[donunus]

There are no loose screws issue with the ad2000. The cables are fine too. Its the denons cable that have the shoelace feel

 

[Rednamalas1]

from owning several audio-technicas, I didn't have any problems with quality issues either - fantastic quality control IMO

 

[Grey Massacre]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif Grey Massacre, Youve got the bad things in the denon d2000s mixed with the audio technica ad2000s. We are not talking about denons here... Are we?

You are totally right, edited my post!!! Not enough sleep and too much studying!

Charles

 

[wrecked_porsche]

How does Michael Jackson sound on the AD2k?

Also where is the best place to get the AD2k right now?

 

[orkney]

I just wanted to say that this must be one of the clearest and most informative answers to "which headphone?" I have ever read on this site. Thanks, big-ban. Fabulous stuff!

On another note, I've owned DT-880 600s and currently the Edition 9s. The 600 ohm Beyers do sound slightly more smooth and balanced than the 250s but at a significant cost and they require more care with amping (high gain) -- in my iMod/Opera system I could not drive them properly and even with a standard-voltage CDP they felt under-driven. I think there are few phones more musically satisfying than the AD-2000s, based on my brief audition, and there might be a case for buying them and calling it a day.

best,

o

Quote:

Originally Posted by big-ban /img/forum/go_quote.gif @OP: First of all, I really love my AD2Ks and I'd say they can hold their own ground against any "higher" AT model I own. As you can see from my signature, I own the L3000, W5000 (F5005), W1000 and W10VTG, but even in this illustrous company, the AD2Ks are still unique headphones. I've also previously owned the DT880 '03 and found it was too sterile, lifeless and trebly sounding. I'd recommend the AD2Ks in a heartbeat if it weren't for a few contradictory statements you made that make me doubt the AD2000 is the absolute best choice. The AD2K is - in my experience - the most punchy of all headphones I've heard. The bass is amazingly quick and has just the right impact to make kickdrums sound so real and palpable. I don't think DT880, HD580 AND D1000 have much in common in terms of bass impact. I'd say the D1000 has by far the most bass, it is in fact a rather bassy headphone, followed by the more or less balanced HD580 and the pretty bass-light DT880. Here's one of the contradictions I noticed. The AD2000 is first and foremost a musical and fun headphone. However, it doesn't focus on detail retrieval or massive soundstage though, I think some people have very accurately described the AD2000 in this thread. I'd agree in that it really gets out of the way of the music and doesn't even try to be a detailed headphone, a soundstage-headphone or any other pretender for that matter. It just draws you into the music and grabs you emotionally. With the K701 and DT880 I always had the feeling of being detached from the music. It's simply too spread-out and far away. While the AD2000 will allow you to do hear all that and while it is not exactly a bad headphone in terms of detail retrieval, it certainly isn't the right choice if your primary concern is detail. In this instance, I'd rather recommend the W1000 or W5000, even though these probably have other shortcomings that might not fit your needs. But you never know... Lets put it that way: both have the details and separation, but the DT880 throws them at you a little more readily and at the same time tries to be more of a soundstage headphone, while the AD2000 just plain delivers and let's you forget all the technical babble and eventual shortcomings. It is definitely tighter and faster. I'd say, bass hardly gets any tighter and faster than with the AD2Ks. The L3000 certainly could be considered a massively improved Darth or HD650. Due to is darker tonality, I don't perceive it as punchy as the AD2000, even though the bass is not boomy at all, but very textured and layered. It just doesn't sound as quick because of the generally much greater impact and midbass pronounciation, compared to the AD2000. Currently owning both, I can tell you that the L3000 doesn't make the AD2000 obsolete. For Rock/Metal I prefer the AD2000, even though many people at head-fi will tell you that there's nothing like the L3000 for rock. I agree it's very good at that, but I just happen to prefer the more energetic nature of the AD2000. The important question here is: do you want a soundstage headphone or a headphone that simply makes you not worry about (the lack of) soundstage? Yes, the AD2000s are less forward than Grados, they do have a soundstage, and not a compressed or small one at that, it's just that the majority of the music takes place not too far outside of your head. Then it's safe to say that there aren't many headphones that you would dislike because of their lack of bass. From my memory, the DT880 is one of the most bass-light headphones I've heard. The W1000 is another bass-light headphone, which goes a little bit into the direction of the DT880 but without its treble accentuation. Otherwise it has a pretty empressive soundstage, very good detailing and a pretty balanced presentation. Nothing really stands out or is preceived as lacking, at least to my ears. It's bass is very punchy and accurate, despite being not very pronounced. Some say it's deep bass notes are lacking, but I've done some tests with sine waves, indicating that it is fairly flat from 60 down to 35 hz. I think you can conclude from this that I like it much more than the DT880. This paragraph again would rather make me change my recommendation towards the DT880/W1000/W5000, even though the AD2000 also does this. You can pick out single instruments very easily, the imaging is pretty good, but the instruments aren't spead out as widely as with the other headphones. Another idea I came up with is the Edition 9. In my brief experience with them I found them to be pretty spacious and at the same time bassy and detailed. A result of this was a ever so slight midrange recession I probably could get used to. Not a bad headphone overall, but not quite my taste. Adding up all your requirements, this headphone might be worth a listen for you. As a final statement I'd say that you really need to auditon more headphones. I don't think one us head-fiers can extrapolate the perfect headphone from your wishes and requirements. Auditioning more headphones will help you form your view on what kind of sound you really like. I've personally come to understand that "technically better" doesn't necessarilty equal "more fun". While the Stax Omega II is clearly a better headphone in a technical way (more detailed, more spacious), I wouldn't trade it for the AD2000. The AD2000 on its own sounds just so right and complete that it's hard to criticize anything about it. Of course, there's a lot of people who won't agree with this statement, but to my ears, the AD2000 is that good.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by orkney /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just wanted to say that this must be one of the clearest and most informative answers to "which headphone?" I have ever read on this site. Thanks, big-ban. Fabulous stuff!

I agree wholeheartedly! Well expressed opinions by someone who obviously has a great ear and a lot of passion for the headphone hobby (not to mention music, which I guess is a given).

The nub of his AD2K review is essentially in full agreement with my own take on them: lots to like about them, nothing distracting about them, and they always provide a satisfying listen experience because they draw you into the music (of whatever variety) without drawing attention to themselves!

As big ban said, they might not be the last word on soundstage or detail extraction, but they're perfectly fine on both counts and you don't notice a lack of anything in either category. Good analogy to the Omega II's, which I agree are technically better in many ways, but I also agree that I would generally prefer the AD2K for most of my listening sessions.

 

[wrecked_porsche]

Quote:

Originally Posted by orkney /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think there are few phones more musically satisfying than the AD-2000s, based on my brief audition, and there might be a case for buying them and calling it a day.

Exactly what I'm gonna do.

Now i just need to figure out WHERE to get them from cheapest.

Don't care much for warranty or where they come from, prefer 'em new.
The price quotes I'm getting locally in Malaysia are insane. I even got a quote for roughly USD$935... What...

Online prices are not too good either.

 

[orkney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrecked_porsche /img/forum/go_quote.gif Exactly what I'm gonna do. Now i just need to figure out WHERE to get them from cheapest. Don't care much for warranty or where they come from, prefer 'em new. The price quotes I'm getting locally in Malaysia are insane. I even got a quote for roughly USD$935... What... Online prices are not too good either.

You might try PriceJapan. I think I paid around 540.00 including shipping and they were beautifully packed and made the trip to Canada in about five days with accurate tracking all the way. Great service, I thought.

best,

o

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by orkney /img/forum/go_quote.gif You might try PriceJapan. I think I paid around 540.00 including shipping and they were beautifully packed and made the trip to Canada in about five days with accurate tracking all the way. Great service, I thought. best, o

Seconded, pricejapan in awesome. Stay with EMS as a shipping option or you might get hit with custom fees.

 

[wrecked_porsche]

Quote:

Originally Posted by orkney /img/forum/go_quote.gif You might try PriceJapan. I think I paid around 540.00 including shipping and they were beautifully packed and made the trip to Canada in about five days with accurate tracking all the way. Great service, I thought. best, o

Thanks for the info.

Yeah, I was thinking about buying from them too.

Gonna pull the trigger either today or tomorrow.
Which option did you use in order to get it in 5 days? EMS?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT /img/forum/go_quote.gif Stay with EMS as a shipping option or you might get hit with custom fees.

Thanks for the heads up Andrew.

But WHY? Why EMS option no customs and DHL option has customs? Any idea?

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrecked_porsche /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the info. Yeah, I was thinking about buying from them too. Gonna pull the trigger either today or tomorrow. Which option did you use in order to get it in 5 days? EMS? Thanks for the heads up Andrew. But WHY? Why EMS option no customs and DHL option has customs? Any idea?

Conspiracy theory? Don't know, EMS is cheaper and gets things delivered to my door in 2 days with signature required, why should care for more?

EDIT: Not sure if this post clears anything on the fees subject but here you go
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/3684079-post390.html

 

[Wilashort]

Elephas, i believe then what my DT990 '05 with the Apuresound V3 Cable will be superior than the AD2000 (that i am interested because of his separation and forward mids and obvioulsy little isolation), but it last doesn't have the bass impact/slam that i want and less the bass quantity too...
...Because i don't want to spend/throw away ~$500 in a headphone with little bass slam and small soundstage/headstage, WHEN i can have a superior headphone in my DT990 with his caracteristics enhanced [(bass slam/tighness, soundstage/headstage) even his weaknesses (mids slightly recessed, not so extreme separation, and highs slightly brilliant/ very bright with some trebly recordings )] for much less money, with the recable.
According to APureSound (Heli), the improvements that i will get are the next...:

<We have recabled several DT990's before. You get better overall detail.
The bass is deeper and more controlled, the highs extend higher without
becoming harsh or shrill, and the mids are more liquid and smooth
sounding. The sound stage is increased and you get to a whole new level
of instrument separation with the V3 headphone cable>

I want a very honest opinion for these that have recabled his headphones with this cable with similar caracteristics to my DT990, What do you all think at respect?
Quote:

Originally Posted by Elephas /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree that the AD2000 might not have the bass quantity the OP expects, but then the 250ohm DT880-'05 doesn't have large bass quantity either. I would not have guessed that the OP would like it. I would've expected the OP to prefer the DT990-'05, which has greater bass quantity and impact than the DT880-'05, DT880-'03 or AD2000. The AD2000 is one of the better-sounding headphones I've heard unamped and with lesser-sources. I think it will perform well in wrecked_porsche's system. But buying one will be buying it unheard, while he has heard and already likes the DT880-'05. Take the risk and go for the potentially better but unknown AD2000? Or play it safe and go for the liked and known DT880-'05? Aaargh, this isn't even my decision and I can't decide.

 

[donunus]

ask wmcmanus what he thinks of dt990-600 vs the ad2000. He has both of them plus the highest end headphones like the r10, stax o2, and senn he90 for reference too.

 

[Wilashort]

Ok, i hope that he give his impressions quick, it can help me much (and to others too), because i don't have much time to make a desicion (this monday i will send some things to my mother that live in USA, and i would to send this headphones there...); well in any case, the DT990 600 ohm headphone should be the nearest approximation....
Hey Papá Noel, i want your impressions

, really it should be very appreciated, thank you in advance.
Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif ask wmcmanus what he thinks of dt990-600 vs the ad2000. He has both of them plus the highest end headphones like the r10, stax o2, and senn he90 for reference too.

 

[wrecked_porsche]

Its best so send him a PM. It will be faster.