[Ultrazino]

Quote:

As long as it's a properly encoded 128, not a transcode, it should sound decent on any headphone

Ehmm, I strongly disagree. With 128 kb/s you can easily tell if somethings missing at the low or high end. With my pair of Ultrasone Zino I notice sibilance with -V2 MP3s that I do not with AAC 256 kb/s. I've tested this several times (encoded myself) and the Zino is a sub 100 $ 'phone! The differences are minimal, but they are apparent when comparing.
 
I'm pretty sure you couldn't tell with the HD25-1 II, though, as it does not extend far enough in the highs and the bass is focused on the famous mid-bass bump. That's what the topic starter meant with forgiving, I assume.

 

[baolong]

Skip A900, sound very rough, unrefine, thin and not full body but very clear as compare to beyer dt990.... I have these 2 and now I only use dt990

 

[tyoung8]

You can test whether you can hear the difference between 128kbps vs lossless here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/518452/blind-test-take-now

 

[nullstring]

I wouldn't limit yourself to those audio-technica phones.
 
There are tons of good headphones out there, including those made by (in relevant order)
 
Beyerdynamic
Sennheiser
Denon (Foster)
Sony
Grado
Audio-Technica
Shure
AKG
Ultrasone
 
 
and I am sure I am forgetting some

 

[funessn15]

thanks for all the replys. Im not saying i only want audio technicas, but i would like to get those. i also looked into some beyerdyanmics, which seem nice, but ive heard there a little to bassy. i think i may go with the ad700 or ad900. Any other suggestions are welcome

 

[mp5th]

I'm starting to think of myself as an AT fan (a new one).
 
My AT collection are:
M50
ES7 (sold)
A900 (sold)
ES10
AD2000
 
If budget is an issue ES7 (sound almost identical to M50) would be my first choice.
 
ES10 has sweet mids and highs but the bottom end is just a tad too heavy for some tracks.  I use it for bed-side listening because it's sooo comfortable and doesn't require any amping.  Listening to ES10 reminds me of AD2000.
 
I agree that A900 having "V" shape sound especially compared to my reference M50.  It's fast and fun and has great sound stage and image.  The major problem is the metallic voicing of the mids--just couldn't take it.
 
 
Out of the list above I like the AD2000 most for the sweet and intimate vocal presentation but if I have to keep just one then it would be the M50 for it's overall sound quality and practicality.
 
Finally, my AT holy grail would hopefully be W1000X which is waiting for my order confirmation!  Cheers.

 

[mp5th]

For rock and off your list I'd say A900
 
Off my list I'd say the M50 (again)... also you might consider the HD25 which I think would do rock better... but not as good for other genre especially classical.