Mad Lust,
Thanks for taking the time to write about you experience with the MA 900. I thought your observations on were generally quite interesting. I agree it is a great overall headphone at a reasonable price. I would note the following based on my experience:
- No issue with the padding on the headband; don't notice padding whatsoever.
- No issue with thickness or density of ear pads. Ears slightly touch padding over drivers, but not irritating at all.
- Long cord is convenient and good for FM radio reception (as an antenna). However it is easy to trip over so I frequently bind the cord into a coil to remove the excess.
- Design seems flimsy but the built in flexibility may deal with daily abuse better than rigid "tank-like" headphones. I see a creative and excellent design overall, not a compromise.
- But those rubber bits you mention relating to the extension are a weak point as I recently have seen them wear in a few store display models. I keep mine at smallest setting so not an issue for me.
- Lower bass is the weak point from a sonics perspective. Bass roll-off does not bother me with popular music, jazz, or classical, but it does not work so well with some popular music which has been produced with excessive bass.
- But I think you are overly critical of the upper frequency performance. It is less "detailed" than the reproduction of some other headphones but is quite pleasant and realistic due to other design factors.
- This headphone really shines with large scale orchestra music. Most headphones just fall apart into some cacophony once things start to get complex. Regardless of price.
- The above three points may be a result of the impedance circuitry of the MA900, which I intend on removing. There are some posts here from a prior iteration of the MA900 noting that the circuitry removal extended bass, extended upper frequencies and cleaned up the sound. But then again, I quite like how they sound out of the box.
Thanks for taking the time to write about you experience with the MA 900. I thought your observations on were generally quite interesting. I agree it is a great overall headphone at a reasonable price. I would note the following based on my experience:
- No issue with the padding on the headband; don't notice padding whatsoever.
- No issue with thickness or density of ear pads. Ears slightly touch padding over drivers, but not irritating at all.
- Long cord is convenient and good for FM radio reception (as an antenna). However it is easy to trip over so I frequently bind the cord into a coil to remove the excess.
- Design seems flimsy but the built in flexibility may deal with daily abuse better than rigid "tank-like" headphones. I see a creative and excellent design overall, not a compromise.
- But those rubber bits you mention relating to the extension are a weak point as I recently have seen them wear in a few store display models. I keep mine at smallest setting so not an issue for me.
- Lower bass is the weak point from a sonics perspective. Bass roll-off does not bother me with popular music, jazz, or classical, but it does not work so well with some popular music which has been produced with excessive bass.
- But I think you are overly critical of the upper frequency performance. It is less "detailed" than the reproduction of some other headphones but is quite pleasant and realistic due to other design factors.
- This headphone really shines with large scale orchestra music. Most headphones just fall apart into some cacophony once things start to get complex. Regardless of price.
- The above three points may be a result of the impedance circuitry of the MA900, which I intend on removing. There are some posts here from a prior iteration of the MA900 noting that the circuitry removal extended bass, extended upper frequencies and cleaned up the sound. But then again, I quite like how they sound out of the box.
