comments that were here (as well as the three posts that followed this one) were removed by me in order to make room for a more concise, focused, and edited summary of my impressions of the ADX-5000.
anyone who may be checking-in on this thread doesn't want to read a novel. they want to-the-point listening impressions. so, here goes.
further listening will lead to a more fully fleshed-out overall opinion. I will hopefully get the chance to listen to these phones through a good tube amp and also with different equipment serving as a source.
right now I can say that these headphones sound as if they were voiced and tuned by either an upright bassist, or a cellist (as this is the area where these headphones reveal very convincing tone and timbre).
cymbal overtones, however (meaning the sustain quality that you would hear if you were to hit a ride cymbal with the tip of a drumstick in the middle part of the cymbal just once. it's the sound that lingers in the air from that cymbal after the initial hit). those overtones of the sound of various ride cymbals is what I was hoping to hear more of in a headphone at this price. however, with various recordings of a jazz tune with the ride cymbal keeping the tempo, you mostly only hear the "tic tic, tic" of the stick hitting the cymbal, and nothing else, in most cases. (at times, depending on the recording that you're listening to, you do hear a bit more of the cymbal overtones). but, not usually.
these headphones seem to do better at revealing fine detail in the lower frequencies, but I feel it's lacking in the same level of detail in the upper frequencies.
i'm trying to keep in mind however, that these headphones may be capable of more of this type of resolution as my source and amplifier components are switched-out. (i'm doubtful. i'm just allowing for the possibility).
overall sound quality of a grand piano in a jazz trio is very good, but not great, considering the price of these headphones. the overall sound quality of this particular instrument through this headphone is a little less than what I was expecting, to tell you the truth.
i'd grade these headphones as a solid B. they're good in a lot of ways, but they don't get the "A."
(they're good as far as they go, put it that way). what they do, they do right.
I just wish they could do a bit more. they should be more revealing and more detailed in certain areas of the upper frequencies, at this price.
