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Help Choosing Headphones

R

Rooble91

Secret Santa Lame Gifter
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Messages
2,683
I am new to the whole high-end headphone pool and I am having trouble deciding what new headphones I should pick. My current, and only pair that I have ever owned, are Medusa 5.1's (Not sure really where they rank on quality), but I am looking for something of higher quality due to the fact mine have broke. I want an all around pair for gaming, movies/tv, and music(mostly rock). I want to stay around $100 mark and have narrowed it down to two:

Audio Technica ATH-AD700
or
Audio Technica ATH-A700

I have owned two versions of Medusa 5.1's, the black/silver ones and the now newer black/black ones and I believe both are an open ear design. (correct me if im wrong), so I dont think the open ear of the AD700's are going to bother me. What Im not really sure about is the bass. To me the Medusa's have very little bass, and from what I understand the A700 have noticably more bass than the AD700. I want more bass than my Medusa's but I dont want so much that it is overpowering. I realize some people are more prone to heavier bass, but I barely notice any bass in my Medusa's and would like a little more.

So I guess my main question is should I hear a noticable difference between the quality/bass of the AD700's over my Medusa 5.1's?

From what I have read around [H]ard and Head-fi the AD700's seem to be the optimal choice for the price and quality but I am open to other options.

Any comments or suggestions would be great.

edit: I am also running a X-Fi XtremeMusic soundcard
 
AD700's are not bass monsters by any means. The A700's will give better based simply b/c they are closed. I would say a lot depends on usage. For example, I think rock will sound great on either one.

If you play a lot of competitive fps, like BFBC2, the soundstage of teh AD700's will make up for the loss in bass. You will know where exactly where all guys are coming from. The only time the bass sounds weak to me with the AD700's is when there is like an airstrike. Any other time, I think it is plenty adequate.

Some other things to think about... An open cup like the AD700's can be nice if you want to be able to say, hear the phone ring or hear your wife hollar at you. :) It's bad when your dog won't stop barking. I like the fact that at full volume, I can still hear my cell beep when I get a text. It's really weird the first time you hear it. You would think it would hamper immersion but it does not.

I think the time you will notice the lack of bass is during movies. If movies will be the bulk of your time, I would go with the A700's. Otherwise I would prefer the AD's.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the info. After reading more it looks like the ADs are going to be my choice.
 
Rooble91 said:
Thanks for the info. After reading more it looks like the ADs are going to be my choice.
Click to expand...

I speak from my experience, AD700 is a definitely good choice. Although it is not bass monster by any means, but I am impressed by it treble and satisfied with bass performance under the price setting.
 
I have had the A700's for a couple of years now and they are great, but I didn't pay that much.
 
June edition of PC Gamer just rated 5 different headphones. Astro's A30 audio sdystem scored 96% costs $230, $150 headset only & Creative WOW scored 90% & cost $160.
 
Sennheiser HD238s are nice. (Watchout for counterfeits though. Expect to pay around 70-80 for legit ones).

Audio Technica M50 are very nice. (Haven't heard about counterfeits yet for these though).

Both would benefit from the addition of a USB DAC or Amplifier. (Which costs as much or more than those headphones!! :eek:)

-Sid

Rooble91 said:
I am new to the whole high-end headphone pool and I am having trouble deciding what new headphones I should pick. My current, and only pair that I have ever owned, are Medusa 5.1's (Not sure really where they rank on quality), but I am looking for something of higher quality due to the fact mine have broke. I want an all around pair for gaming, movies/tv, and music(mostly rock). I want to stay around $100 mark and have narrowed it down to two:

Audio Technica ATH-AD700
or
Audio Technica ATH-A700

I have owned two versions of Medusa 5.1's, the black/silver ones and the now newer black/black ones and I believe both are an open ear design. (correct me if im wrong), so I dont think the open ear of the AD700's are going to bother me. What Im not really sure about is the bass. To me the Medusa's have very little bass, and from what I understand the A700 have noticably more bass than the AD700. I want more bass than my Medusa's but I dont want so much that it is overpowering. I realize some people are more prone to heavier bass, but I barely notice any bass in my Medusa's and would like a little more.

So I guess my main question is should I hear a noticable difference between the quality/bass of the AD700's over my Medusa 5.1's?

From what I have read around [H]ard and Head-fi the AD700's seem to be the optimal choice for the price and quality but I am open to other options.

Any comments or suggestions would be great.

edit: I am also running a X-Fi XtremeMusic soundcard
Click to expand...
 
One other thing to remember is whether or not someone else will be in your room and if so do they mind hearing the music and games as the open back will definitely be heard by others!

I love my ATH-A900's and have had them for over a year with no desire to upgrade (or get an amp) however I am in dire need of a new soundcard today!
 
I would just like to point out that the A700 is still amazing for games and directionality. A lot of people are assuming it's significantly less good than the AD700 with regards to determining footstep locations and such, but I would say they are extremely excellent. I played competitive CS with my A700 and I couldn't really imagine them being much better.
 
It was a close decision between the two but I decided to go with the AD700s. I like the open ear design of my Medusa's so hopefully the AD will fit my taste. I would consider these my first high end pair of headphones so Im excited :)
 
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