[Dsnuts]

First I would like to say I agree with your observations on the AD900X a recording.. This is indeed how they sound but in the early stages of the drivers. And I know how you stand on the whole burn in thing but would you believe me if I told you the fullness in the lower mids as well as the rest of the sound get much more fuller, smoother around the 150th hours of burn in.?  
 
I know 3 other headfiers that took my recommendation of burn in and did just that. All of them will confirm my statements of this. I know it sounds hokey but what you described is how they sound within the first 20 hours or so..The burn in process for these cans take some time and effort but in the end will completely surprise you. Burn in or not. These will slowly but surely get progressively better as more music is played through them and at fairly loud levels too. You gotta tax them big 53mm drivers here.
 
I would keep running music through them..I am 100% sure that AT did absolutely zero factory burn in on these cans..The sound from open box to where they are now on my pair is a stark contrast. Try it out.. What you like about the AD900X will only get much better.

 

[meowza]

Can anyone recommend the best place to have some AD-1000's recabled? Or would it be that difficult to do it myself? 

 

[Themplax]

Hello guys,
 
I also bought the AD-900x about 2 weeks ago and I'm loving the sound of it. Now I have a dilemma about what to choose next, I'm currently running them from my onboard realtek 892 soundcard but I want to upgrade it. Now here are the contestants: 
 
- Soundblaster Z soundcard ( I'd want this for 5.1 surround because I also do a bit of fps gaming but it doesn't have a good amplifier on it)
- Fiio e70k (I would choose this but seeing as I also do a bit of gaming and they only output stereo to my knowledge)
 
I'm wondering which one would give me better sound quality and does the AD900x sound better from an amp at all?
Thank you for your time.

 

[Mitchm]

Okay I want to order the AD900x, but which one open, close, air dyn or the art. I like ordering direct from Amazon which only carries the closed. I saw the ATH ews 9a for sale but I guess it's not in the same league? Help please.

 

[razzz42]

Amazon has the AD900X  even fulfilled by Amazon plus other sellers sent from Japan. Reviews there are lacking, You guys here must be ahead of the curve.
 
'AD' stands for AIR/open.
 
'A' stands for ART/closed.
 
Agree with burn in times which is really trying to loosen up the driver for more traveling movement esp. for the AD/AIR/open A-T line of phones because the driver will not find much resistances in an open style headphone.
 
I have suggested before to run Bork Greatest Hits - Hunter (2002) or for more range Bork Greatest Hit - Venus As A Boy (2002), off of Youtube will work, through the headphones for a couple hours at moderate volume to help them loosen up.

 

[a_recording]

I don't really mean to start an off topic discussion of burn in here, but it's been my observation with every headphone that I've ever bought that the headphone sounds better to me over time regardless of whether burn-in is taking place or not.
 
ie: That I've listened to things that have already had enough hours on them to be fully burnt in, but it takes me a while to listen to enough different types of music on it on it to really get a handle on how they sound beyond the initial things that really jump out to me.
 
I've listened to things and thought "wow this sound really" changed, and then subsequently tried a brand new pair or had a replacement pair and heard no difference.
 
I always compare it to wearing a new pair of glasses. The glasses don't change; your brain does.
 
I can definitely say that I like the AD900X's more than when I first tried them, especially since the fit is better. I'm more inclined to attribute that to me getting used to the way they sound more than anything else.
 
What I'm trying to figure out is, are they really better than their closest conceptual counterpart, the Sony MA900. To me the sound staging sounds like the same way the AD900 and AD2000 sounded to me after many, many hours of operation: wide, airy but actually somewhat flat in the way it placed instruments. This is not something you would really notice or care about if the ATH-AD900X was your only can.
 
I'm doing A/B's of the AD900X at the same time I'm switching between things like the MA900, GR07, 7550, XBA-40, etc  and they all do a better job of conveying the physical feel of instruments in space and delivering a well formed bass response. I suspect this actually comes down to the AD900X not being able to deliver fantastic transients - just like the AD900 and AD2000 which I liked but eventually passed on.
 
I want to be as critical as possible Dsnuts. I appreciate your enthusiasm but you sustain the same level of enthusiasm for a lot of things you try and its honestly hard to believe that everything you try could be that intensely good. The AD900X sounds excellent and for the price point the build quality and sound quality are wonderful, but it isn't a perfect do no evil headphone.
 
It's an easy recommendation but at a similar price on Amazon.co.jp the MA900 is a better all-rounder. And much more comfortable to boot!
 
I'll do a few days more listening and then hopefully put up my final impressions :3

 

[Mitchm]

Thanks for the reply. I just ordered the a900x from Buydig refurbished and was able to use the Amazon card. I guess the close will be okay it will provide isolation so I can use less volume and hopefully still get a open sound stage. I never owned phones like these. Sounds like I can use without an amp to start off. Between these and the Gr07 I should have what I need? I hope the refurbished hold up as good as new. Do you think I got it right? 

 

[razzz42]

Congratulations, You not only bought decent phones but played the beat the price game. You can tell us if you won later. Don't know what their return policy is but I don''t think you will need it.
 
My factory refurbished A900X looked new to me. Came without the packaging bells and whistles. The refurb warranty of 1 year seems to beat the typical  90 day ones.
 
Not paying the retail price makes them sound better...just kidding. These phones are a very good entry into the world of headphones. Not much of a food-fight here about them. If you owned both AD900X and A900X for the open and closed experiences, I don't think anybody would fault you for doing that.
 
It is all a matter of personal preference when it comes to listening to sounds.  If you are plugging into a MP3 player, they might sound different than if you are plugging into a home stereo system.  Hopefully at least plugging into a newer computer with a decent sound chip onboard.
 
Soon you will be telling us what you like and don't like.
 

 

[Mitchm]

I did call about the return policy. I spoke to two different people. It didn't sound like their was a one year warranty maybe it was 90 days for a defect and the Buydigs was 45 days return? But they don't want a return if you just change your mind. Sorry it wasn't that clear. Yes I have a new Ipad mini which sounds pretty good and the Samsung 3. I'm getting ready for a back surgery so I hope these new phones help me thru. Thanks for the advise. It just amazing the evolution of music listening, it so much easier then just a few years ago. I don't think the blue tooth phones are up to speed yet as far as music listening would u agreed. Thanks for your help.

 

[razzz42]

I have to defer to anyone else who owns any of the merchandise you mentioned and plugs their headphones into for listening. I usually sit in front of a desktop computer and  listen through headphones or speakers. I read an USB headphone AMP with or without OP AMPs will cure a lot of listening problems.
 
Good luck with your surgery.
 

 

[majnu]

which would you recommend for gaming on the PC connected via an Asus STX? I currently game with the HD595 and am looking for something with more soundstage. I was thinking of buying the Beyerdynamic DT990Pro 250ohm version which is £135. But if the something from the AT x range is more better suited then how do I go about purchasing from Amazon in Japan?
 
Sorry if this has been asked before, but the thread is very large.
 
Thanks

 

[Katun]

Hopefully someone can compare them to the AD900 one of these days. It still looks like the original has the better build, but not sure about sound.
 
Quote:

 
I want to be as critical as possible Dsnuts. I appreciate your enthusiasm but you sustain the same level of enthusiasm for a lot of things you try and its honestly hard to believe that everything you try could be that intensely good.

 
+1

 

[Alberto01]

Quote:

I don't really mean to start an off topic discussion of burn in here, but it's been my observation with every headphone that I've ever bought that the headphone sounds better to me over time regardless of whether burn-in is taking place or not.
 
ie: That I've listened to things that have already had enough hours on them to be fully burnt in, but it takes me a while to listen to enough different types of music on it on it to really get a handle on how they sound beyond the initial things that really jump out to me.
 
I've listened to things and thought "wow this sound really" changed, and then subsequently tried a brand new pair or had a replacement pair and heard no difference.
 
I always compare it to wearing a new pair of glasses. The glasses don't change; your brain does.
 
I can definitely say that I like the AD900X's more than when I first tried them, especially since the fit is better. I'm more inclined to attribute that to me getting used to the way they sound more than anything else.
 
What I'm trying to figure out is, are they really better than their closest conceptual counterpart, the Sony MA900. To me the sound staging sounds like the same way the AD900 and AD2000 sounded to me after many, many hours of operation: wide, airy but actually somewhat flat in the way it placed instruments. This is not something you would really notice or care about if the ATH-AD900X was your only can.
 
I'm doing A/B's of the AD900X at the same time I'm switching between things like the MA900, GR07, 7550, XBA-40, etc  and they all do a better job of conveying the physical feel of instruments in space and delivering a well formed bass response. I suspect this actually comes down to the AD900X not being able to deliver fantastic transients - just like the AD900 and AD2000 which I liked but eventually passed on.
 
I want to be as critical as possible Dsnuts. I appreciate your enthusiasm but you sustain the same level of enthusiasm for a lot of things you try and its honestly hard to believe that everything you try could be that intensely good. The AD900X sounds excellent and for the price point the build quality and sound quality are wonderful, but it isn't a perfect do no evil headphone.
 
It's an easy recommendation but at a similar price on Amazon.co.jp the MA900 is a better all-rounder. And much more comfortable to boot!
 
I'll do a few days more listening and then hopefully put up my final impressions :3

 
Which of the headphones that you have tried has the best soundstage for your liking?

 

[majnu]

which amazon sellers are you using to dispatch to your country? has anyone froim the UK successfully ordered these?

 

[majnu]

Quote:

I've been buying from Amazon Japan, and using the Tenso service and have received great pricing.
The Tenso service is fairly reasonable, price is around $20-$25 depending on the weight, less if you order several items and have Tenso combine the shipments.
 
I bought my AD900x using this service. Even with the cost of the Tenso service, the cost was much cheaper than current Ebay or Amazon US third party sellers. 
 
Delivery time was also very fast, paid for my headphones on a Monday, had them on Friday from Japan. 
 
Links:
 
http://www.amazon.co.jp/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?__mk_ja_JP=%E3%82%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB%E3%83%8A&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=audio+technica+air&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aaudio+technica+air
 
http://www.tenso.com/en/
 
Currency converter

 
Hi
 
How much did Tenso charge in total for shipping and fees please?