An 11 Years Late Review: Audio Technica W11R review vs Beyerdynamic T1 vs W11JPN/W2002/W1000 The Best of Audio Technica's Woodies
Feb 11, 2011 at 8:19 PM Post #46 of 164
in discussion with wind016 i'd mentioned that in my own system, both the w1000 and w5000 have no sense of brightness in any way or form. in fact i consider both to have a rather balanced dark attribute in their sound signatures. realize that both my amp and cdp add a bit of darkness as well, so i feel these a-t woodies are very sensitive to component matching.
 
one of the past phones that i have had the greatest regret upon selling, has been my at the time newly introduced w2002. back then i had eventually decided that it was too high end for my needs. what foolishness on my part, considering the prices they are going for these days. that and its much desirable performance.
 
anyway my w1000 is now up for sale, and no doubt i will feel remorse at later date. i rate its performance in terms of tonality and richness on vocals as the highest of all the a-t woodies i have owned.
 
am keeping the w5000 for now--need to try the ha5000, seriously.
 
Feb 12, 2011 at 3:23 AM Post #47 of 164
W1000 is quite unique headphone I think, bright and thin treble, combine with warm, thick and lush mid.
 
they're the cans that I can't describe it's bright or dark, because they just combine both of that characteristic in one headphone lol.
 
Feb 12, 2011 at 9:03 AM Post #48 of 164
Nice write up man, didn't see this thread the first time.
And CFabian, you're quickly becoming my favourite poster, you should post more often. :D
 
Feb 12, 2011 at 11:38 AM Post #49 of 164

 
Quote:
in discussion with wind016 i'd mentioned that in my own system, both the w1000 and w5000 have no sense of brightness in any way or form. in fact i consider both to have a rather balanced dark attribute in their sound signatures. realize that both my amp and cdp add a bit of darkness as well, so i feel these a-t woodies are very sensitive to component matching.
 
one of the past phones that i have had the greatest regret upon selling, has been my at the time newly introduced w2002. back then i had eventually decided that it was too high end for my needs. what foolishness on my part, considering the prices they are going for these days. that and its much desirable performance.
 
anyway my w1000 is now up for sale, and no doubt i will feel remorse at later date. i rate its performance in terms of tonality and richness on vocals as the highest of all the a-t woodies i have owned.
 
am keeping the w5000 for now--need to try the ha5000, seriously.


When I decided to purchase the HA5000 I was really wondering if I needed psychiatric care, since the price tag for the amplifier for me was at the time insane to put it lightly. But my reasoning was that I loved my W5000 so dearly running through my technics headphone out at the time, this purchase would be the end of my chase. Fortunately It has been, and was worth every penny believe it or not, the only thing left for me to purchase is the Stello DA100 and I can live out the rest of my days in solitude... What the HA5000 does so great, that other amplifiers have a hard time doing, is that it adds transparency and detail of the W5000 to a whole new level, without adding sibilance or harshness of any kind, just smooth clear sound that seems so effortless in its execution. It also adds slightly more weight to the notes, sweetening up the acoustic range, but what it does not do, is tame the W5000's, it does not add warmth to them, instead it focuses on the transparency, resolution and detail which are already evident in the W5000's characteristics and builds on them. So if you are looking for insane bass presence, warmth and laid back presentation, the HA5000 is probably not for you. With the right source and amplification it is my belief that the W5000 would not lose out to any headphone rig out there regardless of price in terms of transparency and detail, which is of course my preference when buying gear, if you also enjoy this type of sound presentation, you won't be disappointed with the purchase even with the steep price tag of the HA5000. Good luck,
 
Feb 12, 2011 at 1:34 PM Post #50 of 164
Quote:
With the right source and amplification it is my belief that the W5000 would not lose out to any headphone rig out there regardless of price in terms of transparency and detail, which is of course my preference when buying gear, if you also enjoy this type of sound presentation, you won't be disappointed with the purchase even with the steep price tag of the HA5000. Good luck,

 
I have the Stax O2 with SRM-717 and the while the AT setup isn't able to match the electrostat offertless and natural realistic reproduction it's more than able to connect me to the music every single time i listen thruogh it, The sound presntation has a truly mesmerising and addictive character. 
 
 
Feb 12, 2011 at 2:44 PM Post #51 of 164
Thanks for the kind words everyone.
 
I've been really enjoying my W11R with my new Anedio D1 DAC. The W11R sounded very spacious before even on the lowly Ibasso D10, but now I feel the Anedio D1 has brought up into a completely different level. First of all, the soundstage. It has gotten so wide, that the W11R truly sounds like an open headphone. The only thing keeping the W11R from sounding open is the fact that there is isolation. It is very very spacious. On my W2002, it has gotten more spacious, but it definitely hasn't felt open. The resolution I get now is phenomenal. Cymbals have so much more accurate timbre. The music has become more dispersed and distant on the Anedio D1, but most of the impact is still there. It's just easier to listen to. Also, the Anedio powers these Audio Technicas very well. It's a nice all-in-one compact solution for low impedance headphone.
 
Also, I sold/traded the W2002. As excellent and energetic as these headphones are, my curiosity overcomes me. =) I will be getting a Beyerdynamic T1, which I have auditioned before, but only with classical music and on solid state equipment. I want to try it with my own music and setup. I only have good expectations for it.
 
Also, the Stax O2 has been really interesting me...  Hopefully, I will be able to try it at the Bay Area Head-fi meet. If it sounds good enough, I'm gonna go all out on a Stax rig
biggrin.gif
  Hopefully, I'd also get the chance to hear an Audeze LCD2, Thunderpants, and Sony R10 too.
 
Feb 12, 2011 at 4:10 PM Post #52 of 164


Quote:
Quote:
With the right source and amplification it is my belief that the W5000 would not lose out to any headphone rig out there regardless of price in terms of transparency and detail, which is of course my preference when buying gear, if you also enjoy this type of sound presentation, you won't be disappointed with the purchase even with the steep price tag of the HA5000. Good luck,

 
I have the Stax O2 with SRM-717 and the while the AT setup isn't able to match the electrostat offertless and natural realistic reproduction it's more than able to connect me to the music every single time i listen thruogh it, The sound presntation has a truly mesmerising and addictive character. 
 

This is exactly why I keep coming back to the AT setup, there is just something magical about the way it presents the music, maybe technically not the most accurate nor realistic reproduction of music, but boy does it always put a smile on my face. Would love to try the Stax O2 and see what it has to offer, maybe in a meet nearby I will have the lucky chance to try one out. Cheers,
 
 
Feb 13, 2011 at 12:06 AM Post #53 of 164
Yay, thanks for the great writeup and discussion for us AT woodies lovers.
 
I have to admit I haven't heard nearly so many pairs, but the W100 ended my headphone search a long time ago.  I went through the HD600s and RS-1s that were popular at the time, but the AT sound is just something special.  Paired with the right tube amp, that midrange is just so magically delicious--there's nothing like it.  I also tried the W1000--not sure if I just got a better pair than some here, but mine were excellent.  Very balanced sound with more extended highs and bigger, better controlled bass than the W100.  So why did I keep the W100 and sell the W1000?  That ridiculously sweet midrange:  I don't care if the sound is not neutral or balanced--they're imperfect in a way that I enjoy.
 
I also just got a pair of ESW9s--love them too, same sound signature and great midrange.  They also sound great out of tube amp.
 
BTW, if you ever get a chance, try the Sony MDR-F1s mated to a tube amp.  People have speculated they're not a good match for tubes because of their way low impedance, but they're wrong.  Very AT-woodie-like through my Earmax Pro, midrange and soundstage galore.
 
Feb 13, 2011 at 12:34 AM Post #54 of 164
Quote:
Yay, thanks for the great writeup and discussion for us AT woodies lovers.
 
I have to admit I haven't heard nearly so many pairs, but the W100 ended my headphone search a long time ago.  I went through the HD600s and RS-1s that were popular at the time, but the AT sound is just something special.  Paired with the right tube amp, that midrange is just so magically delicious--there's nothing like it.  I also tried the W1000--not sure if I just got a better pair than some here, but mine were excellent.  Very balanced sound with more extended highs and bigger, better controlled bass than the W100.  So why did I keep the W100 and sell the W1000?  That ridiculously sweet midrange:  I don't care if the sound is not neutral or balanced--they're imperfect in a way that I enjoy.
 
I also just got a pair of ESW9s--love them too, same sound signature and great midrange.  They also sound great out of tube amp.
 
BTW, if you ever get a chance, try the Sony MDR-F1s mated to a tube amp.  People have speculated they're not a good match for tubes because of their way low impedance, but they're wrong.  Very AT-woodie-like through my Earmax Pro, midrange and soundstage galore.

 
Actually, I was on a search to find a headphone that could trump my W1000. The W1000s were my #1 headphones for a long time. Even after owning the W11JPN, I liked the W1000 more. My rating system was very rough. It was partially based on preference and technical ability. My rating system was also really terrible in that I think there is a huge gap in preference between the numbers, such as I vastly preferred the W11R over any of the number 2 rankings (which is why that's the only one I own now.) On pure preference alone, the ranking probably would have been W11R, then W2002, and finally W1000. The W2002 and the W11R were the only headphones that had the crisp vocals of the W1000 and better it by adding warmth to the vocals. However, with all three of those headphones, I have to combine them with tubes otherwise they are just unbearably bright for me. I'm attempting tube rolling with the W11R now in an attempt to make it more lush.
 
I can understand how polar the W1000 is though. I didn't like it the first day I had it. I was ready to pack it up and sell it and all the negatives I listed were the reasons. However, when I used an equalizer to add a bit of lower mids and upper bass (while plugged in my WA6SE), I noticed that the W1000 had a lot of potential to be a really good headphone for vocals. The AKG K701 and Denon D7000 I had at the time were just hopeless in that aspect. Far too much equalizing and too many bars needed to make them sound anywhere near as good as the W1000 with vocals. A true closed design + mids = winner for intimacy. I did get the chance to listen to Sennheiser HD6XX headphones too, but somehow I was unmoved. The vocals weren't detailed enough.
 
Feb 13, 2011 at 12:53 AM Post #55 of 164
Yeah, I thought the W1000 was shockingly dry when I first heard them, but after I realized that it was just the contrast compared to the W100s and RS-1s I had been listening to.  I really thought mine were fairly neutral--lush mids but not as strongly emphasized as on the W100.  They were actually really good for rock, even better than the Grados IMO.
 
A few things I want to say about these phones for the uninitiated:
 
With the right amp they are extremely detailed.  I think the lushness of the midrange fools some people into thinking they're veiled, but not so.  My W100s were no less lacking in detail than my RS-1s or Ety ER4Ps--you can definitely pick up the quietest details, from a singer inhaling to fingers moving along frets.  But they are also strangely forgiving of bad recordings; maybe it's the euphonic tinge from the lush mids, but my W100s still sound amazing straight from an iPod.   Personally, the AT woodies are my sine qua non of the headphone world: comfortable, efficient, detailed, closed but with a great soundstage, and an incredibly euphonic sound signature.
 
Feb 13, 2011 at 10:24 PM Post #56 of 164
There was a W11R that sold really cheaply on eBay just now (520 USD), I would've bid on it myself but it was US only and the seller didn't allow questions. :frowning2:
Whoever got that is a lucky guy~!
 
Feb 13, 2011 at 10:26 PM Post #57 of 164
Yea I was watching XD http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280626536895
 
I didn't notify Head-fi for certain reasons, but I didn't bid XD
 
Whoever bought it, you just got a friggin good deal!
 
Quote:
There was a W11R that sold really cheaply on eBay just now (520 USD), I would've bid on it myself but it was US only and the seller didn't allow questions. :frowning2:
Whoever got that is a lucky guy~!



 
Feb 14, 2011 at 1:13 AM Post #59 of 164
So far last two months i only saw one L3000 is on sale in ebay. W11R is really rare people gonna sell it. Kuboten Auction has it but the condition of the wood is pretty bad. So i just give up. Now is W11JPN is on sale...
 
Feb 14, 2011 at 6:42 AM Post #60 of 164
I agree that the W1000 is picky when it comes to pairing it with the right source or amp. I had my pair of W1000 paired up with a Headamp GS-X and they still sounded too bright to my ears. It also didn't have the lush mids that I was looking for. When I had the W1000 paired with the Stealth, the sounded much better. They didn't sound as bright and the mids sounded fuller. My other woodies are a bit more forgiving when it come to match and amp or source with it.
 

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