[Winterlord]

Hello all,

I am looking for a new set of headphones in the 100$ range, I've heard the HD595 and the soundstage was very nice, but the sound was somewhat dark.
After searching the forums I've found that the AD700 could serve as a great alternative, problem is, that they are not being sold anywhere in Israel, so I can't hear them. When I bought the K81DJ's by recommendations I wasn't dissapointed although they have really overpowered bass, but they are very good portable heaphones, which is their only use, and for my opinion are a big improvement over the Koss PortaPro I owned, which had way too much bass and very weak highs.
I listen mostly to metal music but the phones will mainly be used for gaming. It's important to have a good soundstage so open headphones are preferred also for comfot reasons. I understand that the Audio Technica phones have good highs which is very good because I prefer good and precise highs with tight punchy bass and warm mids. how is their midrange and bass?
A friend of mine and I want to build a small DIY CMOY amp just for experimenting, will it improve any of these?

Edit: I almost forgot, these will be connected to an ASUS Xonar D2 soundcard.

And by the way, great forum!! I've learned here so many things regarding headphones and sound quality. I personally think it's the best forum for any audiophile, even I am only just beginning and really don't have a big budget, but this will improve some day

Thanks for the replies

 

[A1itH]

Hi Winterlord!

I'm also new to this whole audiophile world (this is my first post on this forum, though I've been creeping on it for months :-o). I just received my first set of real cans for Christmas - I got the AD700s. Like you I was looking for some good cans for both music and gaming and I attach my highest (although beginner) recommendations to these cans.

I listen to a lot of rock, mostly Pink Floyd and Radiohead these days, and through these headphones they sound better than ever! My game of choice is Counter-Strike: Source through the crappy sound card on my laptop. I can pinpoint the position of opponents with ease.

My headphones were purchased off of audiocubes.com (AudioCubes.com - Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 Air Headphones - ATH-AD700 -) and have been amazing, although I don't believe they have a very good return policy (fortunately I don't need it!).

Anyway, I hope I was able to help you, one beginner to another. The AD700s have been everything I was hoping for and then some!

 

[project_gt]

Welcome. i'm a new one, too.

 

[Kett]

I just got myself the A700 for christmas. (Closed version of the AD700)
I can tell you that they are amazing for gaming. I play CounterStrike: Source on a competitive level, and I can identify exactly where people are coming from with these 'phones. It's almost like walling sometimes.
They are also incredibly comfortable; it's almost like you aren't wearing any headphones at all once they've been on for 5 minutes. (Though they do not have a lot of clamping force; if you headbang they will shift.)

Soundwise, mine are going to be a little more bass heavy than yours. However I feel that in bassier tracks of electronica, they have trouble extending down to some of the lower bass lines. (Though as they are burning in @~20 hours now, I feel like they are extending a little lower. Still not enough though.) However, for every other genre of music I am completely satisfied with them. Highs are nicely done and detailed to my untrained ear, though occasionally a little shrill on "s" sounds. I can't comment much on the mids, except that they don't sound bad to me at all

. You will likely be pleased by the AD700's.

That said, I am a little unsatisfied with them because I like the heavier bass side of music. I am thinking of trading in for a DT770 once I research a few more things. I need to figure out if the DT770 is as good for games as the A700.

 

[oqvist]

I have used the DT 770, A900 and now the proline 750.

The one I liked the least is the A900... It completely lack low bass notes are closed but still leak a lot of sound in and have quite a loose fit on my head.

Not bad but A900 was what I favoured the least. Since they leak so much they do have quite a wide soundstage for closed headphones..

You are into open so just check for the open variants of these headphones DT 990, Proline 2500 or similar.

Now I know it´s not a totally fair comparison since the proline 750 costs much more then the DT 770 and A900 but it does blow both these out of the water for almost everything. The soundstage is phenomenal best of the three with the DT 770 being second. I had harder time actually with positional audio with the A900 which surprised me.

Sound quality through the whole spectrum is better less distortion. Especially the bass is the closest thing to a sub woofer in headphone I have had. And it´s not at all bloatey like the AKG K81DJ it goes deep, fast while the treble is strong enough they still feel more balanced then the A900 and DT 770 for me... DT 770 is bass heavy for sure whereas the A900 lack bass but do have a bit of a punch at least.

So for gaming which often requires a good bass as well as treble the 750 outclasses the two others I would say. Music even more

However when you go to this level it puts higher demand on your system. I have played it on an Audigy 2, Xfi, Xfi Elite PRO stereos etc you clearly hear the difference in sound quality in each. That is true for all headphones but in particular the 750

 

[Winterlord]

Thanks for the replies

About the Proline 2500, They are selling here for 1990NIS, which are 500$ and about five times more than I could spend, If I could, I would by cans of this class.

The DT990 also cost about the same and they are the 2005 edition with either 250ohm or 32ohm impedance.
The HD595 are sold here for 730NIS which are 187$, that I could afford.

I will go to test out these cans, because maybe I will buy them someday, when I will have enough money, and also out of curiosity and interest. The beyers have fascinated me for quite some time, and the Ultrasone are not less interesting,
BTW, don't these kind of cans require a good amp to drive them properly? would a DIY CMOY do?

And A1itH, I Think I will get the AD700 eventually, the A700 are sold here so I think I and test them out. If I will like the sound signature, I might buy the AD700 without listening to them first based on the A700.

How are the AD700 compared to the HD595?

 

[oqvist]

winterlord that seems way to much... You should import from the US or ASIA or wherever can get it for almost half the price then... Should be cheaper even if you include shipping, toll and taxes. Unless you can find some used in this forum

For that price well hard to say it´s good bang for the buck it depends on how important good audio is. That is the pros with headphones you can get really decent sound for not much amount of money. The downside is you have a bigger chance falling for upgradeitis and cheaper headphones don´t tend to last as long... I went through 3-4 really cheap ones before I got the DT 770... That I used for some years before I got upgradeitis again and tried the A900 and then the 750 coupled with a Canamp lol. Now I am cured for sure though if I win a 10$ buck I may buy the edition 9 and be done with it hehe.

 

[Winterlord]

yeah, it is expensive over here, sadly..

But I would like to at least try the headphones before I buy them, as I said, I don't have too much money right now..
However, I may find some used cans for a reasonable price.. maybe even some beyers, some guys here are selling theirs, and they seem to be very good phones.

Are the DT880 and DT990 suitable for these needs?

 

[TMM]

The AD700 isn't a 'closed A700' and they aren't even similar. My AD900 sounds closer to a KSC75 then the A900 - same deal with the 700's

 

[Winterlord]

Well, I thought this was my best chance of hearing something close to the AD700 before buying, oh well...
I am looking into some used beyers or proline 2500, I heard that they have a really good soundstage. Could those be driven well using my soundcard?