[brooce]

Welll...

Over the last week I have bought not one, but two headphones.

The much-hyped Sennheiser HD 595 (less than a week old) and the much praised http://www.audio-technica.com.hk/eng/model.php?s_id=1&m_id=7&pa=1Audio-Technica ATH-AD900 (less than 24hours old).


I couldn't be more underwhelmed with both of them.

Now, there used to be a time where spending this much gave you more. Much more. I'm talking about the Sennheiser HD 565 Ovation (yes, the one where the cables would go crappy on you, unfortunately). I'll never forgive Sennheiser for unleashing such crap cable design on the market at this price - much less a whole range of models with the same cable design. They hurt their reputation with that.

Sennheiser = Spendheiser?
Anyway, the sound. The sound, IMO, was glorious from these phones and I spent LESS to get this sound than I have to do now. Much less. Because it seems I need to go into upper-end territory to find that sound in the Sennheiser range now (if the hype is anything to go by, coz I haven't listened to the HD 600, HD 650, etc).

The situation today
Today I see that's clearly not the case. Either I'm deaf or these HD 595s are hyped beyond all belief. Muddy, distant... not in the least engaging. Like a whole section or sections of the sound spectrum disappear in a black hole while others sort of remain. I don't know how else to describe it. Muddy bass and with no presence in the rest of the sounds are just distant, lifeless and undynamic.

Audio-Technica ATH-AD900
On the other end of the spectrum we have the ATH-AD900. Calling them AIR is right. These things are airy to the extreme. So airy that listening to them for more than a few minutes is like drilling into your skull. How on earth anyone can describe these as balanced, neutral or fantastic is beyond me.

Comfort comparisons
The Audio-Technica have a wonderfully ergonomic "wing" system, and superb build quality. Put simply, they are the most comfortable 'phones I've tried and I'm in love with the ergonomics. No adjustments, just put them on. No excessive clamp force and no excessive pressure points like the Sennheiser (which many find comfortable to begin with). I may put up a more detailed review just describing the wing system. Makes Sennheiser's HD 555 and HD 595 (both of which I own, unfortunately) seem like a crude clamps.

Kmart special
Too bad the sound of the Audio-Technica ATH-AD900 reminds me of a Kmart special. I can't be the only one saying this, surely? Has my experience with the brilliant HD 565 Ovations totally spoiled me? Will Sennheiser ever return with a model in HD 595 price territory that actually sounds good?

The reason for all this?
I wanted lower impedance phones in order to have the flexibility to run from my Hi-MD (0MiniDisc) Walkmans without any added nonsense.

Satisfaction just eludes me.

 

[dissembled]

How many hours have you burned both in?

 

[kamal007]

source? amp?

 

[Zorander]

Are those K-Mart specials good? I could get one from my nearby store if it gives a good indication of the AT phone.

 

[brooce]

sources:
Sony MZ-NH700 Hi-MD (MiniDisc walkman)
Sony MZ-NH1 (MiniDisc Walkman)
Aopen AW744 Pro soundcard (mostly used for optical out to Hi-MD and Yamaha XG synth; nothing special but not horrible, quality-wise)

All recordings are in PCM. No lossy compression.

Both of these Walkmans are actually balanced-sounding devices with the MZ-NH1 having a more refined top-end due to its digital amp.

I like to go about room to room and be able to listen to high-quality music without being tied to one room.

Burn-in
Sennheiser has had perhaps 10 hours on it (I really can't stand the sound). Audio-Technica has had mere minutes on it (for similar reasons). I'm actually not a believer in burn-in. In my experience, most of "burn-in" is actually psychological, so I'm not gonna spend hours looseining them up. If they don't sound good from the get-go, I'm not interested (and IMO, things never change from there).

 

[judas391]

The drivers are physical, so it is entirely possible that they haven't settled into their optimal position. It's just like preparing for a race, in which the runner will perform better warmed-up as opposed to starting cold

 

[brooce]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are those K-Mart specials good? I could get one from my nearby store if it gives a good indication of the AT phone.

unbeatable bang-for-buck

 

[dissembled]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brooce /img/forum/go_quote.gif Burn-in Sennheiser has had perhaps 10 hours on it (I really can't stand the sound). Audio-Technica has had mere minutes on it (for similar reasons). I'm actually not a believer in burn-in. In my experience, most of "burn-in" is actually psychological, so I'm not gonna spend hours looseining them up. If they don't sound good from the get-go, I'm not interested (and IMO, things never change from there).

Oh, phones mutate, alright. Especially Senns. Mutate too much if you ask me.

And the poor 900 is just a baby. A newborn gauging from that description.

 

[brooce]

Quote:

Originally Posted by judas391 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The drivers are physical, so it is entirely possible that they haven't settled into their optimal position. It's just like preparing for a race, in which the runner will perform better warmed-up as opposed to starting cold

Yeah. I can only speak from my experience with the headphones I've bought (wastefully, it turns out

) that I've never noticed a change (at least never seemed to notice one from the day I bought it). Perhaps they do. A bit. But I can't say with any conclusive proof that that has happened in any significant (or insignificant) way to the phones I have bought.

The HD 565 Ovation (still the headphone I worship despite cable design) I liked instantly. Back then I actually auditioned it before buying tho - and Senn did make the regular junk in the rest of their priceranges that never tickled my fancy, but the HD 565 Ovation was a gem. I was wrong to assume I would get similar sound for similar price years later. HD 555 (bought last year and mostly gathering dust) was equally disappointing.

dissembled,
Yeah, the ATH-AD900 is indeed a newborn. Opened it up less than 24 hours ago. The wait from Audiocubes was definitely not worth it. Nothing to see here, moving right along...

typo edit

 

[pkjames]

What is this KMART special thing? It is on now in every KMART store?

 

[Zorander]

Yeah, links please.

 

[d-cee]

I don't know exactly what it is, as I am not seeing your setup

But a couple of things come to mind:

1. you're too used to the HD565 that the different sound signatures of the HD595/AD900s are a rude awakening to you that may just not suit your tastes

2. the two new headphones are revealing the deficiencies of your MD player

 

[brooce]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d-cee /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't know exactly what it is, as I am not seeing your setup But a couple of things come to mind: 1. you're too used to the HD565 that the different sound signatures of the HD595/AD900s are a rude awakening to you that may just not suit your tastes 2. the two new headphones are revealing the deficiencies of your MD player

Number 1 you could be right, if not for the incredibly unbalanced sound the Audio-Technicas gave me. I would love for someone to buy these and confirm I'm not insane

Both these phones are totally not right IMO (well, three if you count the HD 555 too), but the Audio-Technicas, it's like someone switched on a "surround" effect or just went ape on the highs (I mean piercing stuff here. Some have referred to this as great soundstage, but I say stuff that; it's totally unnatural harshness - it really needs to be heard to be believed. There is definitely a harsh, harsh peak in the frequency response on these phones. It's not a subtle thing; it's incredibly obvious on all sources.

The Sennheisers, they are in many ways just the opposite. Both HD 555 and HD 595. Muffled, poor resolving detail, unloved, uninvolving. I don't 'get' them. Something is not quite right with the way they reproduce music. I hear no dynamics; it all tends to get lost in the mush. There is no push and pull, no punch, no lush (but accurate) detail, nothing. It's all just "oh I'm sort of over here photocopying these tunes for you". Distant. The sound is nothing like what is should be, IMO. That said, they don't make me want to chop my head off when listening, so in that sense they are very safe but not likely to really get my heart pumping.

Sound is a strange thing to describe.

 

[Caution]

oh boo now your turning me off the AD900s ): But yea I've read in quite a few threads that the AD900 can have sibilant highs.

If you look around on the headphonic forums snufkin doesn't seem to recommend the HD595's either.

I don't understand what you mean by the Kmart special though O.o

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brooce /img/forum/go_quote.gif Either I'm deaf or these HD 595s are hyped beyond all belief. Muddy, distant... not in the least engaging. Like a whole section or sections of the sound spectrum disappear in a black hole while others sort of remain. I don't know how else to describe it. Muddy bass and with no presence in the rest of the sounds are just distant, lifeless and undynamic.

I'm absolutely with you there. I always feared to be unfair with my judgement -mine weren't completely burnt in- but a 2 years old pair I tried last month was as just the same crap, no matter if amped or not.