I embarked on an expensive journey of finding a good pair of listening headphones in the sub-$200 range, happily settling on the ATH-A900. For reference, my definition of a good pair of speakers or headphones is that the audio mimics what I would expect to hear from a band playing in front of me. More specifically, sounds should never seem absent if they would be strongly reproduced by a live presentation. To me, a good pair of headphones presents a good recording in a way that doesn't make you wince at the highs or get muddy in bass - no sound should be drowned out, nor underrepresented. That said, I don't consider myself to be an 'audiophile', so take my review as one from a picky audio enthusiast.
For my quest, I bought the
AKG K240MKII - AKG STUDIO STANDARD SEMI OPEN 55OHM HP
(semi-open),
Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Professional Studio Monitor Headphones
, and the Audio Technica ATH-A900, in that order. While I ended up selling the K240's due to a seeming inability to reproduce bass, I almost found what I was seeking in the ATH-M50. One thing the ATH-M50 reviews didn't seem to cover was that they truly are a DJ headphone -- they seem biased toward bass, somewhat flat on the treble and mid reproduction, and are really tight on large heads (really poor comfort qualities). Still a great pair of phones, but they weren't what I was looking for in a 'listening' phone.
The ATH-A900 quickly became my top choice. They exceed the AKG K240MkII in every way (unless weight is a concern) and seem to be a more robust, well-rounded, and quality listening phone than the ATH-M50. To my ears, they produce sound in the way I expect (see first paragraph), but have such a great range they seem to do any genre well. My primary musical tastes are rock, folk, punk, and instrumental. To test the bass response, I even tried out some Dubstep on Pandora and found that the bass reproduction was excellent. However, I wouldn't call it a 'bass enhanced' phone, so real bass-heads might not appreciate these the way I do. I've found that their rock, americana, and folk reproduction is excellent. Another thing I really appreciated was their efficiency -- I've found that these are well suited even to use on an iPod (a source with a small amp).
My strongest critique is that I really do not like how the cord is not replaceable. At this price point, I think this is an essential feature. The cloth-covered cord type is a constant tangle and the length is far longer than I need it to be. My other critique is of color -- the blue is kind of tacky. I would prefer that these come in black, or the gunmetal gray of their open sibling, the
Audio Technica ATH-AD900 Audiophile Open-air Dynamic Headphones
. I suppose the color issue has been fixed in the
Audio-Technica Audiophile Closed-Back Dynamic Headphones-Black
(ATH-A900x) at a higher price.
All in all, I centered on these due to their great frequency response in the high, mid, and low ranges. They're the first pair I tried that I felt were really tuned to my listening style. They're not thumpy or bright -- to me, they're just right across the board. They are also very comfortable. I almost found what I wanted in the ATH-M50, but I feel that the ATH-A900 is the 'big brother' model that is geared more toward quality home listening, which is exactly what I was after.
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