Ojannen
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2004
- Posts
- 28
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- 0
I got the A900 as a christmas gift and have listened to them for almost all of my musaic and movies since them. For the most part I like it but I am somewhat dissapointed with several aspects of the headphone. Hopefully most of the placebo effects of the new headphones are gone now.
My first reactions:
- the immersion caused by the isolation and possibly the soundstage was impressive
- ingame sounds felt very far away
- very comfortable
- big but not as big as people seem to portray them
When listening on my computer, I am going through a headphone out of onboard sound. I know this is bad but I have a shuttle with no extra pci slots.
When listening in the listening room of the music library, I am using a Denon amp and a sony cd player with an optical connection to the amp. Not sure on model numbers
Here is how I look at them now.
Gaming: Excellent. I prefer the closed design with some isolation to my old supraural phones (audio .90). The big change I noticed is that instead of hearing "he is to my left" I hear "he is to my left really far away". I don't really feel a difference between sounds that are close and sounds far away when compared to the .90. I did not experience the magical positioning that every seems to experience when switching to these headphones. I only experienced the amazing change people seem to be describing when I switched from no EAX to EAX enabled on counter-strike. If someone is looking for a set of closed, comfortable cans for gaming, I would not hesitate to recommend these.
Movies: very good. positioning is pretty good. The wide soundstage lends itself well to movies. The bass is acceptable and not too overpowering. Don't watch too many movies so can't say much here.
Music: this is where I have a problem.
I am not sure what to call this, but with properly recorded music, overtones, overall blend and individual instrument sounds seem to be much more present than with my old phones($15 radio shack model). This makes the sound feel more full and resonant. It also makes the sound feel much more real. When I am listening for pleasure, I can hear an ensemble sound and when I am listening for individual lines, I can pick them out. Is this what people are talking about when they say "detail"?
For live music recorded properly, I do not have a problem. I like the way the headphones isolation makes the music feel immersive
For studio recorded music (most recorded music after around 1980) or badly recorded music (average rock band), I have major problems. The two sides of the orchestra sound too far apart for you to be sitting in the sweet spot of a concert hall. For me that is 40-50 rows back on the floor or the equivalent of about 75-100 rows back at the front of the grand balcony. Instead, I get a sound the is similar to the front 5-10 rows of a concert hall. Blend isnt good and you hear individual instruments instead of an ensemble sound. I do not know why anyone would want this kind of sound.
In contrast, these characteristics are great when doing dictation assignments and trying to figure out roman numerals, bass, and soprano lines.
One of the features that brought me to these headphones was reports of good soundstage. Instead, I get a soundstage that feels as though it removes blend to the point of being unmusical. I have read some posts about other cans haveing a wider soundstage. Why do people desire this?
Overall, these are great cans. I would recommend them to anyone for gaming and movies. However, I have to be more selective in picking music and stay clear of studio recorded music even more now. Does anyone else have these complaints? On a related topic, could someone explain how grado's lack of soundstage makes them feel like you are at the front of a concert hall. From what I have experienced, having a narrower soundstage, means that recording feel as though they were made further back in a hall.
My first reactions:
- the immersion caused by the isolation and possibly the soundstage was impressive
- ingame sounds felt very far away
- very comfortable
- big but not as big as people seem to portray them
When listening on my computer, I am going through a headphone out of onboard sound. I know this is bad but I have a shuttle with no extra pci slots.
When listening in the listening room of the music library, I am using a Denon amp and a sony cd player with an optical connection to the amp. Not sure on model numbers
Here is how I look at them now.
Gaming: Excellent. I prefer the closed design with some isolation to my old supraural phones (audio .90). The big change I noticed is that instead of hearing "he is to my left" I hear "he is to my left really far away". I don't really feel a difference between sounds that are close and sounds far away when compared to the .90. I did not experience the magical positioning that every seems to experience when switching to these headphones. I only experienced the amazing change people seem to be describing when I switched from no EAX to EAX enabled on counter-strike. If someone is looking for a set of closed, comfortable cans for gaming, I would not hesitate to recommend these.
Movies: very good. positioning is pretty good. The wide soundstage lends itself well to movies. The bass is acceptable and not too overpowering. Don't watch too many movies so can't say much here.
Music: this is where I have a problem.
I am not sure what to call this, but with properly recorded music, overtones, overall blend and individual instrument sounds seem to be much more present than with my old phones($15 radio shack model). This makes the sound feel more full and resonant. It also makes the sound feel much more real. When I am listening for pleasure, I can hear an ensemble sound and when I am listening for individual lines, I can pick them out. Is this what people are talking about when they say "detail"?
For live music recorded properly, I do not have a problem. I like the way the headphones isolation makes the music feel immersive
For studio recorded music (most recorded music after around 1980) or badly recorded music (average rock band), I have major problems. The two sides of the orchestra sound too far apart for you to be sitting in the sweet spot of a concert hall. For me that is 40-50 rows back on the floor or the equivalent of about 75-100 rows back at the front of the grand balcony. Instead, I get a sound the is similar to the front 5-10 rows of a concert hall. Blend isnt good and you hear individual instruments instead of an ensemble sound. I do not know why anyone would want this kind of sound.
In contrast, these characteristics are great when doing dictation assignments and trying to figure out roman numerals, bass, and soprano lines.
One of the features that brought me to these headphones was reports of good soundstage. Instead, I get a soundstage that feels as though it removes blend to the point of being unmusical. I have read some posts about other cans haveing a wider soundstage. Why do people desire this?
Overall, these are great cans. I would recommend them to anyone for gaming and movies. However, I have to be more selective in picking music and stay clear of studio recorded music even more now. Does anyone else have these complaints? On a related topic, could someone explain how grado's lack of soundstage makes them feel like you are at the front of a concert hall. From what I have experienced, having a narrower soundstage, means that recording feel as though they were made further back in a hall.