Audio Technica W1000 Appreciation Thread

W1000 is very nice headphone indeed, with the right set up it can produce one of the best (or maybe the best) vocality for headphones under $1000.

Sounds really beautiful through Yamamoto HA-02.

Compare to other brothers:

W1000 - W1000x - W5000 - AD1000PRM

p.s : I bet wind016 will be happy with this thread :D

I am definitely happy about this thread! =)

Unfortunately, the W1000 is not very easy to get and very easy to get a bad impression. Almost any solid state sounds too "dry" with the W1000. However, pop it in a tube amp and you'll have one of the best vocal headphones I have ever heard. Hopefully, there are other members that got to hear what these guys can really do.

My W1000 sounds great on my Woo Audio 6SE which rolled off the highest highs and made the mids more lush. Beautiful, intimate, and detailed mids. It sounds as if your head is in the microphone the singer is singing in. XD

If this was an Audio Technica woodie appreciation thread, I would probably talk on for days. =)

Great thread. I have a second hand W1000 which reportedly came with about 100 (+ 20) hr on it, and a W5000 currently burning in with 12 hr total. The just barely adequate system that they are currently plugged into, consists of the original Meier Corda HA-2 and a Pioneer DV-59AVi. A Yamamoto HA-02 is due to arrive in 4-8 weeks, and a Modwright tube modded Oppo BDP-83 at the end of Dec.

Have also owned the ATH-W2002 and an ATH-W100.

only ever A/Bing W1000 with AD1000PRM (which is reported sound a bit similiar to AD2000), yeah they are different, but not really much, PRM is just like open back version of W1000, so it's more airy, better staging, the mid section is not as lush as W1000 (well W1000 for mainstream song can produce too much lush for me, but I know some people will love it), also I found that PRM has better balance at treble area, so I don't need tube amp to enjoying PRM. W1000 is awesome with tube amp, but sounds a bit "weird" especially at treble section when I tried with Linearossa K3 (SS desktop amp).

but when paired with Yamamoto, give it songs with strong vocal, I like W1000 more than PRM, so I just think that W1000 is more "specialist" to mid/vocal section.

I'd also be interested to hear how the W1000 differs from the W2002, as I haven't heard the W2002 yet.

I admit I'm still a bit curious about the famed HA-02/W1000 combo. Most folks seem to describe the HA-02 as sounding fairly neutral as far as tube amps go, so I'd like to know just how it improves upon the W1000's sound. If it smoothes out the highs a bit but preserves most of the W1000's sound characteristics I could see the combo working out pretty well. But what I'd really like to hear would be the HA-02 paired with the W11R.

I should add that I am another one of those weirdos who prefers the W1000 to the W5000. While the W5000 is certainly more technically capable, it lacks the W1000's intimacy with vocals and sounded brighter and more colored than the W1000 when I heard them. But like wind016 I had fit issues with them and was only able to listen to them out of a sub-optimal setup. I did sense some potential and perhaps with a HA5005 and a good fit they would sound much better but that was not my experience unfortunately.

In terms of the W2002/W100, I owned and sold both too long ago to comment on specifically. They were at the time paired nicely with an Eddie Current HD300 and a 47 Labs Shigaraki DAC/Rega Planet (transport). The AT centric system I am building up right now, is more or less being voiced on the strengths and weaknesses of that earlier experience. 

One thing about the "AT sound" is that its prominently forward mids can be a double edged sword, in that it can approach a slightly piercing quality depending on the system and music, and that in turn can lead to a level of fatigue. OTOH, that same midrange bloom creates a really involving sound experience.

As the W5000 continues to burn in, I'll throw out an anecdotal comment on my W1000. The W1000 has this compelling midrange percussive effect that adds nicely to the visceral impact of the music. A good example of this is Nora Jones' cover of Hank Williams' "Cold Cold Heart", which has a close mic-ed accompaniment of piano, acoustic bass and guitar. You can practically feel the piano notes, as well as the picking and strumming of the bass and guitar.

CFabian,

Are you sure that its the highs that get smoothed with the W1000/HA-02 combo? My developing thoughts at this point is the W1000 actually has a pretty well behaved high frequency performance, but that its the upper mids that can take on a glaring quality. YMMV. 

You're right, it's the peakiness in the upper mids/lower treble that I found fatiguing with the W1000. This is the one thing I dislike about the W-series, all of the woodies I've tried exhibit this behavior except for the W10VTG and W10LTD (even the otherwise smooth sounding W11JPN has the same drawback). I was able to minimize this with the right tubes. I use a MG-Head OTL MkIII in Transformer mode with x1 Sylvania 5751 and x2 Mullard EL84s (both NOS) and this seems to be a very good combo with my W11R, the glare you speak of disappears while the tubes help with offering a slightly warmer presentation.

^  Likewise, I'm pretty anxious to hear what changes the Yamamoto will have on my W1000, being that I'm pretty well impressed with it thus far. A quick comparison just now with the W5000 (@ 32 hr), shows that the latter does not have the immediacy of the W1000, as the 5000's mids are not quite as forward. I'm also discovering that the W5000 does have other virtues, and luckily I have been able to fairly easily come to a comfortable and sonically good fit, although it was touch and go for a moment.

As great as the Yamamoto seems from the reviews, the experience in those reviews seem to match mine with my Woo. I wonder if getting the Yamamoto would be actually worth it seeing as it is difficult to find and not cheap. TheMiddleSky or anyone with experience with the Yamamoto please chime in. =)

Since I have the W11JPN and the W1000, I would agree with the brightness in lower treble for both, but somehow, I would hate to lose it. Nothing has competed with these headphones so far in vocals from what I've heard, even after trying the likes of the T1 and the HD800. Don't get me wrong, the T1 and the HD800 are excellent headphones, but the vocals just do not have the intimacy of the Audio Technica woodies. I have yet to try the T1 or HD800 on tube amps, but I suspect amping them with tubes will roll the treble off too much and give too much warmth preventing the vocals from sounding crisp. It's the overly bright character of the W1000 that I found allowed it to synergize so naturally with tubes. Made vocals sound as detailed as if on sound state, but yet full and natural from the tubes.The open design may also drag the other headphones down when comparing intimacy. The closed design of the Audio Technica woodies is such a huge factor.

Right now though, I'm using my W11JPNs more often. Sometimes I find the W1000 too bright for my mood, or being a hassle needing to turn on my tube amp. I'm still very happy with both and I hope Audio Technica releases a new woodie next year.