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The ATH-AD900 Appreciation Thread - Page 10

post #136 of 613
6/11/09 at 2:31pm
In my experience with AT cans, source and amp can make a big difference in deciding whether your cans are sound tolerable, bright, or even harsh.
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post #137 of 613
6/11/09 at 2:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by donunus View Post
They are bright cans in comparison to many out there but Ive never heard sibilance on my ad900s. I think they are sometimes dark because of the warmth of the mids Ahh and I hardly use them unamped until lately. They are brighter on my laptops headphone jack but not annoyingly bright
Maybe that is why I never noticed any brightness. 100% of my headphone listening is with a good amp and an excellent source, and always has been.
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post #138 of 613
6/11/09 at 3:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by moonboy403 View Post
In my experience with AT cans, source and amp can make a big difference in deciding whether your cans are sound tolerable, bright, or even harsh.
Makes sense... I remember when I listened to 'em with a crap receiver I was thinking they sounded really warm. The compass is a lot less forgiving.
Perhaps it's my poorly mixed music (kinda comes with the genre), but to my ears the phone kind of loses focus and everything just kinda blends in on the busy sections.
The presentation is a bit chaotic, if you catch my drift.
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post #139 of 613
6/11/09 at 4:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hot Pixel View Post
Nah, mine are bright-ish as well. Either that, or our phonaks are warmer than we think
I can usually last for an hour before taking 'em off. That's why I'm looking at the DT990pro and the HD650.
I know, I know. But I found the DT990 on the hot side when I listened to 'em a while back.
Ah, should be interesting nonetheless.
The Phonaks are warmer that's for sure, but i consider them to be very neutral. Then again it's based on my sources... Moonboy's post makes sense indeed.
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post #140 of 613
6/14/09 at 6:16am
Thread Starter 

Looking at the ad900 for what it is

Quote:
Originally Posted by donunus View Post
mine is actually slightly dark if anything
Ok Ive analyzed this today to bits...

Because the ad900 is such a musical pair of cans for me, Ive never analyzed them as much as I have done today. What I have found when analyzing them is that they do have recessed mids which make for a slightly U shaped presentation. It is not annoyingly recessed like the a900 which has a suckout in the lower mids that makes male vocals sound nasal though. They are more like the ad700 in which they are still slightly recessed overall in the mids but to a lesser degree. This makes the focus of the presentation on the drums and percussion moreso than other cans except for the ad2000 which is a hyper version of the ad900 sound with more mids. Sounds like I'm describing the ad2000s to be a better balanced can than the ad900s? well, not really. The ad2000s could be more balanced than the ad900s but have some annoying flaws(hyped up upper bass and recessed upper highs that make male voices boxy sounding and cymbal crashes sound dry) that keep me from wanting to go back to them.

Back to listening to the music without analyzing.... They are still the most enjoyable pair of cans Ive ever had...

Only cans I have on my list to buy are the jh13, the hd800s, and the shure closed cans that are about to come out... Going with the Shures first since they are the cheapest
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post #141 of 613
6/14/09 at 7:14am


You think the AD900 has recessed mids? What? That's not my experience at all. They definitely have accentuated mids, if anything. And it is precisely that which makes the presentation of the lows and the highs to seem somewhat overruled by the mids. I'm not saying emphasized mids are a bad thing, though, as it's a wonderful quality when listening to vocal music. For example, I think Radiohead, Madrugada and Beth Orton sound excellent on the AD900.

But no, I definitely don't think this headphone has recessed mids.

Interesting...
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post #142 of 613
6/14/09 at 7:41am
I'm with Bengt77. Recessed mids? Not to my ears. donunus, I know you are fairly experienced with headphones, however sometimes I think you might over analyse and convince yourself that night is day.
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post #143 of 613
6/14/09 at 7:47am
Thread Starter 
definitely recessed compared to sennheisers but they are accurate to what I like in the presentation. Well it depends on the frequency I guess. Not all its mids are recessed. Somewhere in the 1khz to 2khz region it might be slightly recessed making it sound smooth say... compared to a k701 which is loud in the 2khz zone. And it may also be recessed in the lower mids say around 500hz compared to senns. hmm in the end it could also be my current amp thats causing it hehehe. Still waiting for my little dot which are a really great pair for them. Right now I am using a slightly U sounding audiolab integrated amp which is making the ad900 slightly U shaped. sorry... since I analyzed the sound on this amp. I'll correct myself again when it is a big change with the little dot.
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post #144 of 613
6/14/09 at 7:48am
Thread Starter 
Oh, and I am speaking a 2db to 4db maximum of recession here. Nothing radical like you might think. Not like ultrasone 750s or anything like that
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post #145 of 613
6/14/09 at 7:52am
Which Little Dot did you get? I wasn't impressed by the MKIII at all.
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post #146 of 613
6/14/09 at 7:55am
The longer i listen to them, the more i realize my x-fi just simply hates my ad900. Listening to them on my express, or mother's fuzeV1 is completely different experience. While through my pc they sound overly bright at times during places in music i never heard before thru my older 555's, and also the clarity isn't comparable <.<. Actually i could say the ad900 sounds more like its being tortured through my x-fi if i had to use a term to describe it.

Though not sure if it is the x-fi's amp, its on board dac or just a combination of both. Too bad the Fiio e5 doesn't have a optical in so i could easily buy one and try that as a cheap way to test it. The thought of buying a 100-300 portable/desktop amp (no dac) would be a waste if it ends up being because of the card's dac itself...
Also i'm annoyed at the thought for the past two years at all the imperfections, and sound my HD-555 was hiding for me that are now all coming easily to light as each day passes ¬_¬

No regrets buying it regardless, now where is a ad900 smiley...
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post #147 of 613
6/14/09 at 8:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by XenLS86k View Post
Also i'm annoyed at the thought for the past two years at all the imperfections, and sound my HD-555 was hiding for me that are now all coming easily to light as each day passes ¬_¬
Good for you. But you shouldn't be annoyed, really. This is just you advancing understanding and appreciation of Good Sound™. Be happy that you bought a headphone that brings out more in your music than your previous one. And be happy to know that the AD900 isn't anywhere near the top of the headphone mountain. So next time you upgrade and spend even more money on a headphone, chances are you'll get an even better sounding one. That's how it goes. What's the use of buying a new one if it doesn't sound any better?

Quote:
No regrets buying it regardless, now where is a ad900 smiley...
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post #148 of 613
6/14/09 at 8:31am
Well the annoyance comes from back 2+ years ago, back when i had a hd-497 on my head, when it came time to upgrade from that i mainly had the HD280 or the 555 as my choices. I Chose the 555 since i began hearing things that the other two hid away in the background via a sb live and Audiogy 1 (original release).
As for the mountain of sound, i hear the AT-AD mountainside is full of peaks, and the summits for the AD-1000/2000 aren't comparable in reviews to the view you get from the top peaks of the AD900 cliff side, but i'm not going there anytime soon ^^.

Still my eyes and ears are currently at war. the Former wanting a new monitor, while the latter demanding something be done with the sound via my pc. Fun conflict >.>
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post #149 of 613
6/14/09 at 10:54am
There's no conflict at all, really. Always prioritize upgrading your source. If your source sucks, your sound will suck too, no matter how good the amps, cables and headphones you connect to it.
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post #150 of 613
6/14/09 at 11:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by moonboy403 View Post
Which Little Dot did you get? I wasn't impressed by the MKIII at all.
only a mk2. I don't know what it is in the presentation but my quick listen with the ld2 and ad900 together was synergy from heaven. I dont know if the ld2 is a great amp or not on its own but it sure did make my ad900s sing. I compared it with a c2c, a beta 22, and some other amps and it only came second to the b22 overall for my ad900s. This was a quick listen during a meet but theres no mistaking the synergy. It had that extra wetness to the sound that I wanted for my ad900s.
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