[Skoobs]

I AM NOT AN AUDIOPHILE! i just love music. and sound. and stuffs.

These babies only have about ten hours on them, as i dont leave them playing when im away. i might start doing that to burn them in, cuz im curious how the sound changes.

My setup: i have two setups, one which is just plugging the 3.5mm jack directly into the 3.5mm plug of an ipod touch, the other is by plugging it directly into the headphone out on my creative soundblaster x-fi titanium.

i have a CMOYBB on the way from the ebay seller three3three3, and i will post how that sounds when i get it in the next few days.



Impressions out of soundcard:

sound separation is awesome. bass and mids and highs can be playing all at the same time, and i can hear each one clearly. sounds awesome with rock and mellow metal like metallica.

Mids are extremely impressive. If anyone knows who "I Killed The Prom Queen" is, they know that the drums in their most recent album are almost impossible to reproduce on car stereos, cheaper headphones, and home speakers. most systems just cant do it. But these sound like they are reproducing the sound that the actual drums would make. However, the effect is not the kick-in-the-nuts heavy metal sound i normally strive for.

bass punch is great. bass petal can be heard, and for the mellower kinds of metal that contain double bass petal, each hit is a pretty nice thump.

being a basshead, however, i was very disappointed with the bass output. Bass kick is great in types of music that does not have synthetic bass. it seems like sustained notes of synthetic bass are a fail. maybe i just need a headphone amp, but as for now the bass kind of fails. sustained bass can be heard, but not felt. they are just loud enough to make sure you know what you are missing in terms of brain-rattling bass.

These are very nice sounding headphones and i would strongly recommend them for anyone who listens to mainstream, non-rap music. Actually, rap sounds great as long as you dont want to feel the bass.


these cans are great for hearing accurate sound and defined separation between the frequency ranges.

but they are not for those who love brain-rattling bass or the ball-busting thump of modern metal with lots of synthetic bass. This is an audiophile phone.

maybe what i am looking for is not so much accurate reproduction of music, but more something that will deliver real kick when i want it to, in terms of mids and lows.

but they DO sound awesome for most music. i love them.

be back later to add more.

 

[Ntropic]

Your first cans? Then I'd have to agree with you; that was my first impression upon getting them, and for a month or so afterwards.

After a while, I found the bass to be perfect, and not so much bass light. I imagine they're lighter than some other headphones, but I found it just right. I can't comment on accurate bass reproduction, but the impact gives me the kick I like. I can't find it on the MS1s or Super.Fi 3s when listening to dance. At the same time, they won't give me the bass impact in lighter pop/rock style songs that'd drown out bass guitars. And if there's one thing I like doing with music, it's picking apart each instrument and following along.

Mids, you will find, are actually recessed when compared to some other headphones. Violins sing differently on headphones like the MS1 and K271Mk2 (a short demo, but I could tell immediately). I guess they're what you call forward (or neutral in the case of the K271). I notice that immediately when switching between headphones. Vocals take a step up, but I don't pay attention to vocals much.

What you don't mention is the highs. They're very clear (relative to the MS1), with a sort of sparkle (what a terrible term). In comparison, the MS1 (comfies) has much rolled off highs that seem faint and blended together. Cymbals ring in your ear in a way I have yet to find in another pair of headphones.

My setup is in my sig. I listen to dance, techno, C-pop, J-rock, and baroque concertos.

 

[Epik]

How's the pleather on these? Why did AT use pleather for the A series but the soft stuff for the AD?

If anyone's tried both, how's the comfort compare?

 

[Ntropic]

Because A got the cloth cable.

Not a fair trade.

 

[Skoobs]

yes, these are my first true full size cans. i just wrote this so that people with a similar taste in music and similar budget could see what i learned. there doesnt seem to be any true metal people on these forums. you hear a lot about NIN and classical music, but not about bands like whitechapel (which these do very well with) or veil of maya (which these phones kind of fell short on since the music has extreme bass).

listening to metallica, led zeppelin, godsmack, and those sorts of bands is pretty much flawless on these. i couldnt imagine wanting better.

i listen to some Richard Cheese and he sounds fantastic on them too haha

i did mean to mention that the highs are very well done. they sound awesome.

as far as the mids go, they sound pretty good to me. Not as pronounced as they could be, but they seem accurate, and the low mids seem to give punch enough for lighter metal.

i like the pads on these. they are extremely comfortable, though i cant say they seem like they will be durable. the seal between the pads and my head isnt great though. they kind of set on my head, rather than make an airtight seal around my head. and they are very loose.

i cant say i would be a fan of fabric on the pads... but ive never bought a pair that had fabric pads.

 

[Skoobs]

like i said, these seem to be geared, understandably, toward mainstream music listeners.

the kick of the bass drum really does sound powerful. but, nothing special terms of sustained synthetic bass.

 

[Skoobs]

i left them on all day today, and i listened to a son called "THX Ultimate Subwoofer" (itunes was on random) and it was really entertaining. seems like the bass is extremely accurate, and it may be getting more powerful. though i still cant feel it, i can just hear it pretty well.

 

[Skoobs]

i hear that the DT770 dt880 dt990 are more like what im looking for... can anyone comment on these, after hearing my comments on the ath-a700s?

if they seem more what im looking for in your opinion, which is the most bass-heavy?

i might do the manufakture thing after christmas if i have enough money left over after buying for everyone haha

looks like you can make some pretty sikk cans =)

 

[Epik]

Afaik, the DT770s are more bass-heavy than the DT880s.

 

[shadowdude77]

Hmm, I may have to look into the A700s now. I posted a thread yesterday about how I'm looking for good headphones in the $100-$200 price range to listen to metal with. I listen to bands like Bullet For My Valentine, Children of Bodom, Trivium, As I Lay Dying, etc.

Though I'm not a fan of those headphones that put out so much bass that it muddles everything else over, which makes me think that if these headphones are indeed a little "bass-light" then they may be perfect for me! I'm also considering the Sennheiser HD595 and the Shure SRH-840. I've sampled the SRH-840 and loved the sound, so I guess I should add these to my list of headphones to look out for.

It may be worth considering that for metal, it's almost always true that the song was produced using cheap equipment, so playing it through very expensive, accurate headphones may prove to just exemplify the flaws in the song and make it less enjoyable.

 

[shadowdude77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skoobs /img/forum/go_quote.gif i hear that the DT770 dt880 dt990 are more like what im looking for... can anyone comment on these, after hearing my comments on the ath-a700s? if they seem more what im looking for in your opinion, which is the most bass-heavy? i might do the manufakture thing after christmas if i have enough money left over after buying for everyone haha looks like you can make some pretty sikk cans =)

Well, playing out of my phone, the DT770s that I sampled were extremely sibilant. Every hit of the cymbal sounded like TV static. Someone said it was probably because of their high impedance, and they are probably right because I sampled the 250 ohm version, which is tough to drive out of a phone. So if this is a "poor man's setup" as you say it is, you might want to look into the 32 ohm version.

 

[ri_toast]

these are nice, easy to power even with an dap. i cut the cord to 36" and terminated with a neutrik 90 degree. the only negative is the size and the star wars princess leia look. otherwise a great full sized hp, reasonably priced also.

 

[Skoobs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowdude77 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmm, I may have to look into the A700s now. I posted a thread yesterday about how I'm looking for good headphones in the $100-$200 price range to listen to metal with. I listen to bands like Bullet For My Valentine, Children of Bodom, Trivium, As I Lay Dying, etc. Though I'm not a fan of those headphones that put out so much bass that it muddles everything else over, which makes me think that if these headphones are indeed a little "bass-light" then they may be perfect for me! I'm also considering the Sennheiser HD595 and the Shure SRH-840. I've sampled the SRH-840 and loved the sound, so I guess I should add these to my list of headphones to look out for. It may be worth considering that for metal, it's almost always true that the song was produced using cheap equipment, so playing it through very expensive, accurate headphones may prove to just exemplify the flaws in the song and make it less enjoyable.

these are def the cans you are looking for to listen to those bands. they sound rad, really. especially after a little burn-in. and you can find them for about a hundred bucks, maybe a little less. and my soundcard powers them real well. although i kind of want to save up for a D10 to see if that ups the bass at all for rap and synthetic-bass-filled metal. =) glad to see i helped someone.... haha

 

[Skoobs]

oh, and i was just astounded by the cord. never owned any cord on anything that was half the quality. its kind of like jeans fabric braided around it. and its woven real tight. no slipping at all.

 

[stang]

I own the ATH-AD700 and listen to bands such as: Children of Bodom, In Flames, Lamb of God, DevilDriver, Hammerfall and a few more. I used to love the AD700 and then I got Grado SR-225 and hated the AD700

. They are fantastic for gaming though, hence I still have them sitting next to me

The soundstage is fantastic!! I missed the soundstage with the Grado's and Westone UM3X going from the AD700. I couldn't hear the cymbals nearly as much, which dissapointed me. Now I haven't used my Grado's for a month or so (CD player died) and just recieved a 1/4" to 1/4" adaptor and am using them right now, I hate them now haha! Not enough bass impact (brand new Zero DAC affecting this?), my Westone's are fantastic for bass now. I guess my sound signature tastes have changed, not sure.