Lol... I can see you guys now. Sitting here at this page pressing the refresh button every 10 seconds
Ok, I have not done to much comparison obviously, because I just got the AD2000s today. But I will say, I like them, a lot. I will say a bit now but it will not be complete.
Soundstage:
Still comparing...
Imaging/separation:
Ditto...
Bass:
Interesting. With the D5000, everything rides on the bass. EVERYTHING has weight. You may or may not like this. It's not one note booming bass (if this is what you are looking for, the D5000 will not satisfy) found on many other consumer and even some "high end" headphones. Its not impact that you get from car woofers, it is a very different kind of bass. It is like the bass you feel in your chest, only you feel it in your ears instead, if you know what I mean. Very hard to explain. It extends down very low, and it has average speed. Faster than a Sennheiser, for example.
With the AD2000, things are very different in the bass department. The extension is relatively similar, however the speed, impact and weight is where the difference lies. First, speed. It is faster. Noticeably so. Impact. It's defiantly lighter, but still there. Because of the fast speed, you could say it's like being punched lighter but faster, or harder but slower. As for the weight. With the AD2000, the music does not ride on the bass. The weight is about neutral for the bass. With the AD2000, the music DOES ride on one of the other two frequency spectrums, which we will get to next
Midrange:
Ahh, my favorite. The midrange. A very curious section for the D5000. On first listen, I thought the midrange was horridly recessed. And my views on that have not completely changed. I have tried many different tubes in my MPX3, and quite frankly, the ones I was originally using sounded the best. None of them made any significant difference to the presentation of the midrange. After more critical listening, I came to this conclusion. The mid-mids and upper-mids are quite neutral. The lower mids are recessed. I can not get around that. I have sort of gotten "used" to it, but upon listening to the AD2000, it became painfully apparent again. Everything else about the D5000 sounds great -- this is like a little thorn in it's side. If you listen to music that does not have any "deep" vocals, you probably wouldn't even notice this flaw. But if you do, they can sound like they are "buried" under the other frequencies. Also, the D5000 has a rather dry, thin and starved midrange in general. I had previously mentioned I could not quite put my finger on something about the sound, but that there was something giving it a papery/plasticy/thin sound. It is the midrange. It is a combination of a lack of energy, and some kind of odd coloration in the upper-mids. Again, I did get "used" to these problems, and then the D5000 sounded surreal, but upon first listen to the AD2000, these flaws were immediately dug up from the grave. In the case of the AD2000 mids, I do not need to force myself to listen to it so I get "used" to them after a while. They sound fantastic from the get go.
Speaking of the AD2000 mids, lets talk about them. I love them. Need I say more? Wholeheartedly, NO. But I will anyway. The AD2000 "rides" on the midrange, where as the D5000 rides on the bass. The upper, mid and lower midrange are all fantastic. Energetic. Electric guitars have a nice, up front sizzle. Not as much emphasis as a grado, but more than average. I like it. Also, because of the better mids on the AD2000, I am not as inclined to crank the volume on them as I am with the D5000. They are airy, let chesty and full. I must say, long ago, I was put off to Audio-Technice based on the nastily back seated mids on the A900, and all of their headphones looked very similar, which grew into a bias that AT had poor mids. Boy, was I wrong.
Highs:
This is an area that I do not have much experience with, meaning, I am not the best at picking out "good" highs from "bad" highs. The AD2000 seems to have an edge on the D5000 here, in terms of sparkle and extension, though. Not bright at all. Not rolled off. Not recessed. Just right. They are not rolled off on the D5000, but they are ever so slightly back seated, giving the bass and midrange more of a sense of control.
Detail:
So far, my ears are telling me the AD2000 is the clear winner in this department.
upstateguy:
You as well
I am not sure if these are the ones Asr brought to the meet, but I would think not because he said they were purchased new just for this loaner program.
