[nor_spoon]

Thank you for the review! Made me curious about the SA5000.

 

[panda]

you forgot to mention how incredibly light and comfortable the sa5k's are.

i agree with how you described the bass as 'taut & tuneful' as in sort of like ety er4s just light in body/weight. though i think the mids is where they really shined, especially how clearly the vocals came out and yeah it was weird how instruments took a back seat.

as far as the concern of 'brightness' with them i'm pretty certain it's because of a bright front end being spotted out like a flashlight, and/or the listener was just used to darker than neutral sound.

the way kees describes ad2k in disgust makes me interested in hearing them. 100" screen projector sound!

 

[kool bubba ice]

I own the SA5000 and think it is a keeper - especially since I already own a balanced HD650 and think the two provide plenty contrast to each other, whilst being able to - together - cover all of my sonic needs.

I completely agree. I actually preferred my balanced SA5000 to my SE 650's.. But prefer my balanced 650's to my balanced SA5000.. The SA5000 are special headphones.

 

[alexpea]

I own the SA5000's, and I love them to the death. I've had the AD2000's for some time before, and liked them as well. But back then I can remember missing the enjoyment I got out of my previous A900's - haha I think I might have to get hold of both the AD2000 and the A900 again and do a comparison of all three phones to see what my conclusion is. I've never owned all three at the same time. I remember owning the Proline 750's alongside the AD2000's and they were total garbage compared. Don't even get me started!!

 

[MaZa]

Good that SA5000 gets more attention again. All the reputation about it being bassless treble shrill headphone probaply killed it earlier. Most likely just wore them wrong and ended up having bad seal (which does produce such results). No spiky sibilance here either, just bright and quite hard presentation, and bass is something I love with these aswell. Punchy with surprising LF tautness when song really has it. Very good balance overall for my ears atleast.

 

[third_eye]

I just received my SA5000 and I must say I'm really impressed! To me they improve many of the things I was missing with the 701, namely detail, speed, and impact. Using them straight from my Apogee Duet and very pleased; going from memory they sound fairly similar to the AD2000 I heard a couple of months back; the AD2000 was slightly warmer but overall very close and both excellent. Fast electronic music and metal are really good on the SA5000. I wonder what a APS V3 would add to the equation......my wallet is hurting.

 

[donunus]

Actually would like to know how the sa5000s compare to the lower end stax ex. 202

 

[mopps]

double post, sorry

 

[mopps]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif Actually would like to know how the sa5000s compare to the lower end stax ex. 202

Hi,

The SA5000 is an exceptional fast and detailed dynamic hp with an astonishing wide and transparent soundstage, but it plays on the straight and bright side.

The current Stax Lambdas and Omegas have even superior detail and speed, coupled with more musicality (especially the Omega). On the other hand they all lack the punch and slam of the SA5000.

If you like the clean and crisp sound of the Sony, the only (and costly) way to top this once more in terms of detail, speed and transparency with almost its slam and soundstage (but at the cost of musicality), is to go Stax 4070.

 

[Anouk]

Hey, this thread was exactly what I was looking for! Things look really good for the sony now. I was a big fan of the akg k701 so I think i will really like the sony. I jus thope it has enough bass. How is the comfort/built quality of the sony compared to the audio technica. And the build quality?
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[Anouk]

Hello once again, I forgot to ask, how dependent are the sony and the at on amp/source? What is their impedance and sensitivity? How do they handle bad/mediocre recordings?
Thanks,
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[Nocturnal310]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kees /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice write up. Thanks for taking the time to do it, I enjoyed the read. I am intrigued by the SA5000. They used to be very popular here and highly regarded, but it seems a lot of people have switched to K701 or other newer phones. I am very much a Senn fan, but I'd still like to hear the SA5000 some day.

same here...i ve heard lot of things about them...someone mentioned they are the most detailed full size cans out there and very analytical type.

 

[xenithon]

Quote:

I just thope it has enough bass.

Plenty to these ears. Its accuracy, depth and tautness is extremely satisfying.

Quote:

How is the comfort/built quality of the sony compared to the audio technica.

Comfort is outstanding. The Sony is extremely light and comfortable (I have a narrow dome though so YMMV). The AD2000 is ok, though not as comfortable. Many people have issues with its tight clamp on the head.

Quote:

how dependent are the sony and the at on amp/source? What is their impedance and sensitivity? How do they handle bad/mediocre recordings?

I would say that both are relatively easy to drive. I think the Sony perhaps scale up better (or put differently, you may need to spend more to get the best out of the Sony than what you need to spend on the AT). That said, both can be driven out of an iPod one day and scale up with a Zana Deux the next

. AT is definitely more forgiving IMO.

 

[Anouk]

Hey well this settles it, as soon as I can get back into my paypal account, the sony sa5000 it will be. Any places where you can buy these cheap? I could not find it on audiocubes and when I look at nl stores you have to pay over 500 euro. I am sure there have to be cheaper alternatives...
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[lara veronin]

I Agree. The sa5k out of a zana deux was fabulous. I wasn't particularly fond of the sa5k (or even qualia for that matter) till I heard it out of a zana deux (fed by a fabulous emm labs player)

I couldn't say that for many other tube amps I've heard it with though. The only other amp I could swallow with the sa5k is the millet hybrid max, but I prefer these headphones with either fully discrete or at least something with a strong transistor output. Something to do with the low impedence of course.

I did not find any pure opamp based solution acceptable- even with the ad8397(hornet, mini3, tbh, etc) the sa5k sounds very loose- and I don't mean just the bass. For full control and coherency, an M^3 (balanced would be even better) or beta22 should do the trick for this headphone. I regard it as one of the top performers and should be paired with gear that is also of high performance.

If a zana is too much, try a sp mpx3, it is another great amp that does well with this headphone.