My first Open headphone - an AMAZING experience

I feelings I had almost got me to tears (honest!). I simply cannot put it into words how much I fell in love with these pair of cans. I am not an audiophile, but I did have a good old ATH-M50 from Audio-Technica for more than 3 years now - I loved those as well.... But once I tried an AD500x in a shop, and I knew that I would need to purchase one (or one of its bigger brothers (700x or 900x.) Finally I ended up purchasing a FiiO E17K "Alpen 2" portable amplifier/DAC as an accompaniment to the ATH-AD500x. (Which I also can suggest for anyone who wants to get great quality audio from their mobile phones or iPads. I just LOVE this pair of headphones right from the start. I think they kick ass! Even my wife's breath was taken away, when I made her sat down to listen to Adele's "Hello". :) Sure the cable could be shorter and easier to handle, but I knew this ahead of time from other reviews... but I did not buy these for the cable, but for their SOUND. And believe me, the sound is incredible. For audiophile headphones under 100 USD (!!!!), you simply CANNOT make a better deal. They are not to take with you on journeys or business trips, but to wind back and relax at home with HiRes audio. As I write this review I am listening to Diana Krall - it's out of this world. So light and airy, huge soundstage and so comfortable feeling to wear them.... This is a 5 stars product (given price/value/performance ratios). Well done Audio Technica!Read full review

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