Audio Technica Ath-ad400

[Fat Tires]

I recently purchased a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD400 open air headphones. I was extremely anxious to get them because I love the sound I've gotten from open air phones like my Koss Portapro and Grado SR60 headphones. They arrived in the mail the other day and I can happily share that I am not disappointed with them in the least.

The ATH-AD400s are a great pair of headphones. They are circumaural headphones, which means that the earpads do not sit on your ears, they actually surround them. The earpads are made of velvet and are very comfortable. They do make my ears a little hot after a long listening session though. I've been taking them off after 30 - 40 minutes of use and taking a short break. The phone also sport Audio Technica's 3D wing supprt mechanism. This allows for a very unique way to form fit the phones to the shape of your head.

The sound quality is stellar so far. I mainly used recordings by jazz and female singers to try out these phones. I've listened to several MDs recorded at SP and Hi-SP. I've also listened to CDs on three different CD players including my Sony ES model. The sound quality across the entire audible spectrum is very nice. The highs are very detailed to me, I really enjoy the clear and precise sound when I listen to a female vocal. Mids are rich as well. The music I hear on recordings by artists like Jonatha Brooke are so enjoyable (despite the overuse of eletronic keyboards on her albums). The lows are very full as well. The kick drum on many tunes really thumps. I was able to listen at comfortable levels by raising the volume on my NH600D to only 12/30. I'm happily surprised by how easily these phones are driven by the weak amps in portable gear. I'm anxious to pair these phones up with a dedicated headphone amp so I can really see what they're made of.

At this point I'm really enamored of these headphones. They're easily my favorite pair of phomes for use when I'm stationary. These are by no means portable phones. Apart from their size my only other complaint would be the heat that they trap when worn, as I said earlier, give yourself a break from time to time when using these phones for extended listening sessions.

Specifications (Copied from Audiocubes)

# Type: Open-Air Dynamic

# Driver Unit: 40mm, CCAW voice coil

# Magnet: Neodymium

# Frequency response: 20-27,000 Hz

# Impedance: 32Ω

# Max. Input Power: 500mW

# Sensitivity: 96dB

# Plug: Mini/Standard Gold plated 2 Way

# Cord length: 3.0m (Single) (OFC)

# Light weight high rigidity magnesium frame

# Light weight aluminum honeycomb casing

# Net weight (without cord): 230g

...and what would a decent review be without a picture or two?

[Fat Tires]

I have ammended the above post to reflect the volume level I used when I used a MD unit.

[Christopher]

So these are easily driven off a MD unit? No compensation at all?

[atrain]

do you mind mentioning the price you paid for these? i've seen them from aound us$90-130 online & i'm wondering whether i should buy something like it for when i get around to upgrading my audio gear. i love the design nis.

do they come with any extras [bag? case?]?

[Fat Tires]

At least one e-tailer, Audiocubes, sells them for $80 USD. I got this pair used from a member at Head-Fi.

[streaml1ne]

I have ammended the above post to reflect the volume level I used when I used a MD unit.

←

What EQ settings are you using if any?

[Fat Tires]

I tend to like "Jazz" on my MZ-E710, "Heavy" on my MZ-NH600D, and "Active" on my D-NE900. There are no EQ functions on my Sony CDPXA1ES CD player, I just used it's headphone output directly. In order to be as analytical as possible with my discussion of my impressions of the headphones I did not use any EQ settings on my equipment.