[Eric_C]

Cool thanks. I think she's leaning towards BuyDig/Beach Camera for the price.

 

[MikePio]

Just purchased the ESW-9A from buydig.com for a great price, I just hope they are legit... from what I read they seem to be, so fingers crossed! Cannot wait to hear these with my portable rig.

 

[Royel91]

Bought from BeachCamera recently. My initial impression is that it looks great but it doesn't sound as amazing as I expected.  Some of the female vocals sound a bit shrill plugged into the Matrix Cube and using FLAC files..
 
I will probably love it more when I get more used to it and the sound settles so the sound isn't as much of a concern for me right now. (I hated the ATH-ES7 when I first bought it, but after long term use it became really enjoyable).
 
My main concern is some of the blemishes on the headphone. I'm pretty sure it isn't fake but there are a lot of tiny (but clearly visible and feel-able) holes on the side of the wooden cups.
Does any other owners have this? Here's some shots:
 

 

 

 

[dallan]

Wow, that's funny one of my two cups have those but not the other one.  Mine are much darker wood though unless the color is off on the picts.  I got mine right when they were released, before there where any counterfeits and from pricejapan because they were originally unavailable in the US.

 

[Royel91]

 
Yeah, the color is a bit off, my ESW9's are darker than in the picture.
I assume those marks are there from workers putting together the cups when making the headphones.
Or maybe not.
 
I'm just glad I'm not the only one with this. Thanks for the quick reply. =)

 

[Mad Max]

The holes are part of the wood, so you should see some on the sides there.
 
Except for dallan, for some mysterious reason.  =p

 

[Butler]

BuyDig and Beach Camera are the same parent company. Both are completely legit and authorized retailers and always have the best price. Congrats on your beautiful and great sounding headphones guys!

 

[MikePio]

 
Quote:

BuyDig and Beach Camera are the same parent company. Both are completely legit and authorized retailers and always have the best price. Congrats on your beautiful and great sounding headphones guys!

That is great to hear! Really looking forward to hearing these as soon as they arrive, though my expectations are on the conservative side, since these are after all portable cans. Curiosity will probably get the best of me and I will end up plugging these babies into my HA5000 amp...

 

 

[Butler]

Ugh. You have a HA5000 too? Rub it in, Rub it in. I can't afford it, I just can't.

Someday.

They're good headphones, they're the darkest headphones I own. They're one of the better "all rounder" headphones that I own, darker than most AT's. It's important to remember to angle the pads to the same angle as your ear and NOT perpendicular to your head, the comfort factor is increased immensely. They're good headphones, I bring them to work with my E7. I considered trading them for a nice pair of Grados once, but I just can't.

I also recommend getting the case that's in my signature if you can still find it around, it's great for keeping the wood virgin- which is important for resale if you ever plan to go that route.

 

[jesusgotdrunk]

 
Quote:

Ugh. You have a HA5000 too? Rub it in, Rub it in. I can't afford it, I just can't.

Someday.

They're good headphones, they're the darkest headphones I own. They're one of the better "all rounder" headphones that I own, darker than most AT's. It's important to remember to angle the pads to the same angle as your ear and NOT perpendicular to your head, the comfort factor is increased immensely. They're good headphones, I bring them to work with my E7. I considered trading them for a nice pair of Grados once, but I just can't.

I also recommend getting the case that's in my signature if you can still find it around, it's great for keeping the wood virgin- which is important for resale if you ever plan to go that route.

 
I own the Grado 325is and I enjoy the ESW9 much MUCH better. They are now my goto headphones for everything besides gaming (although they don't do a bad job).
 
I too own an E7 that I use as an external DAC for my laptop. I was wondering if you've noticed a difference in sound quality between your MacBook laptop 3.5mm jack vs. the E7 via USB. I must admit I feel that hooking them up to the laptop jack is better :/ Maybe you could share a few of your thoughts.
 
Also, they do well with my 320kbps MP3's without an amp or dac.
 
I will definitely be looking to Audio-Technica for my next set of cans. By far the best build quality and sound quality I have come across so far. Although I have only tried 5 pairs of cans.
 
 

 

[Butler]

Most laptops have a worse DAC than the Macbooks and Macbook Pro's.
From what I've read, the E7's DAC is comparable to the Macbook Pro's. Which is comparatively better than most bargain type laptops and netbooks.
I prefer to use it with it, mostly because usually it's running through my E9 as well.

The ESW9's arn't super great for gaming mostly because they have a more forward sound as opposed to say the AD700's which are heralded as one of the best gaming earphones you could own. The soundstage is outrageous and on competitive games you can expect to perform noticeably better. But comparing portables to something full size like that is apples to oranges. I use my W5000's for gaming and it's pretty solid, comfortable for essentially forever with my little pad mod. ESW9s are good "all rounder" head phones but you may be cutting yourself short when it comes to bassier music or perhaps something very light.

AT Makes great great headphones, and has superb customer service- you really cant go wrong… Unless for some reason you're of the school of thought that if it ain't 600 ohm it ain't worth using… Then you won't be happy with any AT headphone. I've tried to branch out, I have some cheaper senheisers and I had some shure earbuds, even almost traded my ESW9's for Grados but, I just can't.

Although I would still like to own a pair of grados at some point I just cant justify because I have 3 headphones and between that most every situation is covered, weather is be a desire for bass or mobility.

 

[Mad Max]

Actually, AD700 is quite intimate, but is easy to modify with DSPs, preferably from X-Fi chipsets, it seems.  Or an Astro mix amp, which I see people using as well.  Best soundstage out of a headphone at ~$100.

 

[Butler]

Max I think we're saying the same thing here. The reason why they're beloved gaming headphones for many is due to the outrageous size of the soundstage. That's what I was getting at- You dont have the kind of soundstage with the ESW9's… But like I said- It's apples and oranges.

 

[Mercuttio]

I've seen (and used) a lot of wood headphones. Almost all of them have some kind of similar blemish on their edges; the only reason you can't see that on a W series (W1000, 1000X, VTG etc) is because the edges are covered by metal that holds the cups in place. 

 

[MikePio]

I have been listening to the ESW9's for about 4 days now and I must say I didn't expect them to be this good. For the size of the drivers they sure can pack a punch and deliver sound that is both pleasing and engaging enough without sounding too laid back. Yes the sound is heavily colored but that is what makes these headphones special in my opinion, the majestic mids and cozy sound sig really puts a smile on my face. Considering this headphone is for portable use (which I feel guilty about taking them outside) they convey a sound that is very well rounded and suited to many genres, also they look gorgeous and are decently comfortable. For 200 bucks they are worth every penny and the best praise I can give this little headphone is that they make my K701's sound anemic and desolate in comparison...

Highly recommended!