ATH-W1000X Thread!

[Bureiba]

Quote:

I had the same thoughts when buying mine, now I'm trying to weigh up whether it's worth spending an extra $100 to get L3000 pads!
 
For an open alternative, I also considered the AD2000 for a while, but I decided to wait and see if A-T releases a replacement flagship open can in the next 12 months or so (it is their 50th anniversary and all...). The W1000X gives me everything I want from a home listening headphone at the moment anyway so am happy to wait!
 
 

Yea, that's what I plan to wait on. Hopefully the anniversary release doesn't turn out to be a woodie at around the same price as the W1000X!

 

[kr0gg]

oh boy...
yesterday i've compared my w1000x with my friend's Sennheisers hd600 and Beyers dt880/600.
the results are kinda strange...
while w1000x definitely bests them in PRAT and sound positioning, their timbres are not as natural.
that is not obvious when listening to w1000x themselves, but only audible when being compared.
for example, even male vocals seem lifeless comparing to really engaging male vocals on HD600 (i've had these for some time and sold afterwards because they seemed too laid back for me)
acoustic guitars are different too.
 
w1000x sound really technologically better, much better. but it's some kind of alien technology.
really good for electronic music, tho.

 

[lonebear27]

wow what a long appreciation thread! the w1000x are a pretty popular set of cans huh.
 
just wondering if other AT non-woody closed cans like the A900Ti can keep up with the W1000x. There are a few comparisons out there between the original W1000 and the A900Ti, but not so much between the W1000x and A900Ti.
 

 

[WestLander]

So excited! Just pulled the trigger on a pair of these babies.. 

 
It was love at first listen when I first heard them in Japan - the big electronic stores there have great listening stations, and they let you bring in and hook up whatever equipment you want! Hearing them out of a Beyer A1 amp was quite the experience.

 

[redwarrior191]

guys..i had a chance to audition these yesterday, and they were very impressive.. this is the first time i can be wowed by a headphone that is playing a music i'm not familiar with.. usually, i always test any headphone with my own music.. however, there's one question i want to ask.. how is the Prat of the w1000x?? can it handle rock music well??

 

[cky8]

@lonebear
A and W series are really a different league, whereas the W-series can be considered the prestige line of ATH. 
 
@Westlander
Generally speaking the "audiophile" stores in Asia really allow you spending some good time auditioning with quite some gear available for testing.
 
@redwarrior191
Although I barely listen to Rock music I can imagine that if this is a primairy genre in your collection you might want to look for something else. I think it sounds good. But probably those folks would want something that's more upfront, more prat and 'oomf'. Grandioso to me is more gentle and with that slight touch of sweetness in female vocals which I truly like.
 
But I'd recommend you to audition these whenever possible with your music samples and then decide 

 

[redwarrior191]

Quote:

@redwarrior191
Although I barely listen to Rock music I can imagine that if this is a primairy genre in your collection you might want to look for something else. I think it sounds good. But probably those folks would want something that's more upfront, more prat and 'oomf'. Grandioso to me is more gentle and with that slight touch of sweetness in female vocals which I truly like.
 
But I'd recommend you to audition these whenever possible with your music samples and then decide 

Thanks for the response, cky8.. well, i mostly listen to acoustics (especially female vocals) and rock.. i already know they're great for acoustics, coz when i audition these cans, the music used was also female vocals (although i'm not familiar with the songs).. i hoped they would also be good for rock, but based on my research so far, they're not reccomended at all for rock music, haha.. well, maybe i'll just have to consider it further before pulling the trigger
 
 

 

[WestLander]

Quote:

 
@Westlander
Generally speaking the "audiophile" stores in Asia really allow you spending some good time auditioning with quite some gear available for testing.
 

Yes, they do, which is something that I appreciated quite a lot. I spent a couple of hours over a few days listening to the HD 800, Denon D7000, T5, and even a couple of Stax earspeakers without staff hovering over my shoulder  

 
I just got my W1000X on Friday, and have about 20 hours on them so far, and they sound just as good as I remember... Compared to my DT 990's, so far I'd say the mids are fuller and more forward. The treble is a bit crispy at the moment, but for someone who likes the Beyer sound, this sounds normal to me... I expect it to smooth out with a little more time. Bass reproduction is quite good - no complaints here! All my Burial, SBTRKT, James Blake albums sound wonderful.  Later today will be putting them through their paces on some classical music (piano, choral, some orchestral) and then some vocals too.
 
I'm using my Audinst HUD-MX1 to power them at the moment, but my M-Stage should be arriving soon to boost these phones into another dimension (I hope) 

 

[winkyeye]

How does the Audinst mx1 pair with the W1000X? I'm thinking about getting it.

 

[WestLander]

How does the Audinst mx1 pair with the W1000X? I'm thinking about getting it.

The Audinst is a great DAC, and has more than enough juice to power the W1000X, I have the volume knob at about 9.30-10 and it is plenty loud. 24 bit/96khz, rollable opamp and a very good sounding headphone output? For ~$200 youd be hard pressed to find a better deal.

 

[winkyeye]

Do you notice an clear difference when you output it through the audinst vs unamped?

 

[cky8]

@Westlander
Treble will tame down eventually and become less hot. Plus ATH headphones in general are very efficient headphones. So the HUD-MX1 will do just fine. It's never bad to pair it with a decent amp though.

 

[WestLander]

Quote:

Do you notice an clear difference when you output it through the audinst vs unamped?

Definitely, yes. They sound good right out of my laptop headphone jack, but paired with the Audinst, the sound is noticeably richer and fuller. Granted, that might just be because of the DAC itself, but I prefer powering them through the Audinst. They are very efficient phones so strictly speaking amping is not required.
 
@ cky8
 
Thanks for the observation about the treble. Even now I can tell that where my DT990s had a kind of metallic (hard-edged) resonant note to the treble out of the box, the W1000X seems more crystalline (rounded) feel to it. Intrigued to see how this will change, and how it will pair with the Matrix M-Stage 

 

[winkyeye]

Thanks for your input! looks like I'll be getting the Audinst eventually

 

[cky8]

@Westlander
You'll instantly grab the W1000X over the DT990 if you try listening to some violins