Review: Audio Technica ATH-TAD500

[Pipinhot]

Hi everyone.
Now I'm no audiophile, but i do enjoy my music/games
My first headset was the Siberia V1 had it for years, i then went to a Logitech set for many years after, that was followed by Siberia V2's which were very odd, my last headset was Corsair Vengeance 1500.
The corsair ones sound great but they are massive, ALOT of clamp force and has actually led to a jaw problem, so i had to ditch them.

 

 

Gallery: http://www.head-fi.org/g/i/657641/a/678131/audio-technica-ath-tad500-review-and-comparisons/sort/display_order/

Review: TAD500
Well as a first impression i love these headphones, extremely light, VERY open as if there is nothing there, little clamp force, build quality seems appropraite and a comfy adjustable headband.
I have tried a pair of AD700's and they were somewhat comfy they were a tad large for my head, hence why i went with the smaller cups of the TAD500.
The frequency range on paper do say they are different, but i cannot spot it. The smaller cups have helped in giving some bass back from the lacking 700's and audio quality is instantly better over my vengeance 1500's
So as a quick review, i believe for $115AUD they a bargain.

I will do a side by side with some 700's when i head back over to my mates.

---update---

What can i say? They are getting better every day.
Audio Quality (Games)
From the first day to where I am now they have tuned themselves in to be very crisp, they can be piercing in some cases but only with music specific to trance/techno, I could not replicate it in most modern radio songs.
I haven't encountered a game that has irritated me yet. Explosions are accurate, showing base, length and direction. Gunfire is more of a crack then most gaming headsets, but not to the piercing point.
Games like chivalry have shown great depth of field, yelling, screaming, sound effects and directions.
BF3 Audio positioning Vs AD700's is less but only slightly. If you were to narrow a footstep down to 15-20 degrees with AD700's you can achieve roughly 25 with the TAD500's, But you do get more bass
Audio Quality (Music)
Music is clear, alot of older songs i have come across have little things i didn't notice before. Bass compared to AD700's is greater but still follows suit as far as sharpness, it hits quite fast and ends nearly as fast but it does leave a good thud for the snare/bass hits, handles deep sounds very well. Audio seems fractionally higher in notes over my previous headsets which have offered a more warmer feel.
All in all great for all forms of music, i find they excel in DNB. There is sound leakage, roughly 20%. They are a true open headphones but note in games noise is less frequent than songs. I sat beside my mate for 15 minutes while he played dead island, i could hear noises but not make out words or what they were connected to, it was not distracting but i found myself trying to match the sounds to words/dialogue.
Feel
Another bonus, wow they are light, SO light accompanied by incredibly soft earpads, i put my Vengeance 1500's on just before 2 weeks and can finally understand why my jaw ended up giving way.
They are very comfy, but the slight bubble inside the cup often hurts my ears after "Hours" of use. My ears may just stick out further than most?
The band across the top for me is easier to handle than the wings on the 700's. I put them on my nephew and they fit very well, and even on my mates head who is nearly utilizing the whole headpsace of the AD700's
Build Quality
Using a lightweight but tough plastic, they have been on and off my head for 2 weeks now, dropped em by accident, no visible marks and from a randoms pov looking at you they are very stylish, all black with a silver ring around the cup. The cup swivel one the X-axis on my head is direct center they give equal amount of moving room on both sides. The Y-Axis have basically a full 180 degree swivel.

Overall i can say for gaming on a budget they are perfect, if you want better positioning go AD700's but you loose out on compatibility with head size and bass, if you buy the TAD500's going to the AD700's is too small of a gap, your next choice would be around AD900's.

Score: 4.5/5
Build quality 5/5
Audio Quality 4/5
Comfort 5/5
Soundstage 4/5
Price 5/5
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In the mean time please ask questions so i may learn certain things about these i may not know yet.

[M-ursu]

Please no double posts.

[looney]

one is enough :p

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/43943-review-audio-technica-ath-tad500/

[Pipinhot]

Unintentional i wasn't aware the other was going to be moved iff possible delete it?

[Pipinhot]

Updated Bump, Let me know if there is a specific part you want me to test?

[qwertywarrior]

oh ur that guy who was talking about acer  on youtube

cool