Audio Technica updates their open headphones "AD" Series: AD2000x, AD1000x, AD900x, AD700x and AD500x

[Lionlian]

Forget it, 3D soundstage and position of AD700 are supreb even out of ipod, happy buyer.

 

[Sp12er3]

So, even thought it doesn't have particularly big soundstage, it makes up for it in great imaging, positional and separation?

 

[Lionlian]

So, even thought it doesn't have particularly big soundstage, it makes up for it in great imaging, positional and separation?

That how is it mate.

 

[BattousaiX26]

For someone still looking for a DAC/AMP to pair with his ADs might wanna try the Chord Mojo. Very good pairing with the AD line.

 

[Lionlian]

Just change AD700 jack to Viablue, and WOW, goodbye anemic bass, now is has a quantity and impactful enough to satisfied me who is not a bass head, soundstage is more forward slighty wider and deeper, is not as transparent but still have the same clarity with treble is less piercing and more refine,
Image is somewhat bigger too.

It change form boring sound with superb soundstage to funniest sound with even better soundstage to me, So I'm happy about this modded.

 

[Thenewguy007]

Whats the Viablue jack made of?

Gold plated, silver plated or rhodium plated?

 

[Lionlian]

It's just a normal gold plated jack,

HOWEVER it made a vocal slighty more grainy, less smooth, I don't know if burn in helping it or not.

 

[Mad Max]

Viablue is part of the recipe for a top-notch cable. 

 

[Feilong4]

Just thought I'd share some of my thoughts on my AD2000X.
 
I had them for a little over 7 months now. Along the way, I've heard other great headphones (of course, YMMV) like the T1's, the HD600's, and more.
 
Coming back to the AD2000X, vocals sound quite a bit unnatural, unclear, and at times shouty. I found these to be light on the bass as well though thought it was fairy punchy. Of course, they sound great with the right type of music unEQ'd such as acoustic or strings but I decided to try some EQing with these.
 
I've been using this EQ curve for a couple of days and I found it to work well for me.
 
TL;DR: Songs with string instruments and acoustic, no EQ. Other genres, EQ worked well for me. It'd be great if anyone could also try it out and tell me what they think. No guarantees that you'll like my EQ.
 

 
Music Program/Application: AIMP v4.12 with WASAPI
 

Spoiler: EQ Settings

31 hz +1.8 dB
63 hz +1.5 dB
87 hz +0.9 dB
125 hz +0.3 dB
175 hz +0.0 dB
250 hz -0.6 dB
350 hz -1.2 dB
500 hz -1.5 dB
700 hz -1.5 dB
1.0 kHz -3.0 dB
1.6 kHz -3.6 dB
2.0 kHz -3.0 dB
2.8 kHz -2.4 dB
4.0 kHz -3.0 dB
5.6 kHz +0.0 dB
8.0 kHz +0.0 dB
11.2 kHz +1.2 kHz
16.0 kHz +1.5 kHz
 
Note: Most of the difference really comes from the decrease from 1-4 kHz. Probably where most the "magic" happens on these headphones. My boost from 31-125 Hz and 11.2-16 kHz are very subtle. I decreased from 250-700 Hz because I found the bass to mess with the vocals when I had no adjustments and when I increased the levels.

 
I'm EQing these from listening to other headphones and to my preference. I did use the AD2000X frequency response provided by Innerfidelity as a reference though I'd say I mostly just adjusted to how I liked them. I have reference tracks that I know very well listed below my findings.
 
My findings:
- A bit more warmth
- Less immediate detail/more laidback in the mids though it's still very sweet sounding
- Ability to listen at a louder volume (to me this is a pro as I like loud music; whether that is healthy or not is another problem)
- The "haze" I found with vocals are not as present.
- Male vocals are more bodied and natural.
- Female vocals lose a touch of air and "sweetness" though I think it's much more easier to listen to.
- String instruments like the violin in "Lost my pieces" by Hashimoto Yukari lose some air and sound duller in comparison to no EQ. 
- Bass is more present throughout while possibly a touch more tight and punchy
- Upper treble notes are more "crisp" and less restrained. I always liked the timbre that these headphones produced but always thought these rolled off a bit in the upper treble region
- More well-suited for more a wider variety of musical genres
 
Of course, that's just what I think. You might not like my EQ. I'm no master at EQing nor do I think this EQ is absolutely "better" than none applied.
 
Again, I just quickly whipped it up together in a couple of days of listening.
 
Tracks used:
- Egoist - Extraterrestrial Biological Entitiies
- EF - Koi Kaze
- MrFijiwiji - Yours Truly (Jikes Remix)
- Galileo Galilei - Aoi Shiori
- Hashimoto Yukari - Lost my pieces
- Asami Imai/Kisaragi Chihaya - Tonari ni...
 
Sources/Amp:
- 320 kbps MP3, FLAC
- ifi Nano iDSD
- Schiit Magni

 

[SHAMuuu]

  Just thought I'd share some of my thoughts on my AD2000X.
 
I had them for a little over 7 months now. Along the way, I've heard other great headphones (of course, YMMV) like the T1's, the HD600's, and more.
 
Coming back to the AD2000X, vocals sound quite a bit unnatural, unclear, and at times shouty. I found these to be light on the bass as well though thought it was fairy punchy. Of course, they sound great with the right type of music unEQ'd such as acoustic or strings but I decided to try some EQing with these.
 
I've been using this EQ curve for a couple of days and I found it to work well for me.
 
TL;DR: Songs with string instruments and acoustic, no EQ. Other genres, EQ worked well for me. It'd be great if anyone could also try it out and tell me what they think. No guarantees that you'll like my EQ.
 

 
Music Program/Application: AIMP v4.12
 

Spoiler: EQ Settings

31 hz +1.8 dB
63 hz +1.5 dB
87 hz +0.9 dB
125 hz +0.3 dB
175 hz +0.0 dB
250 hz -0.6 dB
350 hz -1.2 dB
500 hz -1.5 dB
700 hz -1.5 dB
1.0 kHz -3.0 dB
1.6 kHz -3.6 dB
2.0 kHz -3.0 dB
2.8 kHz -2.4 dB
4.0 kHz -3.0 dB
5.6 kHz +0.0 dB
8.0 kHz +0.0 dB
11.2 kHz +1.2 kHz
16.0 kHz +1.5 kHz
 
Note: Most of the difference really comes from the decrease from 1-4 kHz. Probably where the "magic" happens on these headphones. My boost from 31-125 Hz and from 11.2-16 kHz are very subtle. I decreased from 250-700 Hz because I found the bass to mess with the vocals when I had no adjustments and when I increased the levels.

 
I'm EQing these from listening to other headphones and to my preference. I did use the AD2000X frequency response provided by Innerfidelity as a reference though I'd say I mostly just adjusted to how I liked them. I have reference tracks that I know very well listed below my findings.
 
My findings:
- A bit more warmth
- Less immediate detail/more laidback in the mids though it's still very sweet sounding
- Ability to listen at a louder volume (to me this is a pro as I like loud music; whether that is healthy or not is another problem)
- The "haze" I found with vocals are not as present.
- Male vocals are more bodied and natural.
- Female vocals lose a touch of air and "sweetness" though I think it's much more easier to listen to.
- String instruments like the violin in "Lost my pieces" by Hashimoto Yukari lose some air and sound duller in comparison to no EQ. 
- Bass is more present throughout while possibly a touch more tight and punchy
- Upper treble notes are more "crisp" and less restrained. I always liked the timbre that these headphones produced but always thought these rolled off a bit in the upper treble region
- More well-suited for more a wider variety of musical genres
 
Of course, that's just what I think. You might not like my EQ. I'm no master at EQing nor do I think this EQ is absolutely "better" than none applied.
 
Again, I just quickly whipped it up together in a couple of days of listening.
 
Tracks used:
- Egoist - Extraterrestrial Biological Entitiies
- EF - Koi Kaze
- MrFijiwiji - Yours Truly (Jikes Remix)
- Galileo Galilei - Aoi Shiori
- Hashimoto Yukari - Lost my pieces
- Asami Imai/Kisaragi Chihaya - Tonari ni...
 
Sources/Amp:
- 320 kbps MP3, FLAC
- ifi Nano iDSD
- Schiit Magni

With your fixes how do the vocals compare to t1?

 

[Feilong4]

  With your fixes how do the vocals compare to t1?

With a quick comparison, the two experiences are quite different. Quickly listened to "Extraterrestrial Biological Entities" and "Tonari ni..."
 
T1's
- More natural and laidback with a a slight "U-shaped" sound; I wouldn't call it recessed but some might
- More detailed and breathy while maintaining a sense of space from the vocalist which may contradict what I said above
- A touch sibilant in comparison (can be very sibilant and unforgiving with badly recorded songs)
- Less intimate
 
AD2000X with EQ
- More intimate and "in-your-head"
- More body for vocals
- More "sweet" sounding for female vocals
 
Again, these were quick impressions of 2 songs. The vocal presentations are different so I don't really have a preference over another. 

 

[Sp12er3]

I'm always aiming for those 2 headphone, say can I ask for your Impression for those two in a couple of songs?
1) Alone by Hitomi, Code Geas OST
2) Vestige by T.M. Revolution, Gundam SEED OST
3) Glassy Sky by Dona Burke, Tokyo Ghoul OST
4) Any random Orchestra & Solo Piece from Shigatsu and/ or Nodame Cantabile
Sorry for the heavy music theme bias, but I find myself listening to those kind of song the most and am wondering which would suit them better. (Hopefully you can find them, I think at least no 2 and 3 are in Spotify with the others easier to find on YouTube)
Thanks

 

[Feilong4]

I'm always aiming for those 2 headphone, say can I ask for your Impression for those two in a couple of songs?
1) Alone by Hitomi, Code Geas OST
2) Vestige by T.M. Revolution, Gundam SEED OST
3) Glassy Sky by Dona Burke, Tokyo Ghoul OST
4) Any random Orchestra & Solo Piece from Shigatsu and/ or Nodame Cantabile
Sorry for the heavy music theme bias, but I find myself listening to those kind of song the most and am wondering which would suit them better. (Hopefully you can find them, I think at least no 2 and 3 are in Spotify with the others easier to find on YouTube)
Thanks

 
Sure, but I'm not familiar with the songs so I might not know what to "listen for" so take my impressions with a grain of salt.
 
That said, I'll edit this post or add another post when I've made my impressions.
 
Both will be on flat EQ settings.

 

[Sp12er3]

Aye, it's alright, just write about your impression..
Many thanks

 

[best7]

What would you guys recommend to upgrade my AD1000x? I have owned Shure 440, Grado SR80, Hifiman HE400 and HE400i before and the sound signature I loved the most definitely belongs to AD1000x. I mostly listen to bebop, jazz fusion, ECM artists, prog and classic rock. I am mainly looking for more transparency, better imaging and faster response. Would W5000 fit this description?