Audio-technica AIR Dynamic Headphones Ath-ad1000x

Gear used:

ifi hip dac, ifi go blue, cayin n3 pro

In this brief review I want to share with you my impressions about the ATH ad1000x, a very underrated headphone in my opinion.

                                                                                  
 
 
 
    Yet again (with several more to soon follow), I find myself owing a great deal of thanks (and at this point a steak dinner) to a good friend of mine (you know who you are) & also the company Audio-Technica. Not only has he been, by far, the most knowledgeable and personable representative I’ve ever personally met and shaken hands with, but also the most professional. Prior to his invitation I was only vaguely familiar with the Audio-Technica brand. Now, thanks to the plethora of products sent to me to review, I’ve a pretty sound knowledge base. So again, my friend I sincerely thank you for the kindness and trust shown towards me by sending me such a review sample. You’ve not just allowed my channel to grow, you’ve allowed me to grow as a reviewer and a larger source of help for others looking to find insight on a product they may be interested in.
    Alright, now that all the pleasantries are out of the way, how about we delve into the substance of this review shall we?
 

 
The Opening Experience  
 
 
      
 
 
 
 
 
    Unfortunately, these are quite disappointing from the start. At full MSRP of $599.99 from the Audio-Technica website I can give no excuses for the level of disinterest paid to the initial handshake presented towards me from the AD-1000X. The only excuse I can give this is that if you do any kind of shopping around at all you can find these between $250-300, and within that price range I’m not quite as irritated but I still feel like I was slighted. However, with what I’ve present before me being packaged in the exact same manor as their $120 ATH-A550Z I’m even more interested in what others opinions of this packaging is.
 
Construction
      
 
 
 
    So now that we've opened it out of its box, how is the build quality? Well, it’s definitely nowhere near being called a tank but it’s also not poorly crafted either.
    The wing system feels quite sturdy but still has enough play present that I feel that if it were to be dropped or something similar, I’ve little worry about it breaking /cracking.
    The “headbands,” which consists of 2 separate pieces, are made entirely out of plastic & supported by a spring located at their base (to be discussed later in the comfort section). The padding is a respectably soft material that doesn’t shout cheap.
    The driver housing is encased in a very solid plastic that I will say feels quite nice. I honestly thought it was aluminum from first touch. The only movement that’s present on these headphones is a very VERY slight side to side movement. There’s no up or down adjustment nor front to back (to be discussed further in the comfort section). The grills covering the open air dynamic drivers also offer pretty competent protection being made if hard aluminum. As a nice touch of class, Audio-Technica places an aluminum stamp of their logo.
    The cable, which connects to each driver individually, in my opinion, is quite long for it to be non detachable measuring in at 10’. It’s also rather normal, nothing feels really special about it. Now on the inside of the cable, Audio-Technica does say it has 4 cores with each channel having its own independent ground. So just because it doesn’t feel special doesn’t mean it’s not. Lastly, it’s terminated into a standard ⅛” jack but does come with a screw on ¼” jack option for home amplification.
    Overall I find the construction to be acceptable, regardless at full MSRP or at the prices found online. If taken care of I’ve full confidence that these will last their owners for a very long time. I just REALLY wish they had detachable cables.
 
Comfort

 
 
    Lately I’ve found myself personally finding this section to be second only to the sound quality. And this product definitely has some thanks for this realisation. The initial “handshake” is a great way for a company to introduce itself but the majority of us never puts the product back into its case so we’ll get over shortcomings. Also, the vast majority of us in this fine field take care of our products because they’re are quite often very expensive and we personally take great pride in what we’ve attainted, at least I do, so we’re apt to take care of our things which can counteract some shortcuts a company may take in the construction of their product. But the two things you likely can’t get over is how the product sounds and how comfortable they are to wear.
    Remember when I said that the AD-1000X was a product that brought a good bit of this realisation to me? No?! Come on I just said it really? Well *hmph* how rude. Anywho for those paying attention, the ATH-AD1000X brought this realisation to me because these, to me, are annoyingly uncomfortable to wear. These place so darned much pressure on the ears that, again at least for me, your ears get sore. The “headbands” springs offer laughable resistance for holding the headphones up which causes the entire weight of them to be burdened by your ears and surrounding skull.
    The wing system that’s synonymous with Audio-Technica products do provide beautiful clamping force that defines the goldilocks effect so zero complaints whatsoever there. In fact I most certainly commend Audio-Technica for maintaining their consistency in this aspect. They then immediately lose this gain when those of use with anything but smaller ears put them on and our ears are constantly scratching the mesh that’s directly in front of the drivers. This causes my ears to become very uncomfortable within a very short timeframe which sucks because the suede, angled, pads these are equipped with are super comfortable. My solution that’s actually a really easy fix to this is simply to put beefier pads on the ear cups. This, in my mind, will keep the drivers enough distance away from the ears that they won't scratch them.
    Lastly, as I said early in the construction section, there’s close to zilch adjustments to these products. There’s a very and I mean VERY slight side to side movement and that’s it. No bigger/smaller head bar, no up/down swivel to accommodate those of us who don’t have massive square heads or average size triangle heads.

 
Sound


 
    Alas, we’re finally to the most important part of an audio products merit. And honestly, this is what took me the longest to dissect with the AD-1000X. Many times while listening to these I listened to songs that sounded absolutely amazing while others sounded completely horrible let alone for a full retail price of these; and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why, until I had an epiphany and figured it out.
    So starting with the positives that the AD-1000X’s really have going for it is they possess a really nice and vast soundstage that sound very lifelike and realistic in its space. I say this in reference to a headphone such as the HD700 which has a great and very vast soundstage but it’s as if it artificially extends that soundstage too far which loses some of its realism. It’s as if the headphone is trying way too hard to sound musical when it just isn’t.
    This leads me onto an issue that I have with the AD1000X and that is it has very disappointing separation. And it’s not something that you’ll miss if you’re not paying attention either. When listening to pretty much any normal sized (or obviously larger) orchestra it sounds as if everything is trying to force its way into a single microphone. I actually laughed when it finally came to me the issue I had with these because they accell in so many other aspects but there was always just that something that made me rarely gravitate to it. But let me talk about the individual ranges because by themselves uncluttered they are all respectably impressive.

 
Treble

 
    The highs in the AD-1000X overall are very pleasing and have wonderful extension. Horns and cymbals sound clean and can express themselves to their fullest degree. Now, with that being said, they may also even become piercing to your ears as well if you’re listening to a particularly spiky instrument. What I mean by this is take the cymbals. They get to their peak frequency basically instantly and the 1000X will drive that straight to your ears and, depending on your given hearing, will likely not be to pleasant if you have your volume turned up. But overall I think the treble in these headphones are very well done and beautifully revealing.

 
Mids

 
    My goodness, the ATH-AD1000X hit a grand slam with the vocals. The voices sound so incredible and pleasant to listen to, especially the females. There’s air, there’s body, there’s a naturalness to the mids that even my personal reference headphones (Bowers & Wilkins P7) can’t produce. Then there’s acoustic string instruments. And dear gosh, do string instruments sound sublime through these. I heard every single reverb that sent chills to my spine they were so pleasing to listen to. I can very easily keep going but Audio-Technica, at least to me and my ears, did a splendid complaint free mid section.

 
Bass

 
    The bass in the 1000X’s are controlled and have a presence to their impact but aren’t heavy. I wouldn’t recommend these in any regards to bass lovers or people who really enjoy the heavy rock genre but I think those who enjoy techno will feel rather at home in them for they do keep up with the beat rather effortlessly. I usually try to elaborate on my explanations a little bit but that actually summed up my thoughts pretty spot on in reference to the bass on these.

 
Conclusion

 
 
    In summary, the Audio-Technica ATH-AD1000X is a very well done and made headphone (at the prices you can find if you shop around for, not the full retail price). They truly excel in audio that doesn’t have a lot of moving pieces and when played to their strengths will deliver a beautifully intimate listening experience.



 
Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

Audio-Technica: Headphones for Weirdos. Unnecessarily complicated headbands; midrange skewed in favour of Japanese-schoolgirl sopraninos; bass left crying in a back alley somewhere. A model range whose tuning adheres or abandons these guiding precedents at random, further confused by special editions that disappear the same instant someone at head-fi.org notices them.
 
For fans of the brand, it’s exactly this unpredictability that keeps us addicted. When the dealer shows up on your block, you never know if you’re swapping your rent money for A-grade blow or laundry powder. But it doesn’t matter. Good trip, bad trip; it’s all part of the ride. Just gimme more and maybe I’ll see you in rehab at Christmas. Bring your own damn headamp.
 
Right now, I’m tripping balls. AD1000Xs levitate over bed hair, too-shallow earcups nipping at the corners of my dumbo wings, London Elektricity rolling hyper-languidly from the big 53mm drivers. Rain falls boredly outside. The low end rolloff leaves my drum ‘n’ bass as just drum, but oh Holy Lord, that manic percussion. And those vocals... This is twisted, but it’s so good.
 
Pause to listen closer and - dammit! that’s two overdubbed guitars right there, not one! - it’s the synth pads that get you right in the emotional nodes. So wide. So liquid. It’s low viscosity, maybe sometimes thin, running more like clean motor oil than mayonnaise, but that seems to leave transient details so much freedom to swim above it. Reverb tails swell almost to the point of obscenity. Anything in the upper mids (think finger noises on guitar strings, or the wet mechanical chuffs of a human larynx) that’s been treated to a touch too much compression in the studio become semi-distracting through the AD1kx.
 
It’s the strong emphasis on the upper vocal presence region that can make music selection an anxious ordeal. I fired up 2+2=5 from Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief, expecting Thom’s ecstatic caterwaul to be granted angel wings. Instead, Satan kicked me in the nuts and fondled my girlfriend. Thom’s keening was swallowed alive by a hungry, thin-sounding wall of distorted guitars. It was the midrange equivalent of peering through one’s mail slot at a nuclear explosion. Stay the goshdarn everloving ****** away from anything that’s mastered on the aggressive/dry/thin side.
 
On the other hand, cue up All That You Give from the Cinematic Orchestra and prepare to fire the water cannons. So much pain so simply put. A voice with such heft it cracks under its own weight, rendered with such tenderness and respect by the A-Ts. You will weep. The cat will notice and it won’t care.
 
Bass is a token inclusion. It’s there and you can discern pitch and rhythm with ease, but it’s a featherweight support act to the midrange’s heavyweight title. You don’t buy these cans if you want impact anywhere below 80Hz. If you must, a well-designed analogue bass boost, such as that you’ll find on the JDS Labs C5, will give you what you need, but your eardrums will never suffer a Denon-like inversion.
 
Treble is lovely, liquid. You’ll enjoy a mostly smooth extension into the upper octave without ever straying into sibilance, even with your knob wound past twelve o’clock. This, in concert with the twisted mids, is where these cans gather their much-advertised ‘air’. Details are detailed. Space is spacious. Glitches and artifacts are obvious and annoying. You can hear the room interactions change as the vocalist steps forward or backward in the booth. I am a tightarse with too many hobbies to afford many sets of headphones, but this is the best treble presentation I’ve ever heard.
 
Taken all at once, these things are a complicated but addictive proposition. All-rounders they are not. Some days will not be AD1000X days for you, no matter what you dig out of your library. But like any addiction, it can strike you down with a craving when you least expect it. You itchily wait out the remaining hours at your desk, rush home, bolt the door and sink into your listening chair. Those amazing, coloured mids and that shimmering, soap-bubble treble pour via your ears into your soul. If this is the fate of an AD1kx addict, you’re hooked.

The below review is a summary of a full comparison of the AD1000X to the AD900X and Sony MA900 found here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/654161/review-comparison-ath-ad900x-vs-ath-ad1000x-vs-mdr-ma900-its-still-over-900
 
I also made a Youtube review of the AD1000X. If you like the video check out my channel for more reviews!
 

 
Summary
 
BUILD
 
The AD1000X has fantastic build quality with a magensium alloy frame. The 3D wing design is comfortable, though it does not work for everyone's head. The AD1000X features angled velour earpads that are quite comfortable. The angle helps the headphones conform to the shape of the skull. The AD1000X has a double entry cable unlike the AD900X. I actually prefer single entry cables but from a balanced channel design standpoint I suppose this is a good thing.
 
SOUND
 
The AD1000X is actually quite different in signature from the AD900X, and in many ways reminds me of a less extreme version of the AD2000 (which was beautiful but could sound honky and grainy at times). First off, the AD1000X does not have the same sense of transparency that the AD900X has. It sounds immediately like a headphone that has been tweaked for a particular signature, with particular emphasis on two sections: an upper bass peak that gives everything a sense of solidity and punch, as well as a lower treble peak that emphasises the breathiness of female vocals and gives everything an emotive and exciting tone. To me the AD1000X has a beautiful and engaging tuning, and actually sounds a little less clinical and dry than the AD900X. It’s liquid and extended (but never harsh). What is also very immediately obvious is that the AD1000X does not have the same incoherency that the AD900X could have at times. The AD1000X sounds laser beam clean, and things just pop and burst on the soundstage. 
 
OVERALL
 
I think the AD1000X is a pretty fantastic package, though it is definitely classic Audio Technica with a tuning that may not appeal to everyone. It sounds clean without sounding boring, and has great build quality to boot. For the current Amazon Japan pricing I would strongly recommend it to anyone after an airy, atmospheric and exciting headphone!