[PodMan]

I am looking for a closed full sized headphone for plugging into either my ibook or sound card. I use ER4P for any serious listening so I guess these headphones do not need to be the greatest in fidelity.

I just need them to be comfortable (circumaural only) and versatile (able to sound pretty good with any source). Oh, I would want to use them for gaming as well so it would be great if these headphones are good at positional detail.

so after many searches, I think the A500 would fit me the best in terms of those areas. Does anyone else have any other suggestions? Not many people seem to own these headphones and audio technica does not seem to be the flavor of the month anymore as I don't see much mention of them around here anymore.

I would be particularly interested in A500 vs A900 comparisons, or just a full featured A500 review. I think bangraman mentioned that A900 are great all-purpose headphones. I am wondering if the A500 is the same. I've only read that the A500 sounds "pretty good" and is supposed to be pretty warm, with not much else going into the detail about how it actually sounds. So any other suggestions and reviews/comparisons would be great. my budget is preferably $100 but I can stretch it to $200 if there is something compelling that is around that price. Thanks!

 

[IWalker182]

I can't compare the A900s to the A500s....but I just got the A900s in the mail today and am listening to them right now....and I love em! Definitely sound better amped...but sound damn good unamped too. They're huge on my head (and I'm 6'5" tall) but that doesn't bother me for a second...and I love the way they feel and fit. I'd def. recommend them.

 

[raif]

I was thinking about selling my audio-technica ath-100ti phones for 200 plus shipping.(flexible) I don't know how you feel about used phones. They are nearly flawless, box and all parts. There is a dimple on the side where I breathed on them too hard.(gol'darn beautiful blue titanium) They are the most amazing head phones I have owned, but I only listen to jazz and classical.(at work) So if you want sony style bass to come out of these things you probably want to pass. I dunno, these are pretty much my experience with audio technica, though I own many other phones.(grado sr-80, sony v6, philips hp890)
oh by the way, these don't need to be amped. When I listen to them on my sony d25s I can't go above 2 without hurting my ears, and I am a drummer.

 

[strohmie]

I'll toss in my usual vote for the CD1700s, at about $150. They'd fit the criteria. The A900s are supposed to be quite nice too.

 

[cscott23]

I'm a big fan of the A900's.

 

[PodMan]

thanks for all the suggestions guys, I think I am still leaning towards the A500 as I might want to pick up a pair of shure e2c for bus commuting. as long as there is nothing glaringly wrong about the A500 sound, it should be ok. from past discussions, it seems most people who have owned the A500 finds it ok, except maybe for the cheap construction. I notice it comes with a carrying pouch as well, which would be nice as these phones will probably be spending most of their time on the floor when I am not using them. I don't want anything too expensive as they will probably be kicked around.

 

[kcits]

hmm i don't think the A500 comes with a pouch (at least not the one i got from audiocubes.)

anyway, i had the A500 for a few months and upgraded to the A900. the A500 is kinda similar to the A900 -- they definitely share a "family resemblance." the A500's soundstage is about as wide as the A900's, although seems slightly less "airy". it's very nice and spacious for a closed 'phone though. hmm... yeah the bass is a little boomy on the A500, although it's not an entirely unpleasant bump (it's about at the 60-70hz range rather than the 100hz upper bass boom.)
the A900's bass isn't as boomy.

as for treble, the A900's is quite a lot smoother i think (although the A900's extreme treble is very bright, it's definitely less sibilant -- that's not to say the A500 is really sibilant...)

hmm.. lessee... vocals are a little more prominent on the A900s. strangely enough, people seem to say the A900's midrange is recessed. i'd disagree and say that it's the lower treble of the A900 that's recessed (when compared to the hd580.) this characteristic is shared by the A500.

anyways, hope that helped

i don't think you could go wrong with either one...

 

[kcits]

oh, almost forgot -- j-curve took some very handy frequency plots of the A500 & A900.

the A500:

the A900:

 

[PodMan]

thanks for the very helpful response. so how does either the A900 or A500 compare to the HD580 to you? I am a former HD580 owner. If either of them can resemble the HD580 sound (or be a little more forward and be easier to drive), I would be very happy. And is the A900 just as easy to power as the A500?

oh, and are the A900 pads similar to the A500 pads? The audiocubes description says the A500 comes with a bag but I guess not then.

 

[zeplin]

podman,

i little advice for ya. i've had the chance to listen to a few AT's (500 or 900), plus the one i own (W100). i noticed that you can change the AT sound quite a bit by moving the drivers closer to the ear. for one, it smooths out the treble and refines the bass a lot by making it stronger, more punchy, and accurate. what i do is wrap rubber bands around the lower part of the wired archs. about and 1"-1 1/2" from the base of the archs i placed tie wraps around the wired (all 4) archs to stop the rubber bands from sliding up when putting the headphones on ( they will want to naturally slide upwards from the pressure of your head). what this does, since all the AT headphones are rather big and fit loosely, is sqeezes (how tight you make the sqeeze depends on how many rubber bands you put on) or clamps the phones onto your head for a way better fit, especially for us smaller headed people. again, this brings the drivers closer to the ears, which transforms the sound into a more beautiful presentation compared to just wearing them naturally without any extra clamp. everything balnaces out and becomes much more smooth. i say this because if you pair the AT's with any bright amp or source, the highs might be a little too harsh. but when you make things right, in my experience with the W1000, they turn into the perfect phone. i even love my AT's as much as i love my Ety's now...and my Ety 4S is my favorite phone out of my whole collection. i think of them as a full sized version of the Ety's. i can't remember for the life of me which one ( 500 or 900) i heard, but it shared some of the same characteristics as my W1000. and all of the AT's, like any other brand, carry a specific type of brand sound. and this is why i think the little mod i've peformed will work with what ever model you go with! good luck and feel free to PM me once you (and if) decide to do this little modification...i know i didn't explain it as clearly as i would have hoped

i hope you enjoy your new phones

happy listening!

 

[kcits]

Quote:

Originally posted by PodMan thanks for the very helpful response. so how does either the A900 or A500 compare to the HD580 to you? I am a former HD580 owner. If either of them can resemble the HD580 sound (or be a little more forward and be easier to drive), I would be very happy. And is the A900 just as easy to power as the A500? oh, and are the A900 pads similar to the A500 pads? The audiocubes description says the A500 comes with a bag but I guess not then.

well the A500/900s have a lot more of a "fun" sound than the HD580s (i'm referring to the slightly exaggerated treble & mid-lower bass compared to the 580), but both still manage to sound quite refined & smooth (the A900 more so than the A500.) if you haven't already, have a look at duncan's really good A900 vs HD600 review in the review section.

i guess it really depends on your mood/music choice. i think i've slowly grown to favour the HD580's neutrality & soundstage (although i initally preferred the A900s to the 580s)

(the A500/900's soundstage seems to be about as wide as the 580's, but not as deep.)

and zeplin brings up a good point -- the ATs are *really* sensitive to placement. moving them backwards/forwards on your head changes the lower treble response quite a bit.

yeah A900s are about as loud as the A500 at the same volume setting.

[edit: whoops forgot one thing: ya the A900's pads are the same material as on the A500. although the A900s have extra padding that covers the plastic area between the soft pad and the earcup. both are about the same comfort level (ie, pretty comfy, but can get a little hot.)]

hope that helped

 

[psyco1]

The A900 is great for gaming, that's all I use anymore. It provides enough isolation to keep the din of the fans to a minimum, yet allows enough in to hear people talking and the phone. The soundstage is great for it, being able to pinpoint where the bazooka came from in BF42 or if someone's behind a corner in UT2K3 can make the difference between the frag going to you or him.

It seems like it doesn't ike the MAD Ear+, I think it sounds better from the comp's FortissimoII soundcard. I've heard that A-T's in general do better with SS amps, though.

 

[PodMan]

I think I've just read every mention of the A900 and A500 here.

The blue aluminum of the A900 is really tempting me... but I think I've finally decided to go with the A500. As I mentioned earlier, these will probably be lying on the floor next to the computer most of the time so I probably don't want too expensive a headphone. Also, with the HD580, I had a headphone that was too good for my sources so I do not want the same situation with the A900. If the soundstage of the A500 is close to the A900, then it should still be pretty good for a closed phone. These probably won't be used too much for serious listening anyway.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I think I'll be ordering the A500s from audiocubes next week!

 

[Habib]

Slightly off-topic but still relevant to raif's comment. The Sony D-25S is a unique breed of PCDP. It's unusually loud and drives just about headphones unamped pretty well. I used to listen to my HD-580 at around 2 as well. And that 300 ohm vs 30 ohm (A1000, I can't find A100's spec but thought they are comparable). I know volume is rather subjective but I thought it needs to be clarified.

HD-590 is another good headphone to consider unamped. I've heard one out of sb live and it's surprisingly good (for gaming + mp3). And they are extremely comfortable and they cover your ears. However, they are open.

 

[bangraman]

How did I miss this thread?

No need to answer, everything's been said

Except to say I think the A900 is quite a passable closed stand-in for the HD600.