[SunTanScanMan]

Any polishing should be very gentle and has to be redone from time to time. I've posted my findings before. If you would like to keep mat finish I would recommend just a clean rag and maybe a bit of furniture protector like Pronto or Poliboy . They are gentle enough and most contain bee wax which should help to protect the surface but they will not prevent small scratches or scuffs at least not that i know of. Beautiful wood pattern BTW.

Many thanks for the helpful thread. I think I had briefly visited it prior to my purchase, mainly to admire the photos 

 
May have to find an equivalent products to those you mentioned as I can't find them on the uk amazon. Either that, just get them from the German site. Just to clarify, should I be looking for wood/furniture polish? Some products are both polish and cleaner...
 
BTW do you still prefer the WA2 over the HA-5000? In the long term future, I so plan to get the latter or the yamamoto.

 

[Aethelred]

I prefer WA2 for its sound especially with brown cups 6AS7G (OSRAM) it is very seductive so I've left it in my main listening system. On computer desk i still have HA5000 for sheer convenience. For sound preference it is kind of hard as it is very subjective. I like certain house of sound and certain qualities that I'm looking for someone else might look for something different. I've just came back from small audio exhibition in Netherlands - Stassen HIFI close to Venlo and unfortunately or fortunately I left with my wife with conclusion that our home system is way ahead of the best sound we heard during this even. That's why I guess we have so many opinions on the sound qualities.
A lot of people like 3000ANV AT model here - I have them on rotation with W5000 but for me 5000 is way ahead concerning sound qualities and refinement. Just my 2 cents
If you want to polish your cans you should not use wood polish but very gentle car polish. Best I've found to this day is Turtle WAX line of products. Product name is Turtle WAX repair kit and last solution that you should apply has very very fine polishing capabilities. Maybe you can buy it separately but not sure about that, As a kind of refreshment I'm using nano wax on from turtle wax on all my polished surfaces (my Guarneri Homage are still as shiny as new) .Again be very careful - it is not like you are going to ruing letter but more careful you will be the better final effect.

 

[SunTanScanMan]

Yeah I have to agree with you about the subjectivity with these matters. Still, I appreciate the hints. 
 
I missed the boat with the W3000ANVs (I was neither interested in audio gear, or able to afford them back then) - but I have read good things about them. By luck, the music genres I listen to seems to agree very well with the AT woodies, and comfort or fit has not been an issue either. It is more specific to genres, but within those confines I find the W5000 easily matches or indeed surpasses my T1, allbeit through very contrasting flavours.
 
I shall stick with the cloth and the occasional treatment you mentioned prior. Cheers again.

 

[viralcow]

 
A lot of people like 3000ANV AT model here - I have them on rotation with W5000 but for me 5000 is way ahead concerning sound qualities and refinement. Just my 2 cents

 
My feelings as well. Didn't have them both on hand to compare but I owned the W5000 on two occasions (still own the second one) and had the W3000 in between - and while I felt the W3000 did feel more premium, it didn't sound anywhere near as good as the W5000s. Maybe my ears are weird - as the consensus on HF is that the W5000 is a joke of a can while the W3000 is TOTL.

 

[the wizard of oz]

I attribute the difference in perception to discrepancy in burn-in and bending of the metal headbands.

I've compared three W5000's; my first acquired three years ago which I still use, my second acquired last year —which I have since sold on to a very good friend— and one auditioned recently in the AT Concept Store in Paris.
My first one has seen the most use: bought second hand and was already well used, with some cosmetic blemishes; second also second hand came pristine and had been very little used, didn't sound as rich and deep. The one in the shop didn't sound right at all. Even pressing the cups against my head, it sounded thin, even a bit artificial. Resolution was there, but the deep full bass, the genenral authority and the magical mids weren't.
The only W3000ANV I tried was also in that AT Store, and didn't have the speed in attack & decay of the W5000, and even with the slightly boosted mid-bass that the W3000ANV has and that seems to charm most, it was clear to me that the W5000 actually extends deeper. Treble extension on the W5000 is also better to my feeling.

I need to audition a more burned-in W3000ANV for a more balanced opinion, but I suspect I'm going to also come to the conclusion that the W5000 is indeed still AT's TOTL.

 

[SunTanScanMan]

  Maybe my ears are weird - as the consensus on HF is that the W5000 is a joke of a can while the W3000 is TOTL.

 
I also suspect there are plenty of W5000 owners who are quietly happy and enjoy their headphones. The polarising opinions on these headphones may also serve to subdue some in the forums. I suppose this adds to the what I personally feel to be an exaggerated reputation of the W5000 here. 
 
Still, even as an owner I can understand it's signature may not please all. At least from what I could tell, warmer flavoured headphones seem to have a large following. It makes sense that someone going for another headphone over the W5000 e.g. after reading what's written. In the UK its price at £1,100 does not help. I think the Beyer T1 can be had at around £900.
 
@the wizard of oz
Well, I'm just jealous that Paris has a AT concept store... another reason to visit Paris again
 
Your variation of experience with the various W5000 is very interesting. Those traits that you describe, only fuels my intrigue and enjoyment of owning these phones.

 

[Aethelred]

I kind of agree about headband. Burn in is also important. I have my set of "noises" like pink, brown etc + some bass heavy bits and normally run on loop for kike 50-100 hours before attempting to try any listening tests. Headband is and issue or rather size of your cranium hence such a diversifies polarity of opinions . I have to admit I've liked them a lot at the beginning but after inserting some pieces of material to distance units from head I felt like huge improvement happened especially in the body of the sound. This shows that there is a potential in this model and I for certain music I believe this is THE headphone to have. Amplification is also important as they are easy to drive but loss in timbre and fullness of the sound will be immediately exposed. Tube or Mosfet is the way to go. Even AT understood there are some fantastic traits in their products but they must be balanced and well connected . I have AT-RA5000 matching interconnect and IMHO it tames razor sharp frequencies and immediacy providing more substance and order in the sound. When I've switched from Nordost Heimdall in my speaker system ( very delicate matching in this system so every change of component can have huge impact) I immediately felt like detail was there but not pronounced enough for my taste, more "musicality" in bad sense was added to the sound. This cable reminds me Furukawa Vivaldi and some FUrutech /Furukawa cables. With right system it provides required balance with bad system matching sounds boring.( IMHO of course).

 

[levap]

Couple of words about metal music + Audio-technica W5000. (Summary on impressions on metal for 47 headphones is here http://www.head-fi.org/t/715478/headphones-for-metal-music-ultimate-solution) 
 
Conclusions (predictably) are not too magical. For jazz, classic rock W5000 - are definitely among of the best cans I've ever listened to, but the metal is another story... And yet.  
 
Technical performance.  The volume of the bass is usually enough, but the punch is really noticeably lacking. Mids - accented, warm Audio-technica endorphins. Higs - not bad, no excessive brightness. Soundstage - quite a wide, but at the top level W5000 are far from champions title. 
 
Opportunity to rejoice. 
Doom: Hmm. Strange, but I rather like the result. Not the best of the best, but still. Softness and roundness are woven into the more than acceptable texture. What is missing - the sense of total bass control. 
Power: Technically - not perfect (speed, control ...), but the fun factor is staggering )) We put the highest mark, so that experience was not lost.  
Heavy Metal: The closest to the classic rock genre played out perfectly - naturally. Fascinating and ornamentally beautiful.
Goth: slowness, traditional vocals - excellent conditions for 5000 to express themselves. Even a warm sound signature does not look like a fault. 
 
More unfortunate. 
Sludge, Stoner: After results for Doom-s expectations here were high. Alas. Still, Sludge / Stoner Metal is more metal than rock. W5000 lack in a raw power to play like the best of the best. 
Alternative: Slow tracks - incomparable. But fast ones... I wish they were not. Softness and roundness are inappropriate here. 
Industrial: You can listen to the sounds, but why? Headphones are surprised with the listener. 
Black: Sound canvas does not turn into a mess. It's not mess ... It's a snowy morning landscape - the spaces between the houses are filled with smooth transitions. But as the original did not have such transitions.
Death: Impressions similar to those obtained on Black, just drifts above the snow even thicker. 
Grindcore: Another snow genre (see Black, Death). We ride from the mountains On the snow-cats with a diesel engine. Sometimes even funny. 
Progressive: And again, again a dual impression - on leisurely tracks all is great, for fast ones - put out the light. 
Symphonic: Opera vocal, non-electric instruments, the atmosphere - yes. Assertive, energetic parts - no. 
Thrash: Rock 'n' roll frenzy - A grade. Speed - C. Total - B. 
 
All in all - not enough of raw power, too intelligent/soft/rounded to play metal. But definitely there are some interesting metal subgenre niches, you can treat them as a bonus to the W5000 talents on non-metal music genres.

 

[SunTanScanMan]

  Couple of words about metal music + Audio-technica W5000. (Summary on impressions on metal for 47 headphones is here http://www.head-fi.org/t/715478/headphones-for-metal-music-ultimate-solution) 
 
Conclusions (predictably) are not too magical. For jazz, classic rock W5000 - are definitely among of the best cans I've ever listened to, but the metal is another story... And yet.  
 
Technical performance.  The volume of the bass is usually enough, but the punch is really noticeably lacking. Mids - accented, warm Audio-technica endorphins. Higs - not bad, no excessive brightness. Soundstage - quite a wide, but at the top level W5000 are far from champions title. 
 
Opportunity to rejoice. 
Doom: Hmm. Strange, but I rather like the result. Not the best of the best, but still. Softness and roundness are woven into the more than acceptable texture. What is missing - the sense of total bass control. 
Power: Technically - not perfect (speed, control ...), but the fun factor is staggering )) We put the highest mark, so that experience was not lost.  
Heavy Metal: The closest to the classic rock genre played out perfectly - naturally. Fascinating and ornamentally beautiful.
Goth: slowness, traditional vocals - excellent conditions for 5000 to express themselves. Even a warm sound signature does not look like a fault. 
 
More unfortunate. 
Sludge, Stoner: After results for Doom-s expectations here were high. Alas. Still, Sludge / Stoner Metal is more metal than rock. W5000 lack in a raw power to play like the best of the best. 
Alternative: Slow tracks - incomparable. But fast ones... I wish they were not. Softness and roundness are inappropriate here. 
Industrial: You can listen to the sounds, but why? Headphones are surprised with the listener. 
Black: Sound canvas does not turn into a mess. It's not mess ... It's a snowy morning landscape - the spaces between the houses are filled with smooth transitions. But as the original did not have such transitions.
Death: Impressions similar to those obtained on Black, just drifts above the snow even thicker. 
Grindcore: Another snow genre (see Black, Death). We ride from the mountains On the snow-cats with a diesel engine. Sometimes even funny. 
Progressive: And again, again a dual impression - on leisurely tracks all is great, for fast ones - put out the light. 
Symphonic: Opera vocal, non-electric instruments, the atmosphere - yes. Assertive, energetic parts - no. 
Thrash: Rock 'n' roll frenzy - A grade. Speed - C. Total - B. 
 
All in all - not enough of raw power, too intelligent/soft/rounded to play metal. But definitely there are some interesting metal subgenre niches, you can treat them as a bonus to the W5000 talents on non-metal music genres.

woah I never would have thought to put these headphones with metal. But then again why shouldn't you? In the end they're still equipment that you listen to music with. I'm not a metal fan, but I'm always interested reading about people's experiences - I agree that the results are 'predictable', but it's fun trying it

 Thanks for this!
 
I also read your take on the W1000X and metal a while back, I was pleasantly surprised it did well.
 
Edit: typo

 

[levap]

 
woah I never would have thought to put these headphones with metal. But then again why shouldn't you? In the end they're still equipment that you listen to much with. I'm not a metal fan, but I'm always interested reading about people's experiences - I agree that the results are 'predictable', but it's fun trying it

 Thanks for this!
 
I also read your take on the W1000X and metal a while back, I was pleasantly surprised it did well.

This is one of the most amusing things in my enterprise - to try "non-metal" headphones on metal )) This allows you to discover something new in the long-familiar music, to renew impressions again and again.

 

[the wizard of oz]

What equipment did you use with the W5000 for your listening? Source, DAC, amp?

The W5000's are pretty efficient being 40Ω & 102dB, but benefit immensely from a good amount of power at hand, via a low impedance HO.

I noticed this while trying them on the 1200mW per channel HA5000ANV amp in the AT Concept Store in Paris recently, using my DX100 as source & DAC. Way more authority & slam.

 

[levap]

What equipment did you use with the W5000 for your listening? Source, DAC, amp?

The W5000's are pretty efficient being 40Ω & 102dB, but benefit immensely from a good amount of power at hand, via a low impedance HO.

I noticed this while trying them on the 1200mW per channel HA5000ANV amp in the AT Concept Store in Paris recently, using my DX100 as source & DAC. Way more authority & slam.

DAC: Mytek Stereo192-DSD
Amps: Burson Soloist, Lynx HA-61
 
Both amps are driving planar magnetic headphones easily (with excusable exception of HE-6). But I think W5000 are worth trying to find some amp with higher degree of sound signature compartibility. 

 

[the wizard of oz]

As a famous tyre manufacturer put it, power is nothing without control; the HA5000 has an output impedance of 0.1Ω, compared to the 30Ω of the Soloist (I tried finding info on the Lynx HA61's HO without success).
Trying to find an amp with a better damping factor in regards to the W5000 will help yield better results.

 

[Amarphael]

Well incidentally, When I've had the SPL Auditor with it's 9 ohm Zout i thought it paired quite well with the Raffinatos, They didn't seem to lose any finesse or depth to the bass to my surprise. It was actually not very far behind the HA-5000 overall, tho i didn't perform a direct comparison. 
 
I do miss my pair, They couldbe incredibly charming with the right material. 

 

[levap]

As a famous tyre manufacturer put it, power is nothing without control; the HA5000 has an output impedance of 0.1Ω, compared to the 30Ω of the Soloist (I tried finding info on the Lynx HA61's HO without success).
Trying to find an amp with a better damping factor in regards to the W5000 will help yield better results.

Oops. Today I lended RSA Dark Star to review HE-6 with appropriate amplification. It seems like I have to update W5000 review... Or may be to add one more for comparison...