I would like to end my journey with the Audio Technica W5000

What are you looking for in sound then? I had the W5000, but I can't say it's a great allrounder, and definitely not for everybody (not for me at least)

Offcourse, you'll only know if you try..

Quote:

Originally Posted by ACDOAN 

It has been a pleasant learning experience within the frame work of this web-site. I'd like to say thanks to all the members either directly or indirectly enlightened me .

 

I really to end my journey with the Senn HD 800 butI cannot justify to myself to spend over 1k for a hi-end pair of HPs due to their longevity and limited SQ. However, after reading the reviews of the Audio Technica W5000, I believe they are "it" for the end of my journey with HPs.

 

As T.S Elliot said "The journey not the arrival matters", my journey to explore headphones has been great with a lot of knowledge that has been transcribed from other members to me. Thank you. Andrew

Don't base it on reviews. Also, you will never leave Head-fi. Ever.

Read my review of the Audio Technica woodies, the W11R review in my sig. You'll find that I liked the W5000 the least of the W-series. They are prone to bad fit.

I'm a huge W5000 enthusiast. In my opinion, they are essentially the creme de la creme of audio technica headphones. Bad fit issues are usually sorted out with a bit of bending of the top bars and wearing in, and almost all people who find the stock W5000's sound undesirable would find the sound of the F5005 more to their liking.

The stock W5000's have a wonderful soundstage and are perfect for classical music. Personally I prefer to listen to acoustic on them. The details in the mids and highs are immaculate and the bass is subtle and smooth. People find these mids and highs somewhat aggressive, and they have the tendency to fatigue your ears. 

The F5005 mod calms down the aggressiveness in the highs and mids and makes long term listening much more feasible. It also encourages more bass and brings the soundstage a little more closer and forward.

I highly recommend the cans for their ability to pick out details and enjoy your music, their comfort and looks.. You can feel the buzz of the stringed instruments it's simply wonderful.

They're not the best all around cans though, although the F5005 mod helps a little with this. The bass is emphasized, and I wouldn't consider these "fun" cans by any means. These are sit down, close your eyes, and immerse yourself phones. 

Also: Im always frightened of scratching the wood.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ACDOAN 

 

Well, I have the W5000 in my possession and I have decided this headphone fetish should stop here for me.

 

My ultimate goal is to have the Electrostatic OmegaJN but the price list and the no warranty outside of JP are kind of turn me off.

 

I wish one day, ML would  enter the headphones market and that day may be beyond my life time.

 

My dream is the have the HA5000 paired with the W5000's but it's such an expensive amp… My E9/E7 does it pretty well. It kind of just accentuates the beauty of the headphones as opposed to changing it's sound. Although I hear that is the case for most solid state amps.

There's a Yamamoto amp or something that supposedly makes it sing, but I really can't drop money right now on these kind of things for a while or my fiance will kill me. Next project is building a new computer rig Q1 of next year.. (ivy bridge…)

If a HA5000 ever pops up on HF for under 1000 I may grab it… There was a pretty good deal on a combo W5k and the HA5k before I got my cans and I hated myself for missing it.

As it happens, I think i'd be, regretfully, selling my Raffinato setup to free some funds for a dac upgrade for my O2/KGSS rig. If anyone is intersted in my HA5000 please PM me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amarphael 

As it happens, I think i'd be, regretfully, selling my Raffinato setup to free some funds for a dac upgrade for my O2/KGSS rig. If anyone is intersted in my HA5000 please PM me.

Heh, at this point I couldn't offer you what you deserve to get for it, which is over a grand. My lady would outright ruin me if I did. Are they still in production? The latter half of next year I may be able to swing buying a used one. It sucks that I'd have to use a voltage converter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ACDOAN 

And here is the back panel of the AH HA35I

Yeah I've seen that. The HA5000 was literally made to be paired with the W5000's which is why I would love to get my hands on one, I just can't drop 1000 dollars+ on a amp as a graduate student.  I can't imagine that this one with the iPod dock sounds much different than my E9/E7…  Does this have a on board DAC or is it just using the iPod's? The E9 is great because you can use the E7 through it as the DAC and amp through the E9, I absolutely love it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Butler 

 It sucks that I'd have to use a voltage converter.

Well, the Stax SRM-717 i've owned had an Interchanging PSU, via jumpers, and i was curious about exactly this issue, So i changed the voltage to 100V and hooked it to my Ariake-UT110 that i use with the HA5000. It tuned  out that i've heard no difference whatsoever from not having it inline... Not that it could be drawn directly to the HA5000 performance, and it's no DBT, but there you have it. Anyway the HA5000 is a marvelous amp and was clearly superior to the SPL Auditor when i A/Bed with the W5000, which is my second favorite amp that i had with them.