 "Absolutely fantastic" | 2009-09-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3E4QDD0JTGT2T |
I've owned these headphones for maybe two years now. I was looking for closed headphones and these absolutely fit the bill. I have them hooked up to my PC and I use them constantly instead of speakers. I am a borderline audio freak, just now getting to the point where lesser headphones bother me and detract from the music. I have tested out against various Sennheiser headphones at local stores and I definitely enjoyed the fit and sound of the ATH-A900 over everything else.
I rip my CDs at 320kbps but I also buy a lot of music from Amazon and eMusic, which doesn't encode at such a high bitrate. I still think that things sounds great, I can't hear any problems. I listen to a wide range of music, including rap, r&b, all forms of rock, classical, jazz, guitar-centric, etc etc. Pretty much everything, and all of it sounds amazing.
I am also a gamer and I can't recommend these enough. When playing Left 4 Dead I am almost always the first to hear upcoming threats, mainly due to the isolation of the closed design. The isolation is not perfect but it is more than adequate for my needs. I don't think I'll ever be able to go with an open design.
These headphones are definitely a little pricey, and most times when I tell people what I have paid for them I receive strange looks. The thing I say is that I have used them for many, many hours over the last two years and so the overall value is amazing. Highly, highly recommended. My next headphones will be from Audio-Technica. |
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| "Definately the best headphones I have ever used" | 2009-06-03 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1QE0YII62WESX |
Well I'm not usually the reviewer type. I do often find myself trying many of the same type of thing. In this case, that happens to be high end headphones. Now I've never owned a $600+ headphone, but I will tell you what I have owned. Senns HD-280's (closed) Senns HD-595 (open) Logitech G5's (closed) A pair of everglides, many lower end logitech's, and probably every gaming headphone that ever existed (razor etc)
Most recently I have gone from Senns HD-280's > Audio technica A900's > Logitech G5 > Senns HD-595's.
Moving from the 280 to the A900's was definately an upgrade. Going from the A900's to the G5 and the HD-595's was a downgrade. I ended up returning both. The G5 (for what it is) sounds great and probably on par with some higher end headphones when your playing games, and taking advantage of Dolby 7.1. However after listening to music with a good set of cans, you will be madly disapointed. Also games that dont use 7.1 (unreal tournament 2004) sounded absolutely terrible.
As far as the comparison with the HD-595's. Well, I will give the 595's highs, they are slightly clearer, without a doubt. However, the 595's have no lower end base at all. It was painful to listen to it. Mids on both are about the same. The main reason I prefer the A900's is because of the closed design. I know alot of people say open headphones sound better. Well that definately wasnt the case witht he 595's. Maybe if your in a room with absolutely zero background noise. I have an A/C and PC in my room, and it was really easy to hear those things through the 595's, where with the A900's that is not a problem at all.
Comfort is a draw. The 595's are way smaller. They are comfortable, and they do not make your ears warm after excessive use. The A900's are much larger, and they are closed, so when my A/C is doing its job, i can really feel my ears being warm lol, and have to take them off and wait a few seconds every once in a while. This is not a big deal tho.
Alot of reviewers are those who listen to music I dont listen too. I find this hard for me to take in what they have to say as it really doesnt relate to me. Hopefully this review will reach out to those who more match my tastes. I listen to Rap/R&B/alternative (keyshia cole, taylor swift, eminem, paramore, three days grace) to name a few. The A900's are definately the best in what i listen too. I cant say how they would compare to classical, or jazz, because honestly I dont listen to that stuff. Also, I am a gamer, and these cans rock! 3D positioning is A+ and base and rumble in games sound totally awesome with the A900's. Also, I am 25, so figured Id put that out there.
Anyway, you wont be disapointed with these headphones. They are definately top notch. Im sure some of the $300+ headphones may be comparable, or maybe even better, but for what ive had the chance to listen to these are definately worth the money. Ill say it one more time, if you spend your money on these, it will be one of the best sound investments of your lifetime :)
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| "very happy" | 2008-05-17 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2OSBHJMOLT1BI |
Choosen to replace a sein hd 595 because of the sound leaking when I listen (UAC by my girlfriend), The ath 900s don t have this leaking problem and I was very surprised by the quality for closed headphones.
Good bass, way better than hd 595, and at least as good for the rest, even better to me.
ordered from France and received 5 days later from Osaka
Also I love amazon.fr and in this case amazon.com for their seriousness |
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| "Excellent headphones!" | 2008-05-09 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3KCIUUFS840YK |
I purchased my A900's over two years ago and am still impressed with their performance. I switch between my computer with a sound blaster sound card and an MCS Turntable (Technics) with a Stanton 681 EEE Mk2 cartidge for my source. Both utilize an MCS receiver which makes for a pretty decent headphone amplifier. I have also auditioned the 'phones through an Akai receiver + Technics SL-D202 with an older Audio-Technica cartridge and a higher-end Onkyo reciever with a CD transport.
Overall impressions are excellent. MP3's sound muddy through these headphones, even when encoded at high bit-rates. I don't understand why such a high bit-rate sounds substandard, but it does. The difference between 192 kbps encoding and 320 kbps is readily apparent and I have even A/B tested myself to prove that it was psychological. The difference is really there! Such excellent audio quality comes at a price - no longer will your MP3 collection pass muster nor will poorly mastered albums be tolerated, but the truly excellent albums sound truly amazing! Highs sparkle, lows are tightly controlled and detailed. The middle frequencies are a bit recessed leading to a non-fatiguing and "chilled out" tone. They are perfectly matched to ambient music, classic rock, alternative rock, etc. The Dark Side of the Moon simply sounds amazing! However, this is not to say they don't sound great reproducing other genres as well. I listen to fair bit of electronic music as well and they also sound great! Higher energy music does not have the life sucked out of it, but these headphones are not 'in your face' like Grados. I personally love the Audio-Technica sound (which also seems to have the effect of not pushing defects to center stage, a huge plus when listening to vinyl), but if you listen to high intensity music, perhaps a pair of Grados would be more to your liking.
Comfort is simply amazing. The 3D-Wings are supportive and essentially not felt. You can listen to these for hours with almost no fatigue, the biggest issue being weight. During the summer, they can get a bit hot as well. Isolation is excellent as they are closed cans. It is not as good as what IEMs can provide, but is certainly good for a set of cans.
The bottom line is that these are top drawer cans at a decent price. For something cheaper, I hear the ATH-A700s have 90% of the sound at half the price. They also feature the 3D-wing design. |
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| "Best closed headphones for the price." | 2008-02-24 |
| - Reviewed By User: AW4THNCFY3YJO |
These headphones are among the most evenly balanced and quality closed headphones (cans) I have ever had.
Normaly when you have closed cans, you have to compromise soundstage and bass clarity/control for the isolation. However with the ATH-a900's you get a massive soundstage with very controled and detailed low tones.
Comfort is one of the a900's strongest points aswell, these headphones can be worn for hours as they sit so lightly on your head you barely notice they are there. However, due to there closed nature, they can warm your ears up quite nicly, requiring you to air them out ever once in awhile, this is the same with all closed headphones however. I have fairly thick framed glasses and these headphones do not squeeze hard enough to cause fatigue (from the glasses being pressed against the side of my head) or strain on my ears.
Isolation is good, not the best, but it will isolate other peoples voices or computer noise arround you, good for watching TV, movies and playing games.
Portability is not very good. These are big headphones, and due to there comfort level, they do not stay as well on your head as other street headphones. They are best used while sitting upright, these cans have a hard time staying on at the right listening position if lying down or moving about.
The headphones impedance is rated at 32 ohms. What this means is they do not require as much power as other headphones to drive them. Will most defineatly work with almost all forms of portable electronic device without need of amplification.
The only thing I can complain about these cans, is the cord can be alittle difficult at times. Especialy when it gets twisted. The outher textile layer makes the cord strong and sturdy, but this can cause it to be more temperamental with it being twisted ;) The pleather ear peices might not be suited to some peoples taste aswell, if you wear glasses, the pleather can causee some ammount of noise for any movement between the frames of the glasses and the pleather. This is the same for all pleather ear pads. |
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| "Amazing headphones that are also very comfortable" | 2008-01-07 |
| - Reviewed By ltopper314 |
These are wonderful headphones--in fact, these are one of my favorites for a closed backed headphones. If you do not need complete isolation from the world around you, open backed headphones generally sound much better. The separation from bass and midrange is quite good. The upper end is quite nice as well.
These are quite efficient headphones and will do quite well without a dedicated headphone amplifier, but they will open up miraculously with a headphone amplifier. Whether listening to your mp3's on your computer or from an Ipod, a headphone amplifier turns these very good headphones into wonderful headphones with a deep, rich bass.
I have ordered a bithead amplifier so that I can carry it in my pocket. My headphone amplifiers are small, but require being plugged into the a/c current in the house. I want a battery powered headphone amplifier that is suited for being taken on the go.
Don't hesitate to purchase these headphones if you ane not looking for an open back headphones.
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