[my.self]

i know that may sound a little bit weird, but ever since i got my ad900's and let them burn in, the sound didnt really meet my expectations, and i paid quite a bit of money for them too so yea.

i was wondering if it would be smart to downgrade my headphones (maybe ad700's or something like that) and to get an amp/dac.

would i be getting better quality out of that set or should i just stay with my ad900's unamped?

i know the obvious answer would to be stay with the ad900's and get an amp but im kind of on a budget.

i was thinking about maybe ad700's because i have read that the ad700's are not too far off from ad900's in terms of sq and it is MUCH cheaper than ad900's, about 200 dollars cheaper. i am open to other suggestions tho.

i would be using this for gaming and music really.

i listen to...rap, hip hop, rock, punk rock, acoustic's and such. most of my music are in 256kbps - 320kbps. i have some less than that and i have some flac.

i also have a set of hd595's if that helps. they are currently for sale but they have not sold yet, if i need to, i can just hold onto those cuz i dont think they will sell anytime soon. and if i end up using them again, then i wont sell them anymore

my budget is max 300 dollars for the headphones and amp together. is that do-able? im open to any recommendations!

Thanks!

EDIT: i forgot to add a key thing is that i am currently using my ad900's through my xondar d1 soundcard. my soundcard has s/pdif thing or whatever it is if that helps

 

[my.self]

anyone?

 

[fenixdown110]

I suggest you sample the AD700's before you go blindly purchasing them. What others say and what you feel are two different things. There must be a shop or meet you can go to or attend to see what you like best. You can also consider the A700's.

 

[Sunshinewelly]

i found the AD900 to be a significant improvement over the AD700.

 

[fenixdown110]

The OP thinks otherwise. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[francisdemarte]

From most descriptions the AD700 and the AD900 sound very similar. So I'm not sure if you will gain anything from downgrading. AT headphone are pretty sensitive so they don't gain too much from amping.

Can you describe what you don't like about your AD900 and the HD595?

Try a closed can like the Denon D2000, ATH-A900, or ATH-M50's are all in your budget.

I'm looking to upgrade to an AD900, let me know if your selling yours

 

[dweaver]

I have owned both AD700 and AD900. There is a quite a bit of difference between the two in sound. The AD700 are not as detailed in the mids and highs and it's mids are more recessed than the AD900. The bass on the other hand is about the same between the two HP's. The sound stage is similar between them as well with the AD700 being slightly wider but the AD900 having better depth.

I think downgrading to AD700 to get an amp will not really make the OP happier as he may still not be happy with the sound.

For me in the end because I owned both and I had already bought an amp to improve them (yes an amp does help) I sidegraded to a Sennheiser HD600 and am very pleased with the change. The HD600 is not quite as big in the soundstage but does have more bass and detailed but not as sharp a treble (I was having ear fatigue issues with the AD900). The midrange of the HD600 is comparable to the AD900 if you have a good amp (my amp is in my signature and it is $150 new right now). Overall I find the HD600 to be more balanced. So if the OP is struggling with anything I just mentioned I suggest getting a used HD600 and either the amp I am using or looking for a good analytical amp from the FS forum.

 

[ourfpshero]

the xonar d1 is sweet sounding but very weak power wise. even a small amp would help. and i have the ad700 and 900. i think the 900 is much better balanced and smoother

 

[my.self]

hmmm i just did a comparison with my ad900's and my hd595's. the ad900's were definitely much better. my friend has a set of ad700's so i suppose i can try them out from their.

so amping the hd595/ad700 would have little effect on them? how about amping the ad900? would that be a bigger improvement?

as of now, i suppose i can sell off my hd595's as usual and try to buy ~$150 amp/dac with it for my ad900's. would that be better?

and to francisdemarte, i just felt that the ad900's didnt really meet my expectations as a $265 headphone so thats where i came to the idea to downgrade to hd595/ad700 + amp to see if that would be better than ad900 unamped.

another problem that i have, not very big but a little annoying with my ad900 is that....if u hold the headphones right side up, as if ur about to put them on, my left wing flap is loose and it'll automatically hang down. the right wing flap will still stay wherever i place it at. this doesnt have any effect when i put on the headphones, they feel perfectly fine and such. i actually did cause this problem myself cuz i was dumb enough to try to push the wing flap outwards, sigh. but like i said, its not a huge problem, just a little annoying. so is there anyway to fix this?

thanks!

 

[dweaver]

you can buy new wings for the headphone, there was pair up for sale in the FS forums a while back not sure if it is still there or not.

I would say sell the HD595 and get a wamer sounding amp to help over come the bright nature of the AD900 a bit. They do sound better amped in my opinion. In my case my amp is more analytical and cold which just made the AD900 worse at times which is also why I decided to try the HD600 since they are a warmer sounding headphone.

 

[my.self]

ah i see, hm, sounds like a plan! thanks everyone!

and would this amp be do-able for ~150$?

 

[fenixdown110]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dweaver /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have owned both AD700 and AD900. There is a quite a bit of difference between the two in sound. The AD700 are not as detailed in the mids and highs and it's mids are more recessed than the AD900. The bass on the other hand is about the same between the two HP's. The sound stage is similar between them as well with the AD700 being slightly wider but the AD900 having better depth. I think downgrading to AD700 to get an amp will not really make the OP happier as he may still not be happy with the sound. For me in the end because I owned both and I had already bought an amp to improve them (yes an amp does help) I sidegraded to a Sennheiser HD600 and am very pleased with the change. The HD600 is not quite as big in the soundstage but does have more bass and detailed but not as sharp a treble (I was having ear fatigue issues with the AD900). The midrange of the HD600 is comparable to the AD900 if you have a good amp (my amp is in my signature and it is $150 new right now). Overall I find the HD600 to be more balanced. So if the OP is struggling with anything I just mentioned I suggest getting a used HD600 and either the amp I am using or looking for a good analytical amp from the FS forum.

Sidegraded... Awesome term. haha

150 is doable. Your choices are more limited unless you're willing to spend a little more.

 

[dweaver]

Here is a used Ibasso D3 with rechargable batteries that might just be right for you. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f42/fs...nelope-462488/

 

[my.self]

lol a little bit more u say. oh man, i must resist before i end up spending much more than i wanted to spend haha.

ill prolly post up another thread in the amp/dac section after i sell off my hd595's.

thanks everyone!

 

[Bilavideo]

If you're not happy with your cans, pause before you make another purchase. Take a look around. Listen to different phones. Find the pair that sound right to you. Then, sell the cans you have and use the money to purchase the ones you want.