[bbq]

http://www.audio-technica.co.jp/prod...tc-ha4usb.html
http://www.audio-technica.co.jp/prod...ha4usbjan.html
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/do...328/autech.htm

It will be available on 4/21 and the MSRP will be 12000yen.

 

[Keiso]

bbq, nihongo wo yomemasuka?

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by Keiso bbq, nihongo wo yomemasuka?

Keiso,

Please post in English at Head-Fi. Thank you.

-- Jude --

 

[Keiso]

Oh, sorry. Just wanted to ask bbq if he can read Japanese. I was surprised that he knew the link to Watch Impress.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

12000 yen is equal to $90.47. Can anyone read the Japanese pages? I wonder if they will be for sale in the U.S.?

 

[MirandaX]

I wouldn't get too excited. The USB bus doesn't provide enough power to adequately power a DAC, at least in my experience. For example, the Xitel Hi-Fi Link and the Stereo-Link 1200 both use the Phillips UDA1321 DAC chip, but the Stereo-Link has dramatically better bass performance, probably because it uses an external power supply (the Xitel gets its power from the USB bus, just like the AT headphones). In their data sheet for the chip, Philips Semiconductor specifically recommends that the chip be powered externally, not by the bus. I would guess that most USB DACs are the same.

 

[RMSzero]

The greatest improvement of sound by adding a headphone amp that I have heard yet (which is not saying much, though) was in adding an amp to a Xitel USB link. It would take a special feat of headphone engineering to make them sound good out of the bus itself.

 

[Keiso]

OK, let's see what AT say about them:

Technical data
Closed Dynamic type.
Driver: 40mm, Neodymmagnet, CCAW Voicecoil.
Sound pressure level: 100 dB/W
Impedance: 36 ohms
Interface: USB
Transfer speed: 12 Mbps (USB FULL SPEED standard)
Power voltage: 5V (USB Bus power)
Max power usage (?): 120 mA
Max output level: 23 mW + 23 mW (1kHz, Digital 0dB output)
Freq. range: 20-20 kHz.
Plug: USB A plug.
Cord: 2 m long, one sided.
Earpad: Soft leather.
Weight: appr. 210 g (without cord and plug).
Replacement earpad: HP-A4 1,300 yen.
Release date: 2002, April 21st.
Price: 12,000 yen.

Product description
First in the world! USB headphone with high performance D/A amp.

* High performance D/A amp, bla bla bla
* Use power directly from your PC, no external power source needed.
* Powerful magnets giving transparent sound, great highs, mids, lows (yeah, yeah...)
* Selfadjusting fit with "Wingsupport"
* Supposedly so comfortable you can wear them for a very long time.

Supports:
Win98, 98SE, Me, 2000, XP.
iMac, iBook, Power Mac G3/G4, Power Book G3/G4

* Equipped with D/A amp, high increase in music quality! (not my words)
Lots of bla bla bla, basically saying that because the digital signal is set to the phones before converted to analog sound signals, you'll avoid interference from the PC housing (like we don't knew that from before....)
SNR of 90dB (at max output)

That's pretty much it. Boring, boring stuff....

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Is anyone with me in thinking that it will probably sound like crap?

Power from a USB port... *seriously* now...

 

[Keiso]

Well, it may be the best you can get from a laptop, which is what this is designed for.

Laptops and mini computers are hot in Japan. It's about making things as small and mobile as possible, just look at our awesome cellphones!

And they are from AT. Have a little faith in that company...
Sure they are not W100s, but for what they are meant for, they might actually be OK.

 

[MirandaX]

Quote:

Originally posted by RMSzero The greatest improvement of sound by adding a headphone amp that I have heard yet (which is not saying much, though) was in adding an amp to a Xitel USB link. It would take a special feat of headphone engineering to make them sound good out of the bus itself.

Agreed, but I'm not talking about power to the headphones, I'm talking about power to the DAC. I use the Xitel with a Grado RA-1 headphone amp. (It's my portable rig.) The bass is severely limited, at least when compared head to head against the Stereo-Link, which has an external power supply. I wish they would make a version of the Xitel Hi-Fi link that takes a pair of 9-volt batteries. Getting power off the bus is a dumb, dumb idea.

I'd never buy these AT headphones, since you can't even add a headphone amp. The USB bus can't adequately power a DAC, and there's probably no way the USB bus can power both a DAC and headphones.

 

[TimSchirmer]

now there's a gaming headphone if i've seen one

 

[Gluegun]

I soooo want one of those, cause, like, when I plugged my KSC-35's into my laptop to do some gaming, I got hisses, whines, pops, clicks, and hums UP THE WAZOO!! Every time I moved the #$)(*# MOUSE, I got a whine!! Ugh...

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Try a higher impedance phone like the Senn 580 / 600...