if the comfort is improved, and now has substantial bass which is not obtrusive, and still retains it gigantic soundstage and detail-whoring capabillities, would it be worth it for $199?
That's a lot of if's... AFAIK they really didn't change a ton between the AD700 & AD700X or AD900 & AD900X, besides the price, I think the A900 always had a touch more bass? (not $100's worth tho, considering the competition at that price range)
At least that's the early impression I got at another message board I frequent, so don't take my word on it, dunno if Head Fi or whomever has another take on it... The X variants came out months ago tho, they aren't particularly recent, I'd be surprised if there really aren't more impressions on them out there by now.
I kinda want a pair of wireless portable headphones. Like wireless KSC75s, with a 5.8ghz base the size of a 3.5mm adapter, lol.
BT has improved a lot IMO, if the source device and receiver are good enough I really don't think you miss out on much when using it for portable use... Something like a Sony MW600 is barely larger than a pen cap and you can use it with nearly any portable hp. Removable cables or creative recabling can make it sleeker.
I tried out a newer apt-X BT adapter last year (HTC's) and could honestly not tell the difference between it and the regular 2.0 / SBC adapter I had (a Miccus)... Though admittedly that comparison was mainly with speakers (some powered Samsons and my car's). Not sure how either would fare with my Koss clips or M-80 (or vs the MW600 that I didn't have at the time for that matter).
5.8Ghz or some proprietary lossless codec on another band would be better for sure but I imagine things like that are considerably more power hungry so you need room for a much larger battery than with BT devices (where power efficiency has been a point of emphasis for years). Battery size/tech (or the lack of improvements there) is really what holds all this back.
IMO most wireless headphones of any kind tend to be grossly overpriced too (for what they are, if you ignore wireless), particularly the better ones. Aything wireless shouldn't jack up the price of a headphone by 2-5x when Wifi and BT USB adapters cost <$15...
It's not like engineering them to run off an integrated power source is a new concept either, when it's been done with NC for so long.