As promised, some observations of the AD2000x vs the older AD2000.
I should state that I use to use the AD2000 on entry level equipment, and now I have a much better audio chain all around. It's possible my memory of the AD2000 compared to the current AD2000x was colored by using a completely different audio chain. I was really surprised when I ran my comparisons.
I burned in the AD2000X for about 48 hours, and the AD2000, as it had been unused for at least a year, for 24 hours.
Source equipment used is the Burson Audio Soloist headphone amp with an Eastern Electric Minimax Tube Dac (32-bit dac) and a Musical Fidelity V-Link USB connection to a Windows 7 pc playing various files in either FLAC or 320 bit-rate mp3.
First off the mids, the famous mids of the AD2000's are still there but not as impact. They seem to be slightly more recessed on the AD2000x. The mids seem to be tuned slightly darker, but at the same time the general sound of the headphone is slightly brighter,
The AD2000 actually sounds better if mids are your main concern.
The bass and bottom end seems to be just as impactful on the AD2000x as the original, but the bass is just slightly less in volume. You can hear the full bass spectrum, including a nice sub-bass, it's just not their in quantity, it's there in impact with a relatively fast decay.
Sound-stage is wide, the 2000x seems to have a bigger sound-stage, yes, even bigger, than the AD2000, with excellent musical separation.
The sound of the AD2000x in general seems to be more neutral than the AD2000, yes I was completely wrong in my past statements about the AD2000x having more bass.
Speed seemed to be the same in both headphones with perhaps the AD2000x having a slight advantage because of its better separation.
In general the AD2000x seems to be a better headphone, slightly better detail, better sound-stage, better neutrality. But it's also a slightly less exciting headphone, mids aren't as rich and upfront, bass hits a bit less in impact.
In summary, the AD2000x is improvement in many ways, however if you love your AD2000, then there is no reason to upgrade, you may get less of what you love about them to begin with, but still a better overall headphone in the AD2000x.
Hope that helps.
And yes, one more thing, the AD2000x doesn't sit as tightly on your head as the AD2000. That may be a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on how big a head you have.
