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[size=large]Review of Audio Technica ATH-A900 vs Sennheiser HD600 [/size](Using Stock Cable)
[size=medium]Equipment Used[/size]
CD Player:
B&W Aura AUC 50
Interconnect:
QED Qunex Silver Spiral
Headphone Amp:
Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 (with Edicron Tubes)
Portable:
Sony MZ-R55 Minidisc Portable
[size=medium]Introduction[/size]
The Sennheiser HD600s have been produced for a few years now, and they are firmly established as the top of the range Sennheiser Dynamic Headphones.
They are rated at a somewhat demanding 300ohms which means that an additional headphone amplifier is strongly recommended to bring the best sound out of them. The headphones are of an open backed construction, meaning that people near to you will be able to hear the music you’re listening to, and vice versa you will be able to hear external goings on. They are constructed of a Carbon Fiber headband and outer shell, with metal grilles to protect the drive units from the outside In terms of comfort there is a single headband with foam supports and the earpads are made of a soft fabric and based on a supra-aural design (encases your ear lobes). With regards to pressure, these headphones can be felt to press against the jaw line, but not in an offensive way
The Sennheisers can be bought from $279 from various stockists including Headroom
The Audio Technica ATH-A900s are priced at a modest $199 and can be purchased from Audiocubes, and are part of the successful ‘A’ series of headphones which follow in the foot-steps of the likes of the W2002.
The A900s are rated at 40ohms which means that these can be used directly from the headphone out of a personal CD player, but an external headphone amplifier will still bring out extra clarity and definition in these headphones. These are a closed design, meaning that the sound you hear is for you and you alone… You won’t annoy the family when you have these on your head!! The ear cups are constructed out of aluminum, and there are two pipes in the shape of the headband. These do not touch your head as Audio Technica have ‘Wing Support’ clips that hold the headphones in place. These headphones are also a supra-aural design… and in terms of pure comfort are a lot more comfortable than the HD600s having bigger enclosures, and a lighter feel… that being said, if you’re into moving to the music, the A900s don’t feel as secure as the tighter HD600s
Overall the A900s are a lot bigger than the HD600s, the earcups are nearly twice as deep as those of the HD600s and the headband reaches further up to accommodate for the ‘Wings’ that hold the headphones to your head
[size=medium]The Sound[/size]
Now, here is the one you’re waiting for… how the two compare to each other…
Amendment, for conformoties sake
Please be advised whilst reading the following review that my source equipment is brighter, although cleaner than anything else I have heard before... by contrast, my Marantz CD63SE CD player sounds very dark, and mushy...
First up is Enrique Iglesias with ‘I love to see you cry’
With the HD600s the bass at the throughout this track is very punchy, especially on the intro… The (presumably) Spanish guitar can be heard distinctly to the upper left of the soundstage, and is supremely clear. But Enriques vocals are quite sharp with sibilance apparent throughout. This is just about kept in check, but you can tell that it isn’t natural
Going to the A900s, and the bass on the intro to this track is a lot deeper, sounding a lot clearer than the HD600s and the bass generally is even more punchy, the guitar mentioned previously is just as easily placed into the soundscape, and to my ears it sounds even more credible… You could almost envisage the player strumming the guitar, you don’t get that feeling on the Sennheisers! Its not all good news on this track though, the sibilance that was noted on the HD600s is even more apparent through the Audio Technicas, sounding painfully sharp… To my ears beyond the point of tolerance!
Moving on to Charlotte Church with ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’
First up this time, the A900s… From the outset the spaciousness of this track is amazing, extra especially from a closed headphone, again there is some guitar work playing and equally as much as with the Enrique track, the emotion, and the feeling of seeing the playing strumming is incredible, about 1 minute 20 seconds into the track the main bass kicks in, which sounds VERY speaker like, going down very low, very tautly - You can actually hear the fabric of the notes, the grind… its great!!
Charlottes vocals themselves are quite natural sounding with an amazing richness with which, on the quiet vocals you could easily envisage her in the room with her, although when she’s warbling at her highest, these headphones do sound a little congested and lose some of their charm - that being said, these are still very credible for what are essentially mid-range headphones!!
Moving to the HD600s and strangely I find these to feel a little closed in, in terms of soundstage things aren’t quite as wide as on the A900s, the guitar work is very well defined, although maybe losing some of the ultimate clarity that can be found from the A900s. The bass is very tight on this track with the HD600s, you can pull as much of the fabric… the grind, out of the notes as you can on the A900s, but they’re just not as prominent… not as ‘in your face’
Now on to the vocals, wow, wow and wow again… Whilst singing quietly, things are very clear ~ maybe not quite the last word in total realism, but again you could quite easily close your eyes and think she’s in the room with you, but its when everything gets busy that the Sennheisers show themselves off… The vocals just get stronger and stronger, without sounding congested, her tonal quality remains consistent, strong, strident… amazing, the HD600s handle this a lot better than the Audio Technicas which seem to get overly warm in comparison, to make this easier to point out… It sounds like Charlotte has the beginnings of a cold, whilst being played on the Audio Technicas!
Next up, something a lot faster: Madelyne with ‘Beautiful Child’
This is a trance track, so probably not everyones idea of fun, but I thought I’d see, for the party goers amongst us if I could get the club ‘in my head’
For this, I had too much volume for most people here ~ so probably not to be repeated too often, but the Sennheisers had plenty of bass kick (although not amazingly deep) and the midrange mixed with the treble, wow… I really do feel like I’m in clubland!! The artistes vocals sound a little flat, but considering that most of this has been processed straight off of someones hard-drive, that’s hardly surprising!
Moving on to the ATs, and their bass is a bit bloomy compared to the Senns on this track, slightly over emphasized. The treble is absolutely searing on these, a lot brighter than the standard HD600s, although about the same as the HD600s with the Cardas cable, Wow! Making my ears bleed! (don’t try this at home kids!!) but surprisingly the vocals sound very alike compared to the Senns! Not overly congested how they have been with the past two tracks
Slowing the speed, and the tone right down, the final tracks I’ve tried with my main setup is Norah Jones with ‘Seven Years’ and ‘Cold Cold Heart’
With the A900s, the tone is really warm ~ probably best described as snuggly, the bass is really smooth and deep… great! I love it!, and the guitar work is sumptuous, as are the vocals, almost like Norah’s recording crew used the A900s to master the track… heck, the whole album!! I’m genuinely spellbound with this CD on these ‘phones.
In terms of soundstage I can easily envisage Norah in the middle of a stage or studio, with the pianist over to the left, and the guitar player over to the right. The instruments flow around Norah’s voice, leaving her well projected… Stood three feet in front of the musicians, singing soulfully… I’m in love!!
The Sennheisers manage to pull the soundstage out a little further, so that Norah sounds about 5 feet in front of the musicians, instead of the three of the ATs, but the HD600s lose a lot of the emotion, and a lot of the warmth of the A900s. The guitar sounds maybe a shade TOO metallic, the bass is well rounded, but not as deep as the ATs.
The treble is a lot clearer on the Senns, its almost as if I’ve just reached for the tone control (not that I have one) and turned the treble to +3, that isn’t to say its bright, not in the slightest. But I personally don’t think that treble clarity is whats called for on this track, it takes away some of the emotion from Norahs voice, she’s now just stood in front of you singing, rather than leaning over provocatively, singing seductively as she appears to on the ATs
Portably, not a lot to note really that you don’t already know… The Sennheisers sound frightfully thin and distant, whereas the ATs are much more there… but at the end of the day, I can’t envisage you wearing either headphone outside… The Senns because they’re so quiet, and the ATs because of their size ~ just that bit TOO big for the portable environment
Summary
There are two ways that you can look at this ~ first off, the HD580s are 97% of the standard HD600s, and are anything up to $100 cheaper than the ATs… else you could consider that the HD600s cost around $80 to $250 more than the A900s depending on where you buy them from… with the need for an after market cabling a necessity for the Senns to bring out their best, you could in a worse case scenario get three pairs of the ATs for just one fully tricked Sennhesier!
In terms of overall sound quality, the Audio Technicas seem to be somewhere in between the famous Sennheiser / Grado debate, not sounding as laid back as the Senns tonally, yet not as shouty as the current Grado line-up
Yet ironically, my own ideal choice for the Audio Technicas would be for very slow, jazz based music… this is emphasized all too easily with how much I like them on the Norah Jones CD (listening to the combo as I type) it is totally incredible to me, and something ~ even if for just this one CD that I will be sorry to lose when I hand these review ‘phones back in a few weeks time
The Sennheisers seem to be more suitable for all-round activities where their sound doesn’t often offend, but in the same light doesn’t always excite in their stock guise… It really does take the after-market cable to show them at their true worth
In terms of which ones go the loudest, and remain in control… I give that accolade to the Sennheisers, The Audio Technicas give you a lot of quality of build and features for your $200, but seemingly not such tolerant drivers as those in the Senns which do not get as shrill or shouty at louder (crescendo) volumes… but take my opinion here with a pinch of salt as I listen a lot louder than most people do anyway
Now, going back to what I said at the start of this summary ~ considering how close the HD580s and HD600s are sonically before you upgrade the cable… that determines how good you’d think these Audio Technicas are
If you have the HD580s, spending double the money again could well be an extravagance unless you really like soft, slow jazz… Whereas, if you live in the US where the HD600s cost a lot more than they do in Europe, these Audio Technicas could well be just the deal you’re looking for!!
The ‘DADS’ system really does bring out the soundstage amazingly well for a closed pair of headphones also on the Audio Technicas, sounding a LOT more spacious than either my Sony MDR-CD1700s or the BeyerDynamic DT250-80s… There is no doubting that Audio Technica have got this Audio ‘bull’ by the horns, and are really starting to know how to control it!!
Adding the Cardas Cable to the HD600s changes my opinion slightly, pushing them further ahead on everything, except for the Norah Jones CD, which I don’t think I’ll ever hear as well again in my life short of buying a pair of ATs for myself… Ultimately the HD600 & Cardas combination is better, but for three times the cost (at full MSRP)… not THAT much better
The A900s are (from a brief audition using my E905 Discman at mine, and Bangramans last meet) about the same in terms of sound quality as the A1000s, but have a more recessed midrange… Whether that be a good thing noting my reservations, especially with Charlotte Church sounding like she has sinus problems on the A900s ~ I’m not too sure… Hopefully when the A1000 reviews start coming out, all will be revealed!
So, to wrap all this up… (all ratings are out of 5, and are purely my own opinion)
Sennheiser HD600 (with Stock Cable)
Sound Quality: ****
Build Quality: ***
Value: **
Audio Technica A900
Sound Quality: ***
(Unless you like slow soulful music where these get a full 5 stars)
Build Quality: ****
Value: ****
Hopefully this review has been insightful, and I’m sorry if I appear to have cut some corners… but, I had to rush the review out 5 days early
Thanks for reading
Duncan
[size=medium]Addendum[/size]
As per request, below is a brief series of analogies regarding the Cardas cable...
With regards to the Cardas, it would take a whole new review for that, to give you the full impression... but I don't think that many people would want that...
But, to cut the story short... The Cardas cable adds wieght to the whole mixture, the bass comes up... whilst not to the depths of the A900s, certainly to a much more prominent level, whilst retaining the great control of the standard Senns... the treble becomes much more visible, that is the greatest improvement... if you imagine the treble to be a piece of silverware, one that has been left for a long time, and has become tarnished... adding the Cardas cable is to the treble, how polishing that tarnished silver would be... Bringing everything back into crystal clear reality!
The midrange, whilst being boosted slightly isn't the strongest point on this cable... don't get me wrong, it does improve... but it still does not make the Senns 'Beyer DT250 rich'... they are still silky smooth, and calm
The soundstage fills out more as well ~ I can't really quantify how much by... but, enough to notice... Enough to give Audio Technica's 'DADS' system a run for its money!
All in all, a very worthwhile $150 spent, one with which, to my ears pushes the Senns far in front of the A900s apart from on that Norah Jones CD... that one single CD still belongs to the Audio Technicas with their warmth oozing out... lovely
And the ratings...
Sennheiser HD600 (with Cardas Cable)
Sound Quality: *****
Build Quality: ****
(The Cardas Smurf adds a feel of quality to the headphones hence the increased rating)
Value: ****
(The Sound improvement with the cable pays dividends to the value of these headphones in my opinion)
[size=medium]Equipment Used[/size]
CD Player:
B&W Aura AUC 50
Interconnect:
QED Qunex Silver Spiral
Headphone Amp:
Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 (with Edicron Tubes)
Portable:
Sony MZ-R55 Minidisc Portable
[size=medium]Introduction[/size]
The Sennheiser HD600s have been produced for a few years now, and they are firmly established as the top of the range Sennheiser Dynamic Headphones.
They are rated at a somewhat demanding 300ohms which means that an additional headphone amplifier is strongly recommended to bring the best sound out of them. The headphones are of an open backed construction, meaning that people near to you will be able to hear the music you’re listening to, and vice versa you will be able to hear external goings on. They are constructed of a Carbon Fiber headband and outer shell, with metal grilles to protect the drive units from the outside In terms of comfort there is a single headband with foam supports and the earpads are made of a soft fabric and based on a supra-aural design (encases your ear lobes). With regards to pressure, these headphones can be felt to press against the jaw line, but not in an offensive way
The Sennheisers can be bought from $279 from various stockists including Headroom
The Audio Technica ATH-A900s are priced at a modest $199 and can be purchased from Audiocubes, and are part of the successful ‘A’ series of headphones which follow in the foot-steps of the likes of the W2002.
The A900s are rated at 40ohms which means that these can be used directly from the headphone out of a personal CD player, but an external headphone amplifier will still bring out extra clarity and definition in these headphones. These are a closed design, meaning that the sound you hear is for you and you alone… You won’t annoy the family when you have these on your head!! The ear cups are constructed out of aluminum, and there are two pipes in the shape of the headband. These do not touch your head as Audio Technica have ‘Wing Support’ clips that hold the headphones in place. These headphones are also a supra-aural design… and in terms of pure comfort are a lot more comfortable than the HD600s having bigger enclosures, and a lighter feel… that being said, if you’re into moving to the music, the A900s don’t feel as secure as the tighter HD600s
Overall the A900s are a lot bigger than the HD600s, the earcups are nearly twice as deep as those of the HD600s and the headband reaches further up to accommodate for the ‘Wings’ that hold the headphones to your head
[size=medium]The Sound[/size]
Now, here is the one you’re waiting for… how the two compare to each other…
Amendment, for conformoties sake
Please be advised whilst reading the following review that my source equipment is brighter, although cleaner than anything else I have heard before... by contrast, my Marantz CD63SE CD player sounds very dark, and mushy...
First up is Enrique Iglesias with ‘I love to see you cry’
With the HD600s the bass at the throughout this track is very punchy, especially on the intro… The (presumably) Spanish guitar can be heard distinctly to the upper left of the soundstage, and is supremely clear. But Enriques vocals are quite sharp with sibilance apparent throughout. This is just about kept in check, but you can tell that it isn’t natural
Going to the A900s, and the bass on the intro to this track is a lot deeper, sounding a lot clearer than the HD600s and the bass generally is even more punchy, the guitar mentioned previously is just as easily placed into the soundscape, and to my ears it sounds even more credible… You could almost envisage the player strumming the guitar, you don’t get that feeling on the Sennheisers! Its not all good news on this track though, the sibilance that was noted on the HD600s is even more apparent through the Audio Technicas, sounding painfully sharp… To my ears beyond the point of tolerance!
Moving on to Charlotte Church with ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’
First up this time, the A900s… From the outset the spaciousness of this track is amazing, extra especially from a closed headphone, again there is some guitar work playing and equally as much as with the Enrique track, the emotion, and the feeling of seeing the playing strumming is incredible, about 1 minute 20 seconds into the track the main bass kicks in, which sounds VERY speaker like, going down very low, very tautly - You can actually hear the fabric of the notes, the grind… its great!!
Charlottes vocals themselves are quite natural sounding with an amazing richness with which, on the quiet vocals you could easily envisage her in the room with her, although when she’s warbling at her highest, these headphones do sound a little congested and lose some of their charm - that being said, these are still very credible for what are essentially mid-range headphones!!
Moving to the HD600s and strangely I find these to feel a little closed in, in terms of soundstage things aren’t quite as wide as on the A900s, the guitar work is very well defined, although maybe losing some of the ultimate clarity that can be found from the A900s. The bass is very tight on this track with the HD600s, you can pull as much of the fabric… the grind, out of the notes as you can on the A900s, but they’re just not as prominent… not as ‘in your face’
Now on to the vocals, wow, wow and wow again… Whilst singing quietly, things are very clear ~ maybe not quite the last word in total realism, but again you could quite easily close your eyes and think she’s in the room with you, but its when everything gets busy that the Sennheisers show themselves off… The vocals just get stronger and stronger, without sounding congested, her tonal quality remains consistent, strong, strident… amazing, the HD600s handle this a lot better than the Audio Technicas which seem to get overly warm in comparison, to make this easier to point out… It sounds like Charlotte has the beginnings of a cold, whilst being played on the Audio Technicas!
Next up, something a lot faster: Madelyne with ‘Beautiful Child’
This is a trance track, so probably not everyones idea of fun, but I thought I’d see, for the party goers amongst us if I could get the club ‘in my head’
For this, I had too much volume for most people here ~ so probably not to be repeated too often, but the Sennheisers had plenty of bass kick (although not amazingly deep) and the midrange mixed with the treble, wow… I really do feel like I’m in clubland!! The artistes vocals sound a little flat, but considering that most of this has been processed straight off of someones hard-drive, that’s hardly surprising!
Moving on to the ATs, and their bass is a bit bloomy compared to the Senns on this track, slightly over emphasized. The treble is absolutely searing on these, a lot brighter than the standard HD600s, although about the same as the HD600s with the Cardas cable, Wow! Making my ears bleed! (don’t try this at home kids!!) but surprisingly the vocals sound very alike compared to the Senns! Not overly congested how they have been with the past two tracks
Slowing the speed, and the tone right down, the final tracks I’ve tried with my main setup is Norah Jones with ‘Seven Years’ and ‘Cold Cold Heart’
With the A900s, the tone is really warm ~ probably best described as snuggly, the bass is really smooth and deep… great! I love it!, and the guitar work is sumptuous, as are the vocals, almost like Norah’s recording crew used the A900s to master the track… heck, the whole album!! I’m genuinely spellbound with this CD on these ‘phones.
In terms of soundstage I can easily envisage Norah in the middle of a stage or studio, with the pianist over to the left, and the guitar player over to the right. The instruments flow around Norah’s voice, leaving her well projected… Stood three feet in front of the musicians, singing soulfully… I’m in love!!
The Sennheisers manage to pull the soundstage out a little further, so that Norah sounds about 5 feet in front of the musicians, instead of the three of the ATs, but the HD600s lose a lot of the emotion, and a lot of the warmth of the A900s. The guitar sounds maybe a shade TOO metallic, the bass is well rounded, but not as deep as the ATs.
The treble is a lot clearer on the Senns, its almost as if I’ve just reached for the tone control (not that I have one) and turned the treble to +3, that isn’t to say its bright, not in the slightest. But I personally don’t think that treble clarity is whats called for on this track, it takes away some of the emotion from Norahs voice, she’s now just stood in front of you singing, rather than leaning over provocatively, singing seductively as she appears to on the ATs
Portably, not a lot to note really that you don’t already know… The Sennheisers sound frightfully thin and distant, whereas the ATs are much more there… but at the end of the day, I can’t envisage you wearing either headphone outside… The Senns because they’re so quiet, and the ATs because of their size ~ just that bit TOO big for the portable environment
Summary
There are two ways that you can look at this ~ first off, the HD580s are 97% of the standard HD600s, and are anything up to $100 cheaper than the ATs… else you could consider that the HD600s cost around $80 to $250 more than the A900s depending on where you buy them from… with the need for an after market cabling a necessity for the Senns to bring out their best, you could in a worse case scenario get three pairs of the ATs for just one fully tricked Sennhesier!
In terms of overall sound quality, the Audio Technicas seem to be somewhere in between the famous Sennheiser / Grado debate, not sounding as laid back as the Senns tonally, yet not as shouty as the current Grado line-up
Yet ironically, my own ideal choice for the Audio Technicas would be for very slow, jazz based music… this is emphasized all too easily with how much I like them on the Norah Jones CD (listening to the combo as I type) it is totally incredible to me, and something ~ even if for just this one CD that I will be sorry to lose when I hand these review ‘phones back in a few weeks time
The Sennheisers seem to be more suitable for all-round activities where their sound doesn’t often offend, but in the same light doesn’t always excite in their stock guise… It really does take the after-market cable to show them at their true worth
In terms of which ones go the loudest, and remain in control… I give that accolade to the Sennheisers, The Audio Technicas give you a lot of quality of build and features for your $200, but seemingly not such tolerant drivers as those in the Senns which do not get as shrill or shouty at louder (crescendo) volumes… but take my opinion here with a pinch of salt as I listen a lot louder than most people do anyway
Now, going back to what I said at the start of this summary ~ considering how close the HD580s and HD600s are sonically before you upgrade the cable… that determines how good you’d think these Audio Technicas are
If you have the HD580s, spending double the money again could well be an extravagance unless you really like soft, slow jazz… Whereas, if you live in the US where the HD600s cost a lot more than they do in Europe, these Audio Technicas could well be just the deal you’re looking for!!
The ‘DADS’ system really does bring out the soundstage amazingly well for a closed pair of headphones also on the Audio Technicas, sounding a LOT more spacious than either my Sony MDR-CD1700s or the BeyerDynamic DT250-80s… There is no doubting that Audio Technica have got this Audio ‘bull’ by the horns, and are really starting to know how to control it!!
Adding the Cardas Cable to the HD600s changes my opinion slightly, pushing them further ahead on everything, except for the Norah Jones CD, which I don’t think I’ll ever hear as well again in my life short of buying a pair of ATs for myself… Ultimately the HD600 & Cardas combination is better, but for three times the cost (at full MSRP)… not THAT much better
The A900s are (from a brief audition using my E905 Discman at mine, and Bangramans last meet) about the same in terms of sound quality as the A1000s, but have a more recessed midrange… Whether that be a good thing noting my reservations, especially with Charlotte Church sounding like she has sinus problems on the A900s ~ I’m not too sure… Hopefully when the A1000 reviews start coming out, all will be revealed!
So, to wrap all this up… (all ratings are out of 5, and are purely my own opinion)
Sennheiser HD600 (with Stock Cable)
Sound Quality: ****
Build Quality: ***
Value: **
Audio Technica A900
Sound Quality: ***
(Unless you like slow soulful music where these get a full 5 stars)
Build Quality: ****
Value: ****
Hopefully this review has been insightful, and I’m sorry if I appear to have cut some corners… but, I had to rush the review out 5 days early
Thanks for reading
Duncan
[size=medium]Addendum[/size]
As per request, below is a brief series of analogies regarding the Cardas cable...
With regards to the Cardas, it would take a whole new review for that, to give you the full impression... but I don't think that many people would want that...
But, to cut the story short... The Cardas cable adds wieght to the whole mixture, the bass comes up... whilst not to the depths of the A900s, certainly to a much more prominent level, whilst retaining the great control of the standard Senns... the treble becomes much more visible, that is the greatest improvement... if you imagine the treble to be a piece of silverware, one that has been left for a long time, and has become tarnished... adding the Cardas cable is to the treble, how polishing that tarnished silver would be... Bringing everything back into crystal clear reality!
The midrange, whilst being boosted slightly isn't the strongest point on this cable... don't get me wrong, it does improve... but it still does not make the Senns 'Beyer DT250 rich'... they are still silky smooth, and calm
The soundstage fills out more as well ~ I can't really quantify how much by... but, enough to notice... Enough to give Audio Technica's 'DADS' system a run for its money!
All in all, a very worthwhile $150 spent, one with which, to my ears pushes the Senns far in front of the A900s apart from on that Norah Jones CD... that one single CD still belongs to the Audio Technicas with their warmth oozing out... lovely
And the ratings...
Sennheiser HD600 (with Cardas Cable)
Sound Quality: *****
Build Quality: ****
(The Cardas Smurf adds a feel of quality to the headphones hence the increased rating)
Value: ****
(The Sound improvement with the cable pays dividends to the value of these headphones in my opinion)
