[jellyfriends]

My ATH-W5000s are the top of my current collection. I don't listen to them nearly as often as I should.

Question: the yoke's cup swivel joints on my w5000ex are stiff: only apposable, unlike those on my w1000 that move freely-- is everyone's like that? can that be adjusted? would be much easier on the ears if so...

 

[radrd]

Used to have a W1000 a long time ago. Wish I kept them.

 

[protoss]

Question: the yoke's cup swivel joints on my w5000ex are stiff: only apposable, unlike those on my w1000 that move freely-- is everyone's like that? can that be adjusted? would be much easier on the ears if so...

Not sure what you mean? The cups swivel left and right, not up and down. The W5000 has notorious lack of ear seal. So, if the question is, how do I get a full ear seal? well you can not lol. Unless you use 3rd party earpads like ZMF universal earpads or others.

 

[Saberpunch]

Assuming these are the matching headphones

May want to add AW-KG Naru to the list of ATH Wooden headphones. I wonder what the KG stands for . What I do know is that is a good-looking wooden headphone.

 

[msing539]

I wonder what the KG stands for .

I'm guessing here. The KT in AWKT is likely for the wood, Kokutan. AWAS is Asada Zakura. The AWKG is made of persimmon, in Japanese it's Kaki... no idea if that's correct or what the G is for, maybe a variety of that tree.

 

[Saberpunch]

@msing539 good point. Maybe it stands for KARESANSUI GARDEN since that is what it looks like from the official website.

Edit: Someone said it's Kurogaki wood (black persimmon wood in Japanese). That makes more sense than the Karesansui Garden. I kinda like the Karesansui Garden meaning more tbh lol.

 

[Saberpunch]

Found a Reddit post (take it with a grain of salt) saying the ATH AW-KG Naru is rumor for 100 limited models. And looking at the website for the amp, it says "Encompassing the blessings of nature and the culmination of human knowledge, it presents the myriad of expressions within sound. In traditional Japanese culture, "NARUKAMI" refers to the god of thunder, and thunder is seen as a manifestation of the power of nature. The frequent occurrence of thunderstorms in the lunar month of June is also referred to as the "Month of NARUKAMI." The image of NARUKAMI often appears in festivals and traditional dramas, symbolizing people's reverence for nature." So the headphone and amp might come in next year in June if it doesn't get delayed. If the headphone doesn't cost $9000, maybe I will grab it

Official website: https://www.audio-technica.co.jp/narukami/en.html

 

[msing539]

"NARUKAMI" refers to the god of thunder

Oh I get it now.

 

[Saberpunch]

LOL, I prefer this god of thunder

 

[Mach3]

Damn, and here I thought the Audio-Technica AT-HA5000ANV 50th Anniversary was one mighty fine looking amp.
This takes things to the stratosphere.
I would love to get the pricing on the amp and the headphone.

 

[Automata]

Damn, and here I thought the Audio-Technica AT-HA5000ANV 50th Anniversary was one mighty fine looking amp.
This takes things to the stratosphere.
I would love to get the pricing on the amp and the headphone.

Price from what I heard in Chinese forum was 660000 HKD, about AU$130000 for the entire set. The headphone are only a gift comes with the amp.

 

[Mach3]

Holy smokes, cost more than my entire collection just about. Haha

 

[Sp12er3]

Open Boxing W2022
Retail $9000 last year
Today inflation price increased $12,000
https://www.audio-technica.com/en-ca/ath-w2022




A small review

Must say even tho the price doesn't make sense for me, just like the HE-1's sound and amp package combination in sound itself probably worth 12k at best, it's the attention to detail out into the box, mechanical parts that moves the dials, tubes and amps, etc all part of the experience that make it special, and thus cost something.

That unboxing is less like opening a headphone box, more like opening a heritage object .
Same as why I still kept my Z1R's brown outer factory box, part of the experience.

 

[doctorK53]

May want to add AW-KG Naru to the list of ATH Wooden headphones. I wonder what the KG stands for . What I do know is that is a good-looking wooden headphone.

I'm guessing here. The KT in AWKT is likely for the wood, Kokutan. AWAS is Asada Zakura. The AWKG is made of persimmon, in Japanese it's Kaki... no idea if that's correct or what the G is for, maybe a variety of that tree.

KG stands for "Kuro Gaki", which means "black persimmon".
"Kuro" means black, "Gaki" is a sound change of "Kaki", which means persimmon. "Ka" in Japanese becomes "Ga" when preceded by a modifier.

Actually, a similar sound change happened for AWAS. They used Asada Zakura. Here, "Za" is a sound change of "Sa". So AS stands for Asada Sakura. In this case, they did not apply the sound change for the initial AS.

Here is an explanation of Kurogaki from AT's website.
https://www.audio-technica.co.jp/narukami/en.html

The Mysterious KUROGAKI​

KUROGAKI means "black persimmon" in Japanese. It is not the name of a specific tree species. It refers to the persimmon wood that exhibits black patterns internally. The reason behind the appearance of these black patterns remains elusive to this day, as they can only be found in ancient trees that are over a hundred years old. Furthermore, even intentionally cultivating them yields a very low probability of encountering KUROGAKI, making it an incredibly rare and mysterious wood to obtain. Additionally, the drying process of KUROGAKI is quite challenging and requires extensive knowledge and expertise accumulated over years. These factors contribute to its revered status across Japan.

 

[dleblanc343]

Yes it is indeed Kurogaki.

There are 100 units produced -

90 standard units

10 bundled with every amp purchase including a more luxurious cable and other package changes


Hopefully I get to hear it myself...! Most of them are going to remain in Asia.