Is the headphone cord in ATH 900, ATH 1000 or ATW 1000 microphonic?

That is, when you move your head or the headphone cord, does it make a sound that is echoed inside the earphone cups? I do not mean an electroacoustic interference, but plain old mechanical sound.

Usually if the headphone cup is lively (has a distinct resonant frequency) when you tap on it with your fingers (when wearing the headphones) you will hear the tapping sound amplified inside your headphone cup.

My guess is that the wood cup would be better in this regard (?)

I have a problem a microphonic headphone cord connection with my HFI-650 and I find it very annoying. I'm thinking of changing the cable on it, but as I'm also considering some AT cans at the moment I'd like to hear your comments on this.

Anyone?

best regards,
Halcyon

I'm still not sure what you mean... Do you mean noise transmitted from the cables? I'm not sure why this should be an issue... Unless you're planning to use these as portable headphones? Brave man
They do have some mechanics noise if you rub them, as the cables are cloth and have a raspy texture. If I put them on in a reasonably quiet room and rub the cable, yes I can definitely hear it.

I got the W1000 and the Beyer DT831.

The AT fabric-covered cable are better than the coiled Beyer-
cable, but not by much.
You definately will hear some noise if you tap it, but it's not bad actually.
It doesn't tangle as easy as the Beyers, and doesn't move around so much.
I do prefer the AT in most ways.

However, I prefer the Beyer when it comes to the plug, as it includes both the large and small version (just unscrew the bigger plug).
The AT only has the large plug.

No big deal, though.

Just my thoughts.

JL

Owners of the W1000 are not supposed to plug their phones into anything which is crappy enough to have 3.5mm plugs


Wa ha ha ha ha The A1000 and the A900 have very high quality unimatch plugs.

Hehe....I knew you were going to say that.


The AT plugs are of excellent quality, no doubt, but I like the conveniency of plugging the phones straight into a portable MD or CD from time to time.
I think the loss of sound quality is barely imaginable.

But hey, compromises suck, right?

I'll try to rephrase my badly worded original query.

When you are wearing your AT cans and move your head around... is the sound of headphone cord brushing against the headphone cup (friction) clearly audible?

On Ultrasone HFI-650 this is so audible it is really annoying.

I have to keep my head absolutely perfectly still. Even a very slight movement can cause the cable to scrape the side of the headphone cup in very noisy manner.

Is the same kind of situation a problem with AT cans (especially the metal cup versions A900 and A1000)?

regards,
Halcyon

Hi halcyon. I can't vouch for the others, but the cord on the AD10 is the most microphonic cable that I have ever encountered. It will transmit sound to the left earcup all the way from the plug end. Rubs closer to the headset are even more audible, even with music on. Using a cord clip of the type intended for cell phones helps quite a bit.

Another odd thing about those AT cans: they shock me every time I move. Not as bad now that I have done the phatpad mod, but when the drivers were touching my ears I couldn't take 2 steps across the room without getting zapped in the ear.


gerG

My W1000 silk covered cord is much less microphonic than the coil cord on my DT990Pros. I also think the wood earpiece shells of the W1000 tend to deaden any cord micophonics. That said, there is still mechanical noise transfer from the cord on the W1000s.

W1000 with no music playing is moderately microphonic with slightly exaggerated movement and tapping, but only on the left side for obvious reasons. I haven't had a problem with it while listening, it's an order of magnitude less than what you get with the Etys.

I can't really hear the cord in normal use. (A1000)

Halycon,

if the fit of the cable is loose, would cutting a rubber grommet on one end and slipping over the cable and inserting into the cable hole solve the problem? conversely you can squirt a dab of silicon rubber in the hole, let it dry, and see if the microphonics disappear. you can also try a tie-wrap on the outside, but chances are that the tie wrap may slide against the outside causing a squeek if there is still too much lateral play (the hole is too large and the cable still moves around, but instead of in and out, it's side to side).

greg, anti-static scotch guard?

I too have been shocked twice (on the ears) with my A900s on so far. I thought it was just a fluke but I guess it's more common. I tend to get shocked a lot in everyday life though and the AT zaps were minimal. It hasn't happened recently though and could've been as a result of the packaging used in shipping.