ATH-A900 Love

[Esidarap]

I just bought ATH-A900s from the for sale forum and I've fallen in love. Coming from a pair of Sony MDR-7506 it's like almost drowning and finally being able to surface for air.

If anyone saw my other thread they'd know my big problem with the Sonys was their boomy bass. That's completely cured with these, the bass is there.. but happily co-existing with the mids and treble, it's not assaulting me like it did on the Sonys. The recessed midrange everyone complains and wonders about is nowhere to be seen as far as I can tell, it's fine. The highs? Oh god, to be honest, when I first put them on I got a chill down my spine, they're that good.

Now for my biggest surprise, coming from 7506s which I thought were pretty damn detailed (till the bass kicks in). I was sceptical how much more detail I could get by just jumping to $200 headphones. So I put these on and turn on some Ai Otsuka, I listen to Strawberry Jam and I just say **** to myself. People like to say differences are night and day, no, this is much more than that. Think of a cold oppressive winter night that's pitch black compared to a bright warm summer morning. The guitars during the intro of this song used to sound muddled with a "wah wah wah" sound, not anymore it now sounds crisp and more like a a phaser pedal(if that's the name) is being used, definitely no wah-wah.

I just can't find anything wrong with these headphones, they even look beautiful. Let's see if I still feel this way in a few months.

 

[manchau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esidarap I just bought ATH-A900s from the for sale forum and I've fallen in love. Coming from a pair of Sony MDR-7506 it's like almost drowning and finally being able to surface for air. If anyone saw my other thread they'd know my big problem with the Sonys was their boomy bass. That's completely cured with these, the bass is there.. but happily co-existing with the mids and treble, it's not assaulting me like it did on the Sonys. The recessed midrange everyone complains and wonders about is nowhere to be seen as far as I can tell, it's fine. The highs? Oh god, to be honest, when I first put them on I got a chill down my spine, they're that good. Now for my biggest surprise, coming from 7506s which I thought were pretty damn detailed (till the bass kicks in). I was sceptical how much more detail I could get by just jumping to $200 headphones. So I put these on and turn on some Ai Otsuka, I listen to Strawberry Jam and I just say **** to myself. People like to say differences are night and day, no, this is much more than that. Think of a cold oppressive winter night that's pitch black compared to a bright warm summer morning. The guitars during the intro of this song used to sound muddled with a "wah wah wah" sound, not anymore it now sounds crisp and more like a a phaser pedal(if that's the name) is being used, definitely no wah-wah. I just can't find anything wrong with these headphones, they even look beautiful. Let's see if I still feel this way in a few months.

Congratulation's to join audiophile world. This is the step from where your head-fi journy begins. "Sorry about your wallet"

It's a stunning headphone for non-audiophiles, But for audiophile ears, Your A900 haves less bright mids. loose bass. You must upgrade to A900LTD. And better source like "Lavry DA10" and "HA5000" amp.

'Again sorry about your wallet'.

 

[909]

Congrats! They were my first big headphone purchase as well after spending some time on Head-Fi. An absolutely awesome can. enjoy...

 

[darkninja67]

Congrats on the A900s. Like 909 above me, the A900s were my first expensive full sized can since joining HeadFi. They are good all around headphones as you will find out. The comfort is incredible considering their huge size. Enjoy them.

 

[003]

The recessed mids shouldn't bother you if you have not been spoiled in advance by the shure E4. Just make sure to never listen to the E4!

 

[Veniogenesis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 003 The recessed mids shouldn't bother you if you have not been spoiled in advance by the shure E4. Just make sure to never listen to the E4!

Or most cans in the AKG line-up.

Yeah, I didn't really care about the recessed mid-range in the AX00 until I compared it to the K271S/501.

 

[slwiser]

Maybe recessed is a relative thing. When one headphone has a frequency shape of an top half of an egg (with its center between 1K and ~2k Hz) compared with one the shape of a bottom of a shallow bowl then recessed mids can be assigned. You can check this own on the Headroom site for the K271,very extreme egg shape. While the K501 compares very well to the DT880 expect below drop off in sound level below 200 Hz which again makes the another bowl feature very pronouned with the AKG phones. The K701/601 are much closer to the HD650 and the DT880 so they would have more of a recessed mid in comparison. Some say frequency charts don't tell you anything. Well they will suggest at what levels certain frequencies will play louder. What I may infer from this is that since the A900 has a very enhanced bass sound that the mids may have a lower sound level at the mid frequency level compared with its bass therefore seeming to have a recessed mid, not that it does, it is just a preception due to the increased bass in comparison with other headphones. This is also the case with the DT770s. Many who have put mods on the DT770 say how the mids have increased when the bass has been tamed a bit.

Examples: