[elnero]

Hi all,

As some of you may know already I have the HD580's and have been somewhat underwhelmed by them. (I am NOT looking for 580 info/advice here). Generally I love how they can suck out details from recordings but am not all that happy with the recessed mids, midbass hump, an overall rounding of transients and slow nature.

I'm undecided as to what I'm going to do. I may keep the 580's and, through cable and amp upgrades, see if I can get them to where I would like them, or sell them and replace them with something else.

From what I've read the Audio Technica's are looking like a possible replacement but I would like as much info on them as I can get. So if anyone who has either one or both the ATH-A900's and/or ATH-A100Ti's could post their impressions and comparisons between the two or with the 580's if possible I would greatly appreciate it.

Phil

 

[LTUCCI1924]

HI: I second that

 

[elnero]

Anyone?

 

[Hirsch]

The A100Ti is a nice headphone that has a lot of strength at the high and low end. Nicely detailed with a visceral impact. I felt its weakest point was the midrange, which could be decent with some amps, but felt thin with the amps I used it with most. Best used for rock music, not so good with acoustic music. I upgraded to the W2002, which has the same strengths but few of the weaknesses (at much greater cost).

 

[elnero]

Hirsch,

Thanx for the reply, how did you feel the midrange and low level resolution compared to the 580/600's?

 

[Hirsch]

Low level definition is much better than the Senn's IMO. However, the Senns are glorious in the midrange, where the A100Ti is weakest.

 

[The Quality Guru]

You might wait for the AT W1000 . . . as speculation has it, the performance it offers maybe within reach of the W2002's . . but it's speculation from people who know no more than you or I, so take it with a ginormous grain of salt!!

 

[elnero]

hehe, ginormous, I like that.

I've thought about waiting for it but I highly doubt I would be able to afford it. Maybe if I saved my pennies long enough and somehow managed to sneak the purchase by my wife. Hmmmmmmm........

 

[bangraman]

Afterhaving sent you the pm and after having read your profile the best thing may be to upgrade your sources and amps before you get a change of headphone. Audio technicas may make your sources sound better but my advice would be to get better gear before you get better cans.

 

[elnero]

For those interested I'm including bangraman's replies to my PM's as he requested that I reply in the forum as opposed to PM's. For the sake of space I didn't bother including my original questions as the replies are pretty self explanatory. Also paragraphs have been put together because of a problem I was having with inserting quotes.

Quote:

I'm not sure you can buy the ATH-A100Ti any more, you may be best off going for the ATH-A1000 when they come outin November. Although it depends on the source and I see you have mainly low-power stuff, highs are smoother (although not as smooth as say a DT250 which could almost be said to be chopped off), sibilance is borderline, depends on whether you like the HD600 treble (if so you're fine), bass is stronger and yes, mids are clear and detailed. This is all personal preferences though and I have to say I personally don't like the HD280 much for all sorts of reasons (they are the second least favourite headphone in my 'stable', Duncan in the brief listening session we had together ripped them off his head straight away ), so if you like them, then we obviously differ in taste so your mileage may vary.

Quote:

Sorry elnero, I read this and forgot about it. I was talking about the A900 which is the only phone I compared with the HD600 mainly because I put the A900 on and thought "I've heard this somewhere else???". It will definitely be a sidestep to the HD280 but not so sure about the HD580 (does it sound similar to the HD600?). I just find the A900 more practical than the HD600 (closed, doesnt leak). Best to post this kind of thing rather than PM because I may not read it for a while, and I will chime in if I feel like it. I'll only be here monitoring my PM's and sell threads and contributing a bit as long as I need to sell stuff

An amp and source upgrade are possiblilities but that's not the point of this thread. I'm looking for info on the possibility of buying something that may make me happier until I can afford those upgrades.

Some people say there is no difference in sound between the 580's and 600's other's say there is, but it's minimal. So I feel comparisons with your 600's would be pretty close to giving a comparison with the 580's.

So "I've heard this somewhere else???" refers to the 600's?

So if the A900 is a sidestep to the 280 then does this mean that you feel they would be a downgrade to the 580's? (based on the 580's sounding the same or similar to the 600's). This may seem self explanatory to you but your replies indicate that they fair well against the 600's but then say they would be a sidestep to the 280's which implies to me that they are in the same league as the 280's which you don't like.

Can you give a brief comparison of the 280's and A900's? In particular how do the highs and lows compare?

And lastly which do you prefer the A100Ti or the A900?

You can reply if you like bangraman, I'm not sure that it will make much difference at this point as my confusion is bit overwhelming but other people may be interested as well as, other than the W100, there is very little info on the Audio Technica headphones.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

HI: I just bought the ATH-A100Ti and it just was shipped out today.

 

[elnero]

Lou,

You'll have to write us a review when you get them.

 

[purk]

LTUCCI1924,
Let me know how do u like them...

 

[LTUCCI1924]

elnero
Thank you for the offer to write a review when I get my new cans but I seem to be unreliable writing reviews. Every time I get a new can I really like it for so long then start looking for a new can. I really don't know what sound I am looking for. I only know when its not there. I think I have gone about it all wrong by only getting open cans so now I am going to try a closed can. I really like the portapros but they are for my portable use. I am looking for a home full size can. One that will light up my life. Take me out there. Put a spark in my music. I have had many different cans and sold them all or sent them back. I have a great amp. The Max Out META42 for this new can and have a great portable amp the mini 9 volt for my portapros. So I don't think I should write a review but will answer any questions one might ask about the new cans. I hope you understand.

 

[bangraman]

Um elnero its mainly because I get bored wading through the acres of text. I'll put it simply, the A900 and the A100Ti are both definite upgrades from the HD280. But if the HD580 is similar to the 600, it's a more subtle upgrade. I've only compared the A900 directly against the HD600, I'm not one for huge reviews so I haven't bothered to compare the A100 against anything else. BTW I'll have the W1000 and the A1000 within a week of release after which I might flog the A900, W100 ~ and even the A100 if the A1000 is any good. Or I might just get rid of the HD600 for an Audio-Technica fest