spaceconvoy
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2005
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- 15
Just got mine yesterday afternoon, and they've been burning in continuously for 17 hours now, of which I've been listening about 5. So this is just a first impression - I might post a full review later. I have to say that they've far exceeded my expectations on certain aspects, but completely dissapointed me on others. Keep in mind that I'm listening through my Panasonic CT700 pcdp (some people hate this player, but it has a nice smoothness (dullness?) that works well with the AD700, and a good bass boost), YMMV.
The Good: Keep in mind that it's been ~2 months since I sold my A900LTD, and I've been listening to mainly the KSC75 in the meantime. That said, I feel like the detail of the AD700 is just as good as the LTDs. I was expecting it to fall short considering the price, but to my ears (and slightly foggy memory) they're neck and neck in terms of general fidelity. Also, the recessed mids of the LTD are completely fixed by the AD700. Vocals are probably not as forward as I like (personal preference), but they sound perfectly equal with the rest of the music. Overall, it sounds very balanced except for the bass (see below).
The Excellent: Soundstage, depth and seperation completely blow away the LTDs. I feel very certain - I don't need to hear the LTDs again for confirmation. IMO this is probably due to the open design more than anything else. While I loved the forwards, swirling-around-your-head presentation of the LTDs, something about it always seemed unnatural and compressed. There was definitely a bit of "blob effect" going on, where the music was isolated in a little cloud around your head.
The AD700 retains the same general immersive presentation, and while the instruments are just as close and immediate, it feels like the soundstage doesn't have a definite end - sound keeps trailing off into infinity. As a result, seperation and imaging are very clear and not as condensed as the LTDs. If you close your eyes, you can definitely see where the instruments are, and can even get a sense of mic placement and the size of the recording studio. It's probably my imagination, but they seem to give each album a very clear sense of 'space', where the LTDs always imposed their own artificial space on every recording.
The OK: Comfort is very strange. While it's a very big headphone, it's also one of the lightest I've ever worn. But for some reason the velor pads taper inwards, so instead of the whole pad resting flat against your head, only the edge of the pad makes contact. It's hard to get a good fit, but if you rotate the pads you'll eventually find the sweet spot. So while I would say it's a comfortable headphone, the feeling of the pad edges is always slightly distracting.
The Bad: Where's the beef? The bass is definitely there, but gives almost no visceral sensation. There's no solidity to the sound, and the lows just sort of float there. This is with using the bass boost of my pcdp! Without it, the bass is almost non-existent. I'm really hoping this improves after burn-in, but right now it gives them a very strange sound. Now I know what people mean when they say these have a 'light' presentation. With some music they can sound ethereal in the best way (acoustic music mostly), but with most recordings there's always a sense that something's lacking. The best way I can explain it is that the bass has no meat to it.
The Good: Keep in mind that it's been ~2 months since I sold my A900LTD, and I've been listening to mainly the KSC75 in the meantime. That said, I feel like the detail of the AD700 is just as good as the LTDs. I was expecting it to fall short considering the price, but to my ears (and slightly foggy memory) they're neck and neck in terms of general fidelity. Also, the recessed mids of the LTD are completely fixed by the AD700. Vocals are probably not as forward as I like (personal preference), but they sound perfectly equal with the rest of the music. Overall, it sounds very balanced except for the bass (see below).
The Excellent: Soundstage, depth and seperation completely blow away the LTDs. I feel very certain - I don't need to hear the LTDs again for confirmation. IMO this is probably due to the open design more than anything else. While I loved the forwards, swirling-around-your-head presentation of the LTDs, something about it always seemed unnatural and compressed. There was definitely a bit of "blob effect" going on, where the music was isolated in a little cloud around your head.
The AD700 retains the same general immersive presentation, and while the instruments are just as close and immediate, it feels like the soundstage doesn't have a definite end - sound keeps trailing off into infinity. As a result, seperation and imaging are very clear and not as condensed as the LTDs. If you close your eyes, you can definitely see where the instruments are, and can even get a sense of mic placement and the size of the recording studio. It's probably my imagination, but they seem to give each album a very clear sense of 'space', where the LTDs always imposed their own artificial space on every recording.
The OK: Comfort is very strange. While it's a very big headphone, it's also one of the lightest I've ever worn. But for some reason the velor pads taper inwards, so instead of the whole pad resting flat against your head, only the edge of the pad makes contact. It's hard to get a good fit, but if you rotate the pads you'll eventually find the sweet spot. So while I would say it's a comfortable headphone, the feeling of the pad edges is always slightly distracting.
The Bad: Where's the beef? The bass is definitely there, but gives almost no visceral sensation. There's no solidity to the sound, and the lows just sort of float there. This is with using the bass boost of my pcdp! Without it, the bass is almost non-existent. I'm really hoping this improves after burn-in, but right now it gives them a very strange sound. Now I know what people mean when they say these have a 'light' presentation. With some music they can sound ethereal in the best way (acoustic music mostly), but with most recordings there's always a sense that something's lacking. The best way I can explain it is that the bass has no meat to it.
