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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 9, 2007 21:51:14 GMT
Do I go with the Audio Technica ATH-AD2000 or the Sennheiser HD-650? I've been meaning to try the ATH-AD2000 for quite some time now but am not prepared to spend more than £250 for a pair of headphones. No, I'm not a cheapskate it's just I refuse to pay the asking price some of these UK retailers demand.... I simply won't entertain them when people in other countries can get the same thing for a lot less (sometimes less than half the price) The nearest I have come to £250 on the ATH-AD2000 are a Hong Kong outfit called accessoryjack who are selling them for £269.50..... not at all bad but will possibly be whacked with a duty charge on them. Nope, I think I'll go with the HD-650 for starters especially considering the HD-600 have had more head time than any of my 'phones..... 'phones come and they go but the HD-600 has always found it's way back onto my head, if nothing else they are a superb allrounder and always "hit the spot" where others fail to even find the spot. Hell, I've done it again, I've answered my own question! HD-650 it is for starters, I'll go and order a pair now I just wish the UK wasn't such a highly taxed venue with everything costing twice as much as it does anywhere else, why the hell should we have to pay £995 GBP ($2,017.23 USD) for a pair of Grado GS1000 headphones, for example, when they retail at $995 in the US? We are paying more than DOUBLE the price and, to me, that stinks big time. You can be guaranteed that anything that costs a dollar in the USA costs over a pound in the UK. So much for the "global economy" eh? what a bloody joke that is! It's scandalous that one person can buy XYZ for $100 yet it costs us $230 for the same thing...... way too many bastards with their fingers in the pie if you ask me, all taking their wedge (or "duty" as it's officially called) licensed fckin' bandits the lot of them. National health service MY ROYAL ARSE the UK is run by licensed thieves who operate under the guise of "QE2 approved tax collectors" they're nothing more than a bunch of licensed thugs who take a large cut of anything and everything we earn, buy or sell.... they even tax the dead. We are led to believe by these thugs this is for the "common" good, my arse it is! They're doing just the same thing that the sheriff of Nottingham was doing back in the day, thing is there was a Robin Hood and his band of merry men back then to throw a spanner in the works....... No Robin Hoods these days, this large scale con job and mass theft is "accepted" by the citizens of the UK and "bills" are paid without question. We are being ripped off left right and centre in the UK and are so fckin' brainwashed into thinking this is the norm that very few people even take time to question the state of play....... It's not right, far from it, High time people woke up and realised what's going down (and has been going down for centuries) these thugs can (and will) control a few but they cannot control a majority if it revolts. HD-650 it is
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2007 22:33:23 GMT
Mike You guys should start a revolt against greatly excessive government excise on petrol during the next election campaign. That might start the ball rolling ?BTW, as soon as the our government announced an ACCC (Consumer watchdog) inquiry into petrol prices, they dropped more than 10C a ltre almost overnight in many places. SandyK SandyK
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leo
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Post by leo on Sept 10, 2007 13:40:38 GMT
So your going for the HD650's Mike, I'm still searching for some cans too, I heard the HD600's so now need to get hold of others to try out too.
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Nigel
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Post by Nigel on Sept 10, 2007 15:10:42 GMT
Mike,
Hold your horses! I can send you up the HD650's for you to try to see if you like them.
For some reason the Senns HD 580/600/650 are the only 'phones I can listen to at a resonable volume, offering musical enjoyment without suffering sore ears.
I'm not sure if the HD650's are better than the HD600's but they sure have bass.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 10, 2007 22:10:27 GMT
Mike, Hold your horses! I can send you up the HD650's for you to try to see if you like them. For some reason the Senns HD 580/600/650 are the only 'phones I can listen to at a reasonable volume, offering musical enjoyment without suffering sore ears. I'm not sure if the HD650's are better than the HD600's but they sure have bass. Nigel, Very kind of you offering to send me your HD-650 to try but I am just going to go ahead and buy a pair. Like you the only 'phones I can keep on my head for ages are the HD-600 (and AKG K-501) so would rather buy a pair that will be "keepers" and get a lot of ear time out of them. The HD-600 have been incredible in use and are showing no signs of pad wear even though I've had them on my head for a good few years. I religiously wash the pads in shampoo every 3 months and they are as good as new.... pristine in fact..... so it makes sense to stick with a known, proven, entity that pleases rather than veer off in a different direction. I've tried quite a few Grado's and they just aren't suited to my ears / equipment so there's no point in me trying to flog a dead horse in that department.... best to stick with a known trusty horse than end up with a bucking bronco that will never suit my ride style whatever I feed it with. Truth is I just don't want to waste money on deviating to a totally different presentation, I've tried it time and time again and have always ended back with the trusty Senns. I realise the Senn HD-650 may only be a subtle difference over the HD-600 but it's the house sound I'm after.... much the same as I prefer golden virginia tobacco over old holborn..... old holborn will never taste good to my buds whatever I roll it in..... my ears prefer the Sennheiser signature / house sound every time. The HD-650 is pretty much a guaranteed good buy for me (from my head time with senns over the years) but the ATH-AD2000 is an unknown entity.... if you'd have offered to send me a pair of ATH-AD2000 to audition I'd have jumped at your offer and taken you up on it big time. HD-650 are on their way
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Nigel
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Post by Nigel on Sept 11, 2007 9:59:00 GMT
Ok Mike - Nice one, where you getting them from? Any good deals out there?
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Post by serverbaboon on Sept 11, 2007 10:16:33 GMT
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Post by robert on Sept 15, 2007 20:31:50 GMT
I am looking at buying the Audio-technica W5000 cans, but they are a tad expensive. does anyone have any comments on their performance (I currently use grado RS-1 cans). Any help would be welcome
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2007 3:29:20 GMT
Hi Robert, as to the AT W-5000's I've been expounding their virtues as the headphone to have with the Slee Solo Green on the Graham's Project portion of this forum. I've kinda burned them both in together now for about a month, and they are getting better each time I settle in for a listen. I'm very surprised they keep getting better. I'm sending a signal through both by a streaming radio station on line, Accuradio.com.
These are the best headphones I've heard. I've attended a few Headfi meets here in the US and listened for hours to them all, including the AKG-1000 "ear speakers", the Senns (580's on up), the Shure in ear's, all the Grado's (liked the RS-1's with a Wheatfield amp), but none are as clean as the AT W-5000's. In concert with the Solo Green, they're the best, imho.
Mike, I really like UK audio equipment, owning AudioNote, Roksan, KEF, now Slee, etc., and I'm also paying more than double for the product, as the Pound is going for over $2 US now. That's why this Solo Green offer is too good to pass up from over here. If I'm looking at a UK product, more than likely not even built in the UK but in China, Taiwan, or Indonesia, your right, someone is picking my pocket, charging me $1700 for a 750 British pound priced product. From here, US based manufacturers are just sliding in a British pound symbol in place of the US dollar sign and raking in double the profit. Not fair at all.
I sure don't know how to solve this mess, but I'm sure it'll get worse before getting better.
John
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Post by robert on Sept 17, 2007 20:36:19 GMT
Dear John Thanks for the helpful comments. I currently use grado RS-1 cans with a modded MF V3 x-cans. I am finding it difficult to find a dealer who has the facilites to let me audition the AT phones with my kit. As you have clearly listened extensively, would you expect me to notice a big improvememt with the ATH-W5000's over the RS-1. Mike is a fan of the ATH-ADH2000, which are a bit cheaper - what about these? I am aware that at the prices we are considering, there is a real risk of diminishing returns with increased financial outlay. Any comments would be appreciated. Regards Rob
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2007 23:39:57 GMT
Dear Rob,
The AudioTechnica's are available here in the US on a 30 day no questions asked trial, from an electronic's store chain, so that worked out well for me. I know on AT's website they list the models that are available in the different countries they export to, and I don't remember seeing the W-5000's on a list for the UK.
My whole thing is that you should somehow get a pair of the AT's, any model and compare to your present ones. I could go on and on about the AT's, but that's what I'm hearing, on my system, with my fav music. You are used to the "Grado" sound, and it's much different from the AT's. I haven't owned a closed back pair of phones since my Stanton's in 1978, so I wasn't ready for the difference between my Grado SR-125's or my AKG 701's open backed sound, and the AT's. The AT's initially sounded, well, closed in, I guess. The soundstage narrowed to just outside my eyebrows. I remember thinking that was weird but I loved the pitch of the instruments, the light touch, and icredible speed, more than the Grado's. Now, I don't know if the closed in sound was because they weren't broken in yet, cause that sensation is now totally gone, or I just got used to it. I'm thinking the former, as the sound now is more than not, out of my head. No puns, please.
I would say that you should try the AT's first. Somebody's gotta have a pair somewhere. Call the AudioTechnica rep. Go on the website and write an email to somebody. I'm frustrated here that you can't get anything going with AT over there. Good luck, Rob. Please let us know how things work out in this matter.
One more thing Rob, I have the v.1 unmodded version of the Musical Fidelity X-Cans headphone amp, albeit with a pair of 1960 NOS RCA branded Mullard 6922's plugging away, and I think the tubes add a very nice richness to the sound, but, I'm a Slee convert now, man, and that's the amp I like with the AT's!!!
John
P.S. Law of diminishing returns counts only if you are not satisfied with what you are hearing, and it's more costly replacement isn't satisfying either. JM
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Post by robert on Sept 18, 2007 19:51:40 GMT
Dear John
Thank you so much for your detailed and honest advice. I will look at finding some AT phones to listen to as my 1st port of call.
Cheers
Rob
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2007 2:15:18 GMT
Dear Rob, Thanks. I just get so over the top when a company can't offer a trial period of listening to their products.
You can tell I'm smitten with the AT's and I hope you get the opportunity to hear them for yourself.
John
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FritzS
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Post by FritzS on Sept 19, 2007 9:08:50 GMT
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