[gingerchoco]

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[Ben4]

It does sound very gooey in comparison to the more sharper FR headphones, perfect for mindless listening during work from home hours.
The cable is just a cheap run of the mill aliexpress one, supposedly it's super mega awesome silver plated supercharged 7N copper magic popsicles but I hear no difference. I bought it solely for comfort; it's super soft, flexible and a massive improvement in microphonics over stock so I'm happy with that.

Hi Everyone—first post. I’m interested in comparisons with the MSR7b, which I’m currently using as my closed back option: can someone familiar with that headphone compare it to the AWAS and/or AWKT? I know that these models are not on the same level and do not compete with one another, but I am familiar with the MSR and generally like it (but see below). "Gooey" is not what I'm looking for. One online retailer warned me not to expect the same sound signature from the wooden models. True?

What would I like to see improved over the MSR7b? They don’t always handle dense orchestral passages gracefully (though that may sometimes be due to recording issues). The mids could be a bit less forward, a bit more relaxed, and bass definition and articulation could be better (quantity is fine). The question of leakage (not a problem on the MSR7b) is very important to me.

I listen mostly to classical orchestral, along with some jazz and classic rock.

 

[llysender]

Hi Everyone—first post. I’m interested in comparisons with the MSR7b, which I’m currently using as my closed back option: can someone familiar with that headphone compare it to the AWAS and/or AWKT? I know that these models are not on the same level and do not compete with one another, but I am familiar with the MSR and generally like it (but see below). "Gooey" is not what I'm looking for. One online retailer warned me not to expect the same sound signature from the wooden models. True?

What would I like to see improved over the MSR7b? They don’t always handle dense orchestral passages gracefully (though that may sometimes be due to recording issues). The mids could be a bit less forward, a bit more relaxed, and bass definition and articulation could be better (quantity is fine). The question of leakage (not a problem on the MSR7b) is very important to me.

I listen mostly to classical orchestral, along with some jazz and classic rock.

That is true, both the AWAS and AWKT doesnt have that shimmery high end that MSR7b has. Both AWAS and AWKT have a 6k dip which acts as a anti sib measure. Also both are on the warm side.

If you are listening to orchestral and want to hear the tightness and vibration of strings, with the texture of brasswinds, the skin and rebound of drums along with vocal articulation AWKT is the way to go. One thing to note with the AWKT is that for all its lower and upper mid details the treble is comparatively relaxed making them enjoyable for long periods of time but you loose that shimmier in other wood/metal backs like D9200. The easiest way to get that shimmer while still keeping all that detail is to run it on hybrid tube amps. Otherwise its presentation is like a painting of a calm scene were you can see all the rough and fine ridges. Bass wise its not boosted but extremely well defined.

I'm sure @Malevolent can help you with your upgrade or maybe you can browse though https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-closed-back-headphone-thread-plus-comparisons-reviews.939901/ and find something you like.

 

[Ben4]

That is true, both the AWAS and AWKT doesnt have that shimmery high end that MSR7b has. Both AWAS and AWKT have a 6k dip which acts as a anti sib measure. Also both are on the warm side.

If you are listening to orchestral and want to hear the tightness and vibration of strings, with the texture of brasswinds, the skin and rebound of drums along with vocal articulation AWKT is the way to go. One thing to note with the AWKT is that for all its lower and upper mid details the treble is comparatively relaxed making them enjoyable for long periods of time but you loose that shimmier in other wood/metal backs like D9200. The easiest way to get that shimmer while still keeping all that detail is to run it on hybrid tube amps. Otherwise its presentation is like a painting of a calm scene were you can see all the rough and fine ridges. Bass wise its not boosted but extremely well defined.

I'm sure @Malevolent can help you with your upgrade or maybe you can browse though https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-closed-back-headphone-thread-plus-comparisons-reviews.939901/ and find something you like.

Thanks, that is helpful! I was not familiar with the frequency response curves, but took a look here (don't know if that's a reliable place) and can see exactly what you mean by the dip at 6000 Hz dip in the AWAS and AWKT, which doesn't appear in the MSR7b plot. Reviews of the AWAS and AWKT usually describe the former as warm and the latter as analytical—when compared to each other. So it's helpful to hear that in the context of the 7b, both are on the warm side.

 

[vicens bosch]

hello good morning, I need an amplifier to connect to my macbook air, the most portable and powerful to get the most out of my awas.
Any recommendation?

 

[llysender]

hello good morning, I need an amplifier to connect to my macbook air, the most portable and powerful to get the most out of my awas.
Any recommendation?

Honestly you dont really need that much power to drive the AWAS. It then becomes a preference of what colouration you want to pair with the AWAS.

Assuming its the same AWAS that you mentioned you were selling with the 4.4 cable i would rec the Tri TK2 as its a A shape sharp detailed amp and kind of fixes the laid back nature of the AWAS.

But naturally preferences so if you could share the type of sound you like maybe it could be easier to narrow down a nice portable amp/dap

 

[vicens bosch]

Honestly you dont really need that much power to drive the AWAS. It then becomes a preference of what colouration you want to pair with the AWAS.

Assuming its the same AWAS that you mentioned you were selling with the 4.4 cable i would rec the Tri TK2 as its a A shape sharp detailed amp and kind of fixes the laid back nature of the AWAS.

But naturally preferences so if you could share the type of sound you like maybe it could be easier to narrow down a nice portable amp/dap

first of all thanks for answering, now I'm using it on a luxury w2 and the quality is very good, but it gives me the feeling that they ask for something more common to give it its full potential.

 

[vicens bosch]

I'm looking for the warmest possible sound in portable dac amp, greetings

 

[Chris Kaoss]

Guess one of the iFi devices ( Hip-Dac 2, iDSD signature/ black, zen ) could fit the bill.
Like most BurrBrown fitted devices.

But I'm not familiar with the sound of the aforementioned ATs.

 

[Magol79]

I'm looking for the warmest possible sound in portable dac amp, greetings

I'd recommend the iFi Hip-dac. It is warm, slightly gooey and has plenty of power.

 

[Halimj7]

Looking for recommendations for a really warm and lush tube amp or amp/Dac combo. I have a Sony TA-Z1Hes and DMP-Z1. Im looking for something warmer (via an increased low end) and smoother in the upper mids and highs and without bringing the mids too forward. I don’t care too much about resolution or power it will be primarily for my Audiotechnica AWAS. Ideal price would be less than $2000. Thanks.

 

[vicens bosch]

nights, in the end the sale of the headphones is canceled, they are the best closed ones that money can buy, or so I think, what surprises me is that the thread is so dead. a greeting

 

[Steely Dan]

I know this thread has kind of died off, but I've recently gotten back into this hobby after several years away from it, and have been reading up on all the products that have been released in the in-between time. The 4 new Audio Technica premium closed backs are all pretty interesting, but the AWAS stands out as the one that sounds closest to my taste. I've never had one of the wooden models or any of their closed backs before, but I have owned two of the open backed Air Dynamic series models, the original AD700 was one of my first more audiophile style headphones around 10 years ago. I'm a big fan of tuning that's focused on mid-range and vocals. My current favorite and daily use headphones are the Focal Elegia and HD660s, also have HD650, Beyerdynamic Tygr 300R, and the current AD700x, but they don't see as much use these days. I've never purchased a headphone at the pricepoint of the AWAS before, but I see it as a long term investment. If there's anyone who has owned the Elegia and/or Sennheisers as well as the AWAS, I'd love to hear some feedback on how they compare. I've also considered the very different R70x, but the consensus seems to be that it is very atypical of Audio Technica tuning wise. Also worth mentioning that for time being they would probably be driven almost exclusively through the balanced out on my THX 788 DAC/Amp. Thanks in advance.

 

[llysender]

I know this thread has kind of died off, but I've recently gotten back into this hobby after several years away from it, and have been reading up on all the products that have been released in the in-between time. The 4 new Audio Technica premium closed backs are all pretty interesting, but the AWAS stands out as the one that sounds closest to my taste. I've never had one of the wooden models or any of their closed backs before, but I have owned two of the open backed Air Dynamic series models, the original AD700 was one of my first more audiophile style headphones around 10 years ago. I'm a big fan of tuning that's focused on mid-range and vocals. My current favorite and daily use headphones are the Focal Elegia and HD660s, also have HD650, Beyerdynamic Tygr 300R, and the current AD700x, but they don't see as much use these days. I've never purchased a headphone at the pricepoint of the AWAS before, but I see it as a long term investment. If there's anyone who has owned the Elegia and/or Sennheisers as well as the AWAS, I'd love to hear some feedback on how they compare. I've also considered the very different R70x, but the consensus seems to be that it is very atypical of Audio Technica tuning wise. Also worth mentioning that for time being they would probably be driven almost exclusively through the balanced out on my THX 788 DAC/Amp. Thanks in advance.

hmmm @Malevolent might be able to help you out since its his new toy,

Sorry if this seems like I'm talking out of my arse because I kind of am as I've last heard the AWAS a couple months back and is based of memory. Also I daily the AWKT which is closer to elegia sig.

With reguards to headphone comparisons I would would say the closet comparison would be a smoother more defined body much better extension HD660s. Its quite different form the elegia in that the upper bass boost makes for quite the full bodied presentation and not the precise imaging of the elegia. That being said AT tuned the cups well so it images well outside the cups unlike elegia where you get a hard barrier at the cups.

Transents have this slight sustain to them making them have this tube like drag to them even on SS amps. Makes them a very emotionational listen. Main benefits of the AWAS would be Singer Songwriter style music where the instrument and the voice are both the focus. The warmth and body of the vocals makes it quite entralling esp for male/lower to mid female vocals. 6khz cut is there to colour it such that most sibilance disapears even on bad recordings(unless its fripside, there is no saving fripside except on those extra compressed tv OP/ED).

Like the HD660s there is a treble roll off after 8khz ish but it doesnt quite drop like a cliff so you do get vocal extension into the air area and those high pitch percussion like crystal bells sound slighty recessed. The main benifit to this I see is that it makes it a very relaxing headphone that you can listen to hours on end even if the last bit of detail is sacrificed as a result.

Not sure if its a fair comparison but I would say the AWAS is very similar to the Fiio FH9 and Noble Sultan style of tuning where the dynamics take a back seat and generally the body and smoothness of the transients are center stage. Its like you are hearing the music about a meter away from the instruments and everything is slightly blended but every cohesive.

 

[elnero]

I know this thread has kind of died off, but I've recently gotten back into this hobby after several years away from it, and have been reading up on all the products that have been released in the in-between time. The 4 new Audio Technica premium closed backs are all pretty interesting, but the AWAS stands out as the one that sounds closest to my taste. I've never had one of the wooden models or any of their closed backs before, but I have owned two of the open backed Air Dynamic series models, the original AD700 was one of my first more audiophile style headphones around 10 years ago. I'm a big fan of tuning that's focused on mid-range and vocals. My current favorite and daily use headphones are the Focal Elegia and HD660s, also have HD650, Beyerdynamic Tygr 300R, and the current AD700x, but they don't see as much use these days. I've never purchased a headphone at the pricepoint of the AWAS before, but I see it as a long term investment. If there's anyone who has owned the Elegia and/or Sennheisers as well as the AWAS, I'd love to hear some feedback on how they compare. I've also considered the very different R70x, but the consensus seems to be that it is very atypical of Audio Technica tuning wise. Also worth mentioning that for time being they would probably be driven almost exclusively through the balanced out on my THX 788 DAC/Amp. Thanks in advance.

I own both the ATH-AWAS and the R70x. Unfortunately, I haven't heard any of the headphones you own other than the HD650 but it's been a number of years since I've owned or heard one so I can't give you a meaningful comparison.

Like you, I stepped away from headphones for awhile but with working from home because of Covid it seemed like a good time to build a system again. Over the years I've owned a number of the Audio Technica woodies. They've all had beautiful midrange characteristics but also could have some odd coloration that inevitably bugged me enough that I sold them. I was really drawn to @Malevolent and @Nostoi's descriptions of the AWAS though, so when one came up at a reasonable used price I snagged them. That has turned out to be the best audio purchase I think I've made.

The AWAS has that beautiful midrange that the AT woodies are known for but it manages to do this without ending up with any honky or nasally coloration. Vocals are just stunning, acoustic guitar sounds rich and inviting without being too overdone. It's a smooth headphone that still manages to have fairly tight, punchy bass with decent overall transient speed and musical pace.

I've always been sensitive to exaggerated sibilance so I've leaned towards darker gear in an effort to thwart it. In my setup, the AWAS manages to have more treble presence than I've typically had in previous setups and it does this without a hint of added emphasis in the sibilance region. It's been a refreshing change to have such a sweet treble region.

For awhile I struggled with the bass though. I wanted eke out a little more weight than I was getting in the setups I had at the time which led to a bit of experimentation. Oddly, the missing piece of the puzzle seemed to be a proper S/PDIF cable. When I replaced the Monoprice cable I picked up off Amazon when I bought the BlueSound Node 2 with an Audio Sensibility Statement cable, I was floored by what it did to the bass. I really wasn't expecting any real difference, I just wanted a cable that was decently built and would stay connected to the Node and Ares II. It's still no bass monster but now it feels like the bass is properly balanced with the rest of the spectrum.

It took some time for me to conclude that the AWAS is pretty much my endgame. I've tried a number of other decent headphones like the Aeolus, D7200 and Liric among others and the AWAS always comes out ahead. It's really a shame that it hasn't seemed to receive the attention it deserves. I tend to wonder if some of that comes down to system synergy. I really liked the AWAS when I first got it, but since making upgrades specifically to try to bring the best out of it, I've really been amazed at what it's capable of. In fact, I expect I haven't yet discovered its full potential.

As for the R70x, I only recent picked up a pair out of curiosity. It's also a really nice headphone but it is not in the same league as the AWAS. It does have a little more bass presence, especially sub bass, than the AWAS but the R70x can't touch the AWAS in anything else, not even soundstage. Well, except maybe comfort. The AWAS is super comfy but the R70x can feel like your not wearing anything at all.