tyty5150
100+ Head-Fier
Hello Head-Fi members!
This is my first comparison thread, and I'm giving it to the new people around here so they can get a better idea of these three phones:
audio-technica ATH-AD700
audio-technica ATH-M50
Alessandro Music Series One (not the 'i' model and no mods)
I am going to prefix my comparisons with a couple of statements here. First off, I am comparing the three phones. I'm not saying that either one is the best. Not picking a favorite. I am not saying which is the best at reproducing the music how it supposed to be heard - I've never been in a studio listening to the final mix of a song how it should be perceived therefore I can't say that this headphone is too harsh or this headphone is too bassy. I'm strictly comparing the three headphones. As much as I'd like to say which is the most true to the source, I cannot... Second, all of my stress testing was done on a CD player playing CDs then sending an analog signal to a receiver and using the receiver's headphone out (never changed the volume knob since they all have close impedance so roughly the same volume for all of them). No external amps or DACs or anything fancy like special cables. And by the way, the CD player and receiver aren't the greatest quality. Third, these are all entry level phones. I believe they are all around $100 (you can find them for less if you really look). Fourth, I have never had the chance to audition or hear other audiophile grade phones so I won't hint at higher quality phones, but that shouldn't matter anyways because this is about the phones listed above. I used this for the different frequencies. Also, please ignore any comments I've made about these phones before this post, I was probably just going off what I've read and in some cases I even tried to compare to things I haven't even heard before... Lastly, I'm still sorta new here and I'm not perfect so I could be mistaken in what is actually going on. But this is what I hear...:
The graph basically displays the loudness of each of the categories on all the headphones being compared.
1 = quiet
2 = middle
3 = loudest
low mids + high mids = all mids
sub bass < 60 Hz
60 Hz < bass < 250 Hz
250 Hz < low mids < 2,000 Hz
2,000 Hz < high mids < 6,000 Hz
250 Hz < mids < 6,000 Hz
6,000 Hz < highs
SUB BASS
The M50 extends the lowest. AD700 loses sound first and fairly early, MS1 lasts longer but eventually dies out compared to the M50. MS1 loss basically is the AD700 loss but more subtle since the MS1 has louder bass and sub bass to begin with. Some people say the plastic cups on the back of the MS1 cause vibrations that add distortion to the sound, but I would think that all headphones can experience that if turned up loud enough. I don't know about everyone else, but I don't ever turn my media that loud anyways, I respect my hearing. Plastic might be the worst material to start to experience bad vibrations from low bass, but I wouldn't know... Also, the MS1 starts to distort after about 35 Hz. I think this is because of the pads sitting right next to the driver. It might muddy up the sound by passing through there. Another note here, when playing tracks with sub lows at quiet volume levels, the MS1 and AD700 offer an attack, but cannot seem to reproduce the whole duration of the note. When I listen to the M50 at low levels, I hear the attack and the three or four seconds of sub bass following it (that the others can't seem to handle) before a new sub bass note hits.
BASS
The M50 and AD700 are really close here. The M50 is just slightly louder in the bass region, but the difference is very subtle. Basically the lower the frequency gets the more of an upper hand the M50 has. Bass in the MS1 is ridiculous. Huge increase in volume. Compared to the other phones it gives the ability to recognize bass guitar tracks very well. For those that play bass guitar or want to hear bass drum kicks in rock songs, the MS1 will give you a heightened volume in that area compared to the other two listed.
MIDS
M50 presents them the best to my ear! The AD700 is slightly recessed in this area compared to the M50. However, as interesting as it sounds, the AD700 reveals more due to the light bass it emits. Sometimes things that get covered up by the powerful bass in the M50 (not completely but to a small degree) show up more on the AD700 even though the mids are recessed compared to the M50 to begin with. That's worded poorly, hope it makes sense. The MS1 is very recessed in this area compared to the M50.
HIGHS
AD700 has the clearest presentation because of the bass light quality of the phones. The M50 comes in second, not very close behind the AD700, and the MS1 is last again.
BALANCE
The M50 phones seem to be the most balanced to me. The sub bass is the largest and is actually heard with treble. Everything seems around the same volume, everything can be heard equally well. The highs aren't piercing. Although got a two in bass this is because the MS1 has an incredible jump in volume in the bass region. I would think the MS1 comes in second on most balanced out of the three because the mids and highs seem to be about the same to me. The sub bass is there (not as much as the M50), but the bass has a huge spike. The AD700 seems to be harsh and bright from the table. But it is actually not too bad. The bass is there so it isn't completely fatiguing in the highs, but compared to the others there is definitely more treble. You could call the highs sweet.
COMFORT
audio-technica AD700 IMO. But this differs for people's head sizes I'm sure. For me, the wing-support of the AD700 combined with the soft padding presents no pressure to the wearer's head (assuming it fits they are very large). Next would come the M50. Pretty soft, but clamps a bit. Not too bad if you let it sit around the box it came in for a night or two. MS1 comes in last... This is not to say they are unwearable; they aren't as bad as everyone makes them out to seem at least to me anyways. The headband is lacking and although the pads are comfy, they make my ears itch after about 45 minutes so I need breaks from them. The M50 lasts longer, and the AD700 even longer.
SOUNDSTAGE
Whoa! AD700! Everything is so spaced out... Seems to me out of the three it is the most mellow and laid back. In some orchestral pieces I could hear where different instruments were coming from! Also, on instrumentals and pieces with lots and lots of noise coming from different instruments/singers, I could make out positions. Very nice imaging! The MS1 is terrible at soundstage. The drivers are so close to the ear there is absolutely no feeling but the "in your face" feeling. The M50 is somewhere in between the two. Still lacks and I think because it is a closed can.
DETAIL
All three present great detail (with a good source anyways). They aren't exactly forgiving to bad recordings. And even in some orchestral pieces I could hear sheet music being turned, chairs and feet being shuffled among other things. Some CDs have some slight distortion in certain parts and they show up on all the phones... Could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you want to hear!
Will post the stress test songs later!
If there is anything anyone would like me to explain better please ask, hope this helps everyone!
This is my first comparison thread, and I'm giving it to the new people around here so they can get a better idea of these three phones:
audio-technica ATH-AD700
audio-technica ATH-M50
Alessandro Music Series One (not the 'i' model and no mods)
I am going to prefix my comparisons with a couple of statements here. First off, I am comparing the three phones. I'm not saying that either one is the best. Not picking a favorite. I am not saying which is the best at reproducing the music how it supposed to be heard - I've never been in a studio listening to the final mix of a song how it should be perceived therefore I can't say that this headphone is too harsh or this headphone is too bassy. I'm strictly comparing the three headphones. As much as I'd like to say which is the most true to the source, I cannot... Second, all of my stress testing was done on a CD player playing CDs then sending an analog signal to a receiver and using the receiver's headphone out (never changed the volume knob since they all have close impedance so roughly the same volume for all of them). No external amps or DACs or anything fancy like special cables. And by the way, the CD player and receiver aren't the greatest quality. Third, these are all entry level phones. I believe they are all around $100 (you can find them for less if you really look). Fourth, I have never had the chance to audition or hear other audiophile grade phones so I won't hint at higher quality phones, but that shouldn't matter anyways because this is about the phones listed above. I used this for the different frequencies. Also, please ignore any comments I've made about these phones before this post, I was probably just going off what I've read and in some cases I even tried to compare to things I haven't even heard before... Lastly, I'm still sorta new here and I'm not perfect so I could be mistaken in what is actually going on. But this is what I hear...:
| sub bass | bass | low mids | high mids | highs | |
| AD700 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| M50 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| MS1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
The graph basically displays the loudness of each of the categories on all the headphones being compared.
1 = quiet
2 = middle
3 = loudest
low mids + high mids = all mids
sub bass < 60 Hz
60 Hz < bass < 250 Hz
250 Hz < low mids < 2,000 Hz
2,000 Hz < high mids < 6,000 Hz
250 Hz < mids < 6,000 Hz
6,000 Hz < highs
SUB BASS
The M50 extends the lowest. AD700 loses sound first and fairly early, MS1 lasts longer but eventually dies out compared to the M50. MS1 loss basically is the AD700 loss but more subtle since the MS1 has louder bass and sub bass to begin with. Some people say the plastic cups on the back of the MS1 cause vibrations that add distortion to the sound, but I would think that all headphones can experience that if turned up loud enough. I don't know about everyone else, but I don't ever turn my media that loud anyways, I respect my hearing. Plastic might be the worst material to start to experience bad vibrations from low bass, but I wouldn't know... Also, the MS1 starts to distort after about 35 Hz. I think this is because of the pads sitting right next to the driver. It might muddy up the sound by passing through there. Another note here, when playing tracks with sub lows at quiet volume levels, the MS1 and AD700 offer an attack, but cannot seem to reproduce the whole duration of the note. When I listen to the M50 at low levels, I hear the attack and the three or four seconds of sub bass following it (that the others can't seem to handle) before a new sub bass note hits.
BASS
The M50 and AD700 are really close here. The M50 is just slightly louder in the bass region, but the difference is very subtle. Basically the lower the frequency gets the more of an upper hand the M50 has. Bass in the MS1 is ridiculous. Huge increase in volume. Compared to the other phones it gives the ability to recognize bass guitar tracks very well. For those that play bass guitar or want to hear bass drum kicks in rock songs, the MS1 will give you a heightened volume in that area compared to the other two listed.
MIDS
M50 presents them the best to my ear! The AD700 is slightly recessed in this area compared to the M50. However, as interesting as it sounds, the AD700 reveals more due to the light bass it emits. Sometimes things that get covered up by the powerful bass in the M50 (not completely but to a small degree) show up more on the AD700 even though the mids are recessed compared to the M50 to begin with. That's worded poorly, hope it makes sense. The MS1 is very recessed in this area compared to the M50.
HIGHS
AD700 has the clearest presentation because of the bass light quality of the phones. The M50 comes in second, not very close behind the AD700, and the MS1 is last again.
BALANCE
The M50 phones seem to be the most balanced to me. The sub bass is the largest and is actually heard with treble. Everything seems around the same volume, everything can be heard equally well. The highs aren't piercing. Although got a two in bass this is because the MS1 has an incredible jump in volume in the bass region. I would think the MS1 comes in second on most balanced out of the three because the mids and highs seem to be about the same to me. The sub bass is there (not as much as the M50), but the bass has a huge spike. The AD700 seems to be harsh and bright from the table. But it is actually not too bad. The bass is there so it isn't completely fatiguing in the highs, but compared to the others there is definitely more treble. You could call the highs sweet.
COMFORT
audio-technica AD700 IMO. But this differs for people's head sizes I'm sure. For me, the wing-support of the AD700 combined with the soft padding presents no pressure to the wearer's head (assuming it fits they are very large). Next would come the M50. Pretty soft, but clamps a bit. Not too bad if you let it sit around the box it came in for a night or two. MS1 comes in last... This is not to say they are unwearable; they aren't as bad as everyone makes them out to seem at least to me anyways. The headband is lacking and although the pads are comfy, they make my ears itch after about 45 minutes so I need breaks from them. The M50 lasts longer, and the AD700 even longer.
SOUNDSTAGE
Whoa! AD700! Everything is so spaced out... Seems to me out of the three it is the most mellow and laid back. In some orchestral pieces I could hear where different instruments were coming from! Also, on instrumentals and pieces with lots and lots of noise coming from different instruments/singers, I could make out positions. Very nice imaging! The MS1 is terrible at soundstage. The drivers are so close to the ear there is absolutely no feeling but the "in your face" feeling. The M50 is somewhere in between the two. Still lacks and I think because it is a closed can.
DETAIL
All three present great detail (with a good source anyways). They aren't exactly forgiving to bad recordings. And even in some orchestral pieces I could hear sheet music being turned, chairs and feet being shuffled among other things. Some CDs have some slight distortion in certain parts and they show up on all the phones... Could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you want to hear!
Will post the stress test songs later!
If there is anything anyone would like me to explain better please ask, hope this helps everyone!
