Heyyoudvd
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 6, 2003
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Six days ago I finally received my Audio Technica ATH-A900's from AudioCubes and thus far have probably spent around 30ish hours listening to them plus about 10 of straight burn-in beforehand.
First a disclaimer: I'm no audiophile but to me the sound quality is excellent. The only other good headphones I've heard for any lengthy time period are the ones that I own (KSC75's, PortaPros and SR-60s). I have heard everything on wall at Bay Bloor Radio (most of the high end Senns, all the main Grado's aside from the RS-1, the Triports, Sony Vx00 series, a couple mid-level AKG's and a few others I'm forgetting) but each of the auditions was no more than a couple minutes so I'm in no position to judge or compare them.
With that said, I'm very impressed with the A900's.
Comfort:
Like many have previously stated, these are very comfortable headphones. The cups are enormous and they fully cover even large ears. The material is nice although it does get rather hot. If I let my ears take a quick breather for a few seconds every once in a while, I can wear these for a good 4+ hours straight. That's compared to my SR60's which are comfortable at first but after an hour or two make my ears so sore that I need to spend a few hours with them off to allow my ears to recover. While the A900s are very comfortable, they're not perfect. After about 4-5 hours, the point of contact between the pads and my head right below my ears (just above the jaw bone) starts to get sore so I need to take a break. Overall, the comfort is excellent.
Build Quality:
I can't really say anything here which hasn't been said before but the build quality is very good with a few problems. First of all, the two 'tubes' that make up the headband feel a bit flimsy and unsturdy. Secondly, the left headphone (the one the cord connects to) suffers from quite a bit of microphonics. You can hear any vibrations in the cord quite a bit. Aside from those two issues, I have no complaints. The 3D Wing system is great and the headphones are very nice to look at. Their photographs really don't do them justice since they're a lot darker, less round and sleeker than those light blue, semi-spherical headphones we always seen in A900 pictures.
The two earphones feel nice a sturdy, although you have to be careful of the the pivot points because the cord passed through them. The headphones end with a 1/8 inch connector that has a 1/4 which screws on nicely and the woven fabric of the 10 foot cord is a very nice touch as well. The headphones isolate quite a bit in that very little sound gets out even at high volume. Sound can get in though. You can still hear people talk to you if the volume is off/low although their voices will be a bit muffled and distant
Sound:
I think I've finally been stricken with upgrade-itis. For years I thought my SR-60's sounded fantastic and upon listening to the A900's I liked virtually everything about the sound but felt the detail wasn't as big of a jump over the SR60s as all the other qualities were. My SR60s were in repair so I couldn't compare the two directly and at one point, I even thought that the Grados were more detailed than my new Audio Technicas were.
Well, I finally got the SR-60s back and it turns out my mind/memory has been playing tricks on me. When I owned only the Grados, they were the best headphones I had ever heard so I thought the detail was phenomenal. Upon listening to the A900's, I noticed that there was still some room for improvement in that department so I assumed that meant the Grados were the more detailed of the two. After getting them back from repair and doing side by side comparisons, the two weren't even close. The A900’s were clearly better. Now that I have a higher end 'phone, I'm starting to realize just how good things can sound so I'm noticing minor faults with the A900s that I didn't notice with the SR60's, even if these faults are significantly more prominent with the Grados than with the AT's.
Getting back on track, the A900s sound excellent. The soundstage completely obliterates the SR60s' inside-your-skull sound, the bass goes much much lower with greater impact, and the headphones just sound so much smoother and richer. While I used to love what I viewed as the full, complex sound of my Grados, they just sound thin and flat by comparison.
As far as the infamous “scooped out mids”, I think things are blown way out of proportion. When I first got the headphones before burning them in, I thought the midrange was actually quite bad. The contrast between the quality of the highs/low and the midrange was very apparent and I feared for the worst. As luck would have it, that didn’t happen. The mids improved significantly and while they might not be as strong as the highs and lows, they’re excellent now.
I don’t think these headphones have any real weakness that I can see, although I can see room for improvements, now that I’ve started to get a more discerning ear. The main area that I can see being improved upon is the detail. While they’re a definite step up from everything else I own, I can still visualize a sound with more intricacies. Acoustic guitar, in particular, sounds a bit “off”. The little things like the ‘feel’ of the string being plucked and the minor vibrations aren’t quite as good as they could be, although they’re still excellent compare to every other headphones I’m closely familiar with. The midrange could also be improved upon, although I think it’s much better than many make it out to be. As far as the bass, it has nice impact and it sounds very tight to me.
They also sound great out of my Audigy 2 and iPod, although the sound does get quite a bit better when I listen through my home receiver (both because of the transition from 192kbps AAC to cd and because even though I don't have a dedicated headphone amp, I'm sure the receiver is a much better source than an iPod or Audigy 2 is). All in all, these headphones can be driven quite easily and sound great even from an MP3 player, but they improve a fair bit (especially the bass presence) from a nice receiver (and I'm sure a headphone amp will make things even better, although from what I've heard, A900's don't benefit from an amp as much as most other headphones do).
Conclusion:
Overall, I'm incredibly happy with these headphones. They sound great in all respects, they're comfortable, and the physical quality is nice as well.
I'm so glad I opted to make this purchase. Initially I just wanted something different to complement my SR-60s so I thought the HD-497's would be a nice choice. Then the EH350's caught my eye as an improved alternative. Then I was told to go for an actual upgrade instead of 'continuing to swim around in the shallow end' and the HD555's seemed like a good idea. After reading mixed reviews for that pair of Senns, I learned about Audio Technica and opted to go for either the AD700's or A700's. Upon reading more reviews of the closed bigger brother, I finally settled on the A900's and never looked back. After this whole long journey of jumping from headphone to headphone, I'm extremely happy with my purchase.
Like I said earlier, I can still see room for improvement (mainly in the detail/resolution) and this has given me a mild case of upgrade-itis but I'm going to wait a few years before I decide to spend that much more money on headphones, especially seeing as how my new A900's are bar-none the best headphones I've ever heard for any lengthy time period and I'm ecstatic over my purchase.
I vow that one day, however, I'm going to own the L3000's.
PS: It's worth noting that in my opinion, the jump from the SR-60's to the A900's is significantly more substantial than the jump from the KSC75's/PortaPro's to the Grados, meaning that at this price point, the law of diminishing returns hasn't set in for me just yet.
First a disclaimer: I'm no audiophile but to me the sound quality is excellent. The only other good headphones I've heard for any lengthy time period are the ones that I own (KSC75's, PortaPros and SR-60s). I have heard everything on wall at Bay Bloor Radio (most of the high end Senns, all the main Grado's aside from the RS-1, the Triports, Sony Vx00 series, a couple mid-level AKG's and a few others I'm forgetting) but each of the auditions was no more than a couple minutes so I'm in no position to judge or compare them.
With that said, I'm very impressed with the A900's.
Comfort:
Like many have previously stated, these are very comfortable headphones. The cups are enormous and they fully cover even large ears. The material is nice although it does get rather hot. If I let my ears take a quick breather for a few seconds every once in a while, I can wear these for a good 4+ hours straight. That's compared to my SR60's which are comfortable at first but after an hour or two make my ears so sore that I need to spend a few hours with them off to allow my ears to recover. While the A900s are very comfortable, they're not perfect. After about 4-5 hours, the point of contact between the pads and my head right below my ears (just above the jaw bone) starts to get sore so I need to take a break. Overall, the comfort is excellent.
Build Quality:
I can't really say anything here which hasn't been said before but the build quality is very good with a few problems. First of all, the two 'tubes' that make up the headband feel a bit flimsy and unsturdy. Secondly, the left headphone (the one the cord connects to) suffers from quite a bit of microphonics. You can hear any vibrations in the cord quite a bit. Aside from those two issues, I have no complaints. The 3D Wing system is great and the headphones are very nice to look at. Their photographs really don't do them justice since they're a lot darker, less round and sleeker than those light blue, semi-spherical headphones we always seen in A900 pictures.
The two earphones feel nice a sturdy, although you have to be careful of the the pivot points because the cord passed through them. The headphones end with a 1/8 inch connector that has a 1/4 which screws on nicely and the woven fabric of the 10 foot cord is a very nice touch as well. The headphones isolate quite a bit in that very little sound gets out even at high volume. Sound can get in though. You can still hear people talk to you if the volume is off/low although their voices will be a bit muffled and distant
Sound:
I think I've finally been stricken with upgrade-itis. For years I thought my SR-60's sounded fantastic and upon listening to the A900's I liked virtually everything about the sound but felt the detail wasn't as big of a jump over the SR60s as all the other qualities were. My SR60s were in repair so I couldn't compare the two directly and at one point, I even thought that the Grados were more detailed than my new Audio Technicas were.
Well, I finally got the SR-60s back and it turns out my mind/memory has been playing tricks on me. When I owned only the Grados, they were the best headphones I had ever heard so I thought the detail was phenomenal. Upon listening to the A900's, I noticed that there was still some room for improvement in that department so I assumed that meant the Grados were the more detailed of the two. After getting them back from repair and doing side by side comparisons, the two weren't even close. The A900’s were clearly better. Now that I have a higher end 'phone, I'm starting to realize just how good things can sound so I'm noticing minor faults with the A900s that I didn't notice with the SR60's, even if these faults are significantly more prominent with the Grados than with the AT's.
Getting back on track, the A900s sound excellent. The soundstage completely obliterates the SR60s' inside-your-skull sound, the bass goes much much lower with greater impact, and the headphones just sound so much smoother and richer. While I used to love what I viewed as the full, complex sound of my Grados, they just sound thin and flat by comparison.
As far as the infamous “scooped out mids”, I think things are blown way out of proportion. When I first got the headphones before burning them in, I thought the midrange was actually quite bad. The contrast between the quality of the highs/low and the midrange was very apparent and I feared for the worst. As luck would have it, that didn’t happen. The mids improved significantly and while they might not be as strong as the highs and lows, they’re excellent now.
I don’t think these headphones have any real weakness that I can see, although I can see room for improvements, now that I’ve started to get a more discerning ear. The main area that I can see being improved upon is the detail. While they’re a definite step up from everything else I own, I can still visualize a sound with more intricacies. Acoustic guitar, in particular, sounds a bit “off”. The little things like the ‘feel’ of the string being plucked and the minor vibrations aren’t quite as good as they could be, although they’re still excellent compare to every other headphones I’m closely familiar with. The midrange could also be improved upon, although I think it’s much better than many make it out to be. As far as the bass, it has nice impact and it sounds very tight to me.
They also sound great out of my Audigy 2 and iPod, although the sound does get quite a bit better when I listen through my home receiver (both because of the transition from 192kbps AAC to cd and because even though I don't have a dedicated headphone amp, I'm sure the receiver is a much better source than an iPod or Audigy 2 is). All in all, these headphones can be driven quite easily and sound great even from an MP3 player, but they improve a fair bit (especially the bass presence) from a nice receiver (and I'm sure a headphone amp will make things even better, although from what I've heard, A900's don't benefit from an amp as much as most other headphones do).
Conclusion:
Overall, I'm incredibly happy with these headphones. They sound great in all respects, they're comfortable, and the physical quality is nice as well.
I'm so glad I opted to make this purchase. Initially I just wanted something different to complement my SR-60s so I thought the HD-497's would be a nice choice. Then the EH350's caught my eye as an improved alternative. Then I was told to go for an actual upgrade instead of 'continuing to swim around in the shallow end' and the HD555's seemed like a good idea. After reading mixed reviews for that pair of Senns, I learned about Audio Technica and opted to go for either the AD700's or A700's. Upon reading more reviews of the closed bigger brother, I finally settled on the A900's and never looked back. After this whole long journey of jumping from headphone to headphone, I'm extremely happy with my purchase.
Like I said earlier, I can still see room for improvement (mainly in the detail/resolution) and this has given me a mild case of upgrade-itis but I'm going to wait a few years before I decide to spend that much more money on headphones, especially seeing as how my new A900's are bar-none the best headphones I've ever heard for any lengthy time period and I'm ecstatic over my purchase.
I vow that one day, however, I'm going to own the L3000's.
PS: It's worth noting that in my opinion, the jump from the SR-60's to the A900's is significantly more substantial than the jump from the KSC75's/PortaPro's to the Grados, meaning that at this price point, the law of diminishing returns hasn't set in for me just yet.
