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Hi Markl,

I concur with your initial impression. I felt the same when I first listen to W2002. There were even moment that I thought I might have made the wrong choice as my CD3000 sounded very much better then.

However, things began to change after some intensive burn-in using XLO Reference CD. I personally prefer the bass over W2002 as compared to CD3000, it is much tighter.

It would really be nice if you can post something on that after 80+ hours of burn-in/listening (this is the time that I noticed a change in the sound reproduction). Need someone else to confirm on this.

Well, at this point I have 70 hours of burn-in with bass-heavy CDs. I feel it is "opening up" a bit, but so far not so much that I'd deviate from what I've already hinted at.

The W2002 is an impressive product. So far, looks like everyone is mostly enjoying theirs. Eventually, someone will not agree with W2002, and will prefer their current phone (Team Grado perhaps?), and write a bad review. That's good and that's healthy.

No one should feel obligated to like these headphones based on other people's ears.


markl

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Thats a good idea. I know someone who I think has an SPL meter. I'll give them a bang on the telephone and see what I come up with.

Thanks for all the replies. I will try my MG Head with the headphones and see how they sound. I may need to get a whole new amp just for these headphones. I will posts some more thoughts soon but can't tonight since I'm going to have a few beers after work and won't get home till late.

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LOL, that sounds great Mark....in theory. A reality check says that folks don't want to spend $700 or so on headphones and then decide they don't like them. I think much more goes into these types of evaluations than people want to admit. The mind/subconscious/psyche/ego/id/psychoacoustics/etc. always present so many variables that the results are sometimes humorous and always erroneous! But hey, it's all in fun, right? After all, they're only headphones....

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Jude, BAN HIM!!!!!!

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First thing first. I would usually avoid going into discussions such as the one above.

I have always been fascinated with this forum whereby people express their PERSONAL views on something they passionately loved and nicknamed the "cans".

ALL ears are made differently, likewise our preference for things. What you like, may not necessary be what the rest like.

Similarly in this case, while majority of the W2002 owners are "satisfied" with theirs, it does not imply that the rest would as well.

(Note: The truth is that we will NEVER be completely happy with anything. Isn't it? That is, in my humble opinion, why we are always changing our cans)

Most of the forumers are simply giving their own impression, and ultimately, it is YOU who will have to decide for yourself whether THIS HEADPHONE is suitable for you.

I was deciding between STAX Omega 2 and CARY/Sony 3000 combo sometime ago. Based on what I have gathered from this forum, I should have ended up with the Omega 2. But I did not.

This forum helped to provide "general" impressions on headphone related stuff so that it would be easier to narrow down the choice. At the end of the day, one has to listen to them before he decides which he prefers. Shouldn't that be the case?

The funny thing is that we would rather trust "someone" who heard from ABC and XYZ that this and that is GOOD, than to trust the one who has actually owned it.

Why? For fear that he might "con" us into buying something which is NOT GOOD. In doing so, makes that particular person feel better.

IF this is the mentality, then, such forum is not suitable for them any longer. I APOLOGISE IF I SOUNDED HARSH.

Such comment in this particular case, is un-called for and UNFAIR to people such as M Rael and the rest who has enthusiastically voiced their opinion on the W2002.

This shall be the LAST POSTING that I would write with regard to such comment. Finally, I sincerely HOPE that our dear forumers should excerise some restrains when posting.

HAPPY Headphoning.

I want to apologise AGAIN for those who, in one way or another, have been offended.

M Rael, what is DADS technology? Did I overlook that on your web site?

I wasn't confused about the fact that most people prefer the W2002 to the V6. Most people also prefer the HD600 to the V6. None the less, the HD600 is legitimately unable to reproduce some of the lower bass notes--a complaint I would like to see addressed by a higher end headphone manufacturer. It's just silly to think that only a $100 pair of studio cans can do this.

My skepticism isn't targeted toward anyone--it's at expensive new product in general. I don't fault people for sharing their enthusiasm for something they find enjoyable but I'm not one to apply other people's opinions to my own cannon blindly and there's always a certain amount of anxiety associated with buying expensive things without the ability to try them first.

acidtrip, you're going to look into a different amp before trying to compensate for the impedance on the RKV? I've read everyone's comments on the ZOTL and do understand that it's designed to handle lower impedance headphones better, but I still intend to try handling it with the RKV before throwing in the towel--especially since I've not yet been offered a good deal on a used ZOTL as I have the RKV. Still, I'm a little saddened by your, admitedly expected, reports about the noise floor. I suspect the RKV may also be more succeptible to RF noise and plan to do some power cable upgrades and line conditioning to help clean it up but I'll definitely have to try building an impedance adapter too.

I'm also sorry to hear the SACD quality of that Roger Waters disc is poor. I really like the redbook version of it and listened to it last night on my speakers. The bass is really good on it (of course, it's Waters) and there were times when I had the volume down fairly low (so low that you could easily talk in the same room) and the bass still managed to get so low that it would shake my entire apartment building. Of course, maybe I'm just still overwhelmed by the performance of the ART DI/O and don't have enough comparative experience and the disc really sucks. Maybe it gets better from here. Hard to believe the DVD sounds better, though.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback guys--please don't take the skepticism personally.

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Hi Kelly. Theres a Head-Fi member who lives in Japan, and when I asked him about the DADS technology a long time ago heres how he replied, "Anyway I've seen an internal cutaway of the headphone in a Japanese audio mag. The internal chamber is like a pretty vented, several long slots across the rear. The outer chamber is filled with some kind of damping material. So something like a sealed/bandpass mix, if you want to compare it to subwoofer enclosures." So he's refering to the design within the enclosure there, obiously. Another person described it to me as 'an enclosure within an enclosure' if that helps at all. On a page of the W2002 website audio-technica cites some testing they did with the DADS design, and apparently they felt it initially produced too much low bass enhancement, so they worked the design to tame it. They thought it was remarkable that they had to attenuate low frequencies, while other manufacturers suffer from not enough, etc.etc.

For the record my ears perk up whenever I read W2002 comparisons with headphones I've never heard. I read KurtW's first report with interest, and again now after a little time has passed. I'm 'glad', for lack of a better word, that he regards the low frequencies of the W2002 differently than he did the first day.
I understand your feelings about buying something as costly as the W2002 without trying them first. I guess "welcome to the club" is as apt an expression as I can offer. We've all done the same thing, more or less. But I didnt realize that you actually ordered some W2002's until today.

I didn't have much bragging rights to post since they wouldn't be shipped til after the Chinese New Year--it'll be probably another two weeks before I have them.

Allegedly, the last pair from Vincent, but I couldn't help but wonder if he told everyone that.

I read that on your web site about them having too much bass response but dimissed it as their marketting spin after Kurt's comments.

Yeah, I'm not sure exactly what Vincents role in all of this is. The first time I heard from him he was politely suggesting I try finding someone else to obtain the W2002. As soon as he realized it was him or nobody, he warmed up and was great. And I never gave his name and email address out until much later, after checking with him to see if he wanted the traffic. I've never grilled him on his job, but I dont think internet marketing falls on his shoulders. Usually. He probably gets a kick out of the response the W2002 has gotten in the west.. and by west I mean 'Head-Fi' (!)
So Vincent told you yours was the last pair available to him? Thats good to know. He's an honest guy. We shall soon see (by Spring) just how hard to obtain the W2002 really is.

M Rael, just think of this. They have to make another limited edition soon, if past practice is any guide. So you should suggest that Vincent pass on your willingness to be the pair of Western ears brought to Japan to listen to prototypes. The Admiral Perry of headphones.

Although I'm not sure I would use that metaphor with the Japanese...

Just for the heck of it, next time you talk with him, ask about prices on those open AT cans...

I'll ask him about those open cans for you. I just noticed that I hadnt updated my W2002 website to show all the recent serial numbers added. I just took care of that now. Heres another picture too:

Wow, that's the best shot yet, M Rael. What digicam do you use?

Hey, maybe we should have some W2002 T-shirts made!