[marmul]

I am in need of some closed headphones for work. I am currently using hd600's and enjoy the sound they produce. I need something that is comfortable, sounds great and seals fairly well. are the Audio-Technica ATH-A500 the answer? I listen to all types of music.

Your help is appreciated.

 

[karma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marmul I need something that is comfortable, sounds great and seals fairly well. are the Audio-Technica ATH-A500 the answer?

I'm a week-old owner of the A500 and can tell you that they fit all your criteria except for the last one. They don't provide great isolation. Besides that, they're very comfortable and sound fantastic.

Would you be wearing these in an office environment? The A500s are big honkers and I personally wouldn't wear it at work because of all the bizarre looks I would get.

 

[raif]

I would say that they seal just fine, and do not leak sound. They do not attenuate much outside noise though.

They are pretty much on par with most closed phones in that aspect. Of course a pair of canal phones are the answer for total isolation.

 

[bLue_oNioN]

Your boss sounds pretty lenient! Not only does he let you wear headphones, he lets you wear huge headphones!

 

[raif]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bLue_oNioN Your boss sounds pretty lenient! Not only does he let you wear headphones, he lets you wear huge headphones!

me??

Actually I have the a900, so not only are they huge, but they are huge and bright blue.

I used to have the cd3ks. Now those were friggin huge.

One of the upsides to being a software engineer is that I can spend pretty much 8 hours a day listening to music.

 

[marmul]

Are they that big? Should I go with the HD280 pro's instead?

 

[blessingx]

If you're trying to avoid big, don't go with the 280s!

I just ordered a pair of A900s for work today. I suspect they'll (and the A500s) make great work phones (besides the visuals and the co-worker laughter).

 

[commando]

I wear A900s are work, and they're perfect. They seal out most external noise, and they sound great. They run fine from a PCs headphone out socket, but getting an AV-710 and a small amp makes them really sing. They're a little larger than most headphones, but they're quite managable IMO.

I wouldn't get the 280s. They're a little smaller than the A900s, but they're not as comfortable, and they don't sound near as good. They block out a little more external noise than the A900, not significantly more though.

I cover the 280 and A900s in my closed can review, linked below.

 

[marmul]

Are the ATH 900's that much better than th ATH 500's? I would like to keep it around 100.00 or so.

 

[commando]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marmul Are the ATH 900's that much better than th ATH 500's? I would like to keep it around 100.00 or so.

Someone had both and compared them, jasper maybe. He said (from memory) the A500s were 80-90% of the A900s, and probably wouldn't be noticed by non-audiophile types. I also think then if you're equipment's not great quality (eg a PC) then there's no point getting the A900s.

Short answer: get the A500s.

 

[lindrone]

Think that would've been me...

A900 is better than A500 regardless of what it's being driven out of... it's just a question of how much difference you can tell in between them. If you can tell the difference between HD600 and HD580, for certain the difference between A500 and A900 is much more than that. If you can't tell the difference between HD600 and HD580, then the difference between A500 and A900 is probably slight to you, although still weighing in A900's favor. Just by then you might not need to justify spending as much on them.

Either way though, A900 is very, very different than how HD600 sounds. So I don't know if you'll like them just from a sound signature perspective.

 

[commando]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lindrone Think that would've been me...

Sorry about that: so many people, so few brain cells

 

[widds2v]

I have a couple of questions...

1) Whats the difference between A500s and A700s?
2) Are the A500s similar to the A900s in the sense that they really don't need an amp? As far as portable amps would a SR71 or Supermono be overkill for a pair?
3) A500s vs Ety ER4... obviously different types of headphones, I assume the A500s have more "impact" bass, how does it compare for bass "tightness" and overall sound?

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by widds2v 1) Whats the difference between A500s and A700s?

Still a mystery, it seems.. there's been some A500-A900 comparisons... very few A700-A900 comparisons.. and no A500-A700-A900 comparison whatsoever. I was planning on doing one, but I never got around to it. Some have said that A700 sounds very alike to A900, yet I've heard others before that said they sound nothing alike... I really don't know now.


Quote:

2) Are the A500s similar to the A900s in the sense that they really don't need an amp? As far as portable amps would a SR71 or Supermono be overkill for a pair?

A900 is easier to drive than A500, although both are still easy to drive without an amp. Reason being that A900 is more sensitive, thus easier to drive and also more detailed.

If you plan on using portable amps with them for "portable" reasons.. yes, it would be overkill. The level of improvement against the additional weight of the amp + extra wires just doesn't seem to make sense. A900 and A500 aren't exactly portable headphones anyway, they're really home headphones.

However, if you're building a "semi-portable home system"... then either amp will give you some improvement, not dramatic.. but there are some appreciable improvements. It's up to you to whether you think it's worth it or not. If it doesn't work out you can just sell the amps taking minimal loss.


Quote:

3) A500s vs Ety ER4... obviously different types of headphones, I assume the A500s have more "impact" bass, how does it compare for bass "tightness" and overall sound?

ER-4 will have more "detailed" bass than A500, because that's what ER-4 does to make up for lack of impact. Since it can't do impact, they chose to make it do something else useful... although I personally never considered ER-4's bass "true" enough for my taste.

Othewrise, A500's bass will have more impact... other than that, will have a much wider soundstage than the ER-4.. and imo, a more "natural" sound than the ER-4.

 

[commando]

I'll add that the Ax00 series aren't portable at all. Also, if you power them with the AV710, which has a line out not a headphone out, an amp does make a significant improvement. A sound card with a headphone out should be ok though.