[Mad Lust Envy]

Sonitus, you have to be aware, Matt sold his AD because it loses in comfort next to the MD, due to the increased weight...

So it makes it seem like the AD will have a similar weight to the HE-400? Over 400g?

 

[Change is Good]

  The ma900 makes the hd650 seem hefty. With improved pads and a better cable the ma900 would be getting lot's of attention around here.

 
+1

 

[john57]

  From what I've garnered it seems as though the Alpha Dog helped clean up some of the Mad Dog bass.  I really can't agree with people saying that the LCD2 and Mad Dog have similar bass.  The Mad Dog bass is noticeably resonant with a bit of bloom.  I'm assuming the Alpha Dog corrected that making the bass dryer-- based off comments.  The Denons are the epitome of bloom.

That is my impression as well. The MD and my Fostex has the same kind of bass bloom. The AD is flatter and has more clarity but still go deep. The treble is improved as well, more natural sounding. I suspect that the thinner plastic on my Fostex is resonating or adding color with the sound pressure level.  I am not a Denon fan at all.

 

[Greed]

Then do yourself a favor and never put on the MA900. You'll become aware of other headphone's heftiness and start craving for that MA900-type weight.

It spoiled me. It basically ruined the X1 to the point where I didn't wanna put it on my head anymore... and the X1 is quite comfortable.

 
I can appreciate that. Sometimes when I don't feel like listening to heavy headphones, I'll throw on my IEMs at home. Can't get much light than that. 

 

 

[MattTCG]

Sonitus, you have to be aware, Matt sold his AD because it loses in comfort next to the MD, due to the increased weight...

So it makes it seem like the AD will have a similar weight to the HE-400? Over 400g?

 
The AD weighs a touch more than the he400 but less than the he500 if that helps with perspective. 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Yeah, that's when I reach for the Koss clip-ons. Nothing can give a better sense of freedom, outside of speakers. Not a fan of IEM comfort.

Maybe some wireless Koss clip-ons. I can only wish they made some wireless KSC35/75s. Yummy.

Matt....meh, that's kind of disappointing. The HE400 is quite a cow itself, though weight is distributed nicely. The HE-4 makes the HE400 feel like a ton...

 

[john57]

Does the bass screw give you the ability to reach the MDs bass quantity and quality? If not, then what's the purpose for including it? I keep hearing people say the bass on the AD is satisfying but linear, and NO ONE has attempted to mess with the screw and post impressions. There are a lot of us MD owners who are skeptical of upgrading because of we absolutely love its bass.

I'm sorry, but if the AD can't reach the MDs bass by adjusting the screw and not hampering the rest of the frequency then I am unfortunately going to have to pass...

My understanding that the brass set screw is more like a calibration screw.  It is not like the Beyerdynamic Custom One headphone which uses a slider to change the sonics characteristics of the headphone. I think that with a dynamic headphone you have more range to play with the coupling of the cups. With the planner driver you are more limited to the damping control range since planner drivers are much more sensitive to damping loads in order to sound best as compared to dynamic headphones.

 

[gelocks]

Yeah, I personally expect at the MOST, MD type bass, with maybe less thickness, but similar impact. Realistically speaking, I expect less presence in the bass for even more balance over the MD which had a definitive warm tilt (bass and mids). I expect the AD to reduce the warm tilt for a more balanced approach. Logically speaking, that would imply making the treble meet up with the bass and mids, meaning less actual perceived 'fun' on the lower end.

Again, this is just what I find to be logical assumptions based on how sound works. Matt's impressions go against everything I've learned in headphone's sounds, so I'm a bit conflicted. I WANT TO BELIEVE HIM, but it's hard to believe.

 
You basically got it without listening to them... At first I thought it had LESS quantity due to the "thickness" not being the same and a bit of boominess not being there, but after a while I "got" it... 
 

Matt is the only one from memory that I've seen say the AD has more than the MD. Though comparisons are thin as is.

 
Nop, Fairly similar extension, quantity "seems" more on the MDs due to their warm nature and tiny bump in mid-bass,.. for the life of me I can't see how the ADs can appear to have more bass unless my ears suck big-time... (maybe?! )
 

  I'm going to have to disagree with Matt that the bass on the AD is better than the MD in every way. For me, it has somewhat of a different presentation. The MD bass can be attributed to LCD-2 bass - warm, thick, and full sounding. Typically I associate that type of bass with some mid-bass emphasis (i.e not balanced or linear). The AD on the other hand has bass similar to the HD800, IMO. It is articulate, accurate, fast and with good weight. It doesn't exaggerate any portion. With that being said, you can get excellent results when listening to bassier music such as EDM, Trip-Hop, Dubstep, etc. I won't go as far to say that the bass is colder in comparison, just less warm than the MD. I can't stress enough that the whole tonality of this headphone is tuned towards neutral. Overall, I would consider it neutral. The bass doesn't deviate from that definition unless you mess with the port. For a person that finds the MD bass satisfying because of its ability to make music sound more engaging (toe-tapping), the AD might disappoint. For the person that finds the MD bass good because it has good impact and good extension - the AD will definitely impress with its improvement in that area. 

 
Agreed.

 

[sonitus mirus]

Why even bother designing the AD to have a bass tuning port unless it was felt that this parameter was a subjective interpretation of what would be considered ideal?  I mean, if you got it right, you got it right.  Why cater to a select few if you weren't certain with the results of the final product?  I can't see myself touching this screw at all unless there is a dominant opinion that the default setting is not correct.

 

[preproman]

All this talk about the Bass.  Let it be known.  The Bass is not the only thing the AD does well.  
 
The ADs are bumping up against being a true reference headphone - that's in all areas.  
 
What you're getting from the bass of the ADs compared to the Bass of the MD 3.2 is a more refined, a more accurate and a more linear bass response.  Is it more bass - NO,  Is it more slam - NO,  IMO it's just a better all around bass response.  
 
As someone else said.  It cleans the bass up a good deal compared to the MDs 3.2 .  That's it.  It's not Fostex bass and it's not Denon bass.  IMO it's better than both - why?  I'm not looking for the fun type of bass, I'm more interested in what the notes on the track "really is" and the AD does a better job of conveying that compared to the MDs 3.2.
 
If your looking for "Fun" bass look towards Fostex, Denon and the like.  If your looking for reference type bass - ADs, HE-6, HE-5L5 and the like.  - Yes I'm a ortho planar head so I do like the weight of the notes / music compared to headphones like the HD800, T1, and  TH900.  

 

[zibra]

So maybe more impression of AD compared to 5LE? I would be interested wat to expect. MDs earlier version were no competition in many areas for 5LE.

 

[grizzlybeast]

   
The AD won't have as engaging bass as the MD or LCD-2, IMO. You will get deeper and more impactful bass. 

impact = engaging to me 
 
Please clarify here
 
so it has more impact and less slam..... lol
 
If that is not confusing I dont know what is. Greed says more impact. Prepoman says less slam 

 

[preproman]

  So maybe more impression of AD compared to 5LE? I would be interested wat to expect. MDs earlier version were no competition in many areas for 5LE.

 
Z,
 
I really like the bass on the 5LEs as well.  The ADs does not have more presence IIRC. 

 

[sunneebear]

To play it safe I will hold on to my MD and wait for the dust to settle on the AD, new T50RP (or what ever they are called) and the OPPO MP-1.  Love the look of the OPPO.

 

[zibra]

I was about comparing overall SQ between these two Its hard for me to try ADs in Europe and is it even worth bother while having 5LE?