Alright I've been using my a900x for the past week, it now has been burned in for about 100hours, basically ran non-stop for about 5 days.
Now, I am really really new to Hi-fi stuff right now, I can't use words like *recess mids, bright highs, muddy bass* and etc...
I do understand what they means, however I just can't tell what sounds like recess mids, and what sounds like superb sound stage. Note that this is my first pair of audiophile headphones, so bare with me here. I will get better at this in the future, when I have a chance listen to more cans.
Although I can't describe with those fancy words, I COULD tell a different from my older headphone, and yes... there's a HUGE difference.
My set up:
Ibanez 6phihp01 headphone (Previous headphones) *don't bother looking these up, even myself can't find any useful info on these cans, it came with my bass amp as a package.
My desktop computer with onboard sound card
Audio Technica A900X
Physical Appearance
I am very pleased with the look. I like how Audio Technica has their own unique look such as the 3d wing (I'll get into comfort later)
they are bigger than I thought, the housing is the size of my palm.
It weights 330g according to the box, however it definitely feels lighter *see comfort section
Material wise, Aluminum housing, the rest all plastics, the two arc above the 3d wings are some very sturdy metal material on the inside, and it's wrap with some hard rubber.
The 3d wings are plastic, and the cushions are made of sponge.
Ear-pads are I believe pleather.
and one of my favorite part is the cable, they are not those standard rubber warp cables, they are actually wrap with nylon-ish material, and gave the cable a very sturdy feel. However down-side is that they are not removable cables... =[
Comfort
The good stuff
I heard various of opinions regarding its comfort level. Personally I find it very comfortable, I would give it a 8/10.
They stayed on my head very well, and consider that I have an average, if-not slightly smaller head. I can shake my head pretty hard, and they still stayed where they're suppose to. I can barely feel the 3d wings on my head, yet I know that they are still holding the headphones. The headphone feels really light, and I can be using them for hours without feeling any fatigue. But I do take my headphone down once in a while because... (see Cons)
I heard many people said that they wish the 3d wings can be a bit stiffer, since the headphone itself tend of slide down, that is not the case with me, personally I thought the 3d wings are not meant to be holding the headphones, they act as a support feature, and just SLIGHTLY holding the headphone making sure it's in place.
The cons =[
The pleather ear-pads are not comfortable.... and that's the main reason I gave an 8/10.
The softness is ok, but the material is just not comfortable... my ear sweat up pretty fast... however consider my room is usually 80+ degree normally.... but non-the-less once it starting the sweat, I have to take it off and wipe it a little before continue using it, or else it gets very uncomfortable. I will have to switch them out soon, need guidance on this tho... I heard the original A900's ear pads are pretty good replacements.
Concerns
Talking about headphone staying on my head. Like I mention, I do believe that the unlike other headphones with the normal head-band that holds the headphones on your head, the 3d wings are just means of supporting feature, and it's not suppose to hold on entire headphone on your head. Which brought attention to me, what truly is holding the phones on my head? I believe are the two arc looking metal wire that run across the two ear cup. These sturdy wire are using a clamp force to hold the headphone on my head, however this rises up a concern. Over time wouldn't these wire lose their clamp force? if so...how would I fix or prevent it? o.O
The Sound
The good stuff
Finally, let's get to the main part of this review, the sounds. oooo man....how do I start this....No really... I had no experience with headphones, nor writing reviews...
Let start with the first impression. When I made the transition from my old headphone to the a900x, EVERYTHING sounded cleaner, clearer, and fuller. With my Ibanez, it sounded like turning everything down on an equalizer, from lows to highs, and sounded like hearing stuff with a layer of cloth between your ear and the headphone.
When I switched to the AT, every sounded much cleaner, the basses are ACTUALLY there, and yes these have a very solid sounding bass, not boomy, but feels very solid.
I would really like to comment on the mids and highs, but with my lack of knowledge, I'm simply can't give a good description on them. But like I said, all the music sounded very clean and full, compared to my older phones.
The cons
Sigh.... I don't know >.< I guess you can say that I have nothing to complain with the sound, I am happy for what I'm hearing =]
Thank you for reading =]
*I'll come back and edit the review some more as I learn more about them.*
