[Katun]

Yeah, the AD900 and HD598 were close for me, and I loved them both.
I did appreciate the AD900's look and build better though, but the HD598 for sound.

 

[Raguvian]

I'm interested in these headphones. Could someone tell me how they compare sound sig wise to the TF10's? I know I love the TF10's, so something somewhat similar (not necessarily the same) would be nice. I would like some more detail, but don't want to lose too much bass.
 
I'm worried that I'll get the AD900 and then find out they are too bass light at this point...

 

[Bengt77]

How similar are the Shure SE530 and Ultimate Ears TF10? I have the former and only if the SE530 is somewhat similar in sound to the TF10 can I make a relevant comparison for you. But maybe somebody else has heard or actually owns both the AD900 and TF10.

 

[Raguvian]

Quote:

How similar are the Shure SE530 and Ultimate Ears TF10? I have the former and only if the SE530 is somewhat similar in sound to the TF10 can I make a relevant comparison for you. But maybe somebody else has heard or actually owns both the AD900 and TF10.

Unfortunately I've never had the chance to listen to the 530 or 535, but I do have the SE215 and have heard the 315 extensively so I'm familiar with the Shure sound. The Shure sound is pretty much the opposite of the TF10 as the Shures are more mid centric while the TF10's are V shaped and have slightly recessed mids. That's all I can guess, though. I don't know how they compare detail or bass wise.
 
How do you feel the AD900's stack up against your 530's?

 

[davidk9205]

Hello Raguvian,
 
I own the triple fi 10, the ATH-AD900 and the Shure SRH840.
I love the AD900 but they do not sound like the triplefi's. Too bass shy compared to the triple fi's. And I am not a fan of bass.
I find the Shures to be a lot closer to the triple fi's, but with more prominent mids.
I love the Shures. My favourite at the moment.
 
 

 

[Bengt77]

How do you feel the AD900's stack up against your 530's?

It's more the other way around. As in, how does the SE530 stack up against the AD900? It does quite well, I have to admit. The AD900 is the better headphone for me for sure, but the SE530 isn't all that far behind. I do have to say that with the latter I really miss the sparkling highs and clarity of the AD900. The bass of the SE530 is better, though. There's simply more bass, which is also still extremely well defined. Not muddy at all. Sometimes I really like that, depending on the type of music, though most of the time it doesn't bother me in the slightest to have somewhat lesser bass. The mids in both 'phones are pretty effing awesome. They both have their strengths and while it's hard to pick a favorite, it's certainly the AD900 that gets the most head time. But that has a lot to with how much easier it is to put on a full sized headphone compared to getting a good fit with an IEM.

So they're two 'phones with their own signatures. The only similarity between them are the svelte mids. Those slightly accentuated mids are what stand out in both the SE530 and the AD900. When reading about the TF10's sounds signature, with its supposedly slightly lighter bass and more treble clarity than the SE530, that it might be quite similar to what you get with the AD900.

 

[Raguvian]

Quote:

It's more the other way around. As in, how does the SE530 stack up against the AD900? It does quite well, I have to admit. The AD900 is the better headphone for me for sure, but the SE530 isn't all that far behind. I do have to say that with the latter I really miss the sparkling highs and clarity of the AD900. The bass of the SE530 is better, though. There's simply more bass, which is also still extremely well defined. Not muddy at all. Sometimes I really like that, depending on the type of music, though most of the time it doesn't bother me in the slightest to have somewhat lesser bass. The mids in both 'phones are pretty effing awesome. They both have their strengths and while it's hard to pick a favorite, it's certainly the AD900 that gets the most head time. But that has a lot to with how much easier it is to put on a full sized headphone compared to getting a good fit with an IEM.

So they're two 'phones with their own signatures. The only similarity between them are the svelte mids. Those slightly accentuated mids are what stand out in both the SE530 and the AD900. When reading about the TF10's sounds signature, with its supposedly slightly lighter bass and more treble clarity than the SE530, that it might be quite similar to what you get with the AD900.

Awesome, thanks for the quick review! I've pretty much come to the same consensus that the AD900 should be about the same as the TF10, which hopefully means that I'll love it! My main worry was that "bass light" is very subjective, as people say the TF10's are lighter on bass than other IEM's, but I feel the TF10's have more than enough bass for me. I just didn't want to get the AD900's to find out that they have Ety levels of bass.

 
Thanks for the help, you've sold me on the AD900!
 

 

[Raguvian]

Quote:

Hello Raguvian,
 
I own the triple fi 10, the ATH-AD900 and the Shure SRH840.
I love the AD900 but they do not sound like the triplefi's. Too bass shy compared to the triple fi's. And I am not a fan of bass.
I find the Shures to be a lot closer to the triple fi's, but with more prominent mids.
I love the Shures. My favourite at the moment.
 
 

So the AD900 has less bass than even the TF10? Uh oh... I guess I'll still give the AD900 a shot.
 
Also, I had the SRH440's, and while I don't know how similar they are to the 840, the 440's were way too sibilant for me and gave me constant headaches.
 

 

[Bengt77]

In case you do decide to get an AD900 and find out it gives you too little bass for your liking, you could always try changing the earpads. I have replaced the stock velours pads with the leather pads from the W5000, and there are others here on Head-Fi who have done the same. Those pads can be had for around $70-$100 from various sources around the web. No small amount, but they do wonders for the sound, I think. I really like how the stock AD900 sounds, but only now am I completely and utterly hooked. If you think the price for those earpads is too high, you could easily go for the W1000 fake leather pads (which are still very nice), or the A1000 clarino pads. I can only vouch for the W5000 pads, but really any of these pads should give you a noticeable increase in bass performance.

Now, I can completely understand that going this route might be too much hassle or might not be worth the expense to you. If either is true, you might want to look into the closed A- or W-lines of Audio-Technica headphones. Both lines will give you more or less the same sound signature you get with the AD900: great mids and sparkling highs, but with a nice increase in the bass department. Another option might be to look into Grados. Mind you, I have never heard a Grado headphone myself, but according to what I've read they're supposed to be somewhat comparable to Audio-Technica's AD-line, albeit with a slightly less airy sound and a smaller soundstage.

 

[Raguvian]

Quote:

In case you do decide to get an AD900 and find out it gives you too little bass for your liking, you could always try changing the earpads. I have replaced the stock velours pads with the leather pads from the W5000, and there are others here on Head-Fi who have done the same. Those pads can be had for around $70-$100 from various sources around the web. No small amount, but they do wonders for the sound, I think. I really like how the stock AD900 sounds, but only now am I completely and utterly hooked. If you think the price for those earpads is too high, you could easily go for the W1000 fake leather pads (which are still very nice), or the A1000 clarino pads. I can only vouch for the W5000 pads, but really any of these pads should give you a noticeable increase in bass performance.

Now, I can completely understand that going this route might be too much hassle or might not be worth the expense to you. If either is true, you might want to look into the closed A- or W-lines of Audio-Technica headphones. Both lines will give you more or less the same sound signature you get with the AD900: great mids and sparkling highs, but with a nice increase in the bass department. Another option might be to look into Grados. Mind you, I have never heard a Grado headphone myself, but according to what I've read they're supposed to be somewhat comparable to Audio-Technica's AD-line, albeit with a slightly less airy sound and a smaller soundstage.

Thanks for the earpad suggestion. $100 is pretty pricey for me, so I'd probably go fake if I want to change the sound. I'll definitely keep it in mind.
 
I'm not considering Grados anymore because I've owned two and I wasn't quite hooked onto them. They were also slightly sibilant at times which I didn't like, not to mention the build quality of the SR225i is nowhere near other $200 headphones. I just can't get past that fact, even though headphones are supposed to be about the sound first.
 
I don't want the closed versions because one of the main reasons I want the AD900 is due to the expansive soundstage. I want to use these for gaming as well as music, so I'd rather not lose the soundstage by going with the closed back versions.
 
I think I'll go ahead and order them today.
 

 

[Bengt77]

Good. I don't think you'll be disappointed. I've owned them for over well over three years and only recently have I changed the pads. That means that for several years it was, in its stock form, a great headphone to me. Just take your time to get accustomed to its sound signature. I'm sure you'll really like it. One piece of advice: don't be intimidated by the AD900s lack of bass when listening to it fresh out of the box. The bass will improve dramatically with burning in. It's a notoriously bass shy headphone when new. Really, this will improve big time. Anyway, as I said, just be patient and let yourself get accustomed to its sound.

The only mod you might want to try early on is the phat pad mod. The driver grills touch many owners' ears, including mine, without this mod. It didn't really bother me that much, but it's just that little bit more comfortable that it's easily worth it. It's a super easy, fully reversible, extremely cheap mod, so no worries there. Search for it and you'll find dozens of posts on it.

 

[matthewh133]

Quote:

Both lines will give you more or less the same sound signature you get with the AD900: great mids and sparkling highs, but with a nice increase in the bass department. Another option might be to look into Grados. Mind you, I have never heard a Grado headphone myself, but according to what I've read they're supposed to be somewhat comparable to Audio-Technica's AD-line, albeit with a slightly less airy sound and a smaller soundstage.

This is very true. I compared my AD2000 to a Grado RS1i and they were nearly an identical sound signature. The AD2000 had a TINY bit of a larger soundstage (the soundstage on the AD2000 isn't large like the AD900), but they were so close in terms of sound it was hard to tell them apart. I think though the AD900 would be a fair bit different purely because of that monstrous soundstage (which I love for the record). It was this reason I stuck with the AD900 over any of the Grados. Very similar sound to the Grados but with the benefit of a large soundstage, which I've always loved.
 

 

[kingoftown1]

I would like the world to know that I appreciate the AD900.

 

[Bengt77]

I would like the world to know that I appreciate the AD900.

The world would like to thank you for your confession.

 

[ljcii]

Hello i own both. the tf10 has more bass, but the ad900s have more quality bass-real punchy natural bass. Sound signature aside, i find the ad900s to be on another level above the tf10. More resolution, bigger soundstage, better extension forward vocals.