[matchuk28]

Hi,

I decided to create an account after roaming this very informative forum. After spending countless days reading reviews and opinions, I recently have bought a pair of monster turbines. I absolutely love them and has instigated me to spend alot more on quality audio. However I am finding I'm even using them at home when listening to music.

So I have decided to purchase a pair of closed headphones for home use. I mainly will be using them for trance music (via my ipod or home theater system) and maybe on my playstation if i play late at night.

After abit of research I've narrowed by choices down to sr80s, ATHA900 and Dr Dre Monster beats Studio. I was initially going to purchase the beats straight off but given their expensive price tag and numerous reviews highlighting the durability of the beats, I decided to further look at alternatives. I'm pretty sure I'm going to purchase the a900s.

So my questions are:

- Are the a900's that different to the a700's? From what I know the a900 weigh more and has a larger frequency range.
- How does the a900's compare to the beats if anyone has listened to both?
- Does the a900's coming in any carry case? It seems audio technica's packaging is pretty bad...
- Is it worth the hassle to connect my headphones to a home theatre amp and play music from my play station? I have a sony audio 5.1 sound system.

Thanks in advance for the input.

 

[cRazeDidioT]

The SR80i's and SR80 are open headphones, what i can say about them is that they're great for rock genre, their bass is good too for the price but you would want something more with a boom for trance. Also, are you planning on using an amp or no amp?

 

[hardRAWKR]

1. I don't know much about the difference, but from what I've heard they're pretty much the same just better. The frequency response shouldn't matter though, all headphones beyond extremely cheap ones pretty much cover the entire range of human hearing.
2. I haven't listened to both, but I'd guess that the beats have considerably stronger bass. To be honest I would buy the A-900's between those two because the Beats are probably going to be similar quality for double the price.
3. I don't know about the A-900's, but my AD-700's (very similar, just the open version of the A-700) came with pretty decent packaging. No carrying case but a little plastic stand.
4. I wouldn't know. Probably would be worth trying out.

On a final note, I think you should seriously consider getting open headphones if you're looking for sound quality, unless you plan to listen in a noisy environment. The open headphones have a much more natural sound. The A-900's have an open version in fact (AD-900). The SR-80's are open by the way, so don't buy them if you want closed headphones.

 

[matchuk28]

I considered the A900 over the AD900 not really because of sound isolation but mainly because of the bass? Apparently closed headphones have stronger bass...

It's not going to be amped normally maybe played from my 5.1 system or else iphone.

 

[hardRAWKR]

Yeah closed phones do have stronger bass. I guess it just depends what you're looking for. Putting isolation aside, if your primary concern is the bass and your going to listen mostly to bass-heavy music, go with closed headphones. Otherwise open headphones are very a good option to consider.

I would consider some other options before the Beats. If you don't care about the isolation, you probably don't want noise-cancellation which requires batteries and can cause extra noise. Particularly with the Beats I've heard that you can't turn off the noise-cancellation.

 

[dunpeal]

i would consider the denon d2000 for trance and pretty much all electronic music.

 

[yashu]

I love my sony XB700s for what they are, bass flat down to subhuman levels that isn't bloated, but I recently began ABing them against my DT770s with akg pads (if you like the hobby, you end up doing a lot of strange things like taking a 200 dollar pair of phones and using their pads for another set, thus making the original set, for the moment, not meant for use)

Anyway, the point is the DT770s are known for their, I guess, bass, but also a little sharp top end, making them sound like some of the better JBL speakers from the 80s, if that makes any sense. I did not miss the bass that the DT770s could not produce that the XBs could, however, without any modification, the XBs could kick the pants off anything that wasn't an IEM from even a portable device. I am saying that for the money, the XBs will satisfy many a basshead that doesn't want to worry about amps, impedance, or swapping pads to bring the sound into balance. They, to steal an apple phrase, just work, and while I prefer the DT770s *now* for electronic, even like hardcore powernoise like SAM, or Terrorfakt, Soman, etc... it took an amp and some new pads to get there. I would have been happy with the XBs, and they don't cost as much as the beats, don't need batteries, are closed and well isolated, and actually look pretty cool. Oh, and they will still sound good on a little sansa fuse, something not as many others can do.

Grados are really nice. I have a set of sr325s, but they are, in no way, made for most electronic music. Some IDM and maybe acid jazz, or trip hop will sound pretty good, and sometimes really great, but not trance, once a good closed set are compared in that area. I know the SR80s will run without an amp from a portable player, but you get no isolation at all, seriously, i can watch tv by just hitting mute on my system, and often have to turn stuff down to really enjoy them, which means staying up late when my wife is done watching TV, or, a set of closed phones instead and no need to bother anyone.

I have not heard isolation passive, done as well as those XB700s, and while they have their downsides, for what you want to do, man, wow your friends and enjoy yourself at the same time... in a library, while having it turned up to 11. Grab an open set down the line, maybe some ATs or Grados, for that personal and intimate listening, but you won't hate me if you bought the XB700s, but you might if i said get the beats, actually, you probably would begin to have a growing resentment towards both the hobby, and myself, so please avoid them!

The DT770s by Beyerdynamic actually aren't a bad choice, stock, but they don't sound as good from a portable (they, like many, get more tizzy with less power). You would be forever teathered to your receiver at home, or, you would have to spend MORE money on a portable amp to get the most.

I was actually considering something like the d2000, but i have the d1001ks modded a bit, and if the d2000s are as forward in the top end, I could not see them working as an all round electronic music set. Well, without modding them a bit... as the world turns, eh? Do they have a sound signature that is significantly different than their smaller cousins? I am seriously considering the AT m50s, and the d2000s were on the list as wildcards.

EDIT: Forgot to say, if you see a set of Creative Aurvana Live!s get em' They are the 98% of the Denon 1001ks that you would want for electronic music, and that missing percent or two is due to one thing and one thing only, earcup material grade and shape. They are a bit more bassey, and a bit less on the top end, so while you lose some air, a bonus is that you get slightly better ear pads (this always made me scratch my head, because the ear pads are designed for the same assembly as the ahd1001ks, since they share the same driver assembly, headband, and manufacturer, the pads are, indeed a bit puffier on the Aurvanas, but this is good, not bad, when i said I modded my 1001s, I own them, but put all the work into the Aurvanas, because the end result was much better than stock Denon, easily dipping into those low low octaves, also while not shredding your ears like grados can on the wrong music) Anyway, they are a good deal for all round closed set. A lot of people respond well to them because they are a brand many people know pretty well, so when others test them out, I don't get that look that I am trying to be a snob about my phones.

 

[matchuk28]

so i just purchased a pair of AT 900's 180usd plus 20usd 3 day shipping... i cant wait to be honest ...

i came to the conclusion i didnt want to be amping my headphones so the audio technica's were ideal, they look very nice too and comfortable with the wings

i was wondering do these headphones im purchasing require "burn ins" if so how do i perform such a task

i also do not understand why do some headphones require amp and others can perform at their peak without, given they are both powered by little like an ipod

thanks

 

[hardRAWKR]

No headphones should "require" a burn-in. It's a matter of personal choice. I would rather just enjoy my headphones, and if they improve over time, all the better. It pretty heavily debated whether burn-in is even really actually.

And as for amping, from what I understand if a headphone has a high impedance (which means clearer sound, less extra noise from the signal) then it needs more voltage to run them because the high impedance causes the headphones to use more power. If you amplify however, more of the signal gets through the headphones and they can run better.
Correct me if I'm wrong though.

 

[matchuk28]

well for some reason my turbines after even a few days use sounded sooo much better, like first time i put them off i thought mine were broken or fake...


haha dammit i actually want a pair of denoms too now ><

im going to stay away from here or end up falling down the rabbit hole and spend my life savings

 

[matchuk28]

dammit found a bargain on the dt770's too fkfkfkfk i hope the a900 isnt a let down

Amazon.com: Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO Closed Studio Headphones - 250 Ohms: Electronics

 

[cRazeDidioT]

"sorry for your wallet"

 

[matchuk28]

so i just got the a900's

initial impressions:
- quite satisfied with how it looks, prob not as good looking as the initial monster beats i wanted
- cord and plug is very very nice
- comfortable but not a big fan of the fabric they used ... prefer the velvet feeling from hp890s
- bass is there not as emphasized as my monster turbines
- vocals and soundstage is amazing
- u need to turn to at least 7/10 on iphone volume these arent too loud

going to burn these in now and re-evaluate .. i also got a fiio e5 coming in the mail which will help solve the volume issue

very very satisfied for the price paid

 

[Young Spade]

I would stay away from the Monster Beats FYI.
But yea if they aren't too loud you're gonna have to get an amp to give it some more juice.
EDIT: Looked at your last post and saw you were getting the E5; I hope it gets you the power you need