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VonBrew
67
Sep 23, 2015
Uhhnnnggaangghhh...these or the HE400i or the Oppo PM2's....farg. Really want a pair of planars. Or do I drop down to the HE400S, which seems to be just slaying it at the $299 price point...crapsicle.
Uzuzu
1431
Sep 25, 2015
VonBrew;-) I really wanted a pair of planars too. I spent 4-5 months researching. I ended up buying another pair though with Dynamic drivers instead. And I have a reason for it. Oppo PM2 = amazing sound, sub bass rolloff = no buy for me he400i = amazing but I was looking for 1 step down from flagship or flagship cans, also might not be smooth enough or do bass enough for my tastes. HE-400s = perfectly balanced, I would have bought them immediately but they have an EXTREME BASS ROLLOFF <-- seriously why man WHYYY
So I look at the Flagships every flagship planar is either too cold and boring to listen to, or have recessed mids. Both of which isn't my tastes. After researching every model of every brand of planars, I found out there is no model that does everything I want for a planar to do. And the ones that did (LCD series, or HE-500) were too ******* heavy.
So instead I went for a semi-flagship semi-closed dynamic can that has extreme bass and excellent reproduction. Dynamics also sound more natural so I have zero complains. I'll be waiting another 3-5 years to see what planar offerings emerge.
VonBrew
67
Sep 25, 2015
UzuzuI was looking at the measurements of these on Changstar and none of them exhibited the significant bass roll off you are describing. There was some, but that has a lot to do with the typical headphone bass FR roll off that's associated with FR headphone measurements in general. Most exhibited relatively flat FR curves (the Oppo in particular was very flat), though the HE series did have some peakiness in the highs and the TH500RP was the most "rolled off" going from the 40 Hz to 20 Hz region. The TH500RP had a stellar impedance measurement.
There are other things that are inherent in a planar driver versus a dynamic (step response shows these differences best), but it's a type that I'd be interested in having/adding to the collection. (Much the same as I'd like to add a balanced armature IEM and a high level closed back to kind of "complete" my personal collection. See my BA IEM poll in the link below:)
https://www.massdrop.com/vote/Decent-And-Not-Insanely-Expensive-Balanced-Armature-IEMs
I'm assuming that your tastes/personal preferences just run towards a more bass heavy response, where mine have been programmed for a more neutral (i.e., "accurate") presentation. (Which is why I was so interested in the Massdrop 7XX unit and why I eventually purchased one primarily based on my past experience with AKG's and the leak of that units measurements on Changstar by Will of Massdrop.)
The Fostex unit is a pretty decent measuring ortho type headphone with spectacular build quality. I just wonder if the rumors of the Massdrop co-branded Fostex item are eventually materialize and will it end up being a derivative of the TH500RP? If they do this unit like they did the AKG 702AE to MD 7XX, I'd be on it like stink on a monkey.
echineko
196
Sep 26, 2015
VonBrewBelieve it, the Fostex TH X00 is happening, I'm just waiting to know when they will be out, it's got my name all over it.
VonBrew
67
Sep 26, 2015
echinekoBased on past experiences, I'm making a broad, general assumption that it possibly could be a TH600 derivitive due to the past Denon association, but that's still a pretty expensive set of cans. ($999) Most likely a variant on the Denon D5000 unit, which originally retailed for $699, which would put it into the same ballpark conceptualization that they did with the AKG702 Anniversary Edition to the AKG/MD 7XX.
If they can bring out a D5000 derivitive for $199 like they did with the 7XX (which also retailed for $699 in the 702AE form), that would be awesome and most likely end my search for a solid, higher end closed back set of cans. I keep wanting to buy into the AKG/MD 553 Pro, but since I have the AKG 545's, it's a little redundant (even those I use exclusively in my portable rig).
VonBrew
67
Sep 26, 2015
echinekoI do sincerely doubt that any MD/Fostex collaboration would be based on the TH500RP though. It's too new of a design/release for Fostex to abandon it to the masses at this point. And it does check a lot of the boxes that I want from a ortho/planar type set of of cans.
echineko
196
Sep 27, 2015
VonBrewNo, as you said, it's confirmed to be a derivative of the TH-600, they had preproduction units at a few audio shows already with a walnut finish, I'm just waiting for the final product to be launched.
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