Currently I own an AD300 (first headphone). Am pairing it with an Ibasso D12. I find that the AD300 is most suitable for country music. But it somewhat lacks when I tried using it for Blu Ray sci-fi movies. Most likely because I'm comparing it with either the experience from a THX cinema hall or a full blown sound system.

I'm planning to get an additional M50 to get the extra kick for movies while keeping the AD300 for music. Anyone every tried the M50 on Blu Ray? I know it has the bass. But I'm abit worried if it will sacrifice the clarity and soundstage. Normally, I would audition it in Jaben before purchase. But due to the fact that I can't bring my entire PS3 set there, this is a risky shot. Comment, anyone?

Well, I did try without the D12. But the audio cracks when it comes to tense scenes. It improves ALOT when I whack it to the D12. Maybe because I was using cheap cables before this. Too much signal degration perhaps.

Will be trying out the AD900 and M50 later this month. Possibly getting both. The M50 will act as a bass monster while the AD900 will soon replace my AD300.

For the AD300, everyone has different opinion. To me, it's my music-purpose headphone. I'm not someone who is into jazz or classical music. Therefore, I can't comment if it suites serious audiophiles. My list of CDs are like Taylor Swift, Greenday and Avril Lavigne. Nothing hip-hop, nothing jazzy, nothing classical.

As for gaming and movies, I would rate it as below par. Again, my genre might be different. Movies which I repeatedly watch is stuff like Saving Private Ryan, Sucker Punch and Ironman2. Again, it's rather unfair coz I'm comparing it with something more than 3x the price. But it works wonderfully well for games like Rock Band and Band Hero. That's why I regard it as a headphone for mainstream music.

Whoo! Finally got my AD700 shipped from USA. But looks like a Japan unit coz there's a lot of Japanese words around. Made in Taiwan though. I'll be doing a comparison with my old AD300. Initial test has some obvious differences. I can't say the AD700 is totally better than the AD300. Each has its own pros and cons.

Been testing my newly bought AD700 for a few days and here’s my initial opinion. Guys, take not that this is a personal view. Different ear, different results. I have not done any extensive burn on it. Infact, I’m not really a fan of doing burn on earphones. Maybe laziness, maybe time constraint. I’ll compare it with my old AD300 since that’s the closest one I have from the same type. There’s no point comparing it with something like DT770 coz there are both different in nature.

For the first week, when I unwrapped it from the box, the test setup is:
iPod Touch 4G line out --> Ibasso D12 (amplification purposes only) --> AD700

I don’t consider myself as an audiophile who listens to jazz and classical stuff. I’m more towards someone who purchase CD from the regular shelf section.

By doing a one-to-one comparison, there’s once word to describe the AD700 – brilliance. Don’t get me wrong. When I say ‘brilliance’, I’m referring to the sound signature. It’s more focused to the mid-high and high. Instruments seem a lot clearer than the AD300. I don’t have much complaint on the bass. Although it’s slightly weaker, it’s more solid. It’s like stuffing more pillows and paddings to the drum. Instruments like guitar sounds fantastic. This applies for both electric and acoustic. I haven’t test using nylon guitar sound samples yet. Albums which worked fantastically well are:
- Green Day : 21st Century Breakdown
- ACDC : Ironman 2 Soundtrack
- Hannah Montana The Movie Soundtrack (yes, I do test in many different ways)
- Avril Lavigne : Goodbye Lullaby
- Bon Jovi : Greatest Hits

If you notice, all the albums are similar in one spot – guitar sound.

So, are there any drawbacks? YES. I do have ONE BIG PROBLEM. Vocals for some singers are too sharp till the point of being annoying. As you know, the AD700 increases the mid-high and high. So, if the singer’s voice somewhat falls on a certain frequency, there will be a lot of ‘sss’ if you know what I mean. So which singer has this problem? Taylor Swift. Doesn’t happen to all songs but the number is quite discouraging.

For the second week, I decided to modify my test setup:
iPod Touch 4G earphone out --> AD700

Could this be better or worse? Turns out better. The ‘sss’ sound is still present but less prominent. I don’t really know why but suspect one of these:
- Too much analogue amplification and device transmission reduces the sound quality
- Unintended burn
- Ears slowly getting used to it
- Placebo effect

So what about movies? It’s quite unfair to compare coz my list of ‘audio benchmark’ movies are:
- Saving Private Ryan
- Sucker Punch
- Ironman 2
- Cloverfield

These kind of test will certainly produce negative results with the AD700. I’m not gonna slot-in something like Sound Of Music or King’s Speech. Not my genre.

Oh ... the shootout. This link?
http://www.headfonia.com/audio-technica-ad...1000prm-ad2000/

Yeah, I bought the AD700 after reading it. Besides, it was priced at USD$115 in Amazon. Before that, I even heard that some managed to get them at USD$85. Was abit late for that.

Compared to the US current price, the Malaysian pricelist for AD700 is considered rather high. Last time, I got it from Amazon when it was selling for USD$115. I checked today and it has gone lower. Around USD$105. After multiplying it by 3.1, it's around RM325. Problem is, Amazon doesn't ship this item to Malaysia. So, you'll need to get some 3rd party company with a US postal address. I used vPost and cost me an additional SG$42. That's around RM100. Total cost will be RM325 + RM100 = RM425. Still cheaper.

Well, there are always drawbacks. The waiting time is pure agony. For 2 weeks, I kept having nightmares that it might get lost or damaged in post. Apart from that, you can't audition before purchase. Pure tembak.