[jp11801]

Wow! I'm quite shocked there's no new posts since mine here. This headphone is a beast, did so few notice that?



I got my Forza Noir MK2 cable and this is such an improvement in ergonomics versus the stock one! Pretty much perfect headphone for me now. Versatile, EXTREMELY technical and still very pleasant sounding! From all the headphones that I heard (and I auditioned something like a dozen of flagships at the shop listening session when I was in the market for a new headphone) only SR-009s and Susvaras were (marginally) better.

BTW, I don't see any "official" replacement pads for these on Audio-Technica site, aren't these available? I'm so satistied with the sound that I don't even want to alter it with some custom pads though I liked one or another Dekoni ones on pretty much every headphone I tried them with.

How do these compare to your w3000s please.

 

[remilio]

How do these compare to your w3000s please.

I still like w3000s for their sweet vocals, but overall ADX5000 are just more technically capable headphones - more air, even tighter bass and loads of details. W3000s are more forgivable to the record though.

 

[pataburd]

ADX5000 with ZMF cable, driven by Meridian Prime HA and PS.

 

[Mightygrey]

A question for those of you who've purchased a new/recent-model ADX5000 - is the 'creak' still present when the cups are articulated? I had the chance to spend time with an early production-model and while I adore the 5K's the creak was sadly a deal-breaker.

 

[remilio]

A question for those of you who've purchased a new/recent-model ADX5000 - is the 'creak' still present when the cups are articulated? I had the chance to spend time with an early production-model and while I adore the 5K's the creak was sadly a deal-breaker.

My ADX5000s are late 2018 production - no creaking.

 

[Mightygrey]

My ADX5000s are late 2018 production - no creaking.

Thanks mate, much appreciated. These guys are my absolute 'Goldilocks' cans - I now need to decide what I sacrifice to get my hands on a pair...

 

[remilio]

Thanks mate, much appreciated. These guys are my absolute 'Goldilocks' cans - I now need to decide what I sacrifice to get my hands on a pair...

Worth every sacrifice I made to get mine BTW some nice photos you have on your IG channel. And great cat!

 

[pataburd]

No creaking here.
Will be a/b/c-ing the ATH-ADX5000, Focal Utopia and HifiMAN HE1000SE [hopefully] in the days/weeks ahead.
But for the time being, I don't think I am missing anything by leaving the Focal and the HFM packed away.

: )

The contenders:


[Left-to-right: ADX5000 w/ZMF cable, HE-1000SE w/HeadphoneLounge T2 UP-OCC pure silver cable "au naturel", Utopia w/HeadphoneLounge T2 UP-OCC pure silver cable sheathed in black]

 

[pataburd]

Tidal Masters: Gordon Lightfoot, The United Artists Collection, "Pride of Man".
With the ADX5000: this is the absolute best this song has ever sounded to my ears with headphones: something natural- and credible-sounding, non-fatiguing and ultimately listenable, with the ATH.

Comments about the treble response being a bit overdone or sharp with the ADX5000 are due, and I am convinced about this, to inadequate amping. The highs are, in fact, very nimble, detailed, transparent and presented with silky nuance.

Bass: inadequate amping makes for boomy bass; proper amping brings out deep, tight, well-formed bass from the ADX5000.

 

[pataburd]

Just swapped in the Chord Qutest, and am not using the Meridian Prime's internal dac.

The overall presentation from the ADX5000 is now more dynamic and less "buttoned down" with the Qutest [switched onto the "white" filter]. Spatially, things are more expansive along all three axes, with better depth and layering. Tonal density is thicker, too, with a better integrated and more fully saturated sound field. Bass hits with more frontal and visceral slam. Mids are brought forward a bit, but sound crystal clear and completely natural.

There may be a trade-off because I had to introduce [AntiCables] interconnects with the Chord dac. I wish I had the Soundsilver Cosmos right now. They are my favorite interconnects, but currently at my workplace--while I am at home on "lockdown".

I find myself simply listening, not waiting for the ADX5000 to "do" anything in particular, because they are already doing everything so well.

 

[pataburd]

Just cracked open the HifiMAN HE-1000SE, cabled with HeadphoneLounge UP-OCC T2 silver.
Qutest switched onto the "green" filter.
These headphones have a detailed and distinctively liquid delicacy and adroit ease to their signature.
Will let them warm up before going head-to-head with the ADX5000.
[Everything sounds good with the Meridian Prime.]

 

[pataburd]

Tidal Master: America, "Ventura Highway", "Tin Man"
The ADX5000 have a more natural timbre, and a greater sense of credibility in rounding out, properly weighting and filling up the acoustic space.

The HE-1000SE sounds ethereal--bordering on artificial, with something unnatural, for example, to the sound of cymbal finishes or string plucks. When I owned the HE-6, and as much as I enjoyed them at the time, I got the same sense of something not-quite-right, something unnatural-sounding, in the high frequencies.

In all fairness, I will have to try other genres while resuming the comparisons. . . . and I hastily add that the HE-1000SE are certainly no "slouch(es)".

Next up: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: "Russian Easter Overture" [Tidal Master: Mercury Living Presence, Antal Dorati and the London Symphony Orchestra] This is one of my all-time favorite pieces of orchestral music.

 

[pataburd]

HE-1000SE do well here, with remarkable micro-detail and parsing of orchestra sections, but there is something a tad flat and dry tonally, as well as a bit of sluggishness, dynamic tentativeness and lack of projection into the "z-axis" compared to the ADX5000.

This piece sounds technically accomplished with the HifiMAN, but more emotionally--read: musically--involving with the Audio Technica, as well as technically competent.

 

[pataburd]

Surprisingly, the HE-1000SE sound better with the Qutest's "white" filter [which I understood to be the most neutral]. Very impressive levels of detail.
Last comparison will be with Camille Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre".
The texture of strings, individually and en masse, is more realistic with the ADX5000. Tonal realism much more compelling with the ATH, without sacrificing detail. The sweep, the dynamic proportion, the "finish" of instruments much more realistic.

 

[pataburd]

Just dusted off and hooked up the Focal Utopia.
OK, folks, "Mike Tyson" has just entered the ring.
Listening to America, Complete WB Recordings [Tidal Master].
. . . some serious competition brewing here, fellow H-f-ers!



At this point I can say, unequivocally, that the ADX5000 are notably more comfortable [because they are so much lighter in weight] than the Utopia.