With under 20 hours of burn in so far, I'm already loving it. Thought I'd give some impressions and clear somethings up -
The myth and The truth-
1. They are not bright- quiet the opposite , they sound rather dark actually kinda similar to the omega II... but not quiet the same.
2. The bass! Great bass! Oh man can't even say how big a relief this is, I was getting worried that this was going to turn out to be another r10.
3.They are much faster then the w2002! The w2002 (which I use to have) is much slower then the l3000, I noticed this right away when I put on miles Davis and it became even more apparent with Fat boy Slim.
4. Only a hint of coloration is really noticable... but it's much better then the r10 and w2002, actually compared to them it sounds pretty neutral.
About the build-
The Ath is well known for there impressive builds but they really went overboard with the l3000. The Cable is kind of similar to the stax cables (where it's wider then it is thick) but it seems to be made out of very tightly woven silk. The left and right cable from the ear cups are connected with a small rubber (?) piece that has a metal plate on one side that is engraved with the Audio Technica logo. The plug is very beefy and made of metal.
The pads are the same as the w2002s (very similar to the r10's but smaller), hehe I love these pads (take a look at the photos, trying to show how soft they are). On the bottom of the headband there is a small metal plate on both sides also engraved saying - Limited edition- on the front side , and in the inside it says the serial number (mine is T439/500). The wing pads are of the same leather that the pads uses (which is also a slight improvement over the w2002 wing pads).
Fairly light headphones and they fit beautifully. I think they're maybe more comfortable then the r10 actually (which I always felt was to lose). This is like the perfect snug fit, and you don't have to **** around to get it either.
The leather smells great as well.
The packaging-
The case is a two piece box that fits together. The outside is a deep blue velvet, the inside is a fitted foam to hold the headphones (it uses a foam similar to that of those tempurpedic mattress) that is covered with a black cloth (not quiet silk, not really sure what it is made out of).
The ath-l3000 also comes with two pouches. The bigger one is of a tan color and feels like inside of a leather glove, very soft (couldn't help but hold it up to my cheek haha). It has a big logo on the front and uses black rope to close. The smaller is of a fleece like material using Velcro to close and open. *The smaller pouch is for the cable and then the bigger to whole the two together*
There is a few papers, along with an envelope that has a note about how to keep the leather clean.. no book or anything like the r10.
Sound-
So far I'm very impressed, this is definitely an improvement on the ath-w2002. The ath-l3000 is much darker then the w2002 and has a more balanced sound. I hear very little coloration compared to the w2002. The bass response is very deep, extension is great, and impact is grado like. - Yeah I know i've said this already-
Sound stage is not of the level of the r10 or even the omega II... but around the size IMO of the sr-303/sr-404 (even though I haven't heard them in a while I feel confident that's the best compassion). Imaging on the other hand (being able to place where things are) is at the top of it's game. I can very distinctively tell where each instrument is and if the artist is moving I can clearly hear that with out having to focus on it.
So far out of the music I've listened to, I feel that the l3000 right now is best with jazz. Miles Davis simply sounded real, and I can not remember hearing it better (maybe the he90). Rock is made for this headphone too. Bob Marley sounds so perfect here, oh man words can't even describe how perfect he fit with the l3000. Dave Matthews Band and rage against the machine were also just astonishing. On the other hand I felt that I've heard my techno Cd's sound better with the omega I and omega II. Also yo-yo ma felt very dry, this is where the r10 use to really shine.
So as of the moment this is how I feel - should be interesting to see how my impressions change as I burn them in.
Jazz - 4.9/5 - Perfection, I only am giving it a 4.9 because of the he90.
Rock - 4.8/5 - Sounds like a grado with a bigger sound stage,more detail and a bigger and better midrange, I'm loving this!
Classical - 4/5 - maybe some more coloration could help here? R10 wins here so far. But even if this is the ath-l3000's weakness , it's still in the top 5 headphones for this type of music, it's just not the best.
Techno- 4.2/5 - Their fast and they have great bass, but I hate to say it the omega II dominates here... so far at least. I've found that some songs (vocal ones) have the possiblity to sound as good maybe better though due to the ath-l3000's impressive midrange.
Detail -9/10 - tons of micro detail
Bass amount - 8/10 -
Bass Impact - 9/10 -
Speed- 8/10 - it's fly... for a ath
Midrange- 9.5/10 - The he90 and r10 are the only two I can think of that are better
Highs- 8.5/10 -
Soundstage - 8/10 -
Imaging/ instrument separation - 9.5/10 -
Some photos (tried to get different shots then the normal people take).
Light-
-Limited edition -
Back side - t439/500
Nice pads!
Soft
Random
The myth and The truth-
1. They are not bright- quiet the opposite , they sound rather dark actually kinda similar to the omega II... but not quiet the same.
2. The bass! Great bass! Oh man can't even say how big a relief this is, I was getting worried that this was going to turn out to be another r10.
3.They are much faster then the w2002! The w2002 (which I use to have) is much slower then the l3000, I noticed this right away when I put on miles Davis and it became even more apparent with Fat boy Slim.
4. Only a hint of coloration is really noticable... but it's much better then the r10 and w2002, actually compared to them it sounds pretty neutral.
About the build-
The Ath is well known for there impressive builds but they really went overboard with the l3000. The Cable is kind of similar to the stax cables (where it's wider then it is thick) but it seems to be made out of very tightly woven silk. The left and right cable from the ear cups are connected with a small rubber (?) piece that has a metal plate on one side that is engraved with the Audio Technica logo. The plug is very beefy and made of metal.
The pads are the same as the w2002s (very similar to the r10's but smaller), hehe I love these pads (take a look at the photos, trying to show how soft they are). On the bottom of the headband there is a small metal plate on both sides also engraved saying - Limited edition- on the front side , and in the inside it says the serial number (mine is T439/500). The wing pads are of the same leather that the pads uses (which is also a slight improvement over the w2002 wing pads).
Fairly light headphones and they fit beautifully. I think they're maybe more comfortable then the r10 actually (which I always felt was to lose). This is like the perfect snug fit, and you don't have to **** around to get it either.
The leather smells great as well.
The packaging-
The case is a two piece box that fits together. The outside is a deep blue velvet, the inside is a fitted foam to hold the headphones (it uses a foam similar to that of those tempurpedic mattress) that is covered with a black cloth (not quiet silk, not really sure what it is made out of).
The ath-l3000 also comes with two pouches. The bigger one is of a tan color and feels like inside of a leather glove, very soft (couldn't help but hold it up to my cheek haha). It has a big logo on the front and uses black rope to close. The smaller is of a fleece like material using Velcro to close and open. *The smaller pouch is for the cable and then the bigger to whole the two together*
There is a few papers, along with an envelope that has a note about how to keep the leather clean.. no book or anything like the r10.
Sound-
So far I'm very impressed, this is definitely an improvement on the ath-w2002. The ath-l3000 is much darker then the w2002 and has a more balanced sound. I hear very little coloration compared to the w2002. The bass response is very deep, extension is great, and impact is grado like. - Yeah I know i've said this already-
Sound stage is not of the level of the r10 or even the omega II... but around the size IMO of the sr-303/sr-404 (even though I haven't heard them in a while I feel confident that's the best compassion). Imaging on the other hand (being able to place where things are) is at the top of it's game. I can very distinctively tell where each instrument is and if the artist is moving I can clearly hear that with out having to focus on it.
So far out of the music I've listened to, I feel that the l3000 right now is best with jazz. Miles Davis simply sounded real, and I can not remember hearing it better (maybe the he90). Rock is made for this headphone too. Bob Marley sounds so perfect here, oh man words can't even describe how perfect he fit with the l3000. Dave Matthews Band and rage against the machine were also just astonishing. On the other hand I felt that I've heard my techno Cd's sound better with the omega I and omega II. Also yo-yo ma felt very dry, this is where the r10 use to really shine.
So as of the moment this is how I feel - should be interesting to see how my impressions change as I burn them in.
Jazz - 4.9/5 - Perfection, I only am giving it a 4.9 because of the he90.
Rock - 4.8/5 - Sounds like a grado with a bigger sound stage,more detail and a bigger and better midrange, I'm loving this!
Classical - 4/5 - maybe some more coloration could help here? R10 wins here so far. But even if this is the ath-l3000's weakness , it's still in the top 5 headphones for this type of music, it's just not the best.
Techno- 4.2/5 - Their fast and they have great bass, but I hate to say it the omega II dominates here... so far at least. I've found that some songs (vocal ones) have the possiblity to sound as good maybe better though due to the ath-l3000's impressive midrange.
Detail -9/10 - tons of micro detail
Bass amount - 8/10 -
Bass Impact - 9/10 -
Speed- 8/10 - it's fly... for a ath
Midrange- 9.5/10 - The he90 and r10 are the only two I can think of that are better
Highs- 8.5/10 -
Soundstage - 8/10 -
Imaging/ instrument separation - 9.5/10 -
Some photos (tried to get different shots then the normal people take).
Light-
-Limited edition -
Back side - t439/500
Nice pads!
Soft
Random
