[Yazen]

Quote:

I have a very large head, and I love the wings. It is the most comfortable rig I can ever remember wearing. But I can see that it would be a problem for smaller heads, though it could very well work if there was a way to scale down the size of everything above the phones. I wouldn't be super happy with rubber bands, either.
 
In audio equipment (as well as many other markets, such as wine) if you were to plot quality (on a horizontal axis) and price (on a vertical axis) you all know what the trend would look like: It begins with a modestly shallow slope, where you can get a good degree of increase in quality for every extra dollar spent. Then it begins to curve upwards, you have to spend significantly more to get the same incremental increase in quality, more so than at the bottom end of the curve. But the curve keeps sloping upwards further and further until it becomes ridiculously steep, in the ultra-high end regime where you have to spend 10X more to get a very very slight improvement that most people could barely hear. Mathematically, the curve becomes "asymptotic" since there is always a hard limit to quality given the technological capability of the times, which you cannot exceed regardless of how much you spend on available equipment.
 
Anyways, this curve plots differently for every company, each product line has its own curve (also the quality definition varies subjectively). However, the best bargains will always be found in the portion of the curve just around where its curvature begins to increase dramatically. Audio technica happens to have a curve with a strong kink right at the A900X...you get much better return on quality for spending a little extra relative to the models below it, but spending 2X and 3X or more on the models just above it yields only a very slightly increase in quality.
 
For the quality of these headphones, I wouldn't try to save $30, you're not on the portion of the curve where it would make sense to do so.

I'm the kind of person who waits, demand will adjust pricing curves.  E.g V-Moda M-80 for $79 at Radioshack.  Yes, I am going to be the first one there tomorrow

 

[irateapple]

Honestly I don't think that looks should really be at all a consideration when purchasing Audio-Technica. Aside from the M50's they're all pretty horrible. The 3000ANV and similar are, of course, gorgeous, but worn, almost none of 'em look even semi-decent...

 

[audioKyle]

E.g V-Moda M-80 for $79 at Radioshack.

Where did you hear that from?

 

[Yazen]

Quote:

Where did you hear that from?

 
Good luck 

 

[Ironminded]

First off; I'd like to thank all of the contributors to this thread.  You all helped me decide to purchase a set of A900x cans for use at work and I'm loving them.
 
I have a question, if anyone can help me out; I'm looking for a case for these [perferably a hardish case] to make travel with them a little easier and protect these wonderful headphones.  I've tried the Slappa case and it was to small and bent the wire into a bad place.  Does anyone have any other suggestions as to a hard case that might fit a pair of A900x's ?
 
Thanks again for all of the wisdom and experience shared in this thread - it is greatly appreciated!

 

[paloalto00]

Is anyone else still having problems with the volume being louder on one side? It's only slight, but enough for me to notice. I also got these from buydig

 

[Makiah S]

  First off; I'd like to thank all of the contributors to this thread.  You all helped me decide to purchase a set of A900x cans for use at work and I'm loving them.
 
I have a question, if anyone can help me out; I'm looking for a case for these [perferably a hardish case] to make travel with them a little easier and protect these wonderful headphones.  I've tried the Slappa case and it was to small and bent the wire into a bad place.  Does anyone have any other suggestions as to a hard case that might fit a pair of A900x's ?
 
Thanks again for all of the wisdom and experience shared in this thread - it is greatly appreciated!

 
Actually if your a little handy and you've got some time. Try buying like a 8x11 File Fold Carrying Case [very tall and kind wide ish] and linning the inside with some variant of foam, Office Depot Sells the Case for like $11 but SOME one has to have it cheaper, get some Spray glue and maybe quickly slap some cut out foam in there for a cheap but effective [imo] hand made hard case. I'm thinking of doing that my self honestly... 

 

[paloalto00]

This is a sure sign of mismatched drivers, which seems to be a common issue with these. You may think the problem is solved with the driver setting, but it is likely that there are certain frequencies which are reproduced at different volumes by the drivers. Play the full range sweep test here to see what I mean. When I had this same problem, the mids were much louder in one piece but the in the same piece the bass and treble was out of whack as well, so changing the stereo volume was not a solution. Also run the bass shaker test, which may reveal buzzing / rattling.
This is probably due to the design of the earcups and the angled drivers, where the back part of the earcup extends farther out than the front, so that it provides a better seal behind your ears. Because of this the earpads must be adjusted to the right spot. Try twisting the pads around the cup.
My current pair that has weak bass also has the 2012-03 sticker. Looks like I was right about it being a bad batch
Another bad batch, my old pair with the mismatched drivers had the 2012-05 sticker as well.

Beach Camera is the same as BuyDig so that part is probably irrelevant. I think the problem here is Audio-Technica's failed QC. I'd be interested in whether the other people with the ones lacking bass were also manufactured in March 2012, I'd assume so.

 
For the bass test, I hear buzzing. Is that an issue?

 

[commando]

  Is anyone else still having problems with the volume being louder on one side? It's only slight, but enough for me to notice. I also got these from buydig

 
Mismatched drivers can happen with any headphones. You can either use a balance control or return them for non-faulty headphones.

 

[paloalto00]

   
Mismatched drivers can happen with any headphones. You can either use a balance control or return them for non-faulty headphones.

 
Should I contact buydig? I sent an email to audio technica, but I haven't received a reply from them

 

[commando]

   
Should I contact buydig? I sent an email to audio technica, but I haven't received a reply from them

 
Yes, return them.

 

[paloalto00]

Yes, return them.

Buydig is actually sold out, do looks like I'll be sending them in

 

[livingtheblues]

Looking for velour pads to replace stock.  Searched this thread without a clear answer.  Tried replacement pads for Beyer DT770, but a little small.  Can't find a clear answer anywhere.  Thanks in advance.

 

[Yazen]

  First off; I'd like to thank all of the contributors to this thread.  You all helped me decide to purchase a set of A900x cans for use at work and I'm loving them.
 
I have a question, if anyone can help me out; I'm looking for a case for these [perferably a hardish case] to make travel with them a little easier and protect these wonderful headphones.  I've tried the Slappa case and it was to small and bent the wire into a bad place.  Does anyone have any other suggestions as to a hard case that might fit a pair of A900x's ?
 
Thanks again for all of the wisdom and experience shared in this thread - it is greatly appreciated!

 
Thought I posted this already, but you can always try aviation bags.  I have a soft David Clark for my A900x, but I have seen "hard-ish" cases for $20-$25.  

The best option for protection would be a case from thepelicanstore.  More expensive, but the foam looks really easy to pull off.
 
 

  Looking for velour pads to replace stock.  Searched this thread without a clear answer.  Tried replacement pads for Beyer DT770, but a little small.  Can't find a clear answer anywhere.  Thanks in advance.
 

 
Interested as well, I tried swapping the pads from my DT880 without luck.....

 

[JHern]

I was looking for a desktop DAC/Amp today at Yodobashi in Shinjuku, and found a Fostex HP-A3 for ~$280 equivalent (new). It is a wonderful pairing with the ATH-900X cans I bought for ~$180 equivalent. This is an amazing desktop setup for the office, all for ~$460. I'm really amazed that I can find this level of quality for under $500.
 
Anyways, the punchy bass is still tight, but the Fostex DAC gives it a bit more depth, without losing definition. The high frequencies are way less fizzy than the MBP, which is not surprising. One of the things I like hearing is the clink and slap of bass guitar strings strumming perfectly in time and space with the deeper frequencies, and these really deliver on that front.
 
PS...for anyone who cares about desktop stereos, I listened to the new Marantz M-CR610, on sale for just under ~$500 (new), but it really seemed to lack a lot of the power and definition of the M-CR603 (its predecessor). This was true with both the speakers and the headphones (ATH-A900X). I was wondering if quality would suffer in order to accomodate all the new high tech gadgetry (wi-fi, etc.), and this hunch seems to be correct, at least to my initial impression. It is also a bit plasticky, while the 603 has a big chunk of metal forming the body. Anyways, the 603 is a great little system, and since it is an older model, you can probably find it on sale for a steal nowadays. This is my home system, and I'm running Dali Zensor I speakers when not using my cans.