[Vii]

I'm an aspiring audiophile with a pair of 595s.
They're nice, but I want something better. My budget is roughly 500$, so I think it might be a good idea to buy a pair of good cans and no amp (at least not right away).

I'm looking for all-rounders, since I enjoy a lot of genres (pretty much anything with a female vocalist, particularly symphonic metal, jpop, power metal and rock). After doing a bit of research, I've come to the conclusion that I should get either the AD2000, the SA5000, or the K701. I'm only interested in open, circumaural headphones.

My gripe is that I can't find the AT ATH-AD2000 for a reasonable price anywhere within the EU. Audiocubes sells it for 500$, but importing from Japan would mean paying an additional 25% for duty and VAT.
I could buy the K701 for 380$ and get a cheap amp to complement it. I wonder if it would be a good choice...
The SA5000 is the third possibility for 430$, but I'd have to get it from the US and that - much like importing from Japan - involves extra expenses.

Could you recommend me a retailer in the EU offering any of the cans above at a fair price?
Do you have some other recommendations?

Thank you for your advice.

 

[Elephas]

Hi, welcome to Head-Fi.

The AD2000 does OK unamped, the SA5000 and K701 less so, I think. They improve considerably with amplification, especially with a good source.

All three have a similar-type of sound; I would say the SA5000 is colder, the K701 is neutralish in the middle, and the AD2000 is warmer. All three have good details, but I think the SA5000 might have a slight edge here with electronica music. The AD2000 has the most forward-sounding midrange of the three, which can be especially enjoyable with female vocals. I used to own an HD595 and thought it wasn't at the level of these three headphones.

You might consider buying a used AD2000 from the FS Forum. I believe 2nd hand prices for the AD2000 are well below US$500 in the US or Japan. The declared value of a used unit should help you out in terms of the import taxes.

 

[musicmind]

Hi Vii
Welcome to head-fi, sorry about your wallet

I think pricejapan.com has the AD2000 for a little bit cheaper.

As for your purchase decision, I havent heard the K701 or SA5000, but I do have the AD2000 and, like you, I upgraded from HD595. Compared to the 595, the AD2000 is leaner yet deeper in bass (ie less impact but more detail) and has a much richer midrange and treble extension. It is also much airier and instrument separation and soundstaging is more 3-dimensional. They are
much faster at conveying transients, dynamics and attack of instruments like snare drums for example. However, to my taste, I dont use them as all-round cans. I find that jazz, electronica, acoustic instruments and vocals are their forte, but metal, pop, rock is a little less fun because its leaner sound in comparison to Sennheiser or Denon. I think a suitable warm sounding amp will sound good with the AD2000.
Alternatively, the AD1000 might be a cheaper alternative, in ASR's loaner review thread, one reviewer compared the AD1000 to the AD2000.

Hope that helps.

 

[NoXter]

What about DT880 from Beyerdynamic? It's on the same level as K701, AD2k, SA5k and fits imho very well to your music preferences!

 

[DJShadow]

Hehe now we need someone who migrated from a HD 595 to a K701

I've only got the HD 595 and SA5000 but haven't heard the K701 or AD2000. One of the most apparent differences is the sheer attack and speed of the SA5000 versus the HD 595 that the Senns seem incredibly sluggish in comparison. Bass notes feel fat and bloated and one-dimensional. The actual quantity of bass on the SA5000 is less than the HD 595 but its execution is far superior. Bass drums, double basses, electric bass etc aren't blended together but seperated and succinct in their nature. The mids are a double edged blade. Depending on the recording, you can be presented with pristine vocals or devoid sterility (which I find is the case with Steve Albini recordings -_-). I don't listen to a lot of vocals anyway so its not severe problem for me. The highs are without doubt the star atraction. A lot of folk find that there is a treble spike but I disagree and say that they are so clear that it gives the impression of being boosted and presenting pseudo detail, which isn't true. There is detail to be find all over the spectrum. Cymbals sparkle and flitter away with such vitality I find it irresistible. Soundstage width is narrower than the HD 595.

My suggestion is to get all three and sell the 2 you don't like

 

[Vii]

Thank you for replying so quickly!

I'm curious about the K701-AD2000 comparison, let's hope someone will help us out.
An amp and a DT880 would cost at least as much as any of the other headphones mentioned above, but I'm not sure if I could get a decent amp for that kind of money.

It seems that I have multiple good choices, the greatest issue is acquiring 'the one'. Fellow Europeans, where did you get these headphones from?

 

[xenithon]

Heard the K701, AD2000 and DT880 (600 ohm version). AD2000 certainly stood out from the rest - far superior in terms of detail extraction, air, timbre, and musicality. The closest rival was the K701 - more comfortable than the AD2000, larger soundstage, but IMO it was too neutral, to the point of being lifeless. Also, I found the soundstage too big for the amound of musical information portrayed. That is, it often sounded hollow, or empty. The AD2000 is not bad unamped, but scales up extremely well even with modest amplification.

 

[Hardwired]

Buying the AD2000 was the biggest mistake I've made so far about headphones. If you like vocals that sound like they're right on the end of your nose and you can't push them away, the AD2000 is what you're looking for. The K701 is more relaxed and puts the music out at arms length so you can appreciate all of it, not just the mids. The AD2000 were also very uncomfortable and the K701s were fine to wear for long periods.

 

[spinali]

Interesting the K701 and AD2000 are mentioned. Timbre is almost equal, though there's obviously more volume out of the box for the AD2000. But it may depend on your preferred music. The AD2000 does not render classical with any nuance at all, though it definitely rocks, and sounds especially nice with any Japanese music.

I opted for the K701 for its more laid back sound and smoothness. Add value and "all around-ness" and its hard to beat, driven well.

 

[003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hardwired /img/forum/go_quote.gif Buying the AD2000 was the biggest mistake I've made so far about headphones. If you like vocals that sound like they're right on the end of your nose and you can't push them away, the AD2000 is what you're looking for. The K701 is more relaxed and puts the music out at arms length so you can appreciate all of it, not just the mids. The AD2000 were also very uncomfortable and the K701s were fine to wear for long periods.

Don't base your purchase off this alone ... the AD2000 is a great headphone imo look at my review (and other peoples) in the 7-part loaner thread.

 

[splawren]

Always the best way to decide is to listen for yourself. . . I had a listen for a day with the AD2000 and found that I liked it, but needed more time with it to make a final decision. I'm still curious to hear the K701. Some stores will let you do the 10-30 day money back thing, some won't, but sometimes paying shipping back (NOT a restocking fee), is worth the trial and error opportunity.

 

[Vii]

Based on what I've read on Head-fi and other forums, I'm pretty sure I'll go for the AD2000 and get an amp later on. That'll be enough exercise for my wallet...
...for now.

I'm still surprised how expensive (and rare) they are in Europe. The lowest price I found was 511EUR (a small online shop in Austria), but Pricejapan can supposedly send the cans my way for 333EUR.

 

[ironbut]

I have the AD2000( I bought spinali's),K701,HD600,DT880 and the DT990. I love the 2k's! It may be partly due to amp synergy but,.. I'll be putting the others in the FS forum pretty soon. I tried and tried to like the k701 but the soundstage was just not enough to pull it out of last place. I think you should be able to score a pair of 2k's for around $400. And the one thing about buying a used pair here, is we're fanatics and as such, take great care of our cans. I've bought a few used phones here and they're virtually new.

 

[riceboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by musicmind /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Vii Welcome to head-fi, sorry about your wallet I think pricejapan.com has the AD2000 for a little bit cheaper.

check out the review where the ATH-AD2000 was loaned out. lmilhan likes rock so check out his writeup with the other head-fi members that borrowed the ATH-AD2000. All the writeups are great.

Review

Also Pricejapan has it for under $500 right now. Much luck to you

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hardwired /img/forum/go_quote.gif Buying the AD2000 was the biggest mistake I've made so far about headphones. If you like vocals that sound like they're right on the end of your nose and you can't push them away, the AD2000 is what you're looking for. The K701 is more relaxed and puts the music out at arms length so you can appreciate all of it, not just the mids.

Agreed. The AD2000 sometimes has a strange nasal queeky sound signature, which can sound great (e.g. female voices & guitars) or ridiculus (deep male voices, non-stringed instruments). I wouldn't buy it blindly.

The DT880 or K701, on the other hand, are fons that are much more balanced and have a much wider genre bandwidth. These can be bought blindly. I wouldn't say that the DT880 needs an expensive amp, so you can keep budget low.