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New Flagship from Audio-Technica: ATH-W3000ANV, 50th Anniversary Headphones
Nov 19, 2011 at 9:21 PM Post #211 of 3,599
 
Quote:
skylab said:
OK, I finally have been able to spend a little time with the W3000ANV, having gotten back from Tokyo via an unexpected stop in Edmonton, Alberta (don't ask - wasn't good).
 
Very first impression out of the box was pretty mixed.  The FR was definitely on the bright side.  Mids seemed to have a bit if a cupped-hands coloration, and the treble was a bit hot...
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Thanks for the quickie impressions. We'll wait for burn in.
 
Nov 19, 2011 at 10:05 PM Post #214 of 3,599
 
Quote:
rhythmdevils said:
What a surprise
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What conclusion have you made?
 
I had the idea that if the HA5000 sounded good with the W5000, a colored headphone, then the W3000ANV is probably colored. The W5000 had emphasized midrange, dips in the upper mid range, and hot treble. Which all looks like what Skylab might be experiencing. If what he says is true, the W3000ANV might, unfortunately for me, be amp-dependent...
 

 
Nov 19, 2011 at 10:45 PM Post #216 of 3,599
 
Quote:
muppetface said:
@ wind: you may want to consider the SPL Auditor, which is some $500 cheaper than the HA5000, and has really good synergy with the W5000.
 
Assuming the W3000ANV turns out to be anything like the W5000.
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Thanks for the early recommendation, but if I'm going to take this seriously, I think I will opt for the HA5000. =)
 


Quote:
muppetface said:
Skylab usually mentions burning things in in his reviews, so this isn't a special case. Personally, I've never experienced the phenomena of having a pair of headphones change significantly with extended use, so I take any burn-in comments with a grain of salt. Not saying you wont experience it, obviously.

The original W1000 is a seriously under-rated headphone in my opinion! If I owned the HA-02, I'd buy one just to use with it.
 
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Ah, I was only joking about burn-in. :) I usually just burn-in only a few hours. I really liked the W1000. It was the one headphone that managed to change me from a basshead to a uh... mid-head
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but I couldn't really recommend it to others without a warning. It sounded excellent to me through the Woo Audio tube amp I had and with some EQ, but it just sounded terrible on a solid state.
 
 
Nov 19, 2011 at 11:11 PM Post #217 of 3,599


Quote:
wind016 said:
 

Thanks for the early recommendation, but if I'm going to take this seriously, I think I will opt for the HA5000. =)
 
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If you want to take this really seriously, you should opt for the HA5000ANV. 
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(That damn amp is still calling out to me.)
 
Nov 20, 2011 at 10:14 AM Post #218 of 3,599
The non-ANV HA5000 isn't a limited edition either. It's been made since the W5000 came out and I assume it's still being made. And this thread has almost convinced me to save up for one since I'll probably end up with a mess of newer wooden AT headphones.
 
Nov 20, 2011 at 10:20 AM Post #219 of 3,599
Interesting posts here... I'm on the edge of just buying the amp all the time. It's WAY TOO expensive for me to get, but I don't want to lose any of what ATH-W3000ANV has to offer. But I can't tell if ATH-HA5000ANV gives me it all. No-one knows what's the ultimate amp for me and those phones. This isn't even funny anymore.
 
Nov 20, 2011 at 10:25 AM Post #220 of 3,599
I have to say that if the W3000ANV really require a specific amp to work right then producing only one amp for every ten headphones is a very poor decision.
 
However, I don't think it's the case.  After just 32 hours burn in, the W3000ANV already sound MUCH better (note that I only listened to them for a few minutes a few times during this burn in period, so this is NOT a case of my "getting used to them" - haven't used them enough for that).
 
Anyway, I think they sound enjoyable now.  I say enjoyable because I certainly wouldn't define them as neutral.  They most definitely have a "sound" - kind of a spotlight on the presence region, which like any coloration works better on some music than others.  But the bass has enough weight to make the overall balance work well enough, and the cupped hands coloration seems to be gone.
 
I like them - they will make a nice change up.  But they certainly would not ever be able to be my only headphone.
 
 
 
Nov 20, 2011 at 10:27 AM Post #221 of 3,599
What amp do you use with them?
 
Nov 20, 2011 at 10:35 AM Post #222 of 3,599
I have used two so far - the Meier Corda Classic and the Trafomatic Head One.  I will use more later.
 
Nov 20, 2011 at 10:47 AM Post #223 of 3,599

 
Quote:
skylab said:
I have to say that if the W3000ANV really require a specific amp to work right then producing only one amp for every ten headphones is a very poor decision.
 
However, I don't think it's the case.  After just 32 hours burn in, the W3000ANV already sound MUCH better (note that I only listened to them for a few minutes a few times during this burn in period, so this is NOT a case of my "getting used to them" - haven't used them enough for that).
 
Anyway, I think they sound enjoyable now.  I say enjoyable because I certainly wouldn't define them as neutral.  They most definitely have a "sound" - kind of a spotlight on the presence region, which like any coloration works better on some music than others.  But the bass has enough weight to make the overall balance work well enough, and the cupped hands coloration seems to be gone.
 
I like them - they will make a nice change up.  But they certainly would not ever be able to be my only headphone.
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Sounds a little bit like the W1000X?  It had a little emphasis in the presense region as well. From memory, how do you find the bass compared to the W1000X?
 
 
Nov 20, 2011 at 11:07 AM Post #225 of 3,599

Just to clarify, the HA5000 is not a limited edition amp. Yes, AT only made 200 of the ANV version, so it might seem like a gross miscalculation on their part since the W3000ANV was probably tuned to pair best with it. However the ANV version is pretty much the same as the normal amp which is readily available.
 
I dunno, to me it doesn't seem like such an odd concept for a headphone to be developed with a particular amp in mind. Stax, Sennheiser, and Koss did it with their electrostatic headphones.
 
As Skylab indicates, these seem enjoyable even without their matching amp though, so that's good news.
 
Finally, regarding the rolled off bass of the W5000... I need to look at some graphs, evidently. Listening to my pair, I hear a very well extended bass. It's definitely not copious in quantity, but it goes deep to my ears.
 
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