j-curve
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2002
- Posts
- 489
- Likes
- 11
I saw my first HD280 Pro yesterday and couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a nuisance of myself and find out why on earth so many Head-Friers recommend such bulky cans for portable use. Keys were brought. Glass cabinets were slid open. For the first time ever, "nice and polite" closed cans were plugged directly into my MZ-R909 for what would be a gruelling 8-track (classical & hip-hop) test of fidelity with extracts I have heard way too many times. I've all but given up trying to guage cans using unfamiliar material chosen by stores, which often is devoid of acoustic instruments and ends up revealing little or nothing of a headphone's sound characteristics due to lack of an identifiable reference point. With my custom track selection though, I can usually pinpoint anything objectionable (to me) in a couple of minutes.
Cutting to the chase:-
HD280 Pro
Yes, bulky. Yes, an awkward coily cord. Yes, an uncomfortable hinge in the centre of the headband just beneath the pleather. No, nowhere near the claimed "up to 30dB" attenuation when it comes to an environment jampacked with boomboxes, mini component systems, TVs, dolby surround demos and roaring subwoofers. But we persevere.
Surprise surprise, no booming bass - at all! This causes the treble to accentuate itself. The phone sounds bright but not harsh at all. In fact, no obvious resonance or colouration pokes out at all. The character of the sound lacks the presence of the A9X or even an Eggo, but we know that such warmth in general cannot be trusted. The HD280 is almost sterile by comparison - clinical. As far as the sound goes, my only gripe is with the bright treble. The phone has been plugged in to a muzak source but, being locked away with the crown jewels, has not been blaring 10 hours a day, 7 days a week and I get to wondering whether it has been broken in yet. Maybe not.
ATH-W100
Ah, the unmistakable wooden cups - a true fashion statement for the audio connoisseur. Next to the W100 in the cabinet is a sample W2002 with one of its cups cutaway to gruesomely reveal its gorgeous internals. To look at the pads on any of these ATH's they may appear wonky but this is all part of the grand plan to plug the gaps in most circumaural designs - behind and below the ears. Audio-Technica's pads are built up around that area to maintain full contact. And the wings, let's not forget the wings! For their weight the ATH's rank with the best for comfort. However, isolation is again less than that demanded by the environment. Is there any full-size phone that can deal with this?
A moment of anxiety follows upon realisation that a 6.3mm stereo plug won't go into a 3.5mm socket. But then we're into the music and the W100's glare at me in stark treble tones. Why are Japanese phones so bright, or are these fresh out of the box too? There not being any point continuing at the expense of having my ears crisped, I do the unforgiveable and flick through the R909's menu, cutting two notches out of the treble. To my surprise this action, which often exposes any underlying colouration (see my Eggo D66 review ), leaves the W100 sounding smooth, with neither boom nor bash and no ugly protrusions. I could live with this 'phone if it mellowed out or if tone controls were legalised.
ATH-A9X
Shares the heritage of the W100 at about half the price. No compromises in comfort, and its silk-covered(?) PCOCC cable terminates in a portable-friendly 3.5mm plug. A 'phone for the action man/woman perhaps, as evidenced by its mirror finish and the mild smiley in its treble and (port assisted) bass equalisation. If analysed, mild colouration can be detected in the lower midrange but the soundstage from any of these hemispherically shaped closed ATH cans is something which can't even be approached by the swarm of contorted, boxy, compact closed cans produced by various makers - ATH's own PRO series being a particularly honky example.
Cutting to the chase:-
HD280 Pro
Yes, bulky. Yes, an awkward coily cord. Yes, an uncomfortable hinge in the centre of the headband just beneath the pleather. No, nowhere near the claimed "up to 30dB" attenuation when it comes to an environment jampacked with boomboxes, mini component systems, TVs, dolby surround demos and roaring subwoofers. But we persevere.
Surprise surprise, no booming bass - at all! This causes the treble to accentuate itself. The phone sounds bright but not harsh at all. In fact, no obvious resonance or colouration pokes out at all. The character of the sound lacks the presence of the A9X or even an Eggo, but we know that such warmth in general cannot be trusted. The HD280 is almost sterile by comparison - clinical. As far as the sound goes, my only gripe is with the bright treble. The phone has been plugged in to a muzak source but, being locked away with the crown jewels, has not been blaring 10 hours a day, 7 days a week and I get to wondering whether it has been broken in yet. Maybe not.
ATH-W100
Ah, the unmistakable wooden cups - a true fashion statement for the audio connoisseur. Next to the W100 in the cabinet is a sample W2002 with one of its cups cutaway to gruesomely reveal its gorgeous internals. To look at the pads on any of these ATH's they may appear wonky but this is all part of the grand plan to plug the gaps in most circumaural designs - behind and below the ears. Audio-Technica's pads are built up around that area to maintain full contact. And the wings, let's not forget the wings! For their weight the ATH's rank with the best for comfort. However, isolation is again less than that demanded by the environment. Is there any full-size phone that can deal with this?
A moment of anxiety follows upon realisation that a 6.3mm stereo plug won't go into a 3.5mm socket. But then we're into the music and the W100's glare at me in stark treble tones. Why are Japanese phones so bright, or are these fresh out of the box too? There not being any point continuing at the expense of having my ears crisped, I do the unforgiveable and flick through the R909's menu, cutting two notches out of the treble. To my surprise this action, which often exposes any underlying colouration (see my Eggo D66 review ), leaves the W100 sounding smooth, with neither boom nor bash and no ugly protrusions. I could live with this 'phone if it mellowed out or if tone controls were legalised.
ATH-A9X
Shares the heritage of the W100 at about half the price. No compromises in comfort, and its silk-covered(?) PCOCC cable terminates in a portable-friendly 3.5mm plug. A 'phone for the action man/woman perhaps, as evidenced by its mirror finish and the mild smiley in its treble and (port assisted) bass equalisation. If analysed, mild colouration can be detected in the lower midrange but the soundstage from any of these hemispherically shaped closed ATH cans is something which can't even be approached by the swarm of contorted, boxy, compact closed cans produced by various makers - ATH's own PRO series being a particularly honky example.
