Audio Technica updates their open headphones "AD" Series: AD2000x, AD1000x, AD900x, AD700x and... - Page 28

AD2000X At Home . 

 

 

 

(this is jut for illustration i am not into photography if you want pretty pictures look at ZenErik ones )

 

Out of the Box Impressions VS AD2000 : 

 

They are cleaner / more transparent than AD2000 , mids are colder and a bit less emphasied but still nicely bodied and textured they don't overshadow the highs like with AD2000 it's still what stand out the most but not as much , bass seams very similar to  AD2000 so if you find AD2000 laking in bass department , AD2000X didn't fixed anything there (well for me no need too) , highs , they remain innofensive but not as dark as AD2000 . Soudstage seams a bit more wider , and instrument separation a bit cleaner to , they have even more this impression of AIR and space . Detail are more easy to pick up with this more transparent sound . AS AD2000 its a very dynamique headphone , one of the best with fast paced music , if you are not to much into bass thing . 

 

AD2000 have a bit more midbass energy , here their is no such emphasis . It's like they took AD1000PRM uppers mids / highs , and AD2000 midbass and mixed it to make this new mids  and highs :  Transparent , and clear but also bodied and textured and still enough warm . 

 

Overall this seams a more mature AD2000 less mid centric (but it still a mid centric can) , less colored , less warm , flatter frequency response , more neutral . But they manage to somewhat keep some of the magical mids from AD2000) . It's also a brighter can than AD2000 due to the highs being not shadowed this time (as said before) . 

 

Due to being less colored they are much more suited now for classical (also the little improvement on soudstage (a bit wider) and instrument separation contribute to that) .Or a least i have this impression^^ despite i was never bothered by AD2000 Coloration .

 

Let's Take harpsichord , on AD2000 they allready shined , just i found their highs a bit to much smoothed out in comparison to reality , now as highs are not shadowed , they are more present (but as said before never agressive) .

 

Electric Guitares : Even airier and cleaner but peraphs a bit less bodied , still very well textured .

 

Also they clamp less than AD2000 but remain relatively secure on my head , drivers don't touch as much AD2000 hears but not by much . Well at least they are not less confy than AD2000 for me so ... 

 

Honnestly i can't choose beetween the two the AD2000 mids still remain more hypnotique warmer , but cleaner and more transparent AD2000X is also very appreciable as mids still have retain some of this magic .

 

I guess : if you want a warmer sound , very mid centric with darker highs and a bit more forward presentation , very colored and euphonic sound go AD2000 , if you want something a bit more neutral colder brighter , go AD2000X .

 

If i didn't have allready a buyer for AD2000 , i would put AD2000X on sell . And keep wich one would not be sold . 

 

Going to peraphs sell AD2000 today so i am affraid canno't elabore a bit more than That :( . And don't have the courage to swap the pads sorry 

 

Didn't sold my AD2000 buyer was more impressed by the O2 that i brought for comparison   will have more time to compare it ... 

 

And thanks to PriceJapan , third time and never disapointed so far .

 

 

EDIT  : Don't be fooled the difference are not as Huge as my review can lead to think it , i just tryed to highlight them , but they are here at least for me with my equipement and songs used . 

 

AD2000X remains a bit similar to AD2000 , but it's not the same headphone . I think that even swapping the pads will not do the trick . 

 

Again for me mids are a bit less upfront , a bit less bodied , a bit less colored (more neutral) and highs seams a bit more prononced and brighter overall . 

 

Any one who will have tryed have tryed AD2000 will think that " hey this AD2000X remains me a lot the AD2000 , yet there is some change but still very enjoyable "  

Edited by HaVoC-28 - 2/18/13 at 3:14pm

Nah, that's a very interesting review!

 

Thanks Havoc-28 :)

Does anyone here own or have listened to the high end Shure SRH1440 or SRH1840? Im kinda curious how they compare. I've only seen one comparison to the original AD900 where the thought the Shure had fuller sounding mids which they preferred.

 

I love the AD2Ks for some of the reasons you pointed out.  I don't think I would like a colder / brighter AD2K.  I'll stick with AD2Ks for now.  

 

Thanks for this review.  Very informative.

X2 thanks for the review and special big thanks from my wallet as I can stick with AD2K.

BTW, AD2K mids are already borderline neutral, not usual ATH house sound, more neutrality will probably cross "boring" line turning them into Beyers (God forbid )

Edited by Andrew_WOT - 1/24/13 at 6:18pm

 

For me AD2000 mids are warm , AD2000X mids are fairly neutral but on warm side , AD2000X mids are bodied a bit less than AD2000 but bodied , let's take a DT-880 on a neutral SS amp => mids are THIN , there is not much body , and slightly cold .  So no it's not a Beyer Made by Audio Techica ^^ .

 

 

Keep in mind that the cans that i used the most are 1) AKG K702 ,  2 )  Beyer T1  3) DT-880-600 ohms  . So this is the kind of signature that i am the most used . 

The worst offenders, you can also add MDR-SA5000 to the list, of course AD2K mids will sound warm after those. :)

 

How about LCD-2, HD-650, MDR-1R, ESW9 or big brother W5000.

 

HD650 great can , but slightly to warm for my liking , time to time i would enjoy for some songs but for extended listening cessions no , i can't stand warm/dark headphones i guess ^^ . 

 

And never tryed the other you pointed out  . 

 

 

More i listen to AD2000X more i think that it suit me better than AD2000 ... The first hours i really couldn't choose , but more hours i have with AD2000X more i appreciate it . 

Edited by HaVoC-28 - 1/24/13 at 7:27pm

As you mention T1 and DT880/600, do T1 offer any more body, weight in mids over DT880, the graphs looks identical there but some say they are warmer.

 

Well i also had the impression that T1 was more bodied and warmer on Mids than DT-880-600  was at least with SPL Auditor or A-GD C2.1 . On graph their is only a slight difference peraphs 1-2db or even less , but it seams that for T1/DT-880 it's enough to make a diffence . T1 was also bassier than DT-880-600 , a bit to bassier for my liking .

 

But overall T1 and DT-880 are very similar differences are not day and night , it's more on transparency details imagining that T1 and DT-880 differs most .  

 

 

AD2000 and AD2000X also are not night and day but little things make them differ , the first time i put the AD2000X on head it was obvious , this is not exactly a AD2000 , there is at least some few things that changed ... And it's true . 

 

 

But i think that for people wich are on this hobby this little things are critical ones .

Edited by HaVoC-28 - 1/24/13 at 7:42pm

Interesting impressions. Differs from my (indirect) comparison. I felt that the AD2000X offered a little more impact. More sub bass. Not a lot but enough. Less upper mid focus. Similar quantity of highs but slightly greater clarity. You cannot go wrong with either.

 

Would really love to see some graphs to see how our perceptions differ from the 'truth'.

 

Impressions are impressions  , so not really suprised that it differs from yours ^^ , and a graph would be indeed very intersting . 

By reading these reviews, I'm thinking that the x series is just a cosmetic change. The thicker earpads should give you a bit more bass and a slightly farther away/recessed midrange. The recessed midrange should make the treble a bit more prominent (more subjective than objective). I don't see how the 2000x should sound cleaner, though. The drivers are basically the same as the 2000. Placebo? Burn-in? Or is it just a factor of both of those and the slight changes in the sound signature? I'm interested in seeing some measurements of these headphones. 

I don't really believe in burn-in. At least not long term. Maybe for the first few minutes the drivers could go through some growing pains. The sound hasn't really seemed to change at all since I first plugged them in.

 

This is in the description of the AD2000X...."Newly designed diffuser to spread air within the headphone housing" and "The new sepecilly designed AD2000X 53mm driver and OFC7N voice coil magnetic circuit manfactured of 99.99999% pure oxygen-free copper and magnetic material allowing for superior acoustic properties"!

Edited by cute - 1/25/13 at 9:33am