Now that I’m finally finished with the fire academy I can begin getting back on track with all these reviews I’m beyond behind on. So, what better one to start than with than a product that’s all too well known and received over the years? I am of course referring to the Audio-Technica ATH-W1000Z. I was given these, along with a few other models, a while ago and simply asked to listen to them and see what I thought. So now I’m finally able to share my thoughts.
A little about me
I would like to say that first and foremost I am NOT an “audiophile” but rather an audio enthusiast. I listen to music to enjoy it. Do I prefer a lossless source? Yes, of course. But I can still be very happy streaming from Pandora or even my YouTube “My Mix” playlist. I also prefer equipment that sounds the best to me personally regardless of what frequency response it has or rather or not it's “sonically accurate” and I always have and shall continue to encourage others to do the same.
I'm a 26 year old firefighter, for the City of Concord, North Carolina as well as the U.S. Army North Carolina National Guard. The cliché of wanting to do this since I was born couldn't be more present with me. I've worked hard over the last several years to earn this position and now it's time for me to work even harder to keep it.
My interests/hobbies are power lifting, fishing and relaxing to audio products and reviewing them to help other decide on what products would work for them. Few things make me as an audio enthusiast/review feel more accomplished than when someone tells me that I helped them find the type of sound they've always been looking for.
Now, the sound signature I personally favor is a relaxing, warm and sensual sound that just drifts me away in the emotional experience of the music being performed. Yes, accuracy is still important but I will happily sacrifice some of that if I'm presented with a clean, warm sound that can wisp me away into an experience that makes me yearn for more.
My ideal signature are that of respectably forward mids and upper bass range with the bass being controlled but with some slight decay. I like my treble to have nice extension and detail reveal with a smooth roll off up top as to not become harsh in the least. Examples of products that have given me chills and keep giving me the yearning for more feels are the (in no particular order) Bowers & Wilkins P7, Oppo PM-1/2, Empire Ears Hermes VI & Zeus XIV, Audeze LCD-XC, Meze Headphones 99 Classics.
Equipment used at least some point during the review
-Amp.
-Schiit Lyr 2
-w/ matched '68 Amperex Orange Globe 6DJ8 tubes
-D.A.C.
-PS Audio DirectLink III w/ Cullen Stage 4 mod
-Schiit Bifrost 4490
-Sources
-LG V20
-Playing Tidal Hifi, Pandora, YouTube, and various formated music
-Luxury & Precision L3
-Misc. Equipment
-Source cleaner
-iFi Nano iUSB3.0
Disclaimer
I am by no means sponsored by this company or any of its affiliates. They were kind enough to send me a product for an arranged amount of time in exchange for my honest opinion. I am making no monetary compensation for this review.
The following is my take on the product being reviewed. It is to be taken “with a grain of salt” per say and as I always tell people, it is YOUR opinion that matters. So regardless of my take or view on said product, I highly recommend you listen to it yourself and gauge your own opinion.
The Opening Experience
Why I feel so strongly about the initial unboxing experience
Please allow me to explain why I feel so strongly about the initial unboxing experience with a product. Maybe it’s due to my southern roots in the hills of eastern Kentucky, but I’ve always been raised under the pretense of when you introduce yourself to someone for the first time you present yourself with confidence, class, character, pride, and competence. You greet the other person with a true warm smile, eye contact and a firm handshake. Anything less or short implies to other person that you either don’t care about them, are too full of yourself, too busy to be bothered by the likes of them, or worse, just generally disrespectful.
As a consumer, I take this same belief to when I open a new product. Why? Because think about it this way. How else can a company introduce themselves to their customers? How do they present their products? Are they packaged with pride and presented in such a way that makes the listener eager to listen to them? Or maybe they’re just wrapped up and placed in an available space. How about the box itself? Is it bogged down with jargon that says look at this, look what I can do. I’m better than anything on the market and here’s why read this and check out that. Or, is the package clean, simplistic and classy? As if saying to the customer ‘Good day, pleasure to meet your acquaintance. Please give me a listen and allow me to show you what I can do and allow my actions to speak louder than my words.’
This is why I feel so strongly about the initial presentation of a product, and I feel it’s truly a shame more people don’t. But with all that aside, let’s discuss how this products introduced itself shall we?
So, thus far the experiences of the initial handshake Audio-Technica provides their customers are, how I say, quite disappointing. So when I got to opening the ATH-W1000Z I truthfully didn’t have much hopes but was admittedly thinking that for a product that MSRP’s for $700 (retail prices are around $400 [this will be touched on later]). Well, unfortunately the ATH-W1000Z’s kept with the theme of a rather disappointing unboxing experience.
The box itself is a basic black cardboard with the front and sides being simplistic and only having the branding and model name printed on them with the front having the headphone name Maestoso and model name/number in gold lettering. The back of the box had the specs., features, and a ton of other “look at me” stuff written on it in multiple different languages. This really bogs down the draw of this packaging (to me), for honestly, IMO, it could all have been added to a pamphlet on the inside. Now granted, at the $399 price point I’m seeing it at it’s not uncommon in the very least for companies to put a lot of writing on the boxes to differ it from other similar priced higher consumer priced products. However, this is, from my personal experience, the most disappointing unboxing I’ve ever done in this price point (and quite a bit lower as well).
When you open the top and slide the headphones out, they’re being held on a very cheap plastic spacer thing that is only different from the previously reviewed AD1000X and A550Z models by having a red felt feeling material sprayed on top of it. It looks nicer at least. Then behind the plastic spacing thing is the instructions and warranty information. Yup, that’s it. No case.
This’ll be a short paragraph but my summary of my experience in the unboxing experience has already been said a few times so, moving on.
Construction
Not the best start but there’s still a lot more to be discussed. Now we’ll talk about the overall build quality of the ATH-W1000Z. So starting from the top and going down. The ATH-W1000Z continues that Audio-Technica theme of utilizing the wing support system. What this is is the two “bars” at the top of the headphone on top of the split headband. This is what gives the lineup the wonderful clamping for it has. The downside to this system is the split headband. There is just ZERO support to it so the entire weight of the headphone lies entirely on the ears (or area around the ears to be more precise). I feel if Audio-Technica would just implement a more firmer spring than this issue would go away, but as it is now the headbands are only there for appearance.
Moving down we’ve a completely plastic frame (not taking away from it necessarily for it’s very common in products of this price point) that has almost zero maneuverability to it. As in they may have put a 30 degree swivel, so if you have an odd face of more commonly just want to take it somewhere, in addition to the needing a 3rd party carrying case, you better account on using up a lot of room.
Continuing our journey south, the added real teak wood back I will say adds a beautiful touch to the ATH-W1000Z’s. I’ve zero complaints with the wooden back, it’s professional looking and adds a touch of uniqueness that isn’t showboaty (in fact it’s hardly noticeable). On the other side of the cups we’ve a faux leather material that, to me, appears to be very well stitched together and I don’t forsee any issues in the near future.
Finally we’ve the cable. Any continuing with my disappointment is that this cable, though IS NOT a bad cable, appears to be a cheaply placed cable due to both its appearance and feel. Now, what is not acceptable, especially in today’s market, is that the cable is not removable or replaceable. The biggest reason for a headphone to stop working is a short in the cable. The majority of consumers aren’t aware of this and just assume their perfectly working headphone is well, no longer working. So now they’re out buying another unneeded headphone when all they had to do was replace the cable. Oh wait. In the ATH-W1000Z you’re unable to and will have to send it off to pay a ridiculously expensive repair cost (speaking from experience [not with any of the Audio-Technica products]). So, and this is just my viewpoint on this, because of this I see any company putting a non detachable cable on their products as not keeping the consumer, their customers, in mind and are only thinking about or rather is only interested in themselves. But the cable is terminated in a really nice looking ¼” jack, so that’s a plus.
So overall the construction of the ATH-W1000Z is meh. It’s by no means the best you can get, far from it honestly. But it could most certainly be worse.
Comfort
I often go back and forth as to if the products comfort or its build quality is more important. The construction will make the product last a long time while the comfort will allow the user to want to wear the product for a long time. Thus far the ATH-W1000Z isn’t faring too well but we’re not finished with it yet oh no. By just looking at the headphone you’ll likely notice either the teak wood back of the giant circumaural ear pads first. Now, I’m unaware if those of you are aware but I have larger than normal ears (you can see for yourself on my YouTube channel linked below) so I all but have to have big cups or else I lose out on a lot of time listening to a product merely because they become painful on my ears.
So how do the Audio-Technica ATH-W1000Z’s feel? Pretty darn good overall. Of all the Audio-Technica models I’ve reviewed (as of writing this review) this is the only model that I actually enjoyed wearing for it never fatigued me. Now, they still suffer from the shortcomings they self imposed with the wing system and zero support headband, as well as the minimal movement of the drive housing; but the large pads, that are also angled a little bit, matched my head wonderfully. The pads were firm but at the same time offered just the right amount of give which provided great comfort and a tremendously solid seal. The clamping force is also spot on and again, due to the choice of pads selected for this model, the zero support headbands deficiencies were negligible. The only downside I personally experienced is that my ears did tend to get slightly warm after a couple hours listening to them.
To conclude my thoughts on the comfort of the ATH-W1000Z’s is that to me they are wonderfully comfortable solely due to the choice of padding they chose. If it weren’t for that, as with the other models I’ve reviewed prior, I likely would have found the comfort of these mediocre.
Sound
Alright, so we’ve finally made it (or you just scrolled straight here and that’s cool too), my findings and thoughts on how the ATH-W1000Z’s sound. And not to spoil a future review too much, but these were definitely my favorite sounding Audio-Technica product that I’ve ever listened to (as of the time of writing).
The sound for the longest time tricked me. What I mean by this is initially listening to it, and honestly a good ways later, I believed it to be a soft warm headphone but certainly not even close to being dark. The key word I found in that, was soft. The ATH-W1000Z possesses a hard to explain relaxing and calm sound to it that at first gives the impression of being a warm headphone with a soft bass and mid presence (please watch a few videos from this
playlist to see what I mean). But upon really spending time listening to them I have discovered that they actually lean more towards the bright side. My last link was to show off its overall sound but now if you listen to two polar opposite songs such as Maxence Cyrin “
Where is My Mind” for the treble and “
When The Beat Drops” by (I’m honestly not sure who the artist is) you’ll find that the mids and treble is more emphasised than the bass is as a whole. This doesn’t really affect anything but that it took me so long to hone in on its tonality really impressed me personally.
The imaging is also very nice. If you’ll let the W1000’s perform for you then they’ll gladly present you whatever performance of medium you desire. They won't make it seem like you’re in a concert hall for the soundstage is a bit small, or rather very intimate I feel is a better way to describe it, so whatever you’re listening to will become, again IMO, very personal. A downside though that it I guess a side effect of the sound characteristics is that there’s not a lot of separation. Normally this is a negative for me but truthfully it does fit into the overall flow so you will have to take it for what you will. When listening to your average sized performance many of the instruments are difficult to individualize and all blend together, so I found that traditional large classical concerts are really primed for this headphone.
But enough about my generalization of the sound quality. Allow me to discuss the individual characteristics as best I can so that hopefully I can portray what I was talking about above.
Treble
The highs on the ATH-W1000Z is sparkly and very clean. The extension can be a bit harsh at times for its roll off is well into the piercing levels. With that in mind, when you’re listening to music not of that level of treble built in, the highs are honestly very enjoyable. Please bear with me for describing the highs is honestly a bit difficult for though they can great extension, as previously mentioned, it’s still soft and non fatiguing in the least. Detail is retrieved to where I don’t feel like I’m missing anything but at the same time I don’t feel like it fishes for what should be there. It’s forgiving on less than perfect audio formats in other words.
I often describe treble as having an energy transfer. Like when I’m listening to Lindsey Stirling and her violin; she’s exquisite to listen to for she’s so energetic and her music is (usually) very happy and upbeat. The ideal headphone will translate this energy with equal vigor but with the ATH-W1000Z it’s presented in a way that doesn’t reflect that but at the same time doesn’t really leave me feeling disappointed.
I’m not sure if I was able to give a good description as to what I was trying to say but that’s the best I could come up with. Like I said I, for the longest time, thought the W1000Z was a warm headphone until I really listened to their attributes. It’s just a really nice and soft experience.
Mids
My personal favorite area of sound. The mids is where the vocals lie and with that, to me, the soul of the music is. No other range truly portrays emotion like the mids to so if they are not presented cleanly and accurately then you can’t honestly really feel the emotion trying to be portrayed. As with the Audio-Technica ATH-W1000Z I really feel like they did a great job on the mid section. Regardless if I’m listening to male or female vocals, both are represented so realistically and intimately that, when I close my eyes, see a private concert that solely for me.
Something that the W1000Z’s really excel in is accoustic music. Oh my goodness, there’s a reason I linked that playlist above because daggon did it sound incredible through these headphones. The reverb of a guitars or cellos strings sounded so very good and did wonders when I got home after shift and just wanted to relax for a little bit. The mids are just slightly off neutral so they’re not so pushed forward as to take away from the full experience you receive but they are enough so that you can really hear the words being spoken clearly and separately from the treble and bass (even with rock music). This
song (Linked as an AMV not original music video) “A New Day Has Come" by Céline Dion I think shows this very well.
Bass
Finally we’ll discuss the bass. Again I’ll state that originally I felt these headphones were more warm because of how well the bass translates into the mids. Now it was NEVER even remotely to be considered dark (or bass heavy) but the touch was certainly nice. The upper bass is forward but then quickly decreases into a recessed bass-sub bass (there’s no subbass I’ll just say that). It’s soft and relaxed but possesses just enough punch to enjoy drums and not crave much more. The teak wood also adds a nice reverb that, though is very minor, is a nice touch (I’ve always personally loved this about wooden backs). Check out this
video by Mitchell “FINGERS” Cullen, it really sums up what I’m talking about and also has a nice acoustic guitar as well.
Conclusion
To sum up my thoughts on the Audio-Technica ATH-W1000Z, they’re headphones that possess so much potential but the shortcomings in other areas really hold it back from being a solid headphone of choice over other similar priced products. I greatly enjoy listening to these and it really pains me that they could be so much better if only they were to be shown a little more TLC. They sound so soft and relaxing and aren’t like other bright headphones I’ve listened to. They are certainly a headphone I will miss listening to.
If ever I can get lucky enough to have someone from Audio-Technica either read this review or watch my YouTube review of it (linked below) allow me to offer just a couple changes that I think would go leaps and bounds for not just the W1000Z but for a great deal many of your products you offer as well.
- Take a little bit more pride in the unboxing experience the customer has. I know that 99% of the mainstream crowd really doesn’t give too big a thought on getting to their new product but I’m sure a many people don’t think about how important offering someone a firm handshake is when they greet people either. But it’s just that small thing you can do (and I’m not saying go crazy to have to raise the cost much) to set yourself apart from those who show a little more pride in their products.
- Make the spring on the split headband A LOT more firmer. As in let the two of them together have the ability to support the weight of the headphone. Right now the only thing they’re good for is messing up hair.
- Make the darned cables detachable. I mean come on. From first hand experience, very little makes me hold resentment towards a brand than when the cable of the product goes out and I have to spend an absurd amount of money to have it replaced by the manufacturer (or a company they lease this right to). I’ll even excuse the minimal headphone movement if you’d just make this small but super important change.
So what are my final thoughts on the Audio-Technica ATH-W1000Z? They call this particular the "Maestoso" which is Latin for "a movement or passage marked to be performed in a majestic manner" and in terms of sound quality and even initial appearance, I think they hit it pretty spot on. This headphone will suite those who want a great headphone to just sit back and relax and enjoy the overall presentation of their music too rather than worry about every, single, minute detail. Is there some shortcomings? Most certainly. But as a unit as a whole I think it's a solid choice and most certainly one that I personally will be missing.
Also, make sure to check out my
unboxing and
review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.
did is the better solution than just "use a tube amp", especially with the ringing in the treble.
@Raika My father presented talks on radio, which I participated in, and I currently teach English to Japanese students, so I've had speaking clearly fairly driven into me. If I talk faster, people watching from non-English-speaking countries may have a harder time understanding me, so I choose to keep with this speed for these reasons.