[riztik]

Help! I don't know if I should get ad1000x or fidelio x2s. 80 percent gaming 20 percent music long hour sessions.

 

[dakanao]

How does the AD900x compare to the AD1000 (NOT the AD1000x)? And how do I need to do the rubber band mod?

 

[Draulius]

How does the AD900x compare to the AD1000 (NOT the AD1000x)? And how do I need to do the rubber band mod?

AD1000 has a more forward sound and no angled drivers. It has cleaner treble and more clarity overall, and better imaging but in a smaller soundstage.

 

[dakanao]

AD1000 has a more forward sound and no angled drivers. It has cleaner treble and more clarity overall, and better imaging but in a smaller soundstage.

is the soundstage good enough for gaming?

And is the AD900x a bit harsh sounding? Im looking for the best gaming headphone around 60 euros

 

[Draulius]

is the soundstage good enough for gaming?

And is the AD900x a bit harsh sounding? Im looking for the best gaming headphone around 60 euros

I've listened to a lot of harsh sounding headphones. The AD900x isn't one of them, and I greatly preferred it over the HD598 and SHP9500 for the soundstage and mids. Good comfort too. I even think there was more bass, but I'm not sure, and they're all bass light anyways. If I had to pick one headphone $300 or under (not including sales), then it'd be the AD900x. It's the best price-to-performance headphone I've ever listened to. The ONLY step up for me is the HD650. The X2's are nice too, but were too boomy and lacked clarity in comparison.
 
The AD900x is better than the AD1000x and AD2000x for gaming if you like soundstage size. The latter are more forward sounding and not as good for the price in my opinion.

 

[dakanao]

I've listened to a lot of harsh sounding headphones. The AD900x isn't one of them, and I greatly preferred it over the HD598 and SHP9500 for the soundstage and mids. Good comfort too. I even think there was more bass, but I'm not sure, and they're all bass light anyways. If I had to pick one headphone $300 or under (not including sales), it'd be the AD900x. It's the best price-to-performance headphone I've ever listened to. The ONLY step up for me is the HD650. The X2's are nice too, but were too boomy and lacked clarity in comparison.

The AD900x is better than the AD1000x and AD2000x for gaming if you like soundstage size. The latter are more forward sounding and not as good for the price in my opinion.

Are the mids of the AD900x forward, neutral or recessed? And you said that the imaging of the AD900x is worse than the AD1000, but is the imaging of the AD900x still good enough for FPS games?

 

[Draulius]

Are the mids of the AD900x forward, neutral or recessed? And you said that the imaging of the AD900x is worse than the AD1000, but is the imaging of the AD900x still good enough for FPS games?

The imaging is good enough and much more immersive because it's in a larger space. You should be able to judge the distance of sounds better on it too because of this. The AD line is known for forward mids, which I think can be a plus for gaming.

 

[dakanao]

Never mind.

 

[Draulius]

If it matters, I thought the AD1000 had a bit harsher highs than the AD900x.

 

[dakanao]

If it matters, I thought the AD1000 had a bit harsher highs than the AD900x.

Yeah I will be ordering the AD900x, I hope Ill like their sound!

How do I do that rubber band mod btw, incase they're too large for my head?

 

[tigon_ridge]

Why is there no AD1000X or AD2000x thread? My AD1000x just arrived yesterday, and I feel like I'm listening to a $2000 pair of headphones. If I can get around to it, I'll write up a review soon for these exquisitely beautiful-sounding cans. Good God, I have arrived!

 

[dakanao]

  Why is there no AD1000X or AD2000x thread? My AD1000x just arrived yesterday, and I feel like I'm listening to a $2000 pair of headphones. If I can get around to it, I'll write up a review soon for these exquisitely beautiful-sounding cans. Good God, I have arrived!

Have you heard the Ostry KC06 IEMs? They sound like the AD1000x with less uppermids (but more natural sounding uppermids) with slightly less treble quality, but same quantity and a bit more bass, but the bass quality of the KC06 is a bit higher imo.
 
They cost like $40 
 
But the instrument separation, imaging and soundstage is way better on the AD1000x (as expected really, full size open vs IEM) but at that price the KC06's sound is just magnificent imo.
 
They literally compete with each other in the bass, mids and highs.

 

[tigon_ridge]

  Have you heard the Ostry KC06 IEMs? They sound like the AD1000x with less uppermids (but more natural sounding uppermids) with slightly less treble quality, but same quantity and a bit more bass, but the bass quality of the KC06 is a bit higher imo.
 
They cost like $40 
 
But the instrument separation, imaging and soundstage is way better on the AD1000x (as expected really, full size open vs IEM) but at that price the KC06's sound is just magnificent imo.
 
They literally compete with each other in the bass, mids and highs.

Thanks for the recommendation. I happen to be looking for an IEM that sounds similar to the AD1000x. Less upper mids and less quality treble? That's probably a deal breaker for me.
 
I honestly don't know how the AD1000x's bass can be improved upon. The bass on my AD1000x is very extended and relatively flat (how I like it), and quite non-bloomy. It's an accurate bass, imo. Similar bass to my HD600, except the AD1000x has muuuuuuch better sub bass than the HD600. The AD1000x lends itself very, very well to equalization. I used EQ to bump up its bass by over 10 dB, and it took it with aplomb. I could never do much EQing with HD600's sub bass. It's driver is simply too small.
 
Oh, instrument separation and imaging is impeccable on the AD1000x. I also love the clean, accurate, and forward midrange, although I was hoping that it would be even more forward. 

 

[dakanao]

  Thanks for the recommendation. I happen to be looking for an IEM that sounds similar to the AD1000x. Less upper mids and less quality treble? That's probably a deal breaker for me.
 
I honestly don't know how the AD1000x's bass can be improved upon. The bass on my AD1000x is very extended and relatively flat (how I like it), and quite non-bloomy. It's an accurate bass, imo. Similar bass to my HD600, except the AD1000x has muuuuuuch better sub bass than the HD600. The AD1000x lends itself very, very well to equalization. I used EQ to bump up its bass by over 10 dB, and it took it with aplomb. I could never do much EQing with HD600's sub bass. It's driver is simply too small.
 
Oh, instrument separation and imaging is impeccable on the AD1000x. I also love the clean, accurate, and forward midrange, although I was hoping that it would be even more forward. 

I find the upper mids of the AD1000x slightly too forward lately (wasn't like this when I first got them), the KC06 still has good uppermidrange presence, it just sounds a bit less and more refined than that of the AD1000x.
 
Treble quality on the KC06 is still top notch, it's just that the AD1000x has one of the cleanest treble out there, but the KC06 isn't far behind at all.
 
I found the bass on the KC06 more punchy and a bit tighter than the AD1000x, but the AD1000x is faster. It's true that the bass on the AD1000x is extremely tight and fast, the KC06 is even tighter in the bass IMO, and has slightly more emphasis, but doesn't intrude into the mids at all.
 
The mids are equally as forward on both the KC06 and the AD1000x. The KC06 sounds a bit smoother to my ears than the AD1000x because of less emphasized and more refined upper mids. Treble is never harsh either, even on poorer recordings. It's always very clear, sparkly and realistic, but always staying smooth.

 

[tigon_ridge]

  The mids are equally as forward on both the KC06 and the AD1000x. The KC06 sounds a bit smoother to my ears than the AD1000x because of less emphasized and more refined upper mids. Treble is never harsh either, even on poorer recordings. It's always very clear, sparkly and realistic, but always staying smooth.

That's pretty much the typical tuning for upper mids for the vast majority of IEMs and headphones. Manufacturers tend to scoop out the upper mids. (Etymotic ER4P is the only IEM I've owned that actually does the complete opposite and boosts this range too much) I find that while it creates a more "relaxed" sound, it's also less emotive and accurate, and more dull. I'm happy with the AD1000x's upper mids. Actually, I even boosted the 1k-3k range with EQ by a couple dB. I also boosted the 5k-6k range. This is out of my own audio chain, however. That is, Bifrost -> Asgard 2. YMMV.
 
As far as treble goes, I'm glad it isn't harsh as you say. One reason why I love both my AD1000x and HD600 is that their trebles are quite well-behaved--almost never offensive. I have quite a few problematic recordings, though, so those files do give these headphones a run for their money. The main reason why I sold my Etymotic ER4S, Vsonic GR07, and Hifiman RE-400 was because of their sub-par trebles. As you can probably tell, I'm quite allergic to rough treble. It also didn't help that the ER4S and GR07 both had dry, distant mids. Actually, my RE-400 wasn't sold. The POS's right piece just died on me out of the blue. If I can recall, it had a warm signature lacking a bit of treble, but I could still somehow hear sibilance from time to time. That's how you know a headphone has crapty treble. It was the same for the Earsonics SM3 v1 that I once owned.