[nick_c]

Hi all,

Im thinking about getting a "decent" pair of headphones for Christmas but as always money is tight, the most I could afford to spend is £80.

I have been looking at the Senheisser HD555, which look good but they just dont do anything for me you know?

So now im looking at the "Audio Technica ATH-AD700" as all the reviews ive seen seem to give good praise to these phones & I read that compared to the HD555 they make the 555's sound dull & lacking any clarity, well I do like clarity!!

My only concern is that I keep seeing that these phones are "ideal classical headphones" now classical music isnt my thing, I will list what I like below.

Basically what im after is something that can produce good bass, not head banging kind of bass, but able to produce the deeper notes, & of course I do like crystal clear treble, I guess something that is just quality, not emphasizing any end of the frequency range.

Also it must have velour or felt earpads, ive had that pleather stuff before now on cheaper phones & its now molting & cracking all over the place..

So to cut a long story short, what do you guys think about the Audio Technica ATH-AD700 for these types of music, it will be plugged into my X-Fi Music card by the way, so obviously phones like the Koss Pro4 AAT's are out as they are 250ohm & so id have a problem driving them.


Here is roughly what im instested in:

Pink Floyd
Genesis
T'Pau (yes really)
Dire Straits
Mark Knopfler (his solo albums are great)

I like pretty much any music, even public enemy & run dmc are on my system.

So would the Audio Technica ATH-AD700 be a good buy & would they last many many years if I look after them? or does the velour pads molt just as the pleather tends to crack & decompose

Nick

 

[JayB18]

Ive had both the HD555 and AD700 and kept the AD700. In my opinion the AD700 is good for pretty much anything (as was the HD555 but for different reasons). The soundstage, separation, detail, clarity, speed, energy are all better on the AD700. The HD555 has a bit more bass but a has a treble roll off that makes them too smooth sounding in my opinion. The AD700 is a bit bass light though but you could always equalize a bit if you want. The bass on the AD700 is source dependent as well so you may find that there is enough with an X-fi without equalizing. Bass impact isn't the best though.

 

[nick_c]

Thanks for the reply,

Just to confirm something, ive read on amazon.com from a few customer reviews as well as other sources & they say the headband part is magnesium alloy & the actual cans are aluminium.

I then read on another review that they are made entirely out of plastic & creak quite a lot because of it, I dont know who to believe!

What are they made from, metal or all plastic?

Nick

 

[JayB18]

They seem to be made of mostly plastic. They do creak a bit when you move your head around.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Ya. Anyway, AD700 is a fantastic all-rounder.

 

[themanbeast]

I'm listening to my AD700 right now, doign some comparisons with a bunch of other recently purchased headphones. my opinions:

1) it does everything well

2) I think its even more "fun" than my Grado SR-80

3) extremely comfortable

its very easy to power as well. I used to use it with a computers onboard audio, which didnt drive it quite as well as I was looking for, but my X-fi ran it amazingly. now, I'm running the cans through a Zero DAC/AMP, and they keep up with all my other cans quite well.

These were the best $100 ive ever spent.

 

[fraseyboy]

AD700's are amazing. No doubt about it.

They do good with all genre's. I don't even listen to them with classical. Mostly indie and rock for me and they do it very very well.

 

[altimatepirate]

i think they're good for rock, fabulous clarity and not so in head sounding as the comparably priced sr80's

 

[Tacoboy]

I have the Audio Technica ATH-AD500s which I use for gaming, music (Newage, Rock, Classical, etc.), DVD movies, HD TV and I would have no problem with upgrading to the AD700s.