That awkward feeling when you're an ATH fanboy but don't own an ATH headphone anymore.
And, I really feel like I could really use one in a mid-fi rig for low quality recordings in particular.
The real beauty of ATH headphones seems to be in their low amplification requirements and how they lean towards that kind of mid-fi sensibility.
You can comfortably go full-on midfi with your rig, using just an ipod/budget DAC. (and adding an older dynalo amp if you want to give the headphones a tiny bit more soundstage and frequency extension)
Most seem to sound decent on an amp that powerful. Some are even less picky, sounding good on budget op-amp solutions.
The main selling point of the AD2000 in particular is the fact that it was available when the HD650 sounded really veiled on even a balanced rig with cable upgrade etc. zzzz
And the AD2000 seemed, to my mind, just as resolving as the balanced HD650.
Also, since it didn't have the veil/darkness, it came across as moar detailed and therefore moar better.
That's probably the main ephiphany that made me constantly curious about ATH as a brand. The fanboy was born.
I'd be curious to know if the AD2000 scales on higher end gear.
I still believe.
