darkswordsman17
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2005
- Posts
- 798
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- 20
My recent goal is to find a headphone that I favor enough to then focus building a system around, rather than trying to slot different headphones/amps/sources.
I've been trying to figure out which one though. K701? Been reading that the AKG Kx01 phones are fairly mid-focuse headphones, which after trying the Ultrasone HFI-2200ULEs, I don't think I'd like midrange focus. I'm fairly sure I wouldn't like the HD-650s as laid back doesn't fit a fair amount of them music I listen to, and I would be susceptible to the dreaded veil. The Beyer 880 and 990 might still be in consideration, but my modded 770s I think sufficen for the 990s type of sound, and the neutrality of the 880s I don't think would fit. Grados are out of the question (comfort and upfront sound won't work for me).
I regretted getting rid of my A900s, as they have been the most comfortable headphone to me, and I really enjoyed their sound. With this in mind, I think the A900LTD might be just what I'm looking for. The sound shouldn't be too different, but should be improved enough that I'd like it, I hope. Of course, there's the major issue of availability. I'm going to assume the used market is my only real viable option, which isn't an issue, however locating one, and for a fair price is probably going to difficult I am guessing, and it might end up pricing them out of my range. What would be a fair price? Aside from here, where might be a good place to try and locate a pair?
If I can't locate one (and its within reason), is there anything else I might consider? I guess if nothing else, I can go the regular A900, or maybe A900Ti or perhaps W1000?
***UPDATE***
Well, the A900Ti's just got here. Since it was my first time dealing with AudioCubes, I was curious about how long it would take. I was expecting about the middle of next week, so I'm pleased that they got here as quickly as they did (I think I ordered maybe monday night, or possibly sometime tuesday, shipping itself only took 4 days, one of which was spent going from Kansas City to Topeka to Manhattan which KC to Manhattan is only about a 2.5 hour drive).
First of all, I wish Audio-Technica would use better boxes. They're decent looking, but use thin cardboard and I just don't feel like it does that great of job of protecting the headphones. Not a huge deal, but considering it is a special edition (with an MSRP of about $500 I believe) it would be nice to get a nicer enclosure. They also don't go out of their way to include a lot of extras, you get a cloth wipe, a little card that I assume tells you the number in the line (since its limited edition, mine appears to be #382), a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter (its decent but not the greatest in quality either I would personally say).
The cord is now no longer single ended, which is nice, although it is not cloth-covered which is ok, but I prefer the cloth. Not a big deal since it doesn't seem to be the rubber where it tries to kinda stick to things. The plug seems to be the same one on the other A900s, although I'm not entirely certain. It would've been a nice touch to make it Titanium like the cups. I do like the better earpads (although it should be known that the pleather ones on the A900 never bothered me but I only had it for about 1.5 years so they didn't really get the chance to deteriorate on me). The first thing I noticed is that the drivers are very noticeably angled (I think the regular A900s are somewhat, maybe 15-20, but these are probably a good 30-35 degree angle).
All of the little nit-picky things I can probably overlook if they sound good, so I plopped them on my head (which is effortless compared to even other comfortable headphones) and plugged them in. Keep in mind I don't have a dedicated amp at the moment, but the jack on my Sony CD player is quite good (I had trouble hearing too much difference between it and a Little Dot II+ that I had with my 250 ohm DT770s).
The sound that met my ears was just what I was wanting to hear. I'm still in the stages of running through my collection to compare key parts, but overall, I think I found the sound I was looking for. I'll go into more detail later, comparing it specifically to my modded DT770s, but I'm really liking what I'm hearing. Definitely needs some burn-in, I'm hoping the bass will tighten up some, as it seems just a tiny bit flabby at the moment (if not, I'm sure blu-takking them will take care of that, although I'd prefer to not have to mess with that), but everything else seems great.
Unfortunately, I don't have a pair of normal A900s to compare to, but this is similar to the sound I remember them having. However I also notice a few things that I don't recall it having that I like (someone else who had these said they have a slightly holographic 3-D presentation, which is kinda what I'm getting, and I'm really liking it). I'll be honest that I'm doubtful most people would say the Ti is worth it over the regular one, but I think it suits me just fine.
My next step will be to decide on a source, and then an amp. I might go for a DAC/amp combo (if I had the money I'd probably be all over the Pico, but I'm thinking something in the $350 range that will hold me over until I'm done with school and have a solid job and everything).
I've been trying to figure out which one though. K701? Been reading that the AKG Kx01 phones are fairly mid-focuse headphones, which after trying the Ultrasone HFI-2200ULEs, I don't think I'd like midrange focus. I'm fairly sure I wouldn't like the HD-650s as laid back doesn't fit a fair amount of them music I listen to, and I would be susceptible to the dreaded veil. The Beyer 880 and 990 might still be in consideration, but my modded 770s I think sufficen for the 990s type of sound, and the neutrality of the 880s I don't think would fit. Grados are out of the question (comfort and upfront sound won't work for me).
I regretted getting rid of my A900s, as they have been the most comfortable headphone to me, and I really enjoyed their sound. With this in mind, I think the A900LTD might be just what I'm looking for. The sound shouldn't be too different, but should be improved enough that I'd like it, I hope. Of course, there's the major issue of availability. I'm going to assume the used market is my only real viable option, which isn't an issue, however locating one, and for a fair price is probably going to difficult I am guessing, and it might end up pricing them out of my range. What would be a fair price? Aside from here, where might be a good place to try and locate a pair?
If I can't locate one (and its within reason), is there anything else I might consider? I guess if nothing else, I can go the regular A900, or maybe A900Ti or perhaps W1000?
***UPDATE***
Well, the A900Ti's just got here. Since it was my first time dealing with AudioCubes, I was curious about how long it would take. I was expecting about the middle of next week, so I'm pleased that they got here as quickly as they did (I think I ordered maybe monday night, or possibly sometime tuesday, shipping itself only took 4 days, one of which was spent going from Kansas City to Topeka to Manhattan which KC to Manhattan is only about a 2.5 hour drive).
First of all, I wish Audio-Technica would use better boxes. They're decent looking, but use thin cardboard and I just don't feel like it does that great of job of protecting the headphones. Not a huge deal, but considering it is a special edition (with an MSRP of about $500 I believe) it would be nice to get a nicer enclosure. They also don't go out of their way to include a lot of extras, you get a cloth wipe, a little card that I assume tells you the number in the line (since its limited edition, mine appears to be #382), a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter (its decent but not the greatest in quality either I would personally say).
The cord is now no longer single ended, which is nice, although it is not cloth-covered which is ok, but I prefer the cloth. Not a big deal since it doesn't seem to be the rubber where it tries to kinda stick to things. The plug seems to be the same one on the other A900s, although I'm not entirely certain. It would've been a nice touch to make it Titanium like the cups. I do like the better earpads (although it should be known that the pleather ones on the A900 never bothered me but I only had it for about 1.5 years so they didn't really get the chance to deteriorate on me). The first thing I noticed is that the drivers are very noticeably angled (I think the regular A900s are somewhat, maybe 15-20, but these are probably a good 30-35 degree angle).
All of the little nit-picky things I can probably overlook if they sound good, so I plopped them on my head (which is effortless compared to even other comfortable headphones) and plugged them in. Keep in mind I don't have a dedicated amp at the moment, but the jack on my Sony CD player is quite good (I had trouble hearing too much difference between it and a Little Dot II+ that I had with my 250 ohm DT770s).
The sound that met my ears was just what I was wanting to hear. I'm still in the stages of running through my collection to compare key parts, but overall, I think I found the sound I was looking for. I'll go into more detail later, comparing it specifically to my modded DT770s, but I'm really liking what I'm hearing. Definitely needs some burn-in, I'm hoping the bass will tighten up some, as it seems just a tiny bit flabby at the moment (if not, I'm sure blu-takking them will take care of that, although I'd prefer to not have to mess with that), but everything else seems great.
Unfortunately, I don't have a pair of normal A900s to compare to, but this is similar to the sound I remember them having. However I also notice a few things that I don't recall it having that I like (someone else who had these said they have a slightly holographic 3-D presentation, which is kinda what I'm getting, and I'm really liking it). I'll be honest that I'm doubtful most people would say the Ti is worth it over the regular one, but I think it suits me just fine.
My next step will be to decide on a source, and then an amp. I might go for a DAC/amp combo (if I had the money I'd probably be all over the Pico, but I'm thinking something in the $350 range that will hold me over until I'm done with school and have a solid job and everything).
