[syNRG]

Hi guys,
 
Ok, I've pretty much settled it down to these two headphones which are in my price range and are probably the best value for money (by my searching and lurking on the site)
 
the AD700 are ranked 14th on this site while the FA-003 are 10th! (I'd never even heard of the brand 'till a few days ago)
Anyways the AD700 are $145 from an authorised reseller 
and the FA-003 are $190 from an authoriser reseller (and the only place selling in australia)
If i get the audio technicas i will most likely get a portable headphone amp to get the best sound out of 'em while with the FA-003, I'd be even lucky to get one in the future-might be some months before i could consider getting one for the headphones (looking at the fiio e11)
So my questions is, should i get the audio technica headphones with an amp, or
get the FA-003, wait it out for a few months, then get the headphone amp.
Essentially to break my question down further
Will the audio technica AD700s sound better amped than the Fischer Audio FA-003 will unamped (will an amp boost really be noticable in these headphones?). I'm willing to go all the way for these headphones as they'll be my 1st proper headphones other than my Beats studios (which i learnt from 1st hand experience were terrible when it came to sound reproduction while i was watching some of my ps3 gameplay on youtube checking quality). I signed up straight away after deciding i was getting new headphones and i'd really value your opinions.
 
Thanks 
 
syNRG

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
It comes down to what you want to buy.
 
Want to buy half of a headphone? Get the AD700.
Want to buy a complete headphone? Get the Fischer FA-003.
 
The FA-003 is an excellent neutral headphone with a nice sound stage and excellent passive isolation with two pad types and a carry case with detachable cords. It's frequency response is great, it goes very deep into sub-bass and has great extension and control and wonderful Fischer mids and a good tight fast treble that is detailed. It does everything very well. It's a whole, complete headphone and worth the investment. And it does enjoy current, so give it some amplification. It will however work without amplification. I found the FA-003 to scale with amplification, the more I fed it, the more interesting and fun the headphone became (especially in the nether regions).
 
The AD700 is half of a headphone. You get the nice mids and treble and a huge sound stage, but around 100hz you just stop having anything. This headphone is crippled for sub-bass. This headphone doesn't need an amplifier at all. And it never gains sub-bass. All the EQ'ing in the world doesn't make this headphone suddenly have something it simply is not capable of. This headphone, as far as I'm concerned, is overhyped and pretty much only good for niche markets where people want sound stage and mids, but nothing else, like competitive online-foot-step-listening type games. For music? It's just not a complete headphone to my ears. But that's, I'm sure someone else will defend it's weak basslessness and think it's worth it's price tag (which it is not). Frankly, for the money, the Samson SR850 is better. Again, just my opinion. I own all of them.
 
Very best,

 

[syNRG]

Wow you're lucky, wish i could get 'em all
I thought the audio technica is pretty cheap, specially for what you get. Anyways 1 more questions, do you think that the fiio e11 would be good? I use a notebook computer but i want the portability so my friends can experience the sound on their ipods when i visit 'em and also their notebook computers. you've been a massive help and pretty much cemented my choice of the Fischer audio. 
thanks mate (didn't know anyone would reply 'cos i posted this at 1am (american time i presume) and thought no one would be awake, unless you're not american)
Also for that price point, do you have any other recommendations? or is the fischer the best you can get for that price or under?
 
thanks again

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Wow you're lucky, wish i could get 'em all
I thought the audio technica is pretty cheap, specially for what you get. Anyways 1 more questions, do you think that the fiio e11 would be good? I use a notebook computer but i want the portability so my friends can experience the sound on their ipods when i visit 'em and also their notebook computers. you've been a massive help and pretty much cemented my choice of the Fischer audio. 
thanks mate (didn't know anyone would reply 'cos i posted this at 1am (american time i presume) and thought no one would be awake, unless you're not american)
Also for that price point, do you have any other recommendations? or is the fischer the best you can get for that price or under?
 
thanks again

 
Heya,
 
The Fiio E11 is a fantastic amplifier, both for portable use and for use at home. I have two of them and I'm pleased with them completely as a portable option. For a home option, I'd probably suggest you go the route of something like the Fiio E10 for a laptop so that you get a nice clean DAC and an amplifier in one nice unit. Another option for total portability is the Fiio E7 or E17 (new). This will function both for home use on a laptop and for portable use on an ipod. So it may be better for you (try and just get Fiio E7 or the new E17 and you're good to go). Alternative: iBasso D-ZERO.
 
It's hard to really nail down what headphone is right for you, not knowing what you're looking for mostly. What do you favor? What sort of music is your favorite? Do you need isolation? Do you just want to use these at home? Also, budget in your country is probably very different compared to others, I know everything is very expensive on your continent compared to mine.
 
Headphones I'd suggest you get to know more about:
 
Beyer DT880 & DT770
AudioTechnica AD900 and A900X
Fischer Audio FA-003 and FA-002
Sennheiser HD598 and HD600
AKG Q701 and K550
Shure SRH840
Ultrasone PRO 750 and HFI 780
Denon D2000
Grado SR60i
Samson SR850
Panasonic HTF600
M-Audio Q40
 
Very best,

 

[syNRG]

thanks for replying again
 
Headphones I'm interested in are just out of my price range 'cos you're so right (about the price comparison and how much more expensive it is). 
i listen mainly to electro, hip hop, rap. But i will listen to almost all genres. I thought the bass boost would be good in the fiio e11 and that'll help me.
I also thought to get your opinion on the Brainwavz HM5 (which everone says are the same as the fischer audio but wth more accessories). Have you had any experience with these? I've looked around but info is lacking, or not too credible.
 
THanks 

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

thanks for replying again
 
Headphones I'm interested in are just out of my price range 'cos you're so right (about the price comparison and how much more expensive it is). 
i listen mainly to electro, hip hop, rap. But i will listen to almost all genres. I thought the bass boost would be good in the fiio e11 and that'll help me.
I also thought to get your opinion on the Brainwavz HM5 (which everone says are the same as the fischer audio but wth more accessories). Have you had any experience with these? I've looked around but info is lacking, or not too credible.
 
THanks 

 
The HM5 is the same as the FA003. The FA003 comes with both leather & velour pads, detachable cord and carry case. Not sure what else the HM5 could come with that is more than what the FA003 come with. But the HM5 is easier to get and cheaper, so it's a good way to go. Great set of headphones.
 
See if you can find a set of affordable M-Audio Q40's based on your genres.
 
Very best,
 
 

 

[syNRG]

They're cheaper but come with an extra cable (2 all up, 1.3meter and 3meter) as well as an airline adaptor, and are extremely cheap compared to the fischer audio.
only problem is, i can't find them in australia
 
thanks again for the help

 

[manveru]

Malveaux, it's funny that you say the A700 stops at 100 Hz. Going off of memory, the A700 had some of the best bass extension I have yet to hear (in my limited experience). I remember doing sine wave sweeps and the like and it went well down to at least 30 Hz before any huge roll off. Unless I'm just crazy and have a false memory, it was deeper and stronger than the HM5. In fact, the bass is the one thing on the A700 that I like better than the HM5, but for everything else I do think the HM5 is in a higher class of sound quality.
 
Btw syNRG, if you're looking for the HM5, mp4nation.net does international shipping.

 

[Telltale]

Quote:

Malveaux, it's funny that you say the A700 stops at 100 Hz. Going off of memory, the A700 had some of the best bass extension I have yet to hear (in my limited experience). I remember doing sine wave sweeps and the like and it went well down to at least 30 Hz before any huge roll off. Unless I'm just crazy and have a false memory, it was deeper and stronger than the HM5. In fact, the bass is the one thing on the A700 that I like better than the HM5, but for everything else I do think the HM5 is in a higher class of sound quality.
 
Btw syNRG, if you're looking for the HM5, mp4nation.net does international shipping.

 
The headphone in question is the AD700, not the A700. They're the open-backed version which are renowned for having amazing soundstage but very little bass. So they're perfect for competitive gaming (they're the default recommendation I find) but not all that great if you want to listen to any music.
 
 

 

[manveru]

Oh crap! Hahahaha. Sorry about that. I guess my brain passed over that assumed it was A700, since the other headphone in question was closed.

 

[syNRG]

yea i saw whilst prowling the net I do game, but it's console based, so i doubt i'll be using my headphones unless i sit awful close. but i have watched a lot of tv and gamed a lot on console and portable devices through out my life and never needed glasses luck?
 and OMG thanks for the link. i saw it before, but i went back to it just then, they have an added fiio e11 a discounted price. i'm so excited (i must sound like a child on christmas eve )
 
thanks guys for all your replies. you've been extremely helpful, i appreciate everything

 

[syNRG]

i'm making another post 'cos i forgot something
 
If i buy a standard 3.5mm headphone cord, will i be able to use it in the headphones? Or will i have to use the onees provided? 
thanks

 

[manveru]

The ones provided are your best bet. They're shaped so that they lock into place. It is possible to plug in a different cable provided it's diameter is small enough to fit inside the hole however.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

i'm making another post 'cos i forgot something
 
If i buy a standard 3.5mm headphone cord, will i be able to use it in the headphones? Or will i have to use the onees provided? 
thanks

Use the stock cable, but you can extend that cable by adding an extension after the stock cable. That would be the easiest way to go. Just get an extension cable with one side terminated male and the other female. Good to go.
 
Very best,
 

 

[oohms]

http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=AA2065&form=CAT2&SUBCATID=1015#4
 
Same as the FA-003
 
 
I have both these and the AD700's.. and i think most people would go for the FA-003 because of its much superior bass response
 
edit: the AD700's can be equalised to sound really good with a proper eq + measurement mic