Audio Upgrade(s)?

[Nohemi]

Hi

WHAT I HAVE NOW: I've had my Audio Technica ATH-m40x for about 2 years now. It's probably my first pair of decent sounding headphones. The inner cups have significant wear, but other than that they are holding up. 

MY QUESTION: Is it worth upgrading? I've been looking at the Audio Technica ATH-AD700x and 1000x open headphones? 

SUBQUESTION: If I upgrade, is it worth upgrading without a dac/amp? If not, can I get some not-overkill recommendations? 

[KaminKevCrew]

47 minutes ago, Nohemi said:

Hi

WHAT I HAVE NOW: I've had my Audio Technica ATH-m40x for about 2 years now. It's probably my first pair of decent sounding headphones. The inner cups have significant wear, but other than that they are holding up. 

MY QUESTION: Is it worth upgrading? I've been looking at the Audio Technica ATH-AD700x and 1000x open headphones? 

SUBQUESTION: If I upgrade, is it worth upgrading without a dac/amp? If not, can I get some not-overkill recommendations? 

If you like the sound signature of the M40X, you probably won't like the AD700X/1000X. If I were you, I'd probably replace the pads on your existing cans.

 

If you don't have any meaningful interference/distortion coming from whatever source you're using, and you get enough volume, there probably isn't any point for you to get an amp or DAC.

[Nohemi]

3 minutes ago, KaminKevCrew said:

If you like the sound signature of the M40X, you probably won't like the AD700X/1000X. If I were you, I'd probably replace the pads on your existing cans.

 

If you don't have any meaningful interference/distortion coming from whatever source you're using, and you get enough volume, there probably isn't any point for you to get an amp or DAC.

The sound signature is ok, but I'm looking to play more classical/neo-classical music along with indie/rock/punk/ and various sub-genres

[KaminKevCrew]

Just now, Nohemi said:

The sound signature is ok, but I'm looking to play more classical/neo-classical music along with indie/rock/punk/ and various sub-genres

700X/1000X will probably be what you're looking for as far as classical goes. I don't really know what to recommend for rock/punk, as I don't really listen to those genres. The indie that I tend to listen to is generally more acoustic focused, so if that's similar to what you listen to, then the 700X/1000X will probably be up your alley for that too. Be aware that they are going to have A LOT less low end though.

 

As for an amp/DAC.. I still probably wouldn't get one. Neither of those headphones really need all that much power to drive, and you're not likely to notice a difference worth mentioning for any amount of money through an amp/DAC with those cans anyway.

[Nohemi]

I do not mind not having less lower as long as I still use these headphones for bass heavy music. Still do not know what kind of headphones will be good with punk/rock/etc tho

[rice guru]

2 hours ago, KaminKevCrew said:

700X/1000X will probably be what you're looking for as far as classical goes. I don't really know what to recommend for rock/punk, as I don't really listen to those genres. The indie that I tend to listen to is generally more acoustic focused, so if that's similar to what you listen to, then the 700X/1000X will probably be up your alley for that too. Be aware that they are going to have A LOT less low end though.

 

As for an amp/DAC.. I still probably wouldn't get one. Neither of those headphones really need all that much power to drive, and you're not likely to notice a difference worth mentioning for any amount of money through an amp/DAC with those cans anyway.

I personally would say the 700x/1000x to not have low end.it's anemic for my taste. I think they are fine and present and nicely controlled.  to me I think the m40 x are great . and just have enough bass for me to enjoy the music. I do love the ath 700x and 1000x for classical or ORchestral OST's as flutes and violins sound nice and airy and they sound WIDE. while I love my headphones heavily colored  I can enjoy these too. if you want something narrower and I find to be more enjoyable the hd 58x is a great option has more present bass has better separation and imaging than the ath series. but if you want something for gaming the ath has your back as I think they are way better for gaming due to the better wider soundstage. they also dont need an amp dac to be driven

[Nohemi]

46 minutes ago, rice guru said:

I personally would say the 700x/1000x to not have low end.it's anemic for my taste. I think they are fine and present and nicely controlled.  to me I think the m40 x are great . and just have enough bass for me to enjoy the music. I do love the ath 700x and 1000x for classical or ORchestral OST's as flutes and violins sound nice and airy and they sound WIDE. while I love my headphones heavily colored  I can enjoy these too. if you want something narrower and I find to be more enjoyable the hd 58x is a great option has more present bass has better separation and imaging than the ath series. but if you want something for gaming the ath has your back as I think they are way better for gaming due to the better wider soundstage. they also dont need an amp dac to be driven

do you think the 1000x is worth is compared to the much cheaper 700x (on amazon)?

[rice guru]

2 minutes ago, Nohemi said:

do you think the 1000x is worth is compared to the much cheaper 700x (on amazon)?

personally.. no as it infringes on headphones that I tend to enjoy better then the 1000x. because for that kind of money I can get myself a nice pair of planars like m1060 or t60 rp or other openbacks that I like the sound better like dt 880 hd 650, akg k712 or k702. audio is highly subjective and what you think is worth it is up to you. like I said before I like more fun sounding headphones and the ath air series are generally not for my typical use case aside form gaming. 

[Nohemi]

6 minutes ago, rice guru said:

personally.. no as it infringes on headphones that I tend to enjoy better then the 1000x. because for that kind of money I can get myself a nice pair of planars like m1060 or t60 rp or other openbacks that I like the sound better like dt 880 hd 650, akg k712 or k702. audio is highly subjective and what you think is worth it is up to you. like I said before I like more fun sounding headphones and the ath air series are generally not for my typical use case aside form gaming. 

so what you are saying is if I like classical music 700x are more than enough for casual use (but 1000x is overkill if you are meh about the sound signature)

[rice guru]

2 hours ago, Nohemi said:

so what you are saying is if I like classical music 700x are more than enough for casual use (but 1000x is overkill if you are meh about the sound signature)

The 1000x are are by no means bad they are great. Nice airy highs and more present bass. If you want the wide airy headphones by no means grab the 1000x I even recommend the 2000x for that matter  they are great for classical. The beauty of headphonesa and audio are we have different ears and musical preferences. I listen to hip hop, indie and alternative genres. And love my mids and bass so love headphones with meaty bass and present mids with a apreciation for detail in the highs. My general tastes tend to line up with Sennheiser and beyerdynamic headphones as their house sounds are perfect for my music tastes. Honestly to get to my point straight is if you can find a way to demo them before buying so it because no matter what I say we don't hear the same things nor do we look for the same things in what we are hearing

[Nohemi]

5 minutes ago, rice guru said:

The 1000x are are by no means bad they are great. Nice airy highs and more present bass. If you want the wide airy headphones by no means grab the 1000x I even recommend the 2000x for that matter  they are great for classical. The beauty of headphonesa and audio are we have different ears and musical preferences. I listen to hip hop, indie and alternative genres. And love my mids and bass so love headphones with meaty bass and present mids with a apreciation for detail in the highs. My general tastes tend to line up with Sennheiser and beyerdynamic headphones as their house sounds are perfect for my music tastes. Honestly to get to my point straight is if you can find a way to demo them before buying so it because no matter what I say we don't hear the same things nor do we look for the same things in what we are hearing

gotcha