Open to: Audio-Technica ATH-AD500X

Date:

2019-02-12 17:30:17

Views:

4069

Rating:

1Like 0Dislike

Share:

Open to: Audio-Technica ATH-AD500X Source:

Range of headphones, the Japanese company Audio-Technica is able to surprise even the most experienced audiophile, one only category Hi-Fi manufacturer offers more than 10 different models. Many of the full-size wired headphones Audio-Technica are a special series of AD, and the initial version is here , which was at us on testing.

The abbreviation AD stands for Air Dynamic, i.e. all of the line headphones have an open back design. At the same time, it is not only in appearance but also sound: the AD different from the others, spacious and "airy" sound that became possible thanks to the drivers with the sound coils with aluminum core with copper coating (CCAW) and an open acoustic design.

ATH-AD500X has 53 mm drivers. Yes, the larger diameter increases the mass (and who cares if it's headphones for home) and forced to use stiffer materials to reduce the distortion due to the deformation of the radiating surface (not to mention high requirements to the amplifier), but it increased the driver outputs typical headphones AD series sound. By the way, some of the internal elements can even see through the grill: diaphragm with straight holes is covered with a rear metal deflector. If you look on the other hand, you notice that the driver is at some angle to the frame. Why was it made? As a rule, to expand the audible sound of space, but there is also a view that this design forms a three-dimensional sound stage.

The Mechanism of the headband — proprietary 3D Wing from Audio-Technica. The construction is made in the form of two elastic metal arc (lightweight aluminum body), dressed in a plastic tube. It does not require adjustment for a particular head (two "pillows" played a role), the headphones sit very comfortably as it has the minimum pressure. Yes, when moving the head cups begin to slide down, but this is clearly not the headphones for running, isn't it?

Attaching the earcups, as are cups made of black plastic. Ear pads ATH-AD500X is trimmed with velvet, while the part that serves to attach the cushions to the shells made of thin faux leather. Damping a cloth strip is their integral part, so we replace will not work. How long such material? Usually for a couple of years about the problems it is possible to forget, and there to find a replacement will not be difficult.

Cable oxygen-free copper and non-removable unilateral. You can treat this differently: Yes detachable cable is easier to replace. BUT! Audio-Technica makes very high quality wires that don't need updating even after several years of operation, especially if we are talking about a device that you use at home or in the Studio. And it is not necessary to remind that the extra contact is a potential source of problems. Remember, many manufacturers have already suffered enough because of trouble with connectors.

By the Way, a nice bonus in the kit — gold-plated 6.3 mm adapter is a useful Thing, though the 3.5 mm Jack cable no thread for its fixation. However, if you do not try to pull the cable with your foot, it will remain in the nest.

Of Course, the main thing in the headphones does not look (you are unlikely to be in them in the subway, on the street, in an airplane), and the sound. Go over the specifications and let us all in order.

the

Features

the
    the
  • Radiator: dynamic 53mm
  • the
  • back design: open
  • the
  • frequency Range: 5 — 25 000 Hz
  • the
  • Sensitivity: 100dB
  • the
  • Impedance: 48 Ohms
  • the
  • Maximum power: 500 mW
  • the
  • cable Length: 3 m
  • the
  • Weight: 265 g
the

Sound

As older models of AD-series ATH-AD500X free and have a very atmospheric sound. Space these headphones draw very well, sometimes even the sound seems too easy, although the dynamism and mobility he does not hold.

A lot of Bass, but without fanaticism. Lacks a bit of upper mid and high frequencies, which slightly reduces the number of supported genres, but the bass of the composition and the metal come to cheer. Vocals and guitars sound brighter and more legible the same can be said about dance music. Overall, the model sounds very vigorously — we can safely recommend it for driving genres (sitting by the fireplace, leave something like the ATH-AD900X).

frequency response ATH-AD500X

Not to mention that the ATH-AD500X significantly reduces the "mud" of the source. We tried at first to hear these headphones with iPhone Pixel XR and 2 and were pleasantly surprised that even with the help of streaming services on a smartphone, you can get pleasure from listening to music on this device. For long-term background listening during some not too important things.

Then in the course went heavy artillery in the form of the FiiO M9: Exynos 7270, a little less than a Gigabyte of RAM, about two gigabytes of ROM, the touch screen from LG, the Bluetooth module with support for all conceivable codecs. For the audio portion of this model is the solution already tested by the company in practice: a pair of AK4490EN and the balanced amplifier on the basis of the OPA-shek. The decoding signal is engaged in a "specially trained" FPGA-shka.

Needless to say, that player immediately produced the best quality output. The sound became more transparent and realistic, albeit without the stunning effect of being in the Studio or at the concert. The fifth violinist in the third row to hear will not work, but it is not necessary: the dynamic entries with a dense sound, they work out at 100 percent.

If you use these headphonesthe purpose here is not to do without a home stereo system (or computer power). We started testing with Yulong DA9 and Resonessence Labs Concero HP in the role of the DAC and amplifier. In the first case, it was clearly evident that added a bit of HF to provide supply closer to neutral. In the second — DAC pleased with its ruggedness. Sound any sample rate and bit depth, as well as newfangled DSD records that turned out for him. Gaining control of bass, it became much easier to adjust the composition «under him», while MIDs remain tight, and high — the same crystal.

So using the ATH-AD500X with amplifier or home sound system — a must-have if you want to fully discover their potential. In an extreme case, you can do player. As for the smartphone… you better forget about him. It's definitely not headphones in order to work in the subway chase.

the

Open everything

Perhaps — a great example of how to implement the open design of the headphones. Large 53 mm drivers have allowed to reveal the potential and the comfortable fit promotes long-term music listening experience. And the price is 11 000 — quite adequate for such a device, because here it is not determined by the steepness of the components and not the cost of materials and labor, developers who set up the whole system. And the result is really worth it.

Recommended

That can headphones with hybrid noise reduction, and a Qualcomm chip

That can headphones with hybrid noise reduction, and a Qualcomm chip

When you meet the sound and advanced technology, it turns out something interesting. the Market for Bluetooth headphones with active noise cancellation at a price of about 20,000 rubles is developing rapidly. Bose may have been a pioneer in this segm...

What are the mystical sounds under water in the ocean and where they come from

What are the mystical sounds under water in the ocean and where they come from

Under water can be found anywhere. Even the sounds. Water generally is a very interesting element. Due to its properties, it very well conveys the sound. To understand this process it is enough to remember that sound — it's just a vibration env...

Overview Highscreen TrueSound Pro — in shelf portable DAC arrived

Overview Highscreen TrueSound Pro — in shelf portable DAC arrived

Among lovers of quality sound it is quite widely believed that listening to music you only need use a separate player and headphones, are specifically matched to him. However, the cost of such a set usually varies from about 30 thousand rubles to inf...

Comments (0)

This article has no comment, be the first!

Add comment

Related News

Review headphones TinAudio T3 — same as before, but better

Review headphones TinAudio T3 — same as before, but better

TinAudio are among those manufacturers that are not trying to sit on all chairs, and to grasp the immensity, struggling in all segments. They found a niche, low-cost model with a neutral sound, and skillfully work in it. After tw...

Overview of the QLS player 361 — celebration additional Radioengineering thoughts

Overview of the QLS player 361 — celebration additional Radioengineering thoughts

Last year was rich in premieres of different players, like a top, and not very much, but QLS 361 stands out. First, it is a real masterpiece of additional Radioengineering thoughts, and secondly, it's a definite contender for the...

Review Audio-Technica ATH-AR5BT: when wires needed

Review Audio-Technica ATH-AR5BT: when wires needed

the Japanese continue to go ahead of the rest — ranging from industrial solutions to consumer electronics. Take the same Audio-Technica: this giant hardly needs any introduction, as his name was heard even by those who are f...

Review of FiiO player M6 — 83 grams of music and charm

Review of FiiO player M6 — 83 grams of music and charm

Just before the new year, FiiO has decided to surprise fans with the release of the new player. If they had started with preliminary announcements, sometimes even collecting for these purposes, a press conference, with the chassi...

Overview of discrete amplifier modules AMP7 and AMP8 for the iPods iBasso

Overview of discrete amplifier modules AMP7 and AMP8 for the iPods iBasso

The company iBasso does not stop on achieved results and continues to produce one good amplifier and, judging by the news, went in the course of non-trivial solutions. While the option of microarray NuTube is in development, let'...

The legend is back: headphones and speakers from Fender

The legend is back: headphones and speakers from Fender

For those who have something to configure with the help of a guitar tuner, Fender needs no introduction. It produces some of the most famous guitars in the world and various music equipment. Time goes by, and companies need to ada...

Review of FiiO player M9 — modern features without sacrificing sound

Review of FiiO player M9 — modern features without sacrificing sound

FiiO continue to promote successfully found a niche of players with chipset the Exynos. The first showed the strengths of the platform, but did not give what users most wanted: streaming. To fix this is designed model M9, which o...

Review EarSonics earphones ES3 — signature sound from France

Review EarSonics earphones ES3 — signature sound from France

The company EarSonics is one of those rare producers IEM solutions, which can undoubtedly be called a brand, and the brand is not from China, that somehow, for some people it is important. Their models do not often come to my att...

Review headphones Bose SoundSport Free

Review headphones Bose SoundSport Free

Over the past few years Bluetooth has committed a serious leap forward, and not just in the sound. Appeared on the market a new type of "truly wireless" headphones that are not connected by a cable and the joint only a small charg...

Browse Bluetooth DAC FiiO BTR3 — all wireless rat

Browse Bluetooth DAC FiiO BTR3 — all wireless rat

Perhaps, only just too far from the world of mobile gadgets, people could not help but notice a steady trend to use Bluetooth to output audio to modern smartphones. More and more devices are deprived of the 3.5 mm jacks, more and...

Browse portable DAC-xDuoo XD-10 — they know what we want

Browse portable DAC-xDuoo XD-10 — they know what we want

Not so long ago xDuoo «shot», releasing really interesting . The combination of good prices, high power and high quality sound have conquered many, so the company decided to repeat the success by releasing a more modern...

Review of FiiO player M3K — beginner connoisseurs

Review of FiiO player M3K — beginner connoisseurs

I do not think that someone from the readers of my reviews need to submit the FiiO, in recent years, they have released a huge number of solutions for portable audio and firmly took its place under the Sun. A few years ago, they ...

Overview headphone Audio Nocturnal Atlantis — emphasizing naturalness

Overview headphone Audio Nocturnal Atlantis — emphasizing naturalness

Sometimes it so happens that a good pair of headphones come into your life unexpectedly. This is what happened with Noctural Audio, I've not heard anything about them, but, having become acquainted with the model of Atlantis, I r...

A review of the iBasso player DX120 — continuing the offensive

A review of the iBasso player DX120 — continuing the offensive

In iBasso is sometimes slow to harness, but then speeding, they race with such speed that the majority of competitors only have to swallow the dust in the corners. Starting his triumphant return , they strengthened the position ,...

An overview of the HiBy player R3 — not a single soft

An overview of the HiBy player R3 — not a single soft

the Company HiBy, known primarily as the developer of music player for iOS and Android, and secondly as the author of the firmware for about half the emerging market players decided that it was time to take their place in the mark...

Astell&Kern KANN is the most unusual of families

Astell&Kern KANN is the most unusual of families

the Company Astell&Kern is widely known not only to the audiophile — many know her as a producer of very expensive players. Despite the fact that the brand is really a premium, sometimes Astell&Kern still produces ...

An overview of the player iHiFi790 — Xuelin in his repertoire

An overview of the player iHiFi790 — Xuelin in his repertoire

a Company with a funny name for some Xuelin long ago established itself as a very «contrast» manufacturer. Despite the fact that they know how to make the sound, the ease of the players is often undermined by some trifle...

Review of hidizs ' player AP80, a baby with a claim to leadership

Review of hidizs ' player AP80, a baby with a claim to leadership

Remember, many years ago, the mobile phone market began in rampant fashion on the miniature tube? Looks like portable players now going through a similar phase and the good ultra-compact solutions began to appear more often. Today...

Hack the phone using speaker and microphone? Easy!

Hack the phone using speaker and microphone? Easy!

Modern smartphones offer the user a lot of opportunities, but also expose personal data like passwords and credit card numbers at risk of being stolen. Of course, there are many options to protect your device from antivirus progra...

Ear headphones FiiO FB1 and Bluetooth receiver µBTR

Ear headphones FiiO FB1 and Bluetooth receiver µBTR

the Last time FiiO is actively coming to market wireless solutions, observing this company's traditional methodology. After the trial balloon in the face it's time of other models and today we'll talk about the budget proposal — h...