Audio Technica ATH-A2000X

[shellylh]

Update: I ordered the A2000X so there is no going back now.

[boomana]

Update: I ordered the A2000X so there is no going back now.

a full report with pics, of course, now is required.

[shellylh]

But of course.

a full report with pics, of course, now is required.

[XXII]

I'm still very curious about the A2000X (I do like my A2000). I really want to get a "better" circumaural closed can for those time the TV is on in the house (better overall than A900LTD, less boomy that Denon D2000, more body that K271). I have seen good and bad reviews on it. Does anyone here own (or has heard) one? I am thinking of this and the W5000 which are fairly close in price (was interested in the D7000 but think it will still be too boomy).

I guess this is a little late but I used to own a A2000X for a while. I wrote a comparison between the W5000 on HF:

Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio - View Single Post - audio-technica ATH-A2000X

But based on the bold part above, it sounds like you will like them. They don't have the fit problems of the W5000 because the cups are smaller.

[riceboy]

Update: I ordered the A2000X so there is no going back now.

Congrats

[shellylh]

Thanks. I remember reading this post and this helped pushed me more in their direction. I have been following threads about them since their announcement since I like the AD2000's. I am happy to hear about the fit problem (of lack thereof).

I guess this is a little late but I used to own a A2000X for a while. I wrote a comparison between the W5000 on HF:

Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio - View Single Post - audio-technica ATH-A2000X

But based on the bold part above, it sounds like you will like them. They don't have the fit problems of the W5000 because the cups are smaller.

[Dusty Chalk]

Update: I ordered the A2000X so there is no going back now.

Hurray!

[shellylh]

I got the A2000X a few days ago from pricejapan. I have only time to listen to them for a couple of hours. First, they look and feel very cheap. This is partly to do with the fact that they are extremely light and have cups that look like they are all scratched up (as you can see from the pictures). As for the fit, they are pretty loose on my head but I have a fairly small head (I wear a size small baseball cap). They are nowhere near as loose as the W5000 was on my head. They feel about the same as the D2000's in terms of clamp but are much much lighter. They feel loose and slip a little if I bend my head forward but don't come off. As for isolation, they are not great but are better than open headphones and better than ESW9's. They don't isolate as much as the K271's.

Ok, but now for sound (using GS-1 and ECD-1). I have very little time with these so these are FIRST impressions on a can that is not burned in. They sound very open for a closed headphone. They are much more transparent than the K271, D2000, and A900LTD as well as any other closed cans that I have owned (I haven't had time to A/B yet). They are a pretty bright can and the bass is lean (perhaps too lean for me). Perhaps burn-in and/or pads stuffing and/or headband bending can help with the fit and hence the bass. I have only heard the L3000 and W5000 at a meet and I would say that the A2000X are much much closer to the W5000 than the L3000 although they seem to be less bright than W5000. I guess to be more correct, I should say that they don't really sound anything like the L3000 from my memory. As far as comparisons to some other cans, I enjoy the AD2000 more than the A2000X. The AD2000 have more body to them. However, since I was looking for a closed can, I don't feel that is a very fair comparison. Without more listening time, I cannot say much more than this.

[riceboy]

Great initial impressions shellylh Thanks for the pics as well. I've owned the W5000, L3000 and AD2000. Your impressions are very helpful.

[Voltron]

Interesting, Shelley. Looking forward to your ongoing impressions.

[Currawong]

I traded my A1000X. In the end, I didn't really like the bass, which lacked punch, and the way they sat on my head. I carefully adjusted the curve of the headband to fit them better, but it didn't improve things much. The funniest thing is, the aluminium frame was coated in such a way that until I double-checked, I thought it was plastic.

[Dusty Chalk]

Scratched? Bummer. Or "brushed"? Did you get them used?

I think PriceJapan is just a clearing house for multiple merchants, so...which merchant?

[shellylh]

They are brushed, but just don't look that nice in my opinion, so I said "scratched."

Scratched? Bummer. Or "brushed"? Did you get them used?

I think PriceJapan is just a clearing house for multiple merchants, so...which merchant?

[dreamwhisper]

So is there as much bass impact as the AD2000? or the unmodded YH100 if you've tried them?

Also, where did you buy the bananna hanger? I'm looking for one of those.

thx

[shellylh]

Not as much bass impact as the AD2000. I haven't tried the YH100 unfortunately. The bass on the A2000x was very lean when I first tried them. After 50 hours, they bass seems to stronger but still not as impactful as the AD2000. I want to give it more time (both burning in and on my head) before I make a matter of fact statement about the sound though.

I got the banana hanger at Bed Bath and Beyond a while ago. They may still have something like it.

So is there as much bass impact as the AD2000? or the unmodded YH100 if you've tried them?

Also, where did you buy the bananna hanger? I'm looking for one of those.

thx

[shellylh]

Early impressions of A2000x vs K501:

I finally got some time to sit down with the A2000x. I did some comparisons with K501.

Disclaimer: These are just my initial impressions and are by no means meant to be any sort of review. I am not very good with words (that is why I became a mathematician) but I will do my best to describe what I am hearing.

The A2000X have about 100 hours and them and are sounding much better than they were out of the box. The bass has strenthened and the brightness calmed a bit. I listened to them and the K501 out of the WA5 and GS-1 with an ECD-1 as a source (wav files from Macbook Pro). Music was mostly rock: PJ Harvey, Sarah McLachlan, Elton John, Janes Addiction, Fleetwood Mac, Tracy Chapman, Mazzy Star, Dave Matthews Band with some others like Niyaz from State of Trance 2006, Egberto Gismonti, and Miles Davis (I listened to one song from each of the above artists).

First, I find the A2000X to have a similar sound signature to the AD2000 but they are somewhat brighter and not as quite as smooth in my mind yet (maybe after another 100 hours they will be better). They are fairly neutral but have slightly forward mids and have a little bit of a hot treble. They are very bright and transparent, much more than the K501 which sound slow, dark, and laid back in comparison. Putting on the A2000x after the K501 makes you think that the windshield was just cleaned with Windex (yeah, I know, a cliche). The A2000x has more bass quantity than the K501 (but is not bass heavy at all) and the bass hits harder/deeper. However, the mids on the K501 sound more real to me (the K501's strong suit). Male and females voices sound more organic on the K501. Sometimes the A2000x can seem a little metallic. I hate to describe it this way (because the cups are made of titanium) but that is what comes to my mind whereas the K501 are always very smooth (at a loss of treble and bass sparkle).

Other thoughts:

I haven't had any long listening sessions but I imagine that these could be fatiguing to some. If you want a lot of bass, these are not for you. They seems neutral except for the slightly hot treble.

The A2000X are extremely revealing and can extremely revealing of a bad source!

I haven't done much comparison with the AD2000 but the A2000x are much harder to drive. On the GS-1 (low gain), I have to turn the dial significantly farther with the A2000X than I do with the AD2000.

I am hoping the show more improvement in the next 100 hours. I will do some more comparisons, this time with the AD2000.

[XXII]

Interesting impressions Shelly. Have you heard the W5000s? I felt that the A2000X shared more with the W5000 than the AD2000. In the end, I decided to keep the W5000 and sell the A2000X.

[shellylh]

I have only heard a W5000 at a meet. The A2000X seem more laid back than the W5000 from what I remember. I found the W5000 to be a little too bright with some piano for my taste but perhaps it was the setup. I decided not to get the W5000 because of fit issues (the ones I tried were too large even with the pad and headband "mod"). I haven't done any direct comparisons with the AD2000 yet and haven't listened to the AD2000 in a while because of having the HD800 so this is just from memory.

Interesting impressions Shelly. Have you heard the W5000s? I felt that the A2000X shared more with the W5000 than the AD2000. In the end, I decided to keep the W5000 and sell the A2000X.