ATH-AD900 vs ATH-AD1000 vs ATH-AD2000
Aug 7, 2008 at 8:56 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 80
ATHFan

ATHFan

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Aug 7, 2008 at 8:24 PM Post #5 of 80
I have not personally heard these three but I read alot of head-fi posts about them. I did a ton of research because I was considering buying the ad1000 or ad2000. Here is what I think is a general consensus.

ad900 - Great headphone for the price. Might be a little grainy with the highs. Similar to the the ad700 but a worthy upgrade. (The ad700 is a great pair of headphones btw I wish I still had mine sometimes)

ad1000 - I have never read anything good about this pair. Most people say stick with the ad900 or upgrade to the ad2000. Most people say this pair has its own sound and doesn't quite fit into ATs lineup. Some people say it has a weird sound signature. (maybe too cold or analytical and not musical enough?)

ad2000 - On a completely "nuther" level. I have never read a bad review of this headphone. I have heard it described as "the hd650 but with everything done right" "Kills the DT880 and K-701" etc. I have also yet to find a owner of these who didn't also describe them as their favorite headphone. Alot of this might be hyperbole but people really seem to love these headphones.
 
Aug 7, 2008 at 8:34 PM Post #7 of 80
^

AD2000:
Sliiiight exaggeration of the alleged consensus. They are not my favorite headphone, but rather my favorite dynamic. I owned a balanced K701 and balanced 650, and in my opinion, the AD2000 runs circles around both out of the Pico. Lightning fast, tight bass, nice highs. Only thing is that for some people (Senn lovers, perhaps) the midrange will be too forward, although I find it works well in a way that Grados fail. And for $500 from musiciansfriend.com, that's a great option.

To the OP: If you are a self-describe "ATHFan," then why do you need our advice on ATH headphones?
tongue.gif
 
Aug 7, 2008 at 10:00 PM Post #9 of 80
Quote:

Originally Posted by ciphercomplete /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I have not personally heard these three but I read alot of head-fi posts about them. I did a ton of research because I was considering buying the ad1000 or ad2000. Here is what I think is a general consensus.

ad900 - Great headphone for the price. Might be a little grainy with the highs. Similar to the the ad700 but a worthy upgrade. (The ad700 is a great pair of headphones btw I wish I still had mine sometimes)

ad1000 - I have never read anything good about this pair. Most people say stick with the ad900 or upgrade to the ad2000. Most people say this pair has its own sound and doesn't quite fit into ATs lineup. Some people say it has a weird sound signature. (maybe too cold or analytical and not musical enough?)

ad2000 - On a completely "nuther" level. I have never read a bad review of this headphone. I have heard it described as "the hd650 but with everything done right" "Kills the DT880 and K-701" etc. I have also yet to find a owner of these who didn't also describe them as their favorite headphone. Alot of this might be hyperbole but people really seem to love these headphones.


Would you say that the ATH-AD2000 are an improvement to the ATH-AD900 headphones? Or that they are two completely different headphones? Are the ATH-AD2000 worth the extra $200?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ciphercomplete /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Those are some awesome prices.

Damn! Wallet come back here! I only want to talk.


Those are some nice prices indeed. Too bad they don't export to Europe. I'll stick with AudioCubes.
 
Aug 7, 2008 at 10:32 PM Post #10 of 80
Quote:

Originally Posted by ATHFan /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Would you say that the ATH-AD2000 are an improvement to the ATH-AD900 headphones? Or that they are two completely different headphones? Are the ATH-AD2000 worth the extra $200?


Well I haven't heard them, I was just giving a cross section of the opinions I cam across while researching.

There are alot of people on Headfi that have heard both. The impression I came away with was that the ad2000 blows the ad900 out of the water and that is was no comparison. Again, take that with a grain of salt because just like a poster above said beware of opinions given buy excited owners when they are reviewing their new toys.
biggrin.gif
 
Aug 8, 2008 at 7:33 AM Post #13 of 80
Ah yes. The guy from headphonic is a big fan of the AD range.


I have an AD700 and I personally love it. IMO it beats every other pair of headphones I have. A lot of people wonder whether the performance increase of the AD900/2000 is worth the extra money.
 
Aug 8, 2008 at 7:45 AM Post #14 of 80
Marcus on the headphonic site doesn't like the ad2000s. He would take the ad900s anyday over them. He says the ad2ks are too technical sounding and lose the essence of the music against the ad900s.

I've had the ad2ks and thought the faults were that they were too dry sounding and a little thin because of the boosted mids. I loved them at first but just couldn't live with its flaws in the long term.
 
Aug 8, 2008 at 8:24 AM Post #15 of 80
Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I've had the ad2ks and thought the faults were that they were too dry sounding and a little thin because of the boosted mids. I loved them at first but just couldn't live with its flaws in the long term.


I couldn't live with their sound longer than half an hour. I compared them directly to the SR325i's and would choose the Grado's any day. For me the ATH-AD2k's have artificial higher midrange, ugly colored and unnatural. They sound open and light but I'm looking for music, not for specific features to substitute the natural beauty of music. If you're looking for bright/light/open sounding headphones, maybe try Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro or Sony MDR-SA5000, Grado GS1000 if you can afford them and have patience to adjust the rest of the rig for them. In case you really like some lower ATH's, keep them, and enjoy them.
wink.gif
The ESW9 are good sounding AT's but it's a different topic.
 
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