RealDealz
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2007
- Posts
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Hey all, this is my first nice pair of headphones, and likewise my first serious review -- so I apologize in advance for any noobishness.
As the title says, I just received my new pair of Audio Technica AD 900 (plz notice it is the AD not the A900 -- this pair is OPEN not CLOSED).
BUILD QUALITY: ##5 STARS##
The build quality on these is great. The outside is magnesium (or so the box says, but either way its some metallic substance), the cups are a nice soft material which showed no signs of fraying ect. The 3-d wing design is great (more on this in the next section), feels very sturdy. The entire headphone is very light, which means it can have a very weak clamp on your head but not be pulled down onto your ears, if that makes sense. Overall -- very happy with the build quality no complaints at all.
COMFORT: ##4.5 STARS ##
Again, comfort on the AD's is amazing.
The 3-d wing on the top puts very little pressure on your head yet keeps them on. (although I would warn against head banging ect, they aren't on THAT tight, so people who plan on being active should probably look elsewhere)
The pads are a velvet-like substance, which makes not only for a sexy headphone, but a very comfortable experience. As I said before, they hardly clamp at all - I wear glasses and feel no discomfort wearing these.
The only reason I would give these a 4.5 and not 5 on this category is that the driver rides quite close to your ear. If you have large ears, or if there is pressure on the side of one of the cups (ie if your laying down with one side on the pillow -- which I would highly recommend against with this headphone, it will not be comfortable), you will feel the driver. That being said, for regular use just sitting normal you can't feel them at all -- so it really is a minor gripe.
SOUND QUALITY: ##4.5 STARS##
A disclaimer before this section: When I first took my headphones out of the box and listened to them I could immediately tell that the sound would change from burn in. They sounded really shrill and "stiff", the high's were fairly abusive and the lows were not quite there. Just in 24 hours of burn in I can already sense that they have warmed up a good bit. That being said, I am judging these phones after ~24 hours of burn in, so it can be assumed they will get warmer as time goes on.
Also, before I go to the specifics, ill say that these phones are VERY clear and even more detailed. I would say the clarity and detail comes second to the sound stage in terms of strengths of this headphone.
- Bass: If there is one area where the AD900 is less than incredible, it would be bass. They offer quick, responsive bass -- but lack the power and authority in many of the deep tones. The track Barbarian Horde by Hanz Zimmer (on the gladiator soundtrack) is a good example of where you would want more boom.
However, 2 caveats to this. 1) As I said before, these are brand new and have not been properly burned in, and in 24 hours have already improved markedly from when they were new, so I suspect in time the bass will improve. 2) Changing a few settings on my sound card did quite a bit in improving this, with no real drawbacks in overall sound. Currently I have my bass at 65% and my treble at 40% (with 50% being neutral). Similarly, I have my EQ upped about 3.5 db at 31 hz, 3 db at 62 hz, and 1 db at 125 hz (the rest being left neutral) I know many of you guys shun messing with this stuff but I have found it to help wonderfully.
- Mids: These phones simply rock the mids. Playing Oye Como Va by Santana on these is simply BLISS. The midrange drums, vocals, and guitar all sound incredible. I honestly have nothing else to say except how good it sounds.
- Highs: Well, as I said before, out of the box the highs were quite shrill and harsh, making me turn down the treble a bit. However, with 24 hrs of burn in this has improved as well, and i suspect time will help as well. That being said, the highs are incredible clear and defined. Definitely makes the high tones of the electric guitar/female vocals/symbols sound great! I would recommend tuning down the treble though to balance out the sound, at least for the burn in. Great song for this would be Halcyon & on & on - from the Hackers sound track.
- Isolation: These are OPEN phones. They offer little to no isolation, either in or out. People around you will hear what your listening to, and likewise you will hear them (granted the music volume permits it).
- Sound Stage: I have saved the best for last. The soundstage on these is like nothing I have **ever** heard. It is simply insane. Every piece in the orchestra has its place, down to literally feet within the room (if you can imagine yourself standing in the middle of them). I bought these phones for both music and gaming (CS:S), and I can tell you my gaming has improved just in one day of wearing these. I can hear EXACTLY when someone is coming around a wall and fire almost exactly as they come in sight. However, if your looking for being immersed in the "atmosphere" of the game, you might want to go with the closed version for more "boom", however I would really really recommend sacrificing some of the boom for the soundstage that these offer. As before, Oye Como Va sounds simply incredible with the soundstage that these offer.
Again, I am making some assumptions as to where these are going in terms of burn in based on the first 24 hours. ATM they are still a bit cold / shrill -- but seeing as how they have warmed up in so far I expect they will warm up perfectly.
I feel like I'm leaving out tons, but I'm tired and haven't eaten today. So, just ask questions if ya got them, and I'd be more than happy to give my best shot at answering =) That being said, I am very happy with these phones and would recommend them to anyone not in need of isolation and who doesn't need tons of boomy bass.
As the title says, I just received my new pair of Audio Technica AD 900 (plz notice it is the AD not the A900 -- this pair is OPEN not CLOSED).
BUILD QUALITY: ##5 STARS##
The build quality on these is great. The outside is magnesium (or so the box says, but either way its some metallic substance), the cups are a nice soft material which showed no signs of fraying ect. The 3-d wing design is great (more on this in the next section), feels very sturdy. The entire headphone is very light, which means it can have a very weak clamp on your head but not be pulled down onto your ears, if that makes sense. Overall -- very happy with the build quality no complaints at all.
COMFORT: ##4.5 STARS ##
Again, comfort on the AD's is amazing.
The 3-d wing on the top puts very little pressure on your head yet keeps them on. (although I would warn against head banging ect, they aren't on THAT tight, so people who plan on being active should probably look elsewhere)
The pads are a velvet-like substance, which makes not only for a sexy headphone, but a very comfortable experience. As I said before, they hardly clamp at all - I wear glasses and feel no discomfort wearing these.
The only reason I would give these a 4.5 and not 5 on this category is that the driver rides quite close to your ear. If you have large ears, or if there is pressure on the side of one of the cups (ie if your laying down with one side on the pillow -- which I would highly recommend against with this headphone, it will not be comfortable), you will feel the driver. That being said, for regular use just sitting normal you can't feel them at all -- so it really is a minor gripe.
SOUND QUALITY: ##4.5 STARS##
A disclaimer before this section: When I first took my headphones out of the box and listened to them I could immediately tell that the sound would change from burn in. They sounded really shrill and "stiff", the high's were fairly abusive and the lows were not quite there. Just in 24 hours of burn in I can already sense that they have warmed up a good bit. That being said, I am judging these phones after ~24 hours of burn in, so it can be assumed they will get warmer as time goes on.
Also, before I go to the specifics, ill say that these phones are VERY clear and even more detailed. I would say the clarity and detail comes second to the sound stage in terms of strengths of this headphone.
- Bass: If there is one area where the AD900 is less than incredible, it would be bass. They offer quick, responsive bass -- but lack the power and authority in many of the deep tones. The track Barbarian Horde by Hanz Zimmer (on the gladiator soundtrack) is a good example of where you would want more boom.
However, 2 caveats to this. 1) As I said before, these are brand new and have not been properly burned in, and in 24 hours have already improved markedly from when they were new, so I suspect in time the bass will improve. 2) Changing a few settings on my sound card did quite a bit in improving this, with no real drawbacks in overall sound. Currently I have my bass at 65% and my treble at 40% (with 50% being neutral). Similarly, I have my EQ upped about 3.5 db at 31 hz, 3 db at 62 hz, and 1 db at 125 hz (the rest being left neutral) I know many of you guys shun messing with this stuff but I have found it to help wonderfully.
- Mids: These phones simply rock the mids. Playing Oye Como Va by Santana on these is simply BLISS. The midrange drums, vocals, and guitar all sound incredible. I honestly have nothing else to say except how good it sounds.
- Highs: Well, as I said before, out of the box the highs were quite shrill and harsh, making me turn down the treble a bit. However, with 24 hrs of burn in this has improved as well, and i suspect time will help as well. That being said, the highs are incredible clear and defined. Definitely makes the high tones of the electric guitar/female vocals/symbols sound great! I would recommend tuning down the treble though to balance out the sound, at least for the burn in. Great song for this would be Halcyon & on & on - from the Hackers sound track.
- Isolation: These are OPEN phones. They offer little to no isolation, either in or out. People around you will hear what your listening to, and likewise you will hear them (granted the music volume permits it).
- Sound Stage: I have saved the best for last. The soundstage on these is like nothing I have **ever** heard. It is simply insane. Every piece in the orchestra has its place, down to literally feet within the room (if you can imagine yourself standing in the middle of them). I bought these phones for both music and gaming (CS:S), and I can tell you my gaming has improved just in one day of wearing these. I can hear EXACTLY when someone is coming around a wall and fire almost exactly as they come in sight. However, if your looking for being immersed in the "atmosphere" of the game, you might want to go with the closed version for more "boom", however I would really really recommend sacrificing some of the boom for the soundstage that these offer. As before, Oye Como Va sounds simply incredible with the soundstage that these offer.
Again, I am making some assumptions as to where these are going in terms of burn in based on the first 24 hours. ATM they are still a bit cold / shrill -- but seeing as how they have warmed up in so far I expect they will warm up perfectly.
I feel like I'm leaving out tons, but I'm tired and haven't eaten today. So, just ask questions if ya got them, and I'd be more than happy to give my best shot at answering =) That being said, I am very happy with these phones and would recommend them to anyone not in need of isolation and who doesn't need tons of boomy bass.
