[Rossliew]

Quote:

I have finally received the Svetlana 2 I ordered a month ago. The pairing with the W3000ANV is brilliant! It's the best pairing I've heard on the W3000ANV thus far and I even wondered how could the W3000Anv ever possibly sounded this good.

I preferred the amps I've tried with the W3000anv in this fashion: Svetlana 2>>>RSA Dark Star>>Benchmark HPA2>>>O2=Asgard=M-Stage>Leckerton UHA6SMKII>RWAK100>DX100>iPod Classic

No good with the Asgard? Can you give some impressions compared to the Svetlana? Thanks

 

[uelover]

Quote:

No good with the Asgard? Can you give some impressions compared to the Svetlana? Thanks

 
I find the Asgard when paired with the W3000ANV to be just average (or below average). The dynamics, the blackness in background, the timbre, the soundstage and the balance are far far superior on the Svetlana 2. In contrast, the Asgard from what I remembered when I had it just produces sound that is a little dull, congested, and did not engage me at all. Detail and finesse are also lacking.

 

[Rossliew]

Thanks for the feedback. I was about to purchase the Asgard as a backup amp for it. I suppose its true the ATH woodies love tubes!

 

[uelover]

Quote:

Thanks for the feedback. I was about to purchase the Asgard as a backup amp for it. I suppose its true the ATH woodies love tubes!

 
The Asgard still has that loud thump when powering up or down with the headphone plugged in. The earlier batch was subsequently recalled but I am still very wary of the loud thump that still exists - I would not dare to plug the ATH woodies in when powering on or off the Asgard but that will result in a lot more plugging in and out the headphone jack, risking premature aging of the jack.
 
Problem with the W3000ANV is that I can't seem to find a cheap headamp that sounds good on it, and the performance difference between plugging the W3000ANV into an optimal amp and a non-optimal one is pretty big.

 

[Rossliew]

Hi end cans=hi end amps

 

[Rossliew]

Just received my W3k+HA-02 combo today.
 
Had a brief listen and.....it sounds thin and a bit forward/bright (listening to Madonna's Cherish) which is surprising as I believed the cans to be pretty mellow/warm sounding. Not enough hours on the tubes perhaps? Next, i tried it plugged into my Kenwood KA-5500 headphone jack and it sounds good! Tight, punchy and fuller bodied. Bass was thumping even without tone controls in play.
 
Hmm...this can only mean either of the following :
 
1) HA-02 not up to operating temperature on first listen
2) Vintage amps just sound good with anything.
 
Feedback anyone with the same can/amp combo? 

 

[uelover]

Quote:

Hi end cans=hi end amps

 
Haha I don't like to think of it this way. However, the high end ATH headphones seem to exhibit this characteristics.
 
Anyway, congrats on the Yammy! But why not Yammy 03?

 

[3rdear]

The W3k does have a thin and delicate sound in terms of notes/texture, and a glossy(bright) overall sound in terms of coloration.  Its treble energy is probably one of the most prominent aspects of the headphone, for better or worse.  Without having much frame of reference for the HA-02, it sounds like it has a more neutral presentation to what you had before. 

 

[uelover]

The W3k does have a thin and delicate sound in terms of notes/texture, and a glossy(bright) overall sound in terms of coloration.  Its treble energy is probably one of the most prominent aspects of the headphone, for better or worse.  Without having much frame of reference for the HA-02, it sounds like it has a more neutral presentation to what you had before. 

On my Svetlana 2 it sounded very lush and full. On my Benchmark its brighter but everything are in nice balance and it doesn't have a thin and delicate sound.

It's only when using gears like iBasso Amps (including DX100), Stepdance, as well as other amps of this sort that the W3000anv sounded thin and bright. I can guess that many who are dissatisfied with the w3000anv are actually not using the right setup for it to shine and sound the way it ought to be.

Maybe someone else with the Yammy can chime in on this.

 

[3rdear]

I'd agree that the overall sound is lush, full, rich, and intimate, with a bit of body from the mid bass bump.  When I said it sounded thin and delicate I meant the individual notes within the music.  The W3k to me has a more subtle approach that accounts for its delicacy.  We might be referring to two different aspects of the headphone that are interconnected.  I'm not sure, but the LCD2.2s were my go to headphone for a while.

 

[uelover]

Quote:

I'd agree that the overall sound is lush, full, rich, and intimate, with a bit of body from the mid bass bump.  When I said it sounded thin and delicate I meant the individual notes within the music.  The W3k to me has a more subtle approach that accounts for its delicacy.  We might be referring to two different aspects of the headphone that are interconnected.  I'm not sure, but the LCD2.2s were my go to headphone for a while.

 
I don't feel that way regarding the notes in the music. Hmm.
 
I did went down to take a listen to the LCD3 again on the RSA Dark Star a few days ago because I thought that an orthos may complement the W3000anv well. I am not sure if my preference has changed but I no longer find the LCD3 to be as good as what I thought it was. The sound is big and powerful but I find something missing. Can't exactly identify what was it. On the contrary, I was more satisfied with what my W3000anv is giving me so I was happy that it saved me a lot of money from getting the LCD3.

 

[3rdear]

I suppose on its own it doesn't sound thin.  I personally don't find it lacking, but it can sound that way compared to other phones.  It's probably the LCDs speaker-like sound thickness that makes it stand out to me.

 

[W0lfd0g]

Quote:

Just received my W3k+HA-02 combo today.
 
Had a brief listen and.....it sounds thin and a bit forward/bright (listening to Madonna's Cherish) which is surprising as I believed the cans to be pretty mellow/warm sounding. Not enough hours on the tubes perhaps? Next, i tried it plugged into my Kenwood KA-5500 headphone jack and it sounds good! Tight, punchy and fuller bodied. Bass was thumping even without tone controls in play.
 
Hmm...this can only mean either of the following :
 
1) HA-02 not up to operating temperature on first listen
2) Vintage amps just sound good with anything.
 
Feedback anyone with the same can/amp combo? 

What musical styles do you prefer?  I loved the W3Ks paired with the Yammy for chamber music and classic rock, but don't think they work particularly well with hard rock.  I prefer the LCD2s paired with a decent amp (with more power than Yammy) for music with a bit more edge and aggression.  Perhaps your KA-5500 is colouring the sound by adding a bit more lower end. 

 

[Mussicc]

does the w3000 sound well with the o2?

 

[Rossliew]

Wolfdog, the cans actually perform admirably for metal and with tube amps, there is the low end extension that is really strong although dynamically, it may not be as fast as the orthos. The Kenwood does color it even more as on it's own, the signature is pretty warm and dark sounding so maybe that's why it sounded fuller.