[SirMagnificat]

Hi David.

A lot of the people interested in this headphone fall into 2 camps. The first are people who like the AD series of AT headphones (like the AD-900x), which are brighter headphones tuned for female vocals with a very large soundstage. These are really popular with gamers.

The second are people who like the R70x that AT put out recently, which is one of the most neutral mid-fi headphones around, but with a bit of warmth and slightly rolled off treble which makes them easy to listen to for long periods of time. These phones have a more narrow soundstage.

Of these two, which would you say the ADX5000 is closer to in terms of sound? Or more generally, would you consider these headphones warm/neutral/bright overall?

 

[davidf]

Tricky one that, as this is a very subjective game, and we're at the mercy of the person describing the sound of a pair of headphones and their interpretation of that sound - what is bright to me may not be for someone else.
They sounded warmer through my Classe pre-amplifier and Cyrus One amplifier, but I've put that down to the headphone section not quite being up to the job. Many people might hear these with insufficient amplification and describe them as warm. Through the Moon 230HAD, they sounded far more neutral to me, without the warmth of the Classe. Crystal clean HF, but didn't sound rolled off to me, and if really pushed, I would've described them as a shade on the brighter side of neutral, which I'd prefer to a soft, warm sound, particularly when listening to the likes of Rage Against The Machine! I was listening to them for hours on end for almost a week straight.

I hope that helps!

 

[Witcher]

Picked up a set recently in Osaka. Quite nice on first listen in the store. Definitely not bass light. I’ll give a more thorough review when I’m back home with my stash!

 

[davidf]

And this is why a number of reviews/views are a good thing. For me, the 5000s have bass when it’s needed, but I wouldn’t class them as an overly bassy headphone, although the lesser capable the amplifier I used, the more bass they had (basically because it was less controlled). It’s all down to our individual perception of what is and isn’t bassy, then how we convey that to others - then their perception of what we’ve conveyed!

 

[Witcher]

And this is why a number of reviews/views are a good thing. For me, the 5000s have bass when it’s needed, but I wouldn’t class them as an overly bassy headphone, although the lesser capable the amplifier I used, the more bass they had (basically because it was less controlled). It’s all down to our individual perception of what is and isn’t bassy, then how we convey that to others - then their perception of what we’ve conveyed!

Yes, this is what I experienced. It has bass, but isn’t warm. There’s sufficient subbass where it counts. It’s not clinical either, but has a nice balance of both. I do need to try it more. It was only that 20 mins I had with it, and I remember it was nice enough despite what I already own, that made me go for it. I will be able to contrast it against the 2 cans I have which are polar opposites of each other. It felt like an inbetween of both, but let’s see what happens during the extended testing.

 

[Witcher]

15 hr burn in seems to have an effect. At first listen when I got back, the ADX5000 was brighter, and more detailed than I remembered listening to the store set. It had more clarity than the HD800S, and reveals audio compression at high frequencies (you know, that odd ringing you hear at the end of every S or the start of every T). Bass wasn't as warm, but already punchy in the lower regions where a bass drum kick comes in. The store set was plugged in 24/7 and the player was in autoloop, so it's likely burned in by the time I heard it. I liked that sound I heard, while the new set only gives me 60% of what I heard.

After running it non-stop for 15 hrs, the bass is noticeably warmer, but not muddy. It's got about 70% of the warmth of a Z1R. I'm still waiting for my HD800S to return from a friend, so I'll compare the trebles when I get it back. Right now, I roughly gauge it to be about 75% of what I heard from the store set. Trebles and detail are still present, making this the most unforgiving set I own so far. It's more unforgiving than the 800S, but it's not glaring like the HD800 (non-S).

The mids are definitely more forward than the 800S, which is a very good thing. Staging and imaging is as wide as the Z1R, but not as wide as the 800S, which I find to be a good thing. It's also more accurate where the 800S gives 2 points of focus for vocals, and the 5000 brings the vocals in front of you. The vocals are also a little closer than the 800S, and the Z1R, making this to be a little more intimately placed. to paint a picture, the 800S is like sitting in a stadium, while the Z1R is like 5th row in a hall, and the 5000 is like row 3 in the same hall.

I'll keep it running for a bit longer before I give my full review, but these are my impressions so far.

 

[Witcher]

oh... another thing. It's so light that the headband actually doesn't touch my head at all... and I didn't even notice it. Hahahaha...

 

[Sp12er3]

Thanks for the impression... Keep them coming~~
Your comparison with both the Z1R and HD800s connect to me more as I've tried both extensively

 

[LaCuffia]

I still haven’t heard anything about availability in the US. No news at all.

 

[Witcher]

I still haven’t heard anything about availability in the US. No news at all.

I was told they’re launching it in Southeast Asia in Jan with a big launch. The rest of the world is likely around the same time.

 

[Witcher]

I managed to spend some time last evening with the HD800S alongside the ADX5000. ADX has had another 10 hrs of running time since the last post. Here's some thoughts on the comparison:

Treble
Yep, the ADX5000 is definitely clearer than the HD800S. That's interesting to hear, but sometimes not in a good way. This means the ADX is a little sibilant compared to the HD800S. That's surprising no? The HD800S was the clearest sounding headphone I’ve heard until now. But the high freq on the ADX had to be rolled back on the EQ to get it to resemble the HD800S. I’m still burning the ADX in, so this might change in the future, and the HD800S has over 200 hrs of playtime, so it’s likely fully burned in already. This could well correspond to the differences I heard, especially when the store set I tried in Osaka didn’t sound this clear to me then, or at least it didn’t hit me so much.

Mids
Another surprise here. The ADX has more forward mids than the HD800S, but that’s not the surprise. This is: the HD800S sounded “veiled” by comparison. How is this possible? I loved the detail and clarity of the HD800S, and now it seems like there’s a layer of cloth on the drivers muting the sound by comparison? We all know the HD800S didn’t have very strong mids to begin with, but I had already compensated this with the Loki, and it was fine. Or so I thought. In terms of smoothness, the ADX has more prominent mids, but nowhere less smooth than the HD800S. No glaring spikes like the HD800 here, but in terms of mids, the ADX is my clear favourite. This also means the HD800S does sound a little more distant than the ADX, but I’ll come to that later, when talking about soundstage and imaging. Let’s get to the real surprise.

Bass​

Here’s where I was really surprised. The ADX has a stronger natural bass response than the HD800S, but this is only in the sub bass region. Think of a bass drum, or a daiko drum. The boom or thud you get hits harder and louder (and faster) on the ADX than on the HD800S. Sure, the HD800S is not for bass heads, but it is more than capable of responding well to EQ tweaks. I’ve tried Ariana Grande’s side to side with the bass maxed on my setup and the HD800S, and my brain stem vibrates. It’s no slouch for sure. But the ADX hits harder. Not in a muddy way at all, and both are equally clear. Bass details aren’t lacking here (c’mon, these are flagships we’re talking about here), and bass extension is almost similar. Listening to the same audio track, the ADX was more interesting to listen to in this aspect compared to the HD800S. Except, this comparison revealed something about the HD800S: there’s a low mids bleed into the bass (not sub bass). Or you could say the bass bleeds into the low mids. What this resulted in, is that (surprise surprise), the HD800S is warm by comparison, while the ADX remains in-your-face with the sub bass, and is a little more clinical in this aspect. At times, the HD800S almost sounded boring by comparison.

Soundstage and imaging
This is where it gets interesting: As suspected, the HD800S has a wider sound stage. As I’ve said before, if the Hd800S is a stadium, then the ADX5000 is a concert hall. Yet the imaging of the ADX is better than the HD800S in the part that you hear one point of focus for the main singer, and it’s coming from directly in front of you. With the HD800S, you sometimes hear 2 singers when there should be one, and it’s a little diffused at times for other instruments. To make the comparison simpler, the HD800S is like listening to a band thru a miced up PA system and a sound control mixer, while the ADX is like hearing the band with no mics, raw and simple.

Tracks used for this session:

• Wagakkiband: Okinotayuu, Torinyouni
• BandMaid: Daydreaming
• Toto: I Will Remember
• Joe Bonamassa: Mountain Climbing
• Tears For Fears: The Working Hour
• U2: Where the streets have no name (LIVE, Joshua Tree Deluxe)
• David Gilmour: And Then
• Eric Johnson: The First Nowell
• Barber: Adagio for Strings
• Keith Jarrett: Koln Pt1

Setup used: PC > Sony PHA3 > iFi Audio iTube2 > Schiit Loki > iFi Audio iCan SE > ADX5000

TL;DR:
HD800S: sweeter trebles, more laid back mids, warmer bass, doesn’t hit as hard, slightly veiled in comparison, huge imaging.
ADX5000: You literally hear EVERYTHING. Better mids, more forward, less warmth in the low mids/bass regions, hits harder in the sub bass, intimate imaging.

I'll do a similar report next time for the Z1R. That's not even going to be close since they're so so different. I get the sense that the ADX5000 was gunning for the HD800S as a competitor.

Disclaimer: I'm still burning in the ADX5000, so impressions may vary over time.

 

[LaCuffia]

Nice review, thanks.

I would also think that the ADX5000 beats the 800S in comfort. Not many headphones fall in that category. Just my guess though...

 

[Feilong4]

• Wagakkiband: Okinotayuu, Torinyouni
• BandMaid: Daydreaming.

Ooh, I'm glad I'm not the only person listening to Wagakki Band and Band Maid.

 

[Witcher]

Nice review, thanks.

I would also think that the ADX5000 beats the 800S in comfort. Not many headphones fall in that category. Just my guess though...

Ah... On this I'm a little confused as to what I should write.

On one hand, the ADX has much softer padding, and is lighter. But the angle they allowed the cups to rotate on the X axis is barely enough to get a nice V shape if your head is a little larger (like mine). So the cups end up either fully vertical, or slightly A shaped, making the top part of the padding give more pressure on the skull. But like I said, soft padding, so it's almost a non issue. The HD800S, is a little heavier, but has better flexibility, so they're a toss up when it comes to this. Nothing beats the comfort of the Z1R padding though...

 

[Witcher]

Ooh, I'm glad I'm not the only person listening to Wagakki Band and Band Maid.

lol... Those tracks were specifically chosen for their recordings. Okinotayuu has great vocals, Torinoyouni has the daiko drums, and Daydreaming as fantastic drumming and basslines.