[sinefine]

Hi. I own a AudioTechnica ATH AD700 and I'm not happy with the headset. I'm not an audiophile and I don't even listen to music that often. I only use them for gaming. Although I'm not musically gifted, I can tell how amazing the headsets sound. The thing I'm not happy with is how uncomfortable the headphone is. At first, I had to bend the metal bars outward to prevent it from digging into my jaw. And now at the point I'm ok with the tightness, it's too loose. Also, I don't like the ear covers; I think the texture is alright but the foam inside is too stiff for me.
 
So what is the most comfortable headset (preferably open-air) for 100-200 dollars?

 

[Mad Max]

HD558 or a used HD598.

 

[zazex]

Sony MDR MA900

 

[audiojun]

Quote:

Sony MDR MA900

+1 most comfortable and sounds amazing too. Was planning on ma900 myself for portable use.

 

[sinefine]

How is Sony MA900's soundstage compared to AD700? I absolutely love how open and large AD700 sounds and it really surprised me. I don't really mind bass on headphone. I never liked it that much. Are there any other suggestions?

 

[audiojun]

MA 900 has good sound stage, I haven't heard the AD700, but I assume it would have more sound stage because compared to the AD900X it on par with some differences.
 
read this thread and then make some assumptions between ad900 vs ad700 from other threads.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/654161/review-comparison-ath-ad900x-vs-mdr-ma900-its-over-900

 

[zazex]

I had the 700's a couple of years ago so my comparison would be from memory.
If that's useful to you, I can tell you the 700's were pretty good headphones that never "wowed" me.
They were quite comfortable and the sound stage was very good at the price.
 
Bass was lacking.
 
Also, the "wings" would move when I moved my head, and when they moved they would
make squeaking sounds.  That bothered me more than anything.
 
I didn't keep them for very long.  I thought they were OK value, maybe just
at the top half of the headphones I've tried.
 
The MA 900's are a very different story.
Terrific sound, a fairly daring new design which works
in the real world, remarkably comfortable...
 
While I recall the sound stage being quite good on the 700's, maybe even
as good as the MA 900's, overall they
were no match IMO for the MA 900;s.  In fact, at the MA 900's street price of 
$200, I haven't heard a better pair of headphones.

 

[Povell42]

So I have the Ad900x currently and I like them.  Would you guys consider the MA900 to to be the superior headphone?  I am really interested in having great positional ques and soundstage, but like the Thread Starter, the AD700 were just too thin and I wanted better quality audio all around.
 
Hence I have the Ad900x.  But I did not really look into the MA900 before my purchase.
 
Audiojun - do you have both the AD900x and MA900?

 

[uncola]

I have had the senn 595 and upgrdaed to sony ma900.. I find the sound to be a sidestep, neither more quality or less, but the comfort is amazing on the ma900.  I haven't heard ad900x yet..  From what I read, they're in the same class.  If you want better sound you might have to spend more.. unless you're only looking for a different sound, then you could get some bassier phones and be happy

 

[audiojun]

i dont own the ma900 but had it on loan for about a week.

I find that ma900 is probably in the same league as ad900x, but with better comfort. i heard people modding the ma900 by removing the resistors built into the phone and achieving better sound quality. I assume maybe after modding it will be a step up from the ad900x. my friend owns the ma900 and after listening to it i always wanted one. I can't think of a headphone that beats it on comfort and the speaker like presentation makes it easy to listen for hours without fatigue.

 

[audiojun]

i would probably just stick with the ad900x since you already have it, if you have a sound card with dolbe headphones setting it should be a good enough soundstage.

So I have the Ad900x currently and I like them.  Would you guys consider the MA900 to to be the superior headphone?  I am really interested in having great positional ques and soundstage, but like the Thread Starter, the AD700 were just too thin and I wanted better quality audio all around.

Hence I have the Ad900x.  But I did not really look into the MA900 before my purchase.

Audiojun - do you have both the AD900x and MA900?