[manbear]

I used to own the Q701. A few thoughts.

You might not have any problems with AKGs (I'm not familiar with your exact amp) but they are hard enough to drive that some soundcards and portable amps won't cut it. On the other hand, the AD900x works with pretty much everything. Worth considering if you want the flexibility of listening to music off your phone or laptop in bed for example.

Both have similar quantities of bass. The AKG might have slightly better extension but it also has less impact. Gunshots, etc have more punch on the AD900X.

Soundstage wise, the Q701 is more distant and wider but also flatter--everything is about the same distance from you. The AD900x has a more 3D sense of depth. The AD900x does have more diffuse imaging but echoey is an exaggeration IMO. The Q701's lack of depth causes its own problems so there are pros and cons either way.

The Q701 is more detailed overall but its not a huge difference, especially for entry level DAC/ amp.

I'd personally go for the AD900x over the Q701. Havent heard the 612 but from what I gather I might like it better than the Q701. Hard to wrong either way.

 

[HornyRhino]

  The big advantage the AD900x has over the AKG's is it's incredibly easy to drive. The AKG's, not so much. Any of them would be great gaming cans.
 
Also not sure about where you live, but over here in the US I've found you can get the AD900x's for around $130-140. I got mine for that price about 2-3 months ago.
 
Other thing to consider is some people have issues with the "wing" system that the AD900x's use. I'm not one of those people, and think it's one of the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. Both the K series AKG headphones are also very comfortable as well FWIW.

 
thanks for the advice.
 
i live in the uk, sorry about that not being made clear on my user info as i only joined this forum 2 days ago so i am still new and looking around
all things in UK is expensive due to vat tax so even though £119 ($184) for the AD900x may sound expensive its actually a very good price in the uk
 
i have watched some videos of the wing system on youtube but i think i should be ok....in your experience does it work well with a larger than standard head? as mine is on the large side?
 
in any case i was looking at the AD900x as my first choice after i did a lot of reading on the k701/702 and found the sound stage was not nearly as good as the akg which i was looking for for fps gaming.
 
my only other choice other than the AD9000X was the Beyerdynamic DT990 PRO but i have read so many reviews by people stating they dont last long as many found they stop working a year later or the internals are very badly wired and the cable is mostly always loose straight out the box..
 
thanks again for the advice heliosphann

 

[HornyRhino]

I used to own the Q701. A few thoughts.

You might not have any problems with AKGs (I'm not familiar with your exact amp) but they are hard enough to drive that some soundcards and portable amps won't cut it. On the other hand, the AD900x works with pretty much everything. Worth considering if you want the flexibility of listening to music off your phone or laptop in bed for example.

Both have similar quantities of bass. The AKG might have slightly better extension but it also has less impact. Gunshots, etc have more punch on the AD900X.

Soundstage wise, the Q701 is more distant and wider but also flatter--everything is about the same distance from you. The AD900x has a more 3D sense of depth. The AD900x does have more diffuse imaging but echoey is an exaggeration IMO. The Q701's lack of depth causes its own problems so there are pros and cons either way.

The Q701 is more detailed overall but its not a huge difference, especially for entry level DAC/ amp.

I'd personally go for the AD900x over the Q701. Havent heard the 612 but from what I gather I might like it better than the Q701. Hard to wrong either way.

 
thank-you for all the tips and advice from both of you heliosphann & manbear
 
i have decided to go for the AD900X.
 
wish me luck

 

[Fidelity King]

Just got the ad700x and what I can say is that they sound very clear yet not sibilant. Mids are great. The bass is better than I expected but is still lacking and won't be good for genres like rap or dubstep but it does shine with classical

 

[paulguru]

How many hours to complete the burn in this headphone ?

 

[G3ck0]

Just got these headphones, upgrading from my ATH-AD700's, and they sound... bad. There is absolutely no bass, I'm not a basshead or anything, but there's far less than my 700's. This isn't normal, right? Is something going on here? 

 

[solblack]

  Just got these headphones, upgrading from my ATH-AD700's, and they sound... bad. There is absolutely no bass, I'm not a basshead or anything, but there's far less than my 700's. This isn't normal, right? Is something going on here?

What source are you using with them? Are you using mp3 or flac ect...
I use my AD900x as my commute headphones, DX-50+C&C BH2 perfect match for my ears.
Also when i use AD900x with my Iphone5 i can hear the bass.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Just got these headphones, upgrading from my ATH-AD700's, and they sound... bad. There is absolutely no bass, I'm not a basshead or anything, but there's far less than my 700's. This isn't normal, right? Is something going on here? 

Could be your AD700 are really broken in.
What sources do you plug the AD700X's into?
Try leaving the AD700X's plugged in over night (a few times), with music a little louder then normal.

 

[lostinthesauce]

I went to the 900 after the M50S and also initally thought they were missing bass. Brain burn in (or perhaps headphone burn in) had me appreciating the tight controlled bass. The M50S was regulated to occasional portable use and now sounds overly bassy with a bit of flabbiness. Sources are all Fiio with the house setup being an E07K/E09K and portable being an X3/E12.

 

[G3ck0]

  What source are you using with them? Are you using mp3 or flac ect...
I use my AD900x as my commute headphones, DX-50+C&C BH2 perfect match for my ears.
Also when i use AD900x with my Iphone5 i can hear the bass.

CD ripped as ALAC. Using a Fiio e10k.
 
After only using my 900x's for a few hours, they started to sound great. The clarity is awesome. But today I went back and used my 700's and they still sound better. Warmer with far more bass. Did the rubber band mod to my 900x's and that didn't improve it at all :/

 

[solblack]

 
CD ripped as ALAC. Using a Fiio e10k.
 
After only using my 900x's for a few hours, they started to sound great. The clarity is awesome. But today I went back and used my 700's and they still sound better. Warmer with far more bass. Did the rubber band mod to my 900x's and that didn't improve it at all :/

Try burning them in for a couple of days.
Sorry for your trouble.

 

[G3ck0]

 
Try burning them in for a couple of days.
Sorry for your trouble.

 
I really like them now, stayed up till 6am just listening to music. I think it was just jarring hearing music that was far closer to the recording than I've ever heard before, the bass is so accurate, everything is so clean and sounds so true to life it's amazing.

 

[CaveManta]

My brother's visiting, and he brought his AD900X with him. So far, I am really appreciating it! However, I am not appreciating the cable. I would say up front that it sucks.
It's stiff, and keeps wanting to curl into a ball. The 1/4" adapter comes off really easily, getting stuck in my amp's headphone jack.

But they sound and feel great. Definitely an improvement from the AD700. Smoother treble, more punchy bass, less grainy.

 

[heliosphann]

  My brother's visiting, and he brought his AD900X with him. So far, I am really appreciating it! However, I am not appreciating the cable. I would say up front that it sucks.
It's stiff, and keeps wanting to curl into a ball. The 1/4" adapter comes off really easily, getting stuck in my amp's headphone jack.

But they sound and feel great. Definitely an improvement from the AD700. Smoother treble, more punchy bass, less grainy.

Yea, I dunno what they were thinking when they decided on that cable.

 

[Shaffer]

The curling of the cord goes away after a while; mine is as straight as an arrow. The stiffness never goes away. I also hated the stock 1/4" adapter and opted for an aftermarket one.