[mega]

Hi guys. I know that the A900's have been posted numerous times, but i just want to get your opinions on what my situation is. I have just ordered the A900's because of the obvious high praise that everyone here gives them. I am not an audiophile by any means..but i do want to enjoy great sound and music at home. So far, ive purchased Senn 497's and the 555's and were disatisfied with both. I was very close to ordering the 595's for 195, but they have just emailed me that they were out of stock and they wouldn'e be having them in anytime soon. Ive also heard that the A900's are one of the best unamped headphones out there. It doesn't help too much that i ordered a pimeta while i had the 555's, thinking that i was going to keep them. Is the pimeta going to be a waste? Or will the sound still be vastly improved with the amp? And also, how do you compare the A900's with the 580's or the 595's(the two headphones i was very close to getting)? Thanks for taking the time to help a newbie out.

 

[MuZI]

I thought with A900`s a amp is needed?

 

[bubbers214]

Quote:

Originally posted by MuZI I thought with A900`s a amp is needed?

an amp is not needed with the a900's, however as with all headphones they do benefit, but they are very good without an amp.

 

[Sczervok]

Well... isn't that the A900's specialty? It's to be able to listen to such quality, without the use of an amp... My cousin never toted an amp around with him. His CD player was more than enough to drive those things (and I could hear him from a suprising distance away.. that psycho..)

"Best unamped phones"
I've heard that before about these phones, I just forgot who said it.

 

[nierika]

Quote:

Originally posted by mega And also, how do you compare the A900's with the 580's or the 595's(the two headphones i was very close to getting)? Thanks for taking the time to help a newbie out.

Why not ask this BEFORE you ordered the A900s?

I sold my A900s to buy a pair of HD 595s. I think if you don't need the isolation, and have a good medium-power source (receiver or mixing console), the 595s are a better choice. The biggest sonic difference between them is the superior lower midrange presence on the 595s.

 

[SouthPaW1227]

Blah blah, ignore the naysayers, you just made an EXTREMELY good purchase

I own the A500s and love them to death, they sound awesome even un-amped, and the A900s will as well. You'll love them, great choice

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally posted by SouthPaW1227 Blah blah, ignore the naysayers, you just made an EXTREMELY good purchase I own the A500s and love them to death, they sound awesome even un-amped, and the A900s will as well. You'll love them, great choice

Agreed, being closed design they are more practical and better suited to different types of listening environment. And sound is not worse than HD595, just a little different flavor.
You'll like them, I know I do.

 

[Zuerst]

Quote:

Originally posted by Sczervok Well... isn't that the A900's specialty? It's to be able to listen to such quality, without the use of an amp... My cousin never toted an amp around with him. His CD player was more than enough to drive those things (and I could hear him from a suprising distance away.. that psycho..) "Best unamped phones" I've heard that before about these phones, I just forgot who said it.

So your cousin wears/uses the A900 outside? Heh, I was debating whether to take this thing outside... afraid that people might look at me weird and I might incure damage to my A900...

 

[Bill Ward]

I might as well get in on this.

Congratulations on ordering the A900's. They really do deliver the goods, with or without an amp, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

You asked about comparisons. I had the HD580 and the A900 at the same time. The A900 was much livelier than the Senns, with a brighter and more immediate sound. They placed me closer to the performance, and I found that more involving. Bass seemed to be more extended, but that might be due to a slightly recessed midrange. Like I said, I had both; I kept the A900's.

You didn't mention the source you'd be using. I ran my A900's out of the headphone jack on my cdp and really enjoyed the performance. That being said, I'm currently useing them with a PIMETA.

The two things I notice about the A900 with the amp are a greater sense of "authority" in the sound. Seems to be better controlled. Second, the amp was deliberately configured to address the highs of my A900 and Grado phones. Less shrill on some bright CD's.

A negative result was that my nice TEAC CD player, quite pleasant via it's headphone jack, became unacceptably hard in the upper register. I bought a new CDP. (I sympathize in the wallet department.) Also, the amp seems to enhance the amount of informaition the A900 provides. That may sound desirable, but I'm hearing things I don't much like in recordings I've had for years. The Grado's are even worse, by the way.

I don't think the amp will go to waste paired the A900, and I'd say you have the makings of a nice system.

Enjoy

BW

 

[mega]

Well, my source is not a very good one..ill be doing a lot of listening from my computer...and my source is a turtle beach santa cruz sound card.(I know) I spent all my money on the A900's and the pimeta, so ill have to live with these for a while. I know i won't get the best sound from this, but at least i have the pimeta to compensate. I know that a crappy source=crappy sound regardless, but i hope i get very good sound anyway with the combination of the A900's and the pimeta. Maybe sometime in the future ill upgrade my soundcard. I can't wait for these headphones to arrive!

Oh, does anyone know the msrp for the A900's?

 

[bubbers214]

In case you are looking for a cheap soundcard to replace your TB SC, there is a really nice one at newegg for 27 shipped, that has essentially the same chipset as the maudio revo, at a much cheaper price. It can do 24/96 like the revo, as long as you enable the hi rez mode and route everything through the Wolfson DAC on the card.

EDIT: Guess i should tell you the name of the card

, its the Chaintech AV-710

 

[Buster Sword]

I want a900! hey Is there a reason to own hd580 in addition? Or does a900 take care of all music in general, games movies?
I feel i can take myself to audiophile bliss on a budget doing

these options

A900 with v7 XIn
hD580 +v7 xin+plug=more power
or hd595 will replace hd580.

i wonder what is the best combo? hmm
What should i get first?

 

[Buster Sword]

please read this guys cool review!

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=67285

 

[3lusiv3]

Quote:

Originally posted by Buster Sword I want a900! hey Is there a reason to own hd580 in addition? Or does a900 take care of all music in general, games movies? I feel i can take myself to audiophile bliss on a budget doing these options A900 with v7 XIn hD580 +v7 xin+plug=more power or hd595 will replace hd580. i wonder what is the best combo? hmm What should i get first?

I'm going for AKG K271 Studio and AKG K240 Studio.

But I was also considering combinations of either 555 or 595 and A500 or A900.

It's very confusing and depends a lot on your source, and what type of music you listen to combined, with what kind of sound you prefer. Anyway, I've ordered the K271s so I will build from there.

 

[Dane]

I recently purchased the A900 too based on the positive oppinions at this site. The ER6 I have are a little too unpratical for office use due to the removal/insertion procedure needed when people stop by my office to consult my infinite wisdom. So I needed a good closed can. The sound is very good from my tube amp but they are also fine straight out of the iPod - just not as much punch and dynamics as when amp'ed.

I thought about posting a review, but I really think all that can be said about the A900 has already been said. They are good cans and they sound even better when amp'ed