[JLids12]

I'm pretty new to the world of high audio fidelity, but now that I'm in, I'm hooked.  A few months ago, I purchased the AT AD-700s--mostly as a gaming headphone.  After listening to them with music, I've realized how much fidelity I've been losing by using cheaper headphones my whole life. 
 
However, I'm ready to step up because 1) I want to see what other headphones have to offer, and 2) my 700s are just about destroyed after stepping on them enough times to the point that one of the wingpads fell off and one of the earcups can almost completely swivel.  So, I've got a few questions...
 
1) What is the general consensus on the sound signature of Audio Technica brand to others like Grado, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, etc?  I know that they're considered bass-light, but I've never really compared them to other full-sizers.  I can tell that just by comparing them to my newly purchased PortaPros, but as a point of reference, I can't really say the PortaPros have great bass compared to anything else because, well, I don't know.
 
2) When a headphone's sound signature is described as being very warm or bright or detailed or analytical, how does that affect other aspects of its sound to the point where an excess of one trait can lead to the loss of another?
 
3) (This is a joke question as an audio noob) How come everyone uses non-auditory adjectives like bright and dark and warm to describe what they hear?  Why is everything so gobbledy-gooked?  Why can't anyone just say, "There's too much treble."?  Why does everyone feel the need to say something like, "The mid-range seems to be hiding.  Why can't I find the mid-range?  I looked for it, but I can't find it.  Maybe an amp will help the airiness of the mid-range come out of hiding."  Haha, don't flame me for this.  Hi-fi is one of my new obsessions, just as it has been many of yours' for a long time.

 

[cswann1]

 
Quote:

I'm pretty new to the world of high audio fidelity, but now that I'm in, I'm hooked.  A few months ago, I purchased the AT AD-700s--mostly as a gaming headphone.  After listening to them with music, I've realized how much fidelity I've been losing by using cheaper headphones my whole life. 
 
However, I'm ready to step up because 1) I want to see what other headphones have to offer, and 2) my 700s are just about destroyed after stepping on them enough times to the point that one of the wingpads fell off and one of the earcups can almost completely swivel.  So, I've got a few questions...
 
1) What is the general consensus on the sound signature of Audio Technica brand to others like Grado, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, etc?  I know that they're considered bass-light, but I've never really compared them to other full-sizers.  I can tell that just by comparing them to my newly purchased PortaPros, but as a point of reference, I can't really say the PortaPros have great bass compared to anything else because, well, I don't know.
 
2) When a headphone's sound signature is described as being very warm or bright or detailed or analytical, how does that affect other aspects of its sound to the point where an excess of one trait can lead to the loss of another?
 
3) (This is a joke question as an audio noob) How come everyone uses non-auditory adjectives like bright and dark and warm to describe what they hear?  Why is everything so gobbledy-gooked?  Why can't anyone just say, "There's too much treble."?  Why does everyone feel the need to say something like, "The mid-range seems to be hiding.  Why can't I find the mid-range?  I looked for it, but I can't find it.  Maybe an amp will help the airiness of the mid-range come out of hiding."  Haha, don't flame me for this.  Hi-fi is one of my new obsessions, just as it has been many of yours' for a long time.

Describing a sound is not easy. We do the best we can.   This may help:
http://www.head-fi.org/wiki/describing-sound-a-glossary

 

[keanex]

Quote:

I'm pretty new to the world of high audio fidelity, but now that I'm in, I'm hooked.  A few months ago, I purchased the AT AD-700s--mostly as a gaming headphone.  After listening to them with music, I've realized how much fidelity I've been losing by using cheaper headphones my whole life. 
 
However, I'm ready to step up because 1) I want to see what other headphones have to offer, and 2) my 700s are just about destroyed after stepping on them enough times to the point that one of the wingpads fell off and one of the earcups can almost completely swivel.  So, I've got a few questions...
 
1) What is the general consensus on the sound signature of Audio Technica brand to others like Grado, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, etc?  I know that they're considered bass-light, but I've never really compared them to other full-sizers.  I can tell that just by comparing them to my newly purchased PortaPros, but as a point of reference, I can't really say the PortaPros have great bass compared to anything else because, well, I don't know.
 
2) When a headphone's sound signature is described as being very warm or bright or detailed or analytical, how does that affect other aspects of its sound to the point where an excess of one trait can lead to the loss of another?
 
3) (This is a joke question as an audio noob) How come everyone uses non-auditory adjectives like bright and dark and warm to describe what they hear?  Why is everything so gobbledy-gooked?  Why can't anyone just say, "There's too much treble."?  Why does everyone feel the need to say something like, "The mid-range seems to be hiding.  Why can't I find the mid-range?  I looked for it, but I can't find it.  Maybe an amp will help the airiness of the mid-range come out of hiding."  Haha, don't flame me for this.  Hi-fi is one of my new obsessions, just as it has been many of yours' for a long time.

My main experience with headphones have been Grado and Audio Technica, though I've dabbled with others. The Grado Sr80i I found to be bright and aggressive, meaning that the sound felt like it was being injected into my ears and that the treble was too much. I replaced them with my Audio Technica Ad700 which I find to have a rather balanced tone, though lacking bass. They are also quite airy sounding due to the large soundstage and open qualities of it. The Ad900 are similar, though have better bass. I preferred my Ad900 to the Grado Sr225i in every way to be honest. Overall from what I understand of the Audio Technica "AD" series, is that they are generally balanced with an airy feel to it.