The ATH-AD900 Appreciation Thread - Page 41

Quote:

Originally Posted by philipt42 

The AD700s were my favorite cans for a long time, but I got tired of fixing my broken jack, so I sold them. I ordered the AKG k240 MKII, but the magic just wasn't there, so $212 later, I have the AD900s set to arrive at my door tomorrow. Can't wait!

 

One question: I ordered a little Bravo amp to fool around with - any experience with that or the Indeed and the AD900?

Please let us know how they turn out! I always enjoy reading perspectives from users that upgrade from the AD700 to AD900. Did you ever catch my comparison between the two?

The AD900's really don't need an amp of any sort, and don't benefit that greatly from one. However, I'm still considering picking up one again to see if my E10 makes it a touch darker/bassier.

After being a user of Grado, Sennheiser, Allesandro and HifiMAN headphones for the past few years, I found a pair of ATH-AD900s for sale locally.  I picked the headphones up just before this past weekend.  The seem as though they were minimally used.  The guy selling them also sold me his pair of Sennheiser HD-580s because he was looking for closed headphones to allow him to listen without his music disturbing others.

Being that this is my first pair of Audio Technica headphones, I had seen some of the various models at headphone meets, but never had a chance to try them out.  I guess I've been a bit intrugued by the AD900s with larger drivers.  Some people have referred to the sound as a bit "bright" and others contend that there wasn't enough bass for their likes.  So, with what I had read, I was a bit hesitant to make the purchase.  But, I went forward with it and felt that if they didn't offer what I was looking for in sound, I could easily sell them here on the forum.  However, I am very happy to report that the ATH-AD900s more than exceeded my expectations after I spent some time with them getting them appropriately adjusted and performing a few slight modifications on the headphones themselves.

The work that I ended up performing was a bit time-consuming.  About 4 hours total, were involved in the process because I wanted to change some things that I didn't like from a comfort and asthetics standpoint.  My changes are as follows:

• Cable length.  I personally didn't need the default 10' length of cable.  If I need further reach when using headphones I have sufficient extensions for the purpose.  So, I took the cable length down to a bit more than 5' and terminated it with a brand new Neutrik 1/4" TRS plug which eliminates any need for me to use the screw-on 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter.

• Headband Hoops.  Ugh!  Why such large hoops?  I can understand that some users have larger heads due to more brain mass, but I don't fall into that category and have a head size that is average.  This meant two large hoops would be above my head like a martian.  So, I removed the ear cups / drivers from both sides and shortened the rods by 1/2" on each end, for a total of a 1" decrease in the size of the hoops.  There is still plenty of available head space available if these were to move onto a user with a larger head.  The titanium rods were a bit hard to work with.  Marking the rod and making the cuts was relative simple with a heavy-duty wire side-cutter.  However, applying that final 1/4" 90-Degree bend where the rods connect into the plastic mounting block that connects to the ear cups was a bit more challenging.  I had to use a larger pliers to accomlish this bend to ensure it was as sharp on the corner as it could be.  If the corner was too rounded, then the rods would not properly fit into the plastic grooves and it made re-assembly of the plastic connectors between the rods and the headphone cups a bit more complicated.  But, with patience and a few attempts, I pushed through.  Some re-working of the wire that passes through one of the covers of the rods from one side of the headphones to the other was also needed, so some solder, the iron, a few pieces of shrink tube and spare wire, had me back in business with the necessary cable re-work.

• Finally, I had read where some users over time have noted that the pads flatten and their ears, at times seem to touch the driver.  To circumvent an issue of this in the future, I had some foam insulation tape.  It is 1/4" thick and 3/8" wide.  I cut a strip long enough so that I could apply it under the ear cusion foam between the pad and the black cloth that protected the driver.  This mean that the pads were somewhat refreshed by extending their distance to make up for any foam that had been compmressed through previous use of the headphones.

The result?  Well, the changing of the hoop size mad me feel a bit more comfortable when wearing the headphones as I was able to tighten the gap between the cups by adjusting the titanium rods.  The headphones now have a tighter grip for somewhat better isolation from outside noises and a better fit of the ear pads over my ears.  Additionally, the foam seems to have slightly enhanced the bass by pushing the pads out a bit from the driver.

These headphones are very, very comfortable.  The sound-stage is excellent.  The detail of these headphones is really quite good and I was able to pick out percussion that wasn't as apparent in some songs with other headphones.  The instrument separation really could be noticed in how the drivers responded to articulate the music.  I was also getting bass from songs that I didn't feel would have been quite as strong with other headphones.  For example, "Barton Hollow" by "The Civil Wars" has some great sub-bass that can be heard with the AD900s that gets missed by other headphones.  However, the ATH-AD900s really handled the bass well with a great level of quality and not mushy quantity.

I am very pleased with this purchase.  Whether one choosed to find a pair of these headphones new through on-line sources that offer discounts (the MSRP is $299), or if they can find a pair used on the forum here, I feel these headphones are a tremendous "bang for the buck" based on the quality of music return for the money spent.  There are many headphones that I could point out that the ATH-AD900 easily passes over and those headphones run about twice the cost of the Audio Technica headphones.  I will not mention those headphone brands or models, as I don't want to create a stir here in the thread about "this being better than that".  However, for anyone considering buying a pair of these headphones and they desire sound quality, a good amount of bass along with an excellent sound-stange, this is really a headphone that delivers and at a cost that will not kill your wallet.

Enjoy !!

@ wje

Nice post, it's been a while since I heard about these. They were my first significant headphone purchase and I'm still pretty happy about my decision at that time. The soundstage and comfort for these is really the selling point I think, though it had more than just that going for it. The bass presentation didn't really bother me either and the mid-range was lovely. I don't remember being wowed by instrument separation or detail and after getting into Stax counted those as weaknesses on the AD900's part. It's been forever since I listened though and if I ever get them back from a friend I'll have to have a reunion listening session.

Indeed, the AD900 can be bright if they are driven with something they don't like. Anything with a lean sound character, or upfront/articulated treble will provide the same characteristics on the AD900, it's not easy to find something suitable. The most affordable solution is the Fiio E10, it's treble is a bit in the background, so they work well with the AD900, althought not the last word in refinement and musicality. One of the best DAC/amp I managed to find is the Centrance DACport, they provide an amazing sound, with the AD2000 as well, and make the AD700 a charming beast as well. I highly recommend a listening with the DACport, althought it's not cheap at all, it's worth every penny, much better with these AT's (I tried AD700, 900 and 2000) then many DAC+amp combinations with a higher prestige and price tag.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wje 

After being a user of Grado, Sennheiser, Allesandro and HifiMAN headphones for the past few years, I found a pair of ATH-AD900s for sale locally.  I picked the headphones up just before this past weekend.  The seem as though they were minimally used.  The guy selling them also sold me his pair of Sennheiser HD-580s because he was looking for closed headphones to allow him to listen without his music disturbing others.

 

Being that this is my first pair of Audio Technica headphones, I had seen some of the various models at headphone meets, but never had a chance to try them out.  I guess I've been a bit intrugued by the AD900s with larger drivers.  Some people have referred to the sound as a bit "bright" and others contend that there wasn't enough bass for their likes.  So, with what I had read, I was a bit hesitant to make the purchase.  But, I went forward with it and felt that if they didn't offer what I was looking for in sound, I could easily sell them here on the forum.  However, I am very happy to report that the ATH-AD900s more than exceeded my expectations after I spent some time with them getting them appropriately adjusted and performing a few slight modifications on the headphones themselves.

 

The work that I ended up performing was a bit time-consuming.  About 4 hours total, were involved in the process because I wanted to change some things that I didn't like from a comfort and asthetics standpoint.  My changes are as follows:

 

• Cable length.  I personally didn't need the default 10' length of cable.  If I need further reach when using headphones I have sufficient extensions for the purpose.  So, I took the cable length down to a bit more than 5' and terminated it with a brand new Neutrik 1/4" TRS plug which eliminates any need for me to use the screw-on 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter.

 

• Headband Hoops.  Ugh!  Why such large hoops?  I can understand that some users have larger heads due to more brain mass, but I don't fall into that category and have a head size that is average.  This meant two large hoops would be above my head like a martian.  So, I removed the ear cups / drivers from both sides and shortened the rods by 1/2" on each end, for a total of a 1" decrease in the size of the hoops.  There is still plenty of available head space available if these were to move onto a user with a larger head.  The titanium rods were a bit hard to work with.  Marking the rod and making the cuts was relative simple with a heavy-duty wire side-cutter.  However, applying that final 1/4" 90-Degree bend where the rods connect into the plastic mounting block that connects to the ear cups was a bit more challenging.  I had to use a larger pliers to accomlish this bend to ensure it was as sharp on the corner as it could be.  If the corner was too rounded, then the rods would not properly fit into the plastic grooves and it made re-assembly of the plastic connectors between the rods and the headphone cups a bit more complicated.  But, with patience and a few attempts, I pushed through.  Some re-working of the wire that passes through one of the covers of the rods from one side of the headphones to the other was also needed, so some solder, the iron, a few pieces of shrink tube and spare wire, had me back in business with the necessary cable re-work.

 

• Finally, I had read where some users over time have noted that the pads flatten and their ears, at times seem to touch the driver.  To circumvent an issue of this in the future, I had some foam insulation tape.  It is 1/4" thick and 3/8" wide.  I cut a strip long enough so that I could apply it under the ear cusion foam between the pad and the black cloth that protected the driver.  This mean that the pads were somewhat refreshed by extending their distance to make up for any foam that had been compmressed through previous use of the headphones.

 

The result?  Well, the changing of the hoop size mad me feel a bit more comfortable when wearing the headphones as I was able to tighten the gap between the cups by adjusting the titanium rods.  The headphones now have a tighter grip for somewhat better isolation from outside noises and a better fit of the ear pads over my ears.  Additionally, the foam seems to have slightly enhanced the bass by pushing the pads out a bit from the driver.

 

These headphones are very, very comfortable.  The sound-stage is excellent.  The detail of these headphones is really quite good and I was able to pick out percussion that wasn't as apparent in some songs with other headphones.  The instrument separation really could be noticed in how the drivers responded to articulate the music.  I was also getting bass from songs that I didn't feel would have been quite as strong with other headphones.  For example, "Barton Hollow" by "The Civil Wars" has some great sub-bass that can be heard with the AD900s that gets missed by other headphones.  However, the ATH-AD900s really handled the bass well with a great level of quality and not mushy quantity.

 

I am very pleased with this purchase.  Whether one choosed to find a pair of these headphones new through on-line sources that offer discounts (the MSRP is $299), or if they can find a pair used on the forum here, I feel these headphones are a tremendous "bang for the buck" based on the quality of music return for the money spent.  There are many headphones that I could point out that the ATH-AD900 easily passes over and those headphones run about twice the cost of the Audio Technica headphones.  I will not mention those headphone brands or models, as I don't want to create a stir here in the thread about "this being better than that".  However, for anyone considering buying a pair of these headphones and they desire sound quality, a good amount of bass along with an excellent sound-stange, this is really a headphone that delivers and at a cost that will not kill your wallet.

 

Enjoy !!

This thread'll probably get a bit of love due to the recent AD900 sale. I hope that these are good -- if so then they might replace my (much more expensive) HD600 and amp!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jxzcvk 

Amazon has these for $189, do you guys think it's a good buy?
What other suggestions do you guys have at this price range?
I'm looking for some comfortable headphones for all around listening playing from a Xonar DG.
Cheers

The AD____X series might be worth the wait, especially since they're the same price.

Does anyone know how to replace the earpads of this headphone? I'm having trouble getting new pads onto the earpieces.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bengt77 


You might want to try this mod I did a while ago. Sound-wise, it brought back the the things that went missing after going from the stock velours pads to the leather (and possibly also the pleather) pads. And it distances the drivers from your ears. No more touching, which makes wearing the AD900 a lot more comfortable.

I tried this finally a few weeks ago - thanks Bengt77 - only a year after your suggestion! :)

Your mod help with comfort a lot - in fact they are now a lot more like how I imagined good phones should feel. I even did double the semi-circular pads you suggested so I could try having the foam fully around the ear rather than just on the back half. It just about fits in. I didn't do a proper before/after comparison but loose impression is that the bass is more pronounced (good) if a *teeny* bit muddier (not so good) but effects are subtle and my perception of these things is not razor sharp.

However, whilst I think this would solve most people's issues, my ears are still feel the cans and I fatigue eventually - though much less so. I may try getting some Sennheiser 558s which I remember seemed comfy in store (and then modding them to 598s :D just in case my perception of them remains valid. Still a worthwhile experiment - easy and fun and I still think these are superb cans...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suopermanni 

Does anyone know how to replace the earpads of this headphone? I'm having trouble getting new pads onto the earpieces.

You have to be a bit tough on the pads. Basically the thin material at the edges stretches over the plastic lip and into the gap between the lip and the next bit of plastic that surrounds the honeycomb metal grille. Starting off is easier but it's gets tight before you finish. Near the tops where the headband meets the unit is tough too has you have to fee the pad material below the extra plastic here. Clear as mud?

I've broke one of the wings of my headphone, does anyone now how can I replace that?

Broken as in snapped the plastic? Or have you broken the hinge inside the plastic enclosure?