The Audio Technica Air Series

[Rhythmatic]

So, I got to thinking, and I noticed that there's many topics praising the ATH-A500 and A900 and up, but those are closed headphones. Sure they sound great, but what about their open counterparts? The ATH-AD5, AD7, and AD9. If the closed series sound so great, wouldn't the open ones sound even better because usually closed sound more muffled and boomy.

Can anyone put up some info if they've check these out before?

I found this about the AD10's by Wally Montalvo on audiocubes:

The first major flaw with these headphones is the utter crap for pads. Unless you can somehow install ATH A9X pads, don't even look at these cans. Don't even consider any other ATH pads, as the A9X pads are even better then the W100 pads.

The sound - is completely messed up by the pads. Some parts of the midrange is totally missing. There are hot spots in the frequency range where sound will magically bloom to ear shattering volumes. The midrange is forward sounding because of a hump - it is not very flat. Bass is lacking - it will go no where as far as Sennheiser HD600's. Nor is the bass impactful. It is very muddy bass. There is a 20dB dip at about 6500KHz between 4KHz and 10KHz. Very sibilant sounding. The angled transducer does not help to smooth out the frequency response. Since the pads are so flimsy (they squish down to about 1/8&quot

the transducer is almost imbedded into your ear canal.

If you think Grado leak sound, then these bleed sound like a cut artery.

Do not even consider these cans. Until Audio Technica fixes the pads, they are utterly unlistenable. Get the ATH A9x instead.

my review: ZERO stars. An utter waste of money.

 

[dj_mocok]

i dont know whether AD 5's pads are the same as AD10.
All I can say is, AD5's pads are much much more comfortable than A900 ones.
Yet, i never tried AD10 so i cant make any comment on his review. But saying things like "ZERO star" and "utter waste of money" just translates to highly subjective review IMO. Saying that the high price doesnt justify the performance is ok, (which gives reader something to think about and which is also my opinion regarding about AD10), but harsh, blatant, and one-sided comment like that wont help much.

By the way, about AD5, to be honest it wont beat the hell out of A900, but then, if your source is pretty simple (eg. PCDP, audigy), i can tell you, to my ears, they both sound almost the same, except AD5 sounds closer to you.
and A900 has more solid bass..

but again, Im still waiting for my headphone amp so it will be easier for me to tell the difference between the two, and i can make more thorough comparison... As you know, you wont hear much between headphones driven straight from a discman, especially the ones share similar characteristics..

Im sure there are a few other members here that you can ask about ATH AD series...

 

[Rhythmatic]

Yeah, I don't plan on getting a nice amp till' I get my computer upgraded (DOOM 3 y'know...

), so all I have is my Audigy 2 ZS. I will probably get a Chaintech however, but all I really run are my A500s. Plus, I game off and on A LOT, and my CPU isn't all that grand (AMD AthlonXP 1800), so the slight lag from the Chaintech would matter to me. However, I would like a recommendation on amps that would be good to start out with that's not too outrageous in price for me.

 

[Takashi]

Firstly, current model line of AD series is AD700/500/300. AD7/5 are discontinued. AD10/9 are still on catalogue but I'm pretty sure they are no longer in production.
Secondly, reputation of AD series is like this. AD10/9 were huge disappointment (some even called them "land mine", means "grab it and regret"), but low cost version AD7/5 were highly praised "best bang for buck" phones. I heard AD700 is even better than AD7.
Also earpads for AD10 is Ecsaine (man-made suede like leather),AD9 and below (and ADx00 series) are velour.

 

[dj_mocok]

yeah, just like Takashi said, i think that extreme reaction of AD series was because of some people, throwing lots of money for AD10 and AD9 headphones (they are expensive) and disappointed because the performance was not like what they expected with that kind of money...

But however, i am quite confident to say that AD5 and AD7 still offer great value.
for $100, i highly recommend you AD5 if you want an open version of ATH... (although sometimes it seems like me and my AD5 against the heavy stream of A500...hehe...)
if you have a bit more money to spare, then AD7 is a great choice.

you wanna be the first person who listens to my recommendation?