[Poetik]

I'm extremely unfamiliar with the Audio Technica lineup and always completely dismiss anything to do about them. However recently I made a deal with a fellow head-fier to audition his pair of AD2000's and I was wondering how their audiophile line up went. While browsing through their "Audiophile section" on their website I only see ATH-A700, ATH-AD700, and ATH-W5000. Price wise it leads me to believe that the ATH-W5000 is their flagship but where does the ATH-AD2000 fit in that picture? It seems like they aren't even selling that model anymore. Are their any models between the AD2000 and the W5000? I'm very curious to hear them but would also like to see how their mid to high end tier works.

For instance sennheiser is HD800 > HD650 > HD600 > HD580. Does anyone know how it would work with Audio Technica?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

-Cedric

 

[warubozu]

Audio Technica has several headphone series. There's the A series which consists of the A2000X, A1000X, A900, A700, and A500. There's the W series which consists of the W5000, W1000x, and the (discontinued) W1000. There's the AD series which consists of the AD2000, AD1000RPM, AD1000, AD900, and AD700. The AD2000 would be or was AT's flagship model for that series.

 

[Superpredator]

Don't forget the limited-edition and discontinued members of the W series:

audio-technicabATH-L3000

 

[warubozu]

Yup, also there were limited production of the A series: A900LTD, A950LTD, and A900Ti.

 

[Poetik]

Thanks for the quick responses everyone. I just wanted to make sure what I was getting into with the Audio Technica stuff. You all have been a great help and I hope this thread helps out anyone else looking to get into AT.

 

[happyxix]

And if you haven't noticed yet, W = wood, AD = open, A = closed.

 

[morphon]

Their website is not very informative.

You are correct about model numbers - generally, they go up for higher quality.

The letter code tells you the enclosure, A = closed, generic. AD = open. W = enclosed, wood. They have at least two wood-enclosure headphones (W5000 and W1000). Generally speaking, the AD series is well regarded. At the lower end (especially the AD700, not as much the AD500), they are praised for being excellent price/performance choices. I think "value" judgments are less univocal with the AD1000 and AD2000.

Naturally, the wood-enclosures are meant for people that want that particular sound that wood gives, so they don't measure as well, etc... You know the drill.

 

[MomijiTMO]

I'd like to chime in and say that the AT AD line is quite different from other brands. As you travel up, you don't get an improvement in all bases. In fact, there are people who hate the AD2000 and would take the AD900 over it in a heart beat. They are very different sounding headphones and this always misleads people.

 

[jcoops16]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superpredator /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't forget the limited-edition and discontinued members of the W series: audio-technicabATH-L3000

Nice link. I have been trying to find infomation on all the past W series headphones for a while now with no luck, so thanks for that

 

[loopsider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcoops16 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice link. I have been trying to find infomation on all the past W series headphones for a while now with no luck, so thanks for that

Weird they haven't put the W1000x that I'm wearing on my head at this moment on that lineup.

 

[warubozu]

Ya, AT didn't update the lineup in a long time. When the lineup on that webpage was created, the W1000 was the flagship model of the W series.

 

[Mr Joboto]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MomijiTMO /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd like to chime in and say that the AT AD line is quite different from other brands. As you travel up, you don't get an improvement in all bases. In fact, there are people who hate the AD2000 and would take the AD900 over it in a heart beat. They are very different sounding headphones and this always misleads people.

And then there's the 1000 stuck in the middle.