[Christoff]

I've narrowed down the list of cans to these two:

ATH-A700 (Lowest Price: $111 @ Amazon)
vs.
ATH-A900 (Lowest Price: $225 @ Audiocubes)

I know the AD900's open design is the premier choice for gaming due to their soundstage, but open cans wouldn't work, as I usually game in the living room while my wife watches TV and such.

I'm looking for a wide, precise soundstage that will help me accurately place footsteps and such for games as MW2, and enough bass for game immersion. Comfort is important as well.

My question is, at current prices is the A900 worth twice as much as the A700, or is the difference not enough to warrant the extra $$$?

Thanks.

 

[jp_zer0]

Soundstage is not important for gaming. No stereo headphone will be able to accurately represent footsteps in 3d space. Soundstage is only a psycho-acoustic effect, an illusion if you will.

 

[iancraig10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christoff /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've narrowed down the list of cans to these two: ATH-A700 (Lowest Price: $111 @ Amazon) vs. ATH-A900 (Lowest Price: $225 @ Audiocubes) My question is, at current prices is the A900 worth twice as much as the A700, or is the difference not enough to warrant the extra $$$? Thanks.

My feeling is that the AD700 are a fantastic buy. A touch sibilant but essentially a really warm, mellow headphone.

I regret selling my AD700. I do miss its sound and how it's driven so easily. I don't regret selling the AD900 so much although technically, it may be a slightly better headphone.

The AD700 has a warmth that is missing from the AD900 imo.

Ian

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp_zer0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Soundstage is only a psycho-acoustic effect, an illusion if you will.

Soundstage is the result of acoustic reflections, man.

 

[Necrolic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp_zer0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Soundstage is not important for gaming. No stereo headphone will be able to accurately represent footsteps in 3d space. Soundstage is only a psycho-acoustic effect, an illusion if you will.

False.

And as for the OPs question, if it's solely for gaming, you are not going to get a $100 improvement in positional audio. It IS an improvement, but not worth $100.

Now if you're getting them for music as well, then sure go for it.

 

[jp_zer0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Necrolic /img/forum/go_quote.gif False. And as for the OPs question, if it's solely for gaming, you are not going to get a $100 improvement in positional audio. It IS an improvement, but not worth $100. Now if you're getting them for music as well, then sure go for it.

Who do you think you are? Afaik you have zero reputation here so I don't see the point of just saying "false" like it means anything.

 

[Bengt77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iancraig10 /img/forum/go_quote.gif My feeling is that the AD700 are a fantastic buy. A touch sibilant but essentially a really warm, mellow headphone. I regret selling my AD700. I do miss its sound and how it's driven so easily. I don't regret selling the AD900 so much although technically, it may be a slightly better headphone. The AD700 has a warmth that is missing from the AD900 imo. Ian

The OP mentioned their closed brethren, though. Not the AD-series, but the A-series.

 

[bcpk]

Worth a look at the ATH-M50s, too. I suspect they might do better than the A700s for soundstage and overall sound. You can get them for $90 on eBay from authorized dealers.

 

[RallyMaster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp_zer0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Who do you think you are? Afaik you have zero reputation here so I don't see the point of just saying "false" like it means anything.

Do you game?

 

[jsplice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp_zer0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Who do you think you are? Afaik you have zero reputation here so I don't see the point of just saying "false" like it means anything.

X2

In a speaker system, "soundstage" is heard due to the time/delay at which the sound from each speaker hits both ears. In headphones, the sound from the right channel is never heard in the left, and vice versa. This is why crossfeed was invented. A bit of sound from the left channel is fed to the right channel with a slight delay (and vice versa), to simulate the effect of listening to a speaker system. However, I'm not quite sure why open back headphones such as the AD700s have such a wide soundstage. It could be that there are some reflections coming into play.

 

[Helmore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RallyMaster /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you game?

He is slightly correct on one thing. You don't necessarily need a huge soundstage for gaming, but you would rather have accurate imaging and very high detail. That's why there are even people whom like to game with a pair of Etymotic ER-4s. That's mainly for competitive gaming though, purely for immersion the size of the soundstage and bass are also nice to have. I'd say, purely for getting immersed into the game, aim for soundstage and nice but not too overpowering bass.

As for my experience with MW2, I can't seem to get my audio settings right or something. It's quite a bit harder to know where my enemies are coming from when playing MW2 than it is when playing CSS. In CSS it's very easy to tell where my enemies are coming from, although distance is a bit tougher to estimate. Could also be that MW2's audio engine is just not as nice for these kinds of things as the audio engine used in CSS. I still hope it is just me not being able to find the right settings.

My equipment is an Auzentech X-Fi Forte and an AT-AD900, not the A700 or A900 FYI. I have no experience with any other audiophile grade headphone or source/amp.

 

[FragViper]

I just got my A700's today, as I didn't see the extra $$$ worthwhile for the A900.

I love them, you definitely won't be disappointed. I think they're fine for gaming, I don't know how they compete against 300$+ gaming headphones but I've been able to use them really well. (As with the post above me, I used them in CS:S and Call of Duty 4.)

I would have to assume the AD open version of these headphones would be better for gaming, but I wanted to listen to my music with them also which was mainly rock so I needed the bass of the closed version. I don't know how much better the A900 is, but I'm not unhappy that I didn't get it.

 

[Necrolic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp_zer0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Who do you think you are? Afaik you have zero reputation here so I don't see the point of just saying "false" like it means anything.

You're really telling me I have no rep when you're sitting there with 157 posts? Shut up and get over yourself bro, people have opinions, yours happens to be wrong.

Before I get started on this rant, let me just warn everyone not to take ANYBODY's opinion to seriously, not mine, and not any of the extremely well known reviewers out there. You should get everyone's point of view on things if something is based on opinion rather than fact. All of the respected reviewers here hear things differently and many of them prefer different cans from one another. It's all based on your personal tastes, don't just buy something cause a known person says it's good.

I play CEVO-M CS:S, I have experience with a LOT of different headphones for gaming, and I have a clue what I'm talking about. While soundstage ACCURACY is far more important than size, size plays a factor.

If you had ever tried decent stereo headphones with CMSS-3D configured properly you wouldn't have opened your mouth in the first place. That said, I don't play with CMSS-3D and I can still tell the difference between headphones soundstage and accuracy-wise.

Don't make false claims without an opinion and then try to talk your way out of it by insulting people who call you out on it.

Here's an example for you, with my D5000s I can hear from A Platform on Dust2 all the way to the corner of Long A. With A700s, I can hear to about half way up long, that's a huge difference in favor of the D5000s, and I can hear it accurately with both cans and judge roughly how close and in what direction the person is. It obviously isn't perfect surround sound, but with practice it's pretty damn good, you just have to get used to the headphones.

If you really believe it makes no difference, read all the headset roundup comparisons (momomo's is a little weird I'll admit, he said the Ultrasone HFI-780s he could hear the furthest on when EVERYONE else who tried them said they were garbage, but that's the only weird thing you'll see through them), and then flip through a few of the longer gaming headphone recommendation threads I've helped people out in and had them come back VERY happy with their purchases.

If you still think I have no reputation and don't have a clue what I'm talking about at least in regards to this subject after doing that, you let me know

 

[jsplice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Necrolic /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're really telling me I have no rep when you're sitting there with 157 posts? Shut up and get over yourself bro, people have opinions, yours happens to be wrong.

Gotta step in here "bro" and disagree with you here.

You try to give some kind of illusion that you can carry on an argument intelligently, yet start off by telling someone to shutup. I can tell you are someone of an adolescent age, or just one with an adolescent mind. First of all, an opinion is an opinion. Telling this guy that his "happens to be wrong" completely defeats your entire next paragraph. If what he says is truly just an opinion, then it is neither right nor wrong. I think it is you who need to get over yourself and try to contribute something meaningful to this forum when you state that something is "false". Present facts to back up your argument and don't leave it up to us to read your mind.

Take a few years to grow up, then get back to me

 

[hockeyb213]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Necrolic /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're really telling me I have no rep when you're sitting there with 157 posts? Shut up and get over yourself bro, people have opinions, yours happens to be wrong.

You sir have just illustrated the fact of how immature you are by asserting your beliefs above others rather then respect what they have to say in relation to your beliefs? How old are you...5?

And by the way just because you have a certain amount of posts doesn't mean anything about your knowledge or maturity level. I have over 2,800 posts but I don't act like some smart ass jerk because I clicked a button more times then someone else.

Jeez I can't believe some people these days