[Arana]

Hi.
I will soon be able to get the hd 449 or ath ad500 at the same reasonable price. Although both boast a great sound stage and good highs and mids im confused on which to buy. This is 'cause the MRP of ath ad500 is more than hd 449, but it has had mixed reviews and i feel like it has to be expensive for a reason. so which would you reccomend and why?
thanks

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hi.
I will soon be able to get the hd 449 or ath ad500 at the same reasonable price. Although both boast a great sound stage and good highs and mids I'm confused on which to buy. This is 'cause the MRP of ATH-AD500 is more than HD 449, but it has had mixed reviews and i feel like it has to be expensive for a reason. so which would you recomend and why?
thanks

Samson SR850 or Superlux HD668B, both semi-open.

 

[Arana]

Quote:

Samson SR850 or Superlux HD668B, both semi-open.

yes well they may be good but i only have a choise between hd449 and ath ad500. Im gonna buy one of these online and i dont have any other choise.

 

[DeathDomokun]

I've got the HD448, which is sonically the same as the HD449.
I don't know where you got the idea they bost a good sound stage. The highs are nothing special, they're quite boring really.
The mids are what this can has going for it. If you like your mids, get the HD449, if you like the other ends of the sound range, I don't know.
I've been fiddling around with mine a little lately, one has cotton and the other plasticine, as well as the "bass tape" removed.
If you're a basshead, look elsewhere, as these cans just can't produce audiophile bass, they can sound like "fat subwoofers" though.
Also, they don't isolate very well and have little to no clamping force, although they're light and manage to stay on your head.

 

[XxDobermanxX]

The HD 449 is better than the HD 448 , if you are into audio clarity the sennheiser is the way. also the HD 449 has more balance (handles almost any genre thrown at it) . the ath a700 is not balanced and bass can be overwhelming.

 

[DeathDomokun]

Hmmm, I guess official Sennheiser statements of using the same driver and them being sonically the same are wrong and you're right..

 

[Arana]

Quote:

The HD 449 is better than the HD 448 , if you are into audio clarity the sennheiser is the way. also the HD 449 has more balance (handles almost any genre thrown at it) . the ath a700 is not balanced and bass can be overwhelming.

well thats actually good news because im more into bass than balanced music.  

 

[XxDobermanxX]

Quote:

Hmmm, I guess official Sennheiser statements of using the same driver and them being sonically the same are wrong and you're right..

Yup 

 , same driver with tweaks , you remember the sennheiser hd 555 had the same driver as the hd 595 ? yet they sound different. also you could mod the hd 555 to a hd 595 , search the forums here or look on youtube and you will see it 

 

[DeathDomokun]

Maybe you missed 'sonically the same' but it means that you can't hear any differences between the HD448 and HD449

 

[ayaflo]

 "if you are into audio clarity the sennheiser is the way."
isn't that too subjective? i tried senns and sonys but then shures made me believe in clarity