Audio-Technica ATH-AD2000 Headphone

The short and skinny

Open back midfi monsters capable of feeling at home on your ipod as your Fiio E9 Amp. Delivering a rich presentation with a medium sized soundstage , they excel at midrange (in particular layered harmony singing ala Def Leppard and Bon Jovi), excellent bass extension which punches when it needs to and good smooth treble without a hint of spike or sibilance.

Package and build quality

This could be best described a game of 2 halves lol.

The outer box packaging is not fitting for a potentially $600 headphone. It comes across as a bit cheap, no very cheap in fact. Now a box is just a box right? Wrong – just ask Steve Jobs, Audeze, hifiman etc. Its a statement of intent and how they wish to present the headphone to you. The ad2000 package, whilst being efficient, is very underwhelming.

Comfort

Whilst its no porta-can its a comfy fit. The 3-d wing system does a great job and the fit is nice and snug. Being an large open can your not aiming for isolation and secure fit for outdoors, but a comfortable fit for the long run, maybe at least 2 – 3 hours

Sound

Rated at 40 ohms these cans are really easy to drive off most amps from the e5 right up there to the top tier tube monsters. Naturally the higher up the chain the more the sq will improve but you can have these safe in the knowledge they can live off most basic setups.