. I’ve been going outside of my usual tastes just to hear what really polished tracks sound like and it has been quite an experience.
So yeah, they’ve basically gone from “eh” to damn near everything I want from a set. Crazy what proper time and tuning with a set can get you.
My GL2000s will be here within the week. I don’t see them competing with these where my tastes are concerned. So assuming I sell those, that money will probably go right into lawton.
