Bumping up an old topic.
So yeah, after reading repeatedly how nice the JPN's and the VTG's are, I'm passively in the market for them (although it has to coincide with my having money, of course, which I currently don't), but was wondering if anyone has any additional thoughts on this, now that the a900ti and a950ltd are out...? Are they in the running, or are they more in W2002/W100 territory, or "other"?
Currently, I use the CD3000 as sort of a poor-man's L3000, as, until I get them recabled (the L3000's, that is), I am really unhappy with the midrange suckout. I'm actually tempted to put in an EQ. The Sony's certainly don't have the same delivery of transients that the Audio Technica's do (can you say, "smoov"?), but since I'm not doing critical listening, they are perfectly adequate for passive work listening.
I'm tempted to just get a pair of each and decide for myself. They are black (the A500 and the A950ltd are, anyway, even if the a900ti is not), after all, and closed, the former of which is not a criteria, but certainly a plus, and the latter of which is definitely a criteria.