[Geo212]

I stumbled upon these on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-AD700-Open-air-Audiophile-Headphones/dp/B000CMS0XU/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2BIXD0IP7F4TH&colid=KU5E52F4DXGL
 
Does anyone have any opinions on those? I realize they're a bit above my budget, but after reading a couple of reviews, they seem pretty nice, and I think they sound like they're worth it. Especially the review that said they were better than the HD555's, which are pretty much a step up from the HD515's (which I am returning ASAP). I also dig the funky color design xD

 

[FearSC549]

Quote:

I stumbled upon these on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-AD700-Open-air-Audiophile-Headphones/dp/B000CMS0XU/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2BIXD0IP7F4TH&colid=KU5E52F4DXGL
 
Does anyone have any opinions on those? I realize they're a bit above my budget, but after reading a couple of reviews, they seem pretty nice, and I think they sound like they're worth it. Especially the review that said they were better than the HD555's, which are pretty much a step up from the HD515's (which I am returning ASAP). I also dig the funky color design xD

They have a very spacious soundstage and great mids and highs, however bass is lacking. The bass is tight and have punches to it, but no sub-bass rumble. They're excellent for acoustic, classical, rock/metal, trance/progressive.  So if you're a basshead, avoid these at all cost. 
 
 

 

[Centigonal]

f you're okay with looking like this, I don't see how the XB500 would be a problem.

 

 

[Geo212]

f you're okay with looking like this, I don't see how the XB500 would be a problem.

 

Well what's the soundstage like with the XB500's, along with the highs and mids? And yeah, I laughed when I saw that on Amazon I really don't mind how they look if they're gonna sound good.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Well what's the soundstage like with the XB500's, along with the highs and mids? And yeah, I laughed when I saw that on Amazon I really don't mind how they look if they're gonna sound good.

Soundstage is quite ok, definitely a bit above average for this price, it's not the widest, but quite deep and airy sounding. Instrument separation is a bit worse since it's very warm sounding and tend to smear the instruments together slightly at complex music but EQing will help a lot in this regard as well but then again it leads to a very engaging and fun sound coupled with it's very forward/"in your face" sound. Mids & highs are both recessed compared to the bass (or bass is just elevated compared to mids & highs, depending how you want to look at it), mids are slightly muffled if you don't EQ them at all but they are reasonably forward just not the clearest possible sounding, they need slight decrease at the upper bass region around 250Hz as well as slight overall boost in the mids and highs to sound balanced, this is my EQ setting for them and they sound very balanced and no muffled sound whatsoever and yet with powerful bass, I love these headphones with the optimal EQ settings:
 


 
They are decent without any EQ and with EQing they sound very good for the price IMO. They don't isolate THAT well though (in-between an open and typical fully closed headphone) and leaks some sound due to the bassports at the back so be aware of that.
 
 

 

[Geo212]

Someone mentioned the JVC HARX900's, too. Are those any good? (I still can't belive how hard it is to find headphones I like...)

 

[Geo212]

 
Quote:

Soundstage is quite ok, definitely a bit above average for this price, it's not the widest, but quite deep and airy sounding. Instrument separation is a bit worse since it's very warm sounding and tend to smear the instruments together slightly at complex music but EQing will help a lot in this regard as well but then again it leads to a very engaging and fun sound coupled with it's very forward/"in your face" sound. Mids & highs are both recessed compared to the bass (or bass is just elevated compared to mids & highs, depending how you want to look at it), mids are slightly muffled if you don't EQ them at all but they are reasonably forward just not the clearest possible sounding, they need slight decrease at the upper bass region around 250Hz as well as slight overall boost in the mids and highs to sound balanced, this is my EQ setting for them and they sound very balanced and no muffled sound whatsoever and yet with powerful bass, I love these headphones with the optimal EQ settings:
 


 
They are decent without any EQ and with EQing they sound very good for the price IMO. They don't isolate THAT well though (in-between an open and typical fully closed headphone) and leaks some sound due to the bassports at the back so be aware of that.
 
 

 Doesn't really look like much EQ-ing needed to be done with them, though I'm not an audio expert  The headphones I'm currently using have slightly muddied highs/mids and it really doesn't sound all that bad. But my goal is to upgrade, not necessarily buy the same sound.

 

[Geo212]

And I realize this is a bit much to ask, but it possible to have a nice wide soundstage AND good, tight bass without spending hundreds?

 

[Centigonal]

I own the HA-RX900s. They sound good, but they're big, silly looking, and creak a little bit. They're very comfy, and have nice bass (not too much, but enough. It's big and resonant and pretty deep, but it doesn't have all that much impact IMO). The midrange is so-so to my admittedly inexperienced ears, and the treble is good, but sometimes squeaky. They're fairly sturdy, and I'd say they're a good value overall. 
 
They're not closed cans: there's a ring of holes along the outside of the cup. That said, they leak very little and provide some astounding isolation (better than most closed headphones at that price point, actually). 
 
In case you want to try out some of JVC's mid-fi lineup without forking $60 for the RX900s, people have said good things about its little brother, the RX700s. They go for about $35 and, while I don't own the 700s, I've heard that they sound similar to the RX900s.