[ast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nomad /img/forum/go_quote.gif ..... The bass on the L3000 is quite present and goes deeper than in any other headphone. Besides it is effortless, detailed, textured and almost speaker-like. .... The L3000 as a somewhat claustrophobic sound signature (perhaps its major flaw), especially if you listen to it right after using an open one (or if you are used to open headphones) but it gets much better after 20-40 mins, once your brain gets used to it (I'm not defending the L3000, I'm just stating that this feeling fades away). Besides, at very low to low volumes the can doesn't seem that "closed". .......

two aspects of L3000 that I couldn't agree more.


L3000 sound so much "speaker like" (at least to my speakers), I really enjoy them for long time non-fatigue listening. It's a beautiful phone, and sounds beautiful too.

 

[Cool_Torpedo]

The JVC DX-1000 also go very deep in their bass response, they can reproduce -and I can hear- a 15Hz tone with them. Haven't done that test on the L3000 yet, but I bet they can reach very low too.

I've tried the pads mod with hard foam in 3mm sheets cut as rings. Just a single ring it's true that makes the bass a bit less excessive, and also increases the treble presence while keeping its smoothnes. But the price you pay is a big one, the midrange -this is very noticeable on voices- gets disbalanced, some lower mids go away and higher mids get more presence like treble, so the warm and natural feeling of the voices on the L3000 is lost. The more thickness you apply under the pads, the more increases this effect.
It's true that for people being very sensitive to bass excess this may be a benefit, summed up to the more airy treble and more spacious sound. However for me it's not worth it, I find the L3000's midrange in its stock form quite seductive, natural and believable. Applying the mod it's more "hifish" and less of my liking.

A friend has recently purchased a pair of W11R, I think I'll be able to try them in the future, so I'll know how "high-end" are they. Someone willing to post his/her impressions about them?

Rgrds

 

[number1sixerfan]

Have you heard the W5000? They are ridiculously good with a good source and amp. I preferred them to the K1000, which they have a lot of similarities with. If you like the sound of the K501 or K1000, I can almost guarantee that the W5000 will be heavenly. lol

 

[ast]

W5000 is very good, but L3000 wins out in two key areas: tonal balance or neutrality, bass.

W5000 sound much more open and airy, more details in comparison. But the 'sugar coated' mid, albeit sounds beautiful, but just not as neutral as L3000. For example, listening to Asian female vocal, from W5000 and L3000 sound like different person, and the one "in" L3000 is more true to the real person. But W5000 sounds much more 'colorful' and attractive hence it is ranked top two best cans for female vocal by a Chinese headphone forum.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ast /img/forum/go_quote.gif W5000 is very good, but L3000 wins out in two key areas: tonal balance or neutrality, bass. W5000 sound much more open and airy, more details in comparison. But the 'sugar coated' mid, albeit sounds beautiful, but just not as neutral as L3000. For example, listening to Asian female vocal, from W5000 and L3000 sound like different person, and the one "in" L3000 is more true to the real person. But W5000 sounds much more 'colorful' and attractive hence it is ranked top two best cans for female vocal by a Chinese headphone forum.

I completely agree with your assessment, which is why the W5000 could never be my only headphone. But there is simply no other phone besides the AKG K1000 that can compete with it's soundstage, openness/airiness, and 3 dimensionality.

Phones like the HD650 with a more natural tonal balance make an excellent compliment to them.

 

[wower]

Glad to hear all the good praise for the AD2000. I still want to plug in the W5000 into my yammy tho!

 

[nc8000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cool_Torpedo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've tried the pads mod with hard foam in 3mm sheets cut as rings. Just a single ring it's true that makes the bass a bit less excessive, and also increases the treble presence while keeping its smoothnes. But the price you pay is a big one, the midrange -this is very noticeable on voices- gets disbalanced, some lower mids go away and higher mids get more presence like treble, so the warm and natural feeling of the voices on the L3000 is lost. The more thickness you apply under the pads, the more increases this effect. It's true that for people being very sensitive to bass excess this may be a benefit, summed up to the more airy treble and more spacious sound. However for me it's not worth it, I find the L3000's midrange in its stock form quite seductive, natural and believable. Applying the mod it's more "hifish" and less of my liking. A friend has recently purchased a pair of W11R, I think I'll be able to try them in the future, so I'll know how "high-end" are they. Someone willing to post his/her impressions about them? Rgrds

That is almost exactly the experience I had when I did it but added to that I got a hollow/echoing sound but that was probably due to the fact that I just used a cut length of power cable and thereby mad an echo room under the pads. The comfort however improved hugely. I have not gotten round to trying with other padding material to fill the gap under the pads fully.

I also have to agree with whoever it was that said he didn't find the L3000 ideal for classical as that is also my finding for which I use my GS-1000 whenever I can and love them for that. They however loose bigtime on rock and some jazz so just goes to prove that even at this exaclted level there is no one phone that does it all.

 

[Henmyr]

Questions to those who have heard AD2000 produce high-end sound:

1. What was the difference between the normal AD2000 sound and this supposed high-end sound? What did this "next level" sound like? How does "high-end" AD2000 sound?

2. What is so special about the amps/setups which brought it to that level? Was it the amp soundsignature which mated well with the AD2000? Was it the power it provided? The detail of the amps? Soundstage?

I'm asking so I know what to look for in amps and sources to bring the best out of AD2000.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I really need to listen to the AD2000 some more. Of course from the R2R system, it sounded great, but with a source that good, it had darn well better. It certainly has given me the impression of "high-end-ness" though, in the other times I've listened.

The W5000 is high-end, when it wants to be. As in, when it feels like fitting you properly, and getting along with the other gear. I'd certainly say it's the best closed dynamic headphone in current production (sorry Ultrasone and Denon). I wouldn't take it over the Stax 4070, but that's a whole 'nother discussion.

At it's best, the W5000 reminds me a lot of a "bassy" or later-production R10. The lighter overall sound signature with an emphasis on air and detail, along with a large soundstage (for a closed headphone) make it a unique listen. It's certainly not quite up to the level of detail and refinement of the R10, but it does very well. Whereas I could never get comfortable listening to rock on an older "bass-lite" R10, the W5000 always had just enough bass, and quite a nice amount when run balanced.

Despite being bassier and more closed sounding, I have found the L3000 more detailed than the W5000. Not in a smack-you-upside-the-head, gee whiz look at the detail sort of way, but in a subtle layer of additional realism, particularly with the most well recorded material. In that the L3000 can provide a very high level of detail/realism with a very enjoyable sound signature, make it the tour de force that it is.

I enjoyed the W11JPN just as much as the W5000, albeit for very different reasons. While it may not be "high-end" on paper, in that it does not perform as technically impressive as the 5k, it certainly made up for it in presentation and enjoyment. However, I don't think it does any better in the midrange than the L3000. The relative lack of bass/treble extension in the W11JPN simply means that the midrange draws more of the listener's attention, hence the phones' inherent romanticism. Or to put it another way, the L3000 has just as good (if not better) a midrange, but the prodigious bass and better detail can detract some mental focus from it.

I've only heard the W1000, W11R, and W2002 in meet conditions, and had issues with the presentation of all three. However, I can see how they might be able to perform very well in the right system(s). It's been years since I've seen the latter two at any meet, so I wonder if I might ever have a chance to hear them in the right system.

The W10LTD and W10VTG are still a mystery to me. Though considering their collectability, I doubt that I would ever own a pair anyway.

 

[Elephas]

^
Calling all newbies, pay attention to this guy!

I think Iron_Dreamer has one of the best sets of ears on Head-Fi, if not the best, plus the ability to express it well in words.

I find myself agreeing with practically everything he says. Sometimes, I would disagree with a point he's made in the past, but then after I've gained more experience and tried more things for myself I found that he was right after all.

 

[mnemonix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cool_Torpedo /img/forum/go_quote.gif A friend has recently purchased a pair of W11R, I think I'll be able to try them in the future, so I'll know how "high-end" are they. Someone willing to post his/her impressions about them?

I have a pair of W11R's as well as the W5000's and can honestly relate to peoples comparisons between the W11JPN and the W5000's. I haven't heard the JPN's , but until I have the opportunity to directly AB them, I'm sceptical that there's much if any difference between them. In short the W5000 is the technically superior headphone, but the 11's are more enjoyable and get more of my head time.

(FWIW I have no fit problems with the W5000's and couldn't wish for more bass, nor do I experience any hollowness in the sound, which I believe are faults that arise entirely from poor positioning and fit.)

 

[WilCox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mnemonix /img/forum/go_quote.gif (FWIW I have no fit problems with the W5000's and couldn't wish for more bass, nor do I experience any hollowness in the sound, which I believe are faults that arise entirely from poor positioning and fit.)

I thoroughly agree with this. Over in the Stax thread, Spritzer talks repeatedly about bending the headband of the SR-007 to get a proper fit, otherwise, you will not get proper bass and balance.

I find that adjusting the fit of the ATH-W5000 to be just as critical, if not more so. (I have both the SR-007A and ATH-W5000 and both are exceptional when you get everthing just right.)

 

[nc8000]

I have also had great success bending and adjusting the headband on both my GS-1000 and L3000 and found it especially benifical on the L3000. I had to compress the headband to make it more egg shaped (narrower)and the bend it outwards down by the cups. It also improved fit/comfort a great deal for me.

 

[Artmon]

Add the ATH-A2000X

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/aud...a2000x-394223/

 

[jarnauga]

My ath-A900Ti sounds boomy and congested. I was enjoying them for a while until I had several headaches and I believed it was the recording.

At the begining I don't understand what happen but I could obtain a brand new K501 and it's obvious to me that I have a problem with those cans. I haven't performed changes in the source chain or amplifier to improve the control over the ath speakers so I don't know if my ath are defective or they have to sound so bass disorted or mid-congested. I don't understand either why a tiny soundstage is hidding details of a song, nouances of an instrument that isn't in the same volume level -lower- of the vocal soloist (compared with the K501, of course)

I bought them happily and I liked the upper-mid and controlled treble. But with few hours I put them in a +250 hours of burning-in with pink-noise and several silence tracks to rest.

Now they are silent in my room and I don't know what to do.

Sorry to the OP for getting so off-topic.