Actually, I believe at the higher end that it can last quite a while. I've owned the same speakers for over 10 years, never wanted to change them. Same power amp for 8 years. Same subwoofer for 12 years. I could replace all of them tomorrow if I wanted to...but I don't. I love them.
After really settling in with the W3000ANV, I massively reduced my headphone collection. I think I had ten; I am down to four. Haven't bought a pair of headphones since the 3000ANV. Read about the new high end Shure, Fostex, the HD700...and yawned disinterestedly, and then put the W3000ANV back on.
They aren't the perfect headphones by any means, but they are very close to that for ME personally in terms of what I want from a headphone.
I agree with everything that you said except for the metal bits. Some songs do sound quite nice because of the added bass. The reverb does add realism but will muddy up the really fast songs. Sibilance I didn't actually notice it in any of the headphones
The bass weight is nice. Perhaps it does well with slower metal and maybe some mid-tempo. I found it terrible for tech metal and death metal. At least the bands I tried. And Nightwish wasn't so hot either. Their bombastic sound w/ orchestra just didn't work as well as the AD2000 or W5000.
I get the feeling that I am more prone to noticing and being bothered by sibilance than most. Or perhaps have a tendency to listen to more recordings containing a lot of sibilance.
The bass weight is nice. Perhaps it does well with slower metal and maybe some mid-tempo. I found it terrible for tech metal and death metal. At least the bands I tried. And Nightwish wasn't so hot either. Their bombastic sound w/ orchestra just didn't work as well as the AD2000 or W5000.
I get the feeling that I am more prone to noticing and being bothered by sibilance than most. Or perhaps have a tendency to listen to more recordings containing a lot of sibilance.
W5000 sounded amazing for metal for me actually haha. Nightwish songs...I actually feel that they're quite badly recorded, despite that I like them very much...):
I don't listen to death and tech metal, which is probably why I think these sounded alright on metal. I only listen to power metal
Actually I find W3000ANV to sound very sweet with Nightwish, Tarjas voice is so amazing with these woodies. And same goes for Iron Maiden, especially in newer recordings (old remastered CD albums sound a bit dry to my taste, but that may change with better dac/amp). In general I really like what these cans do with metal I listen to (classical/gothic - mostly Iron Maiden & Nightwish, sometimes Dream Theater), but there isn't much of a speed in my metal collection so can't judge on that part.
W5000 sounded amazing for metal for me actually haha. Nightwish songs...I actually feel that they're quite badly recorded, despite that I like them very much...):
I don't listen to death and tech metal, which is probably why I think these sounded alright on metal. I only listen to power metal
I think the W5000 does well with metal but the AD2000 is my current favorite for faster material.
Older Sonata Arctica (back when they were more power metal) didn't seem great on the W3000ANV either. Muddy. AD2000 offers more precision for the fast guitar work.
Oh I meant 3000, they sounded alright on metal. Everything sounded more real than the W5000, which is quite a special sound actually. Older Sonata Arctica sounds really good (okay they're definitely too fast for the 3000 I think.)
Slower vocals on the 3000 sounds excellent, while 5000s do better with the faster songs
Hard to call these muddy sounding with metal. Crappy record is crappy, there's no way around that. Metal isn't my main genre though and so I have not really paid attention or compared this particular aspect to anything really. = / Also, extremely fast metal isn't for my tastes. However, I read that the issue was in the guitars? There's some quite fast solos in Pantera's album, and for example new Megadeth, as I have many of those albums. Not the fastest ones, but skillful playing and also well recorded. In some songs I've heard from artists I can't remember, the speed is often so much that I'm having a hard time believing that it could sound good with anything. =D
What would you prefer? Lacking clarity? Because they are lacking clarity and precision for metal when compared to the AD2000, HD800, and others. They're still great headphones. Just not optimal for metal, IMO.
I wouldn't prefer anything, because I have not heard a well recorded fast metal that sounded muddy or lacking clarity. ;D I'm not denying it, I can't and I have no need to. Just glad that it's not an issue for me. = )
Some metal bands do have good recordings, like Dream Theater. But they aren't fast so...Fast metal bands I like Dragonforce, and I think their recording is quite good too. W3000 will never sound muddy, they sound congested because the reverbs of each note is overlapping the other notes when it is playing fast music. But this occurs only in really fast songs. In the W5000, congestion will happen when there is a lot of things happening in the mid range, either fast music or lots of instruments.
Some metal bands do have good recordings, like Dream Theater. But they aren't fast so...Fast metal bands I like Dragonforce, and I think their recording is quite good too. W3000 will never sound muddy, they sound congested because the reverbs of each note is overlapping the other notes when it is playing fast music. But this occurs only in really fast songs. In the W5000, congestion will happen when there is a lot of things happening in the mid range, either fast music or lots of instruments.
To be honest, I have never tried Ultrasone. And for some reason I have a slight bias against them and haven't been that interested in acquiring any of their gear without hearing it first.
Some metal bands do have good recordings, like Dream Theater. But they aren't fast so...Fast metal bands I like Dragonforce, and I think their recording is quite good too. W3000 will never sound muddy, they sound congested because the reverbs of each note is overlapping the other notes when it is playing fast music. But this occurs only in really fast songs. In the W5000, congestion will happen when there is a lot of things happening in the mid range, either fast music or lots of instruments.
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i'm not sure if the w3000anv will mark the end of my headphone journey but i think it's a lovely closed phone.
