darkswordsman17
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2005
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This is just a thread to give my impressions of my recent headphone trials, which hopefully some will find beneficial. I do tend to get a bit wordy, so sorry in advance. Feel free to skip to the cliffs if you want.
Back in March, I bought a pair of A900Ti, fully expecting to keep them for a long time. I was fresh off my self-modded deep cup DT770s, and I was happy with the A900Ti's for a while. However, I became bored with the sound, so I decided to move on.
About early August I believe it was, I got lucky and nabbed an excellent condition W5000s. I had the same issues that basically everyone else has. I think a somewhat thicker earpad would go a long way to remedying the fit issues, and would help get a seal which would help with the bass. The sound signature really is not something I would have expected to like (to my ears kinda forward mids, lots of treble and high end, somewhat lacking in quantity bass), but I absolutely loved them. I was blown away. The speed and detail was mesmerizing. Even with fast music with a lot going on they never broke a sweat and somehow managed to show you everything a recording has, but keeping emphasis on the main sound. They weren't perfect, but I still loved it. I was going to do the Fitz F5005 mod, but unfortunately I had to part with them. That's ok though, as it spurred a journey.
Next up, I ordered a pair of A900s (regular ones), but my order took longer than expected, so I ended up snagging a Stax 2050II system. They were more tonally correct than the W5000s, and they were fast and had detail, but I couldn't deal with how open they were. I did still prefer the coloration of the W5000, but they were comparable. Personally for me, even coming from the bass monster 770s, neither one was lacking in that area. I would prefer more quantity in both, but the quality was good with both.
The A900s showed up soon after, and I also picked up the D2000s. I had a showdown to see which I'd keep. They actually sounded pretty similar. Both are very good, and I think a lot of people would be happy with either one. The D2000s have a unique bass sound that is appealing. Its reminiscent of a good quality subwoofer, gives you a real feel of the sound. They have a large quantity, but it doesn't overpower the rest of it like the DT770s do. In the end I was going to stick with them. They were just a little bit more comfortable and I was wanting to try some mods on them (I've owned and modded the A900s before).
But of course, another kink in my plans that led me to the W1000. I'm liking the speed and detail, although its not quite up to the level of the W5000 in either respect. They sound a little more normal than the W5000, but they aren't as good at presenting the details. You can hear them, but you have to focus a little to pick out everything. I think I prefer the W5000s bass a little. There is something strange that both do. Its hard to explain it, but they somehow manage to remove the people from the music. Not the vocals, they're all there, its just you get the results of the instruments, but its like they've removed the people playing them. I know it sounds very strange, but its actually very natural and does not take away from the enjoyability at all for me. The W1000 do very well with heavier sounding music (metal, rock), which I find funny since that's definitely not what I would expect given their appearance. I think I'm going to hang onto these for a little while. I'm awfully tempted to go back to the W5000s, but I want to tinker a bit and I think I'm going to go for a Little Dot I+ and see how it sounds with them.
So here's my opinion:
W5000>W1000 (but both are a bit underappreciated on here in my opinion)
W1000>A900/A900Ti
A900Ti>A900 (Ti are better but make you want to move on to something that does the little extras they add even more)
D2000~A900 (I give slight edge to Denon's for bass sound and very slight edge in comfort)
W5000>Stax 2050II (I prefer the coloration of the W5000s, also the Stax were too open for me)
I'm definitely an Audio-Technica fan. Denon's are great too. I'm still refusing to try Grados (for various reasons, I will some day, but I will not buy until I've heard them), and I do need to give the Kx01s and K340s a try. KSC-75s are still amazing value, and I still use them regularly but only as a while I'm watching Hulu or Youtube kinda thing. They are the only headphones that I have kept throughout, and I don't see them going anywhere. Not that they couldn't be a primary headphone, but closed circumaurals are what gets my serious listening.
What's next? Maybe nothing, maybe a return to the W5000, possibly a trial with the D5000. I would love to check out some of the higher stuff (L3000, Stax, among others), but I'm not really in a position to (and my current setup wouldn't do them justice). Maybe someday.
Looking for a good low impedence amp. Little Dot I+ is looking good, but I'm also tempted by the Shanling PH-100 (and its not being made anymore so now would be a good time to snag it since it'll likely end up like the Original Master, another one I'd like to try). There's also the Yulong DAH1, which the amp section is a copy of the Lehman Black Cube Linear (I think it came out at a bad time as high impedence seemed to rule then, whereas low impedence is definitely more popular and its better at driving). Any feedback (particularly with the W1000/W5000) would be appreciated. I know there are better amps for them (Yamamoto and HA-5000), but they're a bit out of my price range. Wish I had the time and skills for DIY.
Back in March, I bought a pair of A900Ti, fully expecting to keep them for a long time. I was fresh off my self-modded deep cup DT770s, and I was happy with the A900Ti's for a while. However, I became bored with the sound, so I decided to move on.
About early August I believe it was, I got lucky and nabbed an excellent condition W5000s. I had the same issues that basically everyone else has. I think a somewhat thicker earpad would go a long way to remedying the fit issues, and would help get a seal which would help with the bass. The sound signature really is not something I would have expected to like (to my ears kinda forward mids, lots of treble and high end, somewhat lacking in quantity bass), but I absolutely loved them. I was blown away. The speed and detail was mesmerizing. Even with fast music with a lot going on they never broke a sweat and somehow managed to show you everything a recording has, but keeping emphasis on the main sound. They weren't perfect, but I still loved it. I was going to do the Fitz F5005 mod, but unfortunately I had to part with them. That's ok though, as it spurred a journey.
Next up, I ordered a pair of A900s (regular ones), but my order took longer than expected, so I ended up snagging a Stax 2050II system. They were more tonally correct than the W5000s, and they were fast and had detail, but I couldn't deal with how open they were. I did still prefer the coloration of the W5000, but they were comparable. Personally for me, even coming from the bass monster 770s, neither one was lacking in that area. I would prefer more quantity in both, but the quality was good with both.
The A900s showed up soon after, and I also picked up the D2000s. I had a showdown to see which I'd keep. They actually sounded pretty similar. Both are very good, and I think a lot of people would be happy with either one. The D2000s have a unique bass sound that is appealing. Its reminiscent of a good quality subwoofer, gives you a real feel of the sound. They have a large quantity, but it doesn't overpower the rest of it like the DT770s do. In the end I was going to stick with them. They were just a little bit more comfortable and I was wanting to try some mods on them (I've owned and modded the A900s before).
But of course, another kink in my plans that led me to the W1000. I'm liking the speed and detail, although its not quite up to the level of the W5000 in either respect. They sound a little more normal than the W5000, but they aren't as good at presenting the details. You can hear them, but you have to focus a little to pick out everything. I think I prefer the W5000s bass a little. There is something strange that both do. Its hard to explain it, but they somehow manage to remove the people from the music. Not the vocals, they're all there, its just you get the results of the instruments, but its like they've removed the people playing them. I know it sounds very strange, but its actually very natural and does not take away from the enjoyability at all for me. The W1000 do very well with heavier sounding music (metal, rock), which I find funny since that's definitely not what I would expect given their appearance. I think I'm going to hang onto these for a little while. I'm awfully tempted to go back to the W5000s, but I want to tinker a bit and I think I'm going to go for a Little Dot I+ and see how it sounds with them.
So here's my opinion:
W5000>W1000 (but both are a bit underappreciated on here in my opinion)
W1000>A900/A900Ti
A900Ti>A900 (Ti are better but make you want to move on to something that does the little extras they add even more)
D2000~A900 (I give slight edge to Denon's for bass sound and very slight edge in comfort)
W5000>Stax 2050II (I prefer the coloration of the W5000s, also the Stax were too open for me)
I'm definitely an Audio-Technica fan. Denon's are great too. I'm still refusing to try Grados (for various reasons, I will some day, but I will not buy until I've heard them), and I do need to give the Kx01s and K340s a try. KSC-75s are still amazing value, and I still use them regularly but only as a while I'm watching Hulu or Youtube kinda thing. They are the only headphones that I have kept throughout, and I don't see them going anywhere. Not that they couldn't be a primary headphone, but closed circumaurals are what gets my serious listening.
What's next? Maybe nothing, maybe a return to the W5000, possibly a trial with the D5000. I would love to check out some of the higher stuff (L3000, Stax, among others), but I'm not really in a position to (and my current setup wouldn't do them justice). Maybe someday.
Looking for a good low impedence amp. Little Dot I+ is looking good, but I'm also tempted by the Shanling PH-100 (and its not being made anymore so now would be a good time to snag it since it'll likely end up like the Original Master, another one I'd like to try). There's also the Yulong DAH1, which the amp section is a copy of the Lehman Black Cube Linear (I think it came out at a bad time as high impedence seemed to rule then, whereas low impedence is definitely more popular and its better at driving). Any feedback (particularly with the W1000/W5000) would be appreciated. I know there are better amps for them (Yamamoto and HA-5000), but they're a bit out of my price range. Wish I had the time and skills for DIY.
