HYHY
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2012
- Posts
- 25
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- 10
So today I just got my new Audio Technica ATH-A900x for around $295USD and am satisfied with these cans. They just suit my preferences so well.
I'm new to this and I'm just purely stating my own honest opinion. So please go easy on me and pardon my not so professional/detailed explanations ><
So there's an electronics and computer fair going on here and I heard some of the well known brands would be there.
Basically, I went there and tried out the Audio Technica ATH-A900x, A700x, Beyerdynamic DT880 32 ohms, DT990 32 ohms as well as the Sennheiser HD598.
Well I'm not gonna mention about the HD598 as it being an open headphone, practically does not isolate any outside sound. And given the place I'm in,
listening to the dt990 was already pushing it, hence it's a given that I simply can't complete my listening with these cans, the background has just got too much noise.
The colour of the HD598 is a miss for me, would preferred it if it was gold or a lighter in colour like those in some of the internet pics. The actual colour is too dull for my liking.
Now what I'm focusing here is on the sound quality only. (Note: my perception of the beyerdynamics might be not that accurate due to insufficient isolation hence I'm only going to state brief thoughts about them.)
I'm not going to mention in detail about the build quality and comfort because I felt that all 4 cans are fine in those 2 areas.
Note that all 4 cans are already fully burned in beforehand.
Some pictures of my newly bought cans.
http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww315/hydrolightning/20120901_1608282.jpg
http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww315/hydrolightning/20120901_1608411.jpg
http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww315/hydrolightning/20120901_1608551.jpg
http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww315/hydrolightning/20120901_1627052.jpg
Source 1 : Each respective official headphone stations.(It's something like a demo station where they have everything setup for on the spot listening)
P.s. I got to mention that the stations for the audio technicas look much more professional than the beyerdynamics probably because the audio technicas' booth belongs to the official distributor.
Source 2 : My samsung galaxy s3, default player, ampless. (Yeah I don't have the budget to get any portable amplifier or dac yet and I still have much more to learn about EQing.)
Tracks used:
Source 1:
Demo music provided.
Source 2: (Didn't do any comparison of the A900x and A700x with this)
1. Vitas - Opera #2 (FLAC)
2. Kalafina - Sprinter (FLAC)
3. PSY - Gangnam Style (MP3 320kbps)
P.s. As you can see my preferences are focused mainly on vocals, classical, j-pop and k-pop.
The Audio Technica Comparison:
Source 1:
At first when I heard the A900x through the audio technica setup I simply had an eargasm. The song played was focused on female vocals. Wonderful mids, highs and trebles. The bass is also very well controlled and definitely does not sound boomy at all.
Now for the A700x it wasn't bad but since I listened to the A900x first, it sounded abit dull in comparison. Don't get me wrong, the SQ of the A700x is good, but it is sub-par when compared to the A900x. I would also like to note that the soundstage is slightly more laid back on the A700x.
Source 2: (A900x thoughts)
1. Vitas - Opera #2 (FLAC)
This song is basically a classical song that focuses on vocals. The male singer is a russian and has top notch high pitched vocals (highest pitch singer I have ever heard).
Lows are superb, instrument separation is good, better than the other cans I have heard. Now, the chorus in this song is where the vocals get ridiculously high and I find that the A900x handled this well.
Overall, the sound doesn't sound fatiguing nor isit too bright.
2. Kalafina - Sprinter (FLAC)
Kalafina is basically a J-pop band formed by 3 ladies (used to be 4 though). Hence there are 3 vocals in this song. Each of them covering the lows, mids and highs. I had no problem catching all 3 vocals at once.
Again, one of the best songs suited for this cans.
3. PSY - Gangnam Style
K-pop song that recently got viral on the net. There's some rap element in it too. Well-balanced trebles, doesn't cover the singer's voice. Gotta love the singer's voice presentation in these cans,
bass is controlled enough from my s3 and is even tighter when I tried the ipod/amp combo. Really catchy song though hence I might be slightly biased on this.
One common problem that I faced when driving through my S3 is that the volume is especially soft compared to the demo station source/ipod. Yes, the salesperson allowed me to try his ipod as well as his ipod/amp combo.
I think it's probably my source issue though.
Extras:
Beyerdynamics Quote: (Note: my perception of the beyerdynamics might be not that accurate due to insufficient isolation hence I'm only going to state brief thoughts about them.)
(Tested from Source 1)
Pretty good volume as compared to my own source. Compared the DT880 and DT990 and immediately I decided that the DT880 is more to my liking. (Proves that I'm not a basshead.) Note that I have only listened to this source for a short while so all I can say is the DT880 has lesser bass than the DT990 which I prefer. The bass on the DT990 sounded boomy for me. (Basically the bass dominates every other aspect of the song and I can hardly hear the singer's voice.)
(Tested from Source 2)
Obviously I had to turn the volume up for both cans.
DT990 is too bass heavy for my likes. Practically felt that it lowers the presence of the vocals and certain instruments quite significantly. Definitely not a headphone for my genres.
DT880 is weaker in the mids but have more bass than the A900x but of course less than the dt990. I felt the bass wasn't too much and is pretty well controlled I got to agree that the dt880s considered relatively neutral but unfortunately it didn't really suit my taste well.
Not saying the beyerdynamics are bad, just that they are not my cup of tea.
Oh and it is pretty obvious that source 1 is significantly better than my own source. (Seems like I need to get an amp/dac combo really soon.)
Conclusion:
Really enjoyed the A900x, the bass is just right for me. Overall, impressive lows and lush mids, couldn't be really picky about the highs either. Honestly this is the right cans for me however some might be concerned about the fit though, the cans might slip off easily if you have a small head.
The fitting worked for me as I have a relatively large head. The clamping force of the A900x is just right, not too tight not too loose. Probably need to start clocking in those burning hours for my own set. While the A700x basically has a similar sound signature to the A900x but the latter simply does everything better.
I have to mention that the difference in mids and clarity (perhaps causing the significant difference of the vocal impact) is significant enough for me to choose the A900x over the A700x.
The A900x benefits from an amp as it tightens up the bass and has improved clarity (or perhaps mids). The A900x is truly one can for vocals.
P.s. Apparently the most of the music I tested are coincidentally vocal songs, it's not like I'm emphasizing that this can is the absolute best for this genre.
And that's that. Thanks for reading =)
I'm new to this and I'm just purely stating my own honest opinion. So please go easy on me and pardon my not so professional/detailed explanations ><
So there's an electronics and computer fair going on here and I heard some of the well known brands would be there.
Basically, I went there and tried out the Audio Technica ATH-A900x, A700x, Beyerdynamic DT880 32 ohms, DT990 32 ohms as well as the Sennheiser HD598.
Well I'm not gonna mention about the HD598 as it being an open headphone, practically does not isolate any outside sound. And given the place I'm in,
listening to the dt990 was already pushing it, hence it's a given that I simply can't complete my listening with these cans, the background has just got too much noise.
The colour of the HD598 is a miss for me, would preferred it if it was gold or a lighter in colour like those in some of the internet pics. The actual colour is too dull for my liking.
Now what I'm focusing here is on the sound quality only. (Note: my perception of the beyerdynamics might be not that accurate due to insufficient isolation hence I'm only going to state brief thoughts about them.)
I'm not going to mention in detail about the build quality and comfort because I felt that all 4 cans are fine in those 2 areas.
Note that all 4 cans are already fully burned in beforehand.
Some pictures of my newly bought cans.
http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww315/hydrolightning/20120901_1608282.jpg
http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww315/hydrolightning/20120901_1608411.jpg
http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww315/hydrolightning/20120901_1608551.jpg
http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww315/hydrolightning/20120901_1627052.jpg
Source 1 : Each respective official headphone stations.(It's something like a demo station where they have everything setup for on the spot listening)
P.s. I got to mention that the stations for the audio technicas look much more professional than the beyerdynamics probably because the audio technicas' booth belongs to the official distributor.
Source 2 : My samsung galaxy s3, default player, ampless. (Yeah I don't have the budget to get any portable amplifier or dac yet and I still have much more to learn about EQing.)
Tracks used:
Source 1:
Demo music provided.
Source 2: (Didn't do any comparison of the A900x and A700x with this)
1. Vitas - Opera #2 (FLAC)
2. Kalafina - Sprinter (FLAC)
3. PSY - Gangnam Style (MP3 320kbps)
P.s. As you can see my preferences are focused mainly on vocals, classical, j-pop and k-pop.
The Audio Technica Comparison:
Source 1:
At first when I heard the A900x through the audio technica setup I simply had an eargasm. The song played was focused on female vocals. Wonderful mids, highs and trebles. The bass is also very well controlled and definitely does not sound boomy at all.
Now for the A700x it wasn't bad but since I listened to the A900x first, it sounded abit dull in comparison. Don't get me wrong, the SQ of the A700x is good, but it is sub-par when compared to the A900x. I would also like to note that the soundstage is slightly more laid back on the A700x.
Source 2: (A900x thoughts)
1. Vitas - Opera #2 (FLAC)
This song is basically a classical song that focuses on vocals. The male singer is a russian and has top notch high pitched vocals (highest pitch singer I have ever heard).
Lows are superb, instrument separation is good, better than the other cans I have heard. Now, the chorus in this song is where the vocals get ridiculously high and I find that the A900x handled this well.
Overall, the sound doesn't sound fatiguing nor isit too bright.
2. Kalafina - Sprinter (FLAC)
Kalafina is basically a J-pop band formed by 3 ladies (used to be 4 though). Hence there are 3 vocals in this song. Each of them covering the lows, mids and highs. I had no problem catching all 3 vocals at once.
Again, one of the best songs suited for this cans.
3. PSY - Gangnam Style
K-pop song that recently got viral on the net. There's some rap element in it too. Well-balanced trebles, doesn't cover the singer's voice. Gotta love the singer's voice presentation in these cans,
bass is controlled enough from my s3 and is even tighter when I tried the ipod/amp combo. Really catchy song though hence I might be slightly biased on this.
One common problem that I faced when driving through my S3 is that the volume is especially soft compared to the demo station source/ipod. Yes, the salesperson allowed me to try his ipod as well as his ipod/amp combo.
I think it's probably my source issue though.
Extras:
Beyerdynamics Quote: (Note: my perception of the beyerdynamics might be not that accurate due to insufficient isolation hence I'm only going to state brief thoughts about them.)
(Tested from Source 1)
Pretty good volume as compared to my own source. Compared the DT880 and DT990 and immediately I decided that the DT880 is more to my liking. (Proves that I'm not a basshead.) Note that I have only listened to this source for a short while so all I can say is the DT880 has lesser bass than the DT990 which I prefer. The bass on the DT990 sounded boomy for me. (Basically the bass dominates every other aspect of the song and I can hardly hear the singer's voice.)
(Tested from Source 2)
Obviously I had to turn the volume up for both cans.
DT990 is too bass heavy for my likes. Practically felt that it lowers the presence of the vocals and certain instruments quite significantly. Definitely not a headphone for my genres.
DT880 is weaker in the mids but have more bass than the A900x but of course less than the dt990. I felt the bass wasn't too much and is pretty well controlled I got to agree that the dt880s considered relatively neutral but unfortunately it didn't really suit my taste well.
Not saying the beyerdynamics are bad, just that they are not my cup of tea.
Oh and it is pretty obvious that source 1 is significantly better than my own source. (Seems like I need to get an amp/dac combo really soon.)
Conclusion:
Really enjoyed the A900x, the bass is just right for me. Overall, impressive lows and lush mids, couldn't be really picky about the highs either. Honestly this is the right cans for me however some might be concerned about the fit though, the cans might slip off easily if you have a small head.
The fitting worked for me as I have a relatively large head. The clamping force of the A900x is just right, not too tight not too loose. Probably need to start clocking in those burning hours for my own set. While the A700x basically has a similar sound signature to the A900x but the latter simply does everything better.
I have to mention that the difference in mids and clarity (perhaps causing the significant difference of the vocal impact) is significant enough for me to choose the A900x over the A700x.
The A900x benefits from an amp as it tightens up the bass and has improved clarity (or perhaps mids). The A900x is truly one can for vocals.
P.s. Apparently the most of the music I tested are coincidentally vocal songs, it's not like I'm emphasizing that this can is the absolute best for this genre.
And that's that. Thanks for reading =)
