[slwiser]

Great comparisons and you did a great job in expressing yourself in English.

 

[weeeeesquirrel]

To help me better quantify your review(for which I am very appreciative of), could you please indicate the source and/or amplification(if any) used to compare these headphones?
And what specific music and/or genre was mostly used during your comparison? (we all have certain cd's and specific tracks that we tend to use as are 'reference' material)

Quote:

Originally Posted by bizkid /img/forum/go_quote.gif I spent more time listening to both the W1000 and the 900Ti. Im still waiting for my A900LTD replacement pads but its already clear that the LTD can't reach up to the other 2 cans, it just doesnt have enough refinement, clarity and transparency. Also it's a bit sibliant and especially treble resolution leaves something to be desired. However it's still enjoyable, with some tracks it can create a nice engaging presentation (for me personally), somehow the soundstage holds together well for faster rock music, good compromise between too big and too small soundstage. I don't really like to use the word since it doesnt have any real meaning but something about it makes it sound "musical" to me, even with the lack of refinement. Back to the W1000 & A900Ti, these ATs offer 2 very different presentations/soundsignatures: The W1000 sounds upfront and has the "typical" AT coloration which is widely known. The upper mids are emphasized so vocals stand out in the mix. As already written in earlier reviews, the bass is a bit below neutral but it has alot of potential in quality and quantity if you use a good EQ (soft or hardware). Not only vocals but also Instruments sound more upfront (for an AT). It still does offer a nice stage depth if that is in the mix, but mostly it features a nice left to right soundstage with a slightly more upfront-than-neutral staging. The A900Ti actually sounds laidback, the vocals sit deeper in the mix and are not emphasized. On first listen you might think there is veil but this is not a lack of refinement, just EQ. The bassquantity is less as the 900LTD but more than the AD2000 or W1000, in my opinion its perfectly chosen between "too much" and "not enough". As the whole mix sounds more laidback the soundstage is also different compared to the W1000. While it does have the capability to extent to the left and right as much as the W1000, it is more concentrated in the middle and shows good depth, instruments in the mix appear with more distance compared to the W1000. That doesnt mean it has a small soundstage though. Layering on both cans is on the same small-to-average level. These are no W5000s or Stax. They have their strengths in different places which i would say, keep them at level: The W1000 offers good clarity and transparency, it has a faster attack and a good treble resolution, and also more precise imaging compared to the Ti. The A900Ti isn't as transparent in the mids (but close), that's also due to its slightly thicker sounding mids. It's not as precise in imaging but good enough. What's very nice is the visceral presentation in bass/mids that remind me of the L3000, its surely not up to that level but it has a more visceral bass & felt weight behind notes than the AD2000/900LTD/W1000 and probably W5000 (but i havent heard it for a year, nor EQd). Also the 900Ti seems to resolve fine detail better as the W1000, for example ambience in the recording is easier to hear with the 900Ti. One more word about transparency (the more transp. the "less" you hear that the music is coming from a headphone): Although the W1000 seems to be more transparent in mids, the 900Ti sounds more transparent in bass, esp. drums. The lack of bass clearly makes the W1000 more "headphony" in that regard. The mids can also differ depending on the recording, but i'd say on 70% of what i have the W1000 has a tad more transparent mids. Thats it for now, more coming as i get my pads. ps. Sorry for my wacky english

 

[bizkid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by weeeeesquirrel /img/forum/go_quote.gif To help me better quantify your review(for which I am very appreciative of), could you please indicate the source and/or amplification(if any) used to compare these headphones?And what specific music and/or genre was mostly used during your comparison? (we all have certain cd's and specific tracks that we tend to use as are 'reference' material)

As these were just basic impressions i used all kinds of sources i have around, various PCDPs, mp3 players, my firewire studio interface, a diy ß22 amp. The differences between the headphones are the same on all of those.
Music used is basically everything besides classical which i just dont like to listen on headphones period and any kind of metal.
Anyway neither special amping nor music is needed to compare these, the differences are very clear even on the most basic devices.
As i've owned the HA5000 amp before and owned quite some ATs during the time i know very well how much they scale up in terms of amping.


Some more basic impressions:

The last few days i listened to the A900LTD and it just can't keep up with the other 2. That's no wonder however as the basic A900 is a headphone in the 150$ range in Japan and the LTD version doesnt bring anything sonically new to the table compared to the standard A900.
The bass is a bit bloated with not much detail, mids are recessed, vocals sound veiled but at the same time have problems with sibliance, the treble is thin and has smearing, there's not much transparency and natural timbre. It doesnt respond well to EQ which the other 2 do extremly well and overall it leaves the impression of being "out of control" no matter how well amped. Still that doesnt say it's bad, there's much worse cans out there. But that's how it is compared to the other 2 contenders. However it can be fun with some music as i said earlier, but a fairer comparison would be W1000 vs A900Ti. An interesting comparison for the 900LTD would be the ESW9 which i think the portable ESW9 would win besides in terms of soundstage, comfort and deep bass.

 

[bizkid]

I got my new A900LTD pads a few days ago and made an interesting discovery: The 900Ti and the 900LTD, although specced to using the same pads (A1000) actually have slightly different pads in a way that they change the sound of the headphones when exchanged.
The 900Ti pads are a little stiffer and your ears are kept a bit further from the driver, the foam between ear and driver is very thin. The A900LTD pads are softer and your ears are closer to the driver (but not much), the foam is thicker and harder to see through.

Since i used the 900Ti pads with the LTD i was accustomed to it's sound and changing them to the original 900LTD pads the most noticeable change was a reduction of sibliance proably due to thicker foam. The 900Ti with it's thinner foam is still less sibliant, probably the foam is also thinner for more clarity (which it has).

But that leaves a bad taste, why would AT change the specification or "upgrade" the pads? I double checked and both share the same pads, you can only order "HP-A1000" pads from AT, not specifically for the LTD or Ti. I certainly wouldnt want to use the new Ti pads on the LTD or vice versa.
The change _is_ small and they probably wouldnt have thought that there are some headphone geeks out there who would ever notice or even hear the difference

Ill be buying 1 or 2 pairs of the old "LTD" pads later this year when i'm in Japan just to make sure

 

[TKvC-SainT]

Hi, first of all want to say this is a great review you have here.

Now if I could take one more pair of 'phones in to the equation, you´ve mentioned them earlier, the ESW9s

At the moment I´m actually enjoying my ESW9s more than my K701s

Don´t even know if I dare say something like that without being jumped

Seriously though, before getting the ESW9s I really loved the K701s, but now I just don´t know anymore, the ESW9s are so fun and engaging, can get a little blurred in the lower end when there´s much going on, though that´s part of what makes me like them, the balls in lower end grunt, that I´m now left feeling that the K701s miss, thus the electric guitars and the growling when playing Opeth sounds thin and completly unrealistic up against the ESW9s.

So if I could just stop rambling on for a moment. I guess what I´m trying to ask is: How does the W1000s compare to the ESW9s? As I´m seriously considering letting go of my K701s at the moment. And in that case I think the logical step could be the W1000s.


*Edit* Also could be worth noting that I use a Little Dot Mk4SE (Powers: E-H 6H30PI, Drivers: WE 408A).

 

[Cecala]

Super review Bizkid, I'm after a different phone for more 'general' use as I have the JVC DX1000. I wonder how these compare to each other?

 

[bizkid]

I think the 900Ti fits the bill for general use extremly well. Actually thats the reason i have sold off my other ATs (AD2000, W1000 both great too) again, the Ti does everything i need and it was the headphone i used the most. It doesnt really excell at one thing but the mix of its abilities make it a great headphone. I havent heard the DX1000 yet but as im in japan currently im looking forward to try them out as soon i get to a bigger city.
I really enjoy the L3000 flavour of the 900Ti, at a lower refinement level ofcourse and without the sirup mids, but with a bit more highs, maybe its overal more neutral than the L3000, but its a year ago when i heard the l3k last time. Anyway the 900Ti is atleast 2-3 classes ahead of the 900LTD, IMHO they should have called it A1000LTD to seperate it clearly from the 900 line.


PS: As it seems the 900Ti is already completely sold out, atleast with online retailers in japan. That was pretty fast, congrats AT

 

[Cecala]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bizkid /img/forum/go_quote.gif ....... PS: As it seems the 900Ti is already completely sold out, atleast with online retailers in japan. That was pretty fast, congrats AT

Thanks for the reply, in Australia it is still available though its the price I'm concerned with as there is a lot to choose from here. Before I ended with DX1000 I was looking at the W1000 but from reviews of people stating how bass light they were scared me off.

 

[bizkid]

If you worry about bass id tend to go in the 900Ti direction. Since you can order locally is it possible to try it out and send it back if you dont happen to like it?

Concerning the bass: It has less bass as for example the 900LTD or the L3000 but still enough to make alot of fun. Imho and for my personal taste the 900Ti has the "best" amount of bass in any headphone i have heard yet. Not too much, not bloaty but still enough to nicely round up that lower part of the frequencyresponse and provide lots of fun. Bass and lower mids stay surpringsly transparent especially with non-synth. drums. Very nicely balanced for my tastes. The W1000 while having a more controlled and tighter bass doesnt offer the same transparency in that area, it sounds more colored with its slightlybelowneutral amount of bass. The bass (and mids/treble) on the Ti sound MUCH more controlled as on the 900LTD.

Besides that it clearly has more bass impact as the W1000, but also events in midrange and treble have impact and can be "felt" comparable to the L3000 (or speakers). Blips, clicks, plucked guitar strings, all that kind of stuff. The W1000 also has this but to a much lesser degree, sometimes hardly noticeable while its very obvious on the 900Ti.
The W1000 is a bit light on bass but i still find it enjoyable with rock/pop.

 

[Cecala]

Looking at your headphone lineup, its clear that you like the AT company. I see you never owned any Sony phones. Have you heard any Sony phones in the M6/M7 range, and if yes how do they compare to the A900ti/W1000? This phone will be replacing the Sony cans as I like their sound, quite neutral, decent to very good soundstage, well balanced but lacking ever so slightly on the bottom end. I would like to have the same sound with the added bass thats lacking.

The store I allude to will not accept returns in that fashion. I will be teaming it up with the Headroom Desktop Max/Max setup if this helps in anyway. The problem here is I can get the w1000 for almost the same price of the A900tis and another variant is the Denon D5000 to consider.

 

[redrich2000]

I tried out the A900 and the 900Ti in Audio Cubes a few weeks ago and was quite surprised at how different and how much better the Ti was. The Ti sounded so much more detailed, balanced and natural, after hearing it the A900 sounded awful, very artificial with exagerated bass, upper mids and treble.

I thought the difference between them was very similar to the difference between the ES7 and the ESW9s.

 

[Decel]

Man I wish AC still had that 900ti sale...

My brother broke my A900s and was looking forward to upgrading.

 

[bizkid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redrich2000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I tried out the A900 and the 900Ti in Audio Cubes a few weeks ago and was quite surprised at how different and how much better the Ti was. The Ti sounded so much more detailed, balanced and natural, after hearing it the A900 sounded awful, very artificial with exagerated bass, upper mids and treble. I thought the difference between them was very similar to the difference between the ES7 and the ESW9s.

+1! The 900Ti really doesnt deserve the "900" naming treatment. It would have been much cooler if they decided to bring the A1000 line back. We can hope the Ti will be a starting point for a revised/upgraded 900 in the future.
I had my 900Ti for sale up before going to japan because i planned to get another pair for use during my stay here. Im very lucky it didnt sell otherwise id be seriously angry at myself right now. I contacted some dealers and in their "offline" stores the 900Ti is gone too..
Too bad not many made it to head-fiers, it will be an overlooked headphone for sure.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Cecala Looking at your headphone lineup, its clear that you like the AT company. I see you never owned any Sony phones. Have you heard any Sony phones in the M6/M7 range, and if yes how do they compare to the A900ti/W1000? This phone will be replacing the Sony cans as I like their sound, quite neutral, decent to very good soundstage, well balanced but lacking ever so slightly on the bottom end. I would like to have the same sound with the added bass thats lacking.

Well on first sight it might appear i had many ATs but thats just because their offerings are more diverese while sennheiser, akg and the likes only have 1 top model with very similar "smaller brothers" (ie. HD650,600,580), while most AT headphones are substantially different, for example the L3000, ad2000, w5000, w1000.
I did have one sony headphone and that was the eggo but that probably doesnt count

.
So from the sonys i only heard the m7509 for a short moment. For what you are looking bass wise i think its safe to remove the W1000 from the list. Also the D5000 might be tuned a bit too "warm" in treble.

 

[donunus]

I just started a thread that seems to describe a need for the a900ti. ehhm. problem is that they are a limited edition. Wonder if AT is going to make a production model of the ti. maybe the A1100 or something

 

[graphis_7]

how do you drive the a900ti bizkid? do you use an amp at all?