[TheHeadPhoneGuy]

  This is off-tpoic, but it cracks me up:
 

 
http://www.audio-technica.co.jp/atj/show_model.php?modelId=2630

Next most comfortable headphone??

 

[marts30]

Anyone bought those pads? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Velour-Velvet-Ear-Pads-Cushion-For-ATH-AD1000X-AD2000X-AD900X-AD700X-Headphones-/261361916880
 
Going to get them to try, look a bit different than the stock ones.

 

[skubany]

A few days ago I embarked on a quest to upgrade my headphones.  I've been using ATH-AD700 for the past 3+ years and was very happy with them.  A while back I've upgraded my receiver + speakers and I though, why not upgrade my headphones since I use them a lot more than the speakers.
 
I use headphones with the PC, connected to the front output of HT Omega Claro+ sound card.
 
Initially I got the AD900X and M50x to compare.  Everyone knows the pros and cons of the two - I quickly chose to stay with the open air phones that I had all this time.  I looked at the AudioTechnica website for the best open air headphones they carried and two weeks ago the highest model they showed was AD900X, so I bought that.  Recently they've added the other two, the AD1000x and AD2000x (which is strange as these have existed since 2012), and I proceeded to purchase those for comparison purposes.  Yesterday I was comparing all three, 900/1000/2000, models.
 
I'm no audiophile and can't review the headphones as well as many others did here, but I will say this.  In my opinion, which matches what I've read here, AD900x is a step up from my old AD700, AD1000x is a step up from AD900x and differences between AD1000x and AD2000x are minor.  I would easily recommend AD1000x over AD900x, but with AD1000x vs AD2000x, one would need to look very closely at the two, though from price difference perspective, the AD2000x should be better
 
Like others said, the overall sound of 900 vs 1/2k is different and noticeable.  1/2k have noticeably better bass.  2k might have slightly better bass than 1k.  For an open air headphones, that I knew can't match the bass of M50x, when I bought 900x I was hoping for a more substantial bass improvement over the 700, which didn't quite happen.  I was still yearning for more bass and thankfully the 1/2k deliver enough bass for my taste in an open headphone.
 
The pads of 900x are by far the most comfortable of the three.  For some weird reason, the 1k is less comfortable and 2k is even less so.  Since I want to keep the 2kx, I'm thinking about purchasing "Genuine" 1kx pads on ebay and then maybe selling the stock 2kx pads to hopefully come out even.
 
For those that have seen both 1kx and 2kx phones.  Don't the pads look the same.  They do to me.  The reason 2k is less comfortable to me is that I have long ears and observing closely both pads, the 1k inner opening seems to be elongated on the vertical line and 2k on the horizontal.  Here's a link to pictures I've taken: http://i.imgur.com/uONFRZC.jpg
 
Is it possible, that the pads when made differ sometimes (each is not the same to the milliliter) and that my 2k pad should really, or maybe more often then not, look more like the 1k pad in which case it would be good enough?  Owners of AD2000X, do your pads look like mine in the picture in regards to shape of the inner circle?
 
I'm a little tempted to just swap the pads of the 1k and 2k that I have now , but that would not be the right thing to do.
 
If I buy a 1k pad and swap it, would there be any sound difference?  I don't think so.  How about going with a 900x pad?
 
Another question, the HT Omega Claro+ sound card is more than capable of powering the headphone, right?  It can take different opamps, do you feel a different one from the stock opamp would work better with the 2kx phones?
Here's a link: http://www.htomega.com/claroplus.html
 
Thanks.

 

[Mad Max]

Oh wow, my 2012 A2kX has pleather pads, not velours like that.  Also, the differences you are noticing (1k vs 2k) probably are just demonstrating the manufacturing tolerances of the earpads.
 
Why wouldn't swapping the pads on the two headphones on hand be "right"?  The whole point of pad rolling is to find something more comfortable and that also bring out the best sound in the headphone (these two factors are in no way mutually inclusive of each other), so you may not have the "right" earpads in that case.  But earpads compatible with 1kx and 2kx aren't terribly common.  You can try aftermarket leather pads for Denons, T50RP, SA5k/3k, Audeze, or Beyerdynamic headphones.
 
Most other headphones have access to many other earpads of other headphones/brands, but a lot are crap due to being too thin, too hard, too soft on the inner side that redirects sound to the ears and thus fudges up bass and soundstaging, too breathable and thus exacerbating treble/midrange peaks or leaking too much bass, and so on and so forth depending from model to model.  Full-sized AD/A ATs not so much.
 
AT are generally low-impedance, so if you can use AD8397 or LME49726, those have greater output current for best sound.  If you have dedicated buffer opamp socket(s), BUF634 is a no-brainer.  You can get far more feedback and help on this matter in the Opamp Thread within the DIY forum.  You have to be aware of what voltages the Claro+ pumps into the opamps and other stuff, or you could kill the opamp.  Some opamps should never go in your Claro+, and some you can safely try - it's complicated.

 

[skubany]

By "not right" I was referring to swapping the pads between the 1kx and 2kx and then returning the 1kx with the 2kx pads on.
 
I'm not very picky about pads, the 1kx ones are fine enough, but 2kx could be problematic.
 
So do you think getting a Genuine 1kx pad on ebay might not necessarily give me the comfort of the pads on the 1kx I have on hand currently?
 
I'll look into potentially switching out the opamp at a later time.

 

[Mad Max]

It is possible that buying another pair may not give you the exact same comfort, but it should at least be very close for the difference to be negligible.
 
How tight do 1kx and 2kx grip your head?  That might just be the difference you are noticing.

 

[skubany]

Tomorrow I'll do another comparison between 1kx, 2kx and possibly 900x.  I'll check clamping force difference.  Today I'm doing some longer listening with the 2kx.
 
I think the discomfort is more in my ears touching the pads and/or the driver (inner opening being too small/shape not matching my ear).  Touching slightly but enough to alter the regular shape of the ear and register pressure.  Slight changes in phones position on the head and pad rotation affects which parts of the ear are touching and the level of discomfort.  Certain adjustments make it very minimal, almost not noticeable.
 
I dislike that I have to take a few seconds to find the best phone placement on my head.  No such try and error is needed with 900x and less so with 1kx.  AD700, I just drop them on my head and its comfortable right away, I miss that with the 2kx.

 

[Mattcye10]

I own a pair of ATH-AD500X, mainly because they were selling it cheap in Yodobashi Umeda when I was in Osaka
It's also my first ever pair of headphones, so I can't really say much about how it compares to other options.
One thing is certain though, that it sounds far better than any of the previous earphones I owned.

 

[sacrifice13]

I own a pair of ATH-AD500X, mainly because they were selling it cheap in Yodobashi Umeda when I was in Osaka
It's also my first ever pair of headphones, so I can't really say much about how it compares to other options.
One thing is certain though, that it sounds far better than any of the previous earphones I owned.

I have the AD500X as well and I think they are a great value,considering how inexpensive they are. Only thing I dislike is the cable, which seems to have a mind of its own. But the sound is just fantastic straight from my ipod classic.

 

[marts30]

I just put those pads on my ad2000x http://www.ebay.com/itm/Velour-Velvet-Ear-Pads-Cushion-For-ATH-AD1000X-AD2000X-AD900X-AD700X-Headphones-/261361916880
 
Nice so far, less irritating/itchy for me than the stock ones.

 

[Mattcye10]

Lol, that's true. My 500X cable is pretty much an automatic slinky, so I just bundled up the excess with twist ties to prevent table clutter.

 

[sacrifice13]

Lol, that's true. My 500X cable is pretty much an automatic slinky, so I just bundled up the excess with twist ties to prevent table clutter.

I wish they had used the same cord as the A500X, which is fabric covered and much easier to handle.

 

[skubany]

I completed my final phones testing.
 
I'm definitely keeping the AD2000x.  It's the best sounding of the bunch.  Metallica Through the Never bluray sounds amazing on these.
 
Clamping force is not a factor in the discomfort that I'm experiencing.  As others mentioned, AD2000x probably has the least clamping force, but by really small amount, almost negligible, compared to AD1000x.  AD900x seems to be the tightest fitting.
 
It all comes down to the size and shape of the inner circle.
 
AD2000x has probably similarly sized inner circle as the AD1000x, but oriented 90 degrees right, which seems extremely odd.  If I tilt the AD2000x phones back, the fit gets more comfortable but still not good enough for very long listening.
 
AD1000x has good fit, fit that I could keep, though still not as spacious as the AD900x.  AD900x is the ideal fit and the biggest inner circle, plus the thickest pad.
 
I'll probably purchase genuine AD1000x pads, though if I knew that sound reproduction would not be sacrificed or changed when putting on the AD900x pads on AD2000x, I would get the AD900x pads.
 
Here are some pictures:
http://imgur.com/H935hit
http://imgur.com/AxGuxno
 
marts30, with the new pads, any noticeable difference in sound reproduction compared to the stock pads?

 

[bassboysam]

how does the AD1000X compare to the AD2000X?  is there much difference in sound.  Also, are you saying the 1000X and 2000X pads are different?  I thought they were the same.

 

[skubany]

For the pads, they seem like they're the same.  But possibly, each pad that leaves the assembly line is potentially slightly different, like in my case where the pads of AD2000x are uncomfortable due to the shape and size of the inner circle, while pads of AD1000x are comfortable with minor touching of the driver by my left ear.
 
If you look at the pictures I've attached, the external pad shape and size seems to be identical for AD1/2kx.
 
It's almost as if the AD2000x pads were rotated 90 degrees clockwise.
 
As I said in my original review, in the testing I did on a very limited number of sources AD2000x seemed to be slightly better than AD1000x.
 
Something I haven't mentioned yet, is that AD2000x is louder playing than AD900x by ~12% on my computer volume scale.  AD2000x is at most 3% louder than AD1000x, if at all, I haven't done detailed testing to be certain.