Review: Audio Technica ATH-A900X - Page 13

Quote:

Originally Posted by That Person 

How are the A900x and AD900x at rock?

I own the A900x and have heard the AD900x. The A900x is great for rock, the bass is just right and the clarity is amazing. I find the AD900x slightly too bright for rock, but it excels at every other genre. (Note that the AD900x I heard is new and not yet burned-in, so the sound may change after burn-in.)

Thanks, guy. I think this might be my next purchase for closed cans. I've been meaning to get one for on the go usage.

Thanks for the detailed review - it convinced me to finally buy a pair of A900X to (may be) replace my aging A9X (likely end up keeping both, heh)

I also ordered a pair of AKG K550 for comparison, since many people commented on how similar-sounding they are. I personally found Katun's review to be overly harsh unwarranted against the A900X, so I wanted to have my own impressions of the two. :)

Currently burning the A900X in while waiting on the K550.

Long-time ATH-A500 and ATH-A900 wearer here. I've had those two cans on my head waaaay more than is healthy or sane, probably 20-30 hours a week for 3+ years; multiple thousands of hours. To say the ATH-A900's are comfortable on my head is an understatement. Well, I just started a new job and didn't want to give up my ATH-900's from home (they're modded with the A1000 pads from bluetin - a perfect mod IMHO) so I looked around and figured I'd try out the "improved" A900X and took delivery today.

Well, for some reason the ATH-A900X's felt like crap on my head. The wing pressure seemed to be too low to keep the ear pieces at the right height. It always felt like they were about to slip off my head. Add on the fact that they's downgraded the earpieces to plastic and the upgrade doesn't feel like one to me. Needless to say, they are going right back to the store.

Quote:

Originally Posted by enkidu 

Long-time ATH-A500 and ATH-A900 wearer here. I've had those two cans on my head waaaay more than is healthy or sane, probably 20-30 hours a week for 3+ years; multiple thousands of hours. To say the ATH-A900's are comfortable on my head is an understatement. Well, I just started a new job and didn't want to give up my ATH-900's from home (they're modded with the A1000 pads from bluetin - a perfect mod IMHO) so I looked around and figured I'd try out the "improved" A900X and took delivery today.

 

Well, for some reason the ATH-A900X's felt like crap on my head. The wing pressure seemed to be too low to keep the ear pieces at the right height. It always felt like they were about to slip off my head. Add on the fact that they's downgraded the earpieces to plastic and the upgrade doesn't feel like one to me. Needless to say, they are going right back to the store.

I own the A900X and the old A9X (precursor to the A900) and I tested the wings' downforce, they are identical.  A900X even has more clamping force than the A9X; so at least for me they are not uncomfortable at all, nor do they slide around on my head.

But then again, everyone has different head sizes, and I don't have a A900 to compare against.

Not too sure what you meant by the "earpieces" being downgraded to plastic - do you mean the frame? Because the frames are both plastic as far as I can tell (on A900 as well, I mean). Do you mean the housing? The housing is definitely aluminum - they've not changed this since the A9X.  Do you mean the wings? Wings are simplified from the A900's "3D" system but I didn't find anything wrong with sturdiness or construction quality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by enkidu 

Hmm, I meant the housing, I would have sworn they were plastic, but I was probably mistaken as usual. After the A900, the A900X just didn't feel. It might have gotten better, but A900's are still to be had on the market so I figured I'll stick with the tried and true for my head.

If you like the A900 well-enough, an upgrade to A900X may not be necessary. :) It mainly improved upon the sound stage and added bass (which I frankly am not a big fan of anyway).

But yeah, the A9X, A900, and A900X are all the same "tier" in the Art Monitor series, and all have aluminum housing. In fact they all have the same listed net weight (though I am almost certain my A9X feels heavier than the A900X... but oh well :P )

The two things I don't like about the A900 is... well, I think it's the ugliest of the three. And the stock earpads are shamefully cheap. I mean the A900X's pads look very cheap compared to A9X, but A900 is cheaper by a hundred times. It's the kind of pleather used on $20 headphones... =_=

I hear you. With the A1000 pads, they are super sweet, I'd had the A900's modded for so long, I'd forgotten I'd done the mod.

Okay, so I got these pair a couple of days ago, and they are absolutely amazing!

Anyway, I was just wondering if I could further improve the sound by getting an amp or dac/amp. Currently, my main source is a laptop. To be honest, I'm getting more than enough volume out of it, but would getting an amp or dac/amp increase the quality of the sound?

Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by billy5000 

Okay, so I got these pair a couple of days ago, and they are absolutely amazing!

 

Anyway, I was just wondering if I could further improve the sound by getting an amp or dac/amp. Currently, my main source is a laptop. To be honest, I'm getting more than enough volume out of it, but would getting an amp or dac/amp increase the quality of the sound?

 

Thanks.

Well it would, I use a FiiO E6 with my A900X and it makes the soundstage bigger and bass slightly stronger. I believe you could get even better sound with a high end DAC and amp.

Most Audio-Technicas are fairly easy to drive and don't really require amping (SQ gain is minimal). Amping will likely give you more volume and better bass control (tighter).