[LEGACY] Pad-rolling guide for TH900 MK2 Ltd (ft. Yaxi Alcantara, E-MU, TH610, Accessory House pads)

EDIT 20/09/2023: the Accessory House Denon pads can also be found on Aliexpress and 1688. Just search for Denon D5000 ear pads and they should come up.

Welcome to yet another episode of pad-rolling, this time with the TH900 MK2 limited edition. In theory, this should apply to other Foster variants (Denon D series, Fostex TH series, EMU wood series) as well. So take the following measurements as to showcase how different pad types would alter the sound, ie. toward what direction.

TL;DR at the end of the article.

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As a recap, here is the measurements done earlier on the TH900 MK2 SB and the E-MU Teak:

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Without wanting to sound like a broken record, I’ll simply put it this way: the TH900MK2 Ltd is pretty much a more aggressively V-shaped version of the Teak, which is already V-shaped in their own right. The TH900 driver is also more efficient with 1.5 tesla instead of 1 on the Teak. Together these may have resulted in what some perceive as the TH900 having better technicalities in terms of staging, separation and layering, although in tonality terms the Teak is a lot more easy going and smoother to listen to.

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Let’s now get into pad rolling and frequency response measurements. With the right pads, the TH900 MK2 Ltd can be transformed into an almost neutral headphone:

This was the measurement I did earlier with the E-MU Teak pads. Many have praised this as a good combo to reduce the treble unevenness of the TH900. This is backed by measurement results: very nicely balanced from mids to upper mids and lower treble. There is a dip around 2.5khz which often shows up on measurements of semi-open or closed-back headphones with slight air gap. I tend to find it not very audible in listening to music.

There is still some extra glare in the upper treble caused by the 12khz peak though, which adds more sizzle/sparkle to the sound.

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Now, what has caused such large differeces?

Effectively the E-MU pads alter the treble response by reducing the front volume with their much smaller opening (where your ears fit). Generally this would reduce treble resonance between 6-8khz. The tradeoff is slightly reduced soundstage width, which is expected too given the smaller room for air. As can be seen from the below comparison of the stock TH900 pads (top and left) versus the E-MU pads (right):

While the TH900 pads fits more comfortably with its roomier design, tonality out of the E-MU pads is much more pleasing.

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Next, we move on to the famous combo: the Fostex TH610 pads on the TH900, recommended by Tyll at Innerfidelity. Gotta say this legend knows his headphones:

What do we have here? Another nicely balanced version of the TH900. Front opening of the TH610 pads is slightly larger than that of the E-MU pads. Upper treble peak at 12khz is further reduced here, almost on par with the level of the midrange. As such treble sounds much smoother and refined. There is nonetheless a small bump at around 5.6khz, which is common on the Fostex/Denon models (see my measurements for the D5200 and D7000). For me personally at least this peak generally doesn’t come across in any obvious ways, maybe only adding a tad forwardness for some instruments.

This is arguably the most well-balanced pad option, out of all tested.

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Next up is the Accessory House pads for Denon/Fostex:

These have an even smaller opening than the EMU pads, albeit only by a tad. The material used is different though – while all the above pad options as well as the stock pads are made with protein/pleather, the Accessory House pads are made of real leather (AFAICT). Consequently the treble is even more tamed than the previous two options.

With these, mids are more filled-in while treble peaks are smoothed out. There’s also a hair more bass. Overall this pad offers an even more relaxed and effortless listening than the EMU pads, with more bass, fuller mids, and less upper treble glare. Vocals are more forward, great for genres like pop/rock. Soungstage is a little more intimate than the EMU pads, but you still get a clear sense of horizontal separation so it’s far from being claustrophobic.

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Lastly, let’s look at another popular option, the Yaxi Alcantara pads (pleather and alcantara):

Behold that massive treble spike… The moment I start listening to these I immediately felt that piercing treble peak. Not only so, the entire midrange is brought to the fore with an unnatural sheen. Bass quantity is also reduced, compounding the tonal imbalance.

The results are not entirely out of the blue though. Front volume size is noticeably larger than the other options above.Alcantara by nature is more breathable thus seals less as well than leather/pleather, naturally it therefore leaks more bass and adds more brightness.

The only reason why I guess these could suit some people is comfort. Indeed the alcantara feels premium to the touch. But in terms of sound, I can’t really live with it. You gotta be a hardcore treble head to do so.

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TL;DR

If you want to tame the treble on the TH900, find pads with smaller opening, like the TH610 pads, E-MU Teak pads or the Accessory House Denon/Fostex pads. They may slightly reduce soundstage but tonality as a whole smoothes out a lot. The TH610 pads are aguably the safest option if you want to retain some of the characteristics of the TH900 sound.

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Do you have other recommendations? Comment below (your information is managed by WordPress and won’t be published, also you don’t need to create an account etc.) I have received quite a few emails from my readers but rarely anyone would comment. Comment in your own language is also fine, we are living in an era when translation is becoming highly accurate.

Next, I have the E-MU wooden cups arrived and ready to be tested. Measurements to come.