Audio Technica ATH-W5000 headphones
Feb 22, 2014 at 3:37 AM Post #166 of 304
Depending on your head-size, you might need to bend those metal headbands in order to get a good seal and experience the bass properly.
Test by applying pressure on the cups while listening to music : if it sounds better with more pressure, you need to bend the metal headbands.
Also many hours of burn-in are necessary to get the best sound; I noticed this on a second pair of W5000's I'd acquired, second-hand but obviously with much less mileage than my first pair, also acquired second-hand : the second pair sounded a bit dryer with less bass.
One has to have patience with these woodies, but it's worth it.
 
Feb 22, 2014 at 6:06 AM Post #167 of 304
  Got mine yesterday, leave it over the night with Isotek burn track. Cannot recommend any thing at this state, but feel good to get this can for my woodies collection

nice setup! takes me back to the days when i had my w5000, w1000, yamamoto, and other goodies...
 

 
Feb 22, 2014 at 6:50 AM Post #168 of 304
One thing is certain these headphones are absolutely remarkably good looking. Intrigued considering they are sometimes criticized, but they haven't been discontinued and some like them so cannot be all bad for everyone. I must make a mission to have a listen to these cans. I've found my open can bliss between the T1 and HD800. I'm exploring top end closed cans right now, interested in W3000ANV / W5000 the LCD XC and Signature DJ - at least for a extended audition.
 
I love soundstaging, air, detail and imaging, which are meant to be this cans strong suits and I have a lot of acoustic material and soundtracks which are all strings and orchestra. Should be worth a look.
 
Feb 22, 2014 at 9:25 AM Post #169 of 304
  One thing is certain these headphones are absolutely remarkably good looking. Intrigued considering they are sometimes criticized, but they haven't been discontinued and some like them so cannot be all bad for everyone. I must make a mission to have a listen to these cans. I've found my open can bliss between the T1 and HD800. I'm exploring top end closed cans right now, interested in W3000ANV / W5000 the LCD XC and Signature DJ - at least for a extended audition.
 
I love soundstaging, air, detail and imaging, which are meant to be this cans strong suits and I have a lot of acoustic material and soundtracks which are all strings and orchestra. Should be worth a look.

LCD X is one of finest hp I ever heard, very smooth, superb tonal balance, will be one of the best choice for any one who want perfect sound. Sadly, I love the imperfect sound of AT woodies, I love the mid boost and sparkle than real of them. I can't stop listen to Celtic Woman, All Angles, Alison Krauss, etc. I have W1000, ESW11LTD and W5000 now. My next mission will be W3000ANV.
 
 
  nice setup! takes me back to the days when i had my w5000, w1000, yamamoto, and other goodies...
 

 

Wow, nice set up
beerchug.gif
. Could you please post another picture to see all your rigs?
 
 
Depending on your head-size, you might need to bend those metal headbands in order to get a good seal and experience the bass properly.

Also many hours of burn-in are necessary to get the best sound;


I'm a lucky guy never have problem neither W1000 nor W5000. Sit, walk, turn head, lay on sofa, etc. W5000 still firm on my head.
dt880smile.png

 
I agree with you about burn in, My W1000 and ESW11LTD need at least 150 hours. I have a strange experience with ESW11LTD, during first 200 hours, high frequency change like roller coaster, some time bright some time dull.
confused_face_2.gif

 
 
 
After 24 hours with Isotek burn CD, it's time to take some pic in garden
biggrin.gif


 
Feb 22, 2014 at 2:48 PM Post #170 of 304
Very pretty pattern on the wood you've got there. :p The W5000s I had two years back were lame. Way too dark, you couldn't even tell the stripes unless you looked very close.
Speaking of which, these that I found on Audiogon are quite pretty:

 
Feb 23, 2014 at 2:19 AM Post #172 of 304
Quote
Wow, nice set up
beerchug.gif
. Could you please post another picture to see all your rigs?
 
 
 
 

 
i've had a hundred different rig combinations, if not more. it's a lot of fun and i enjoyed going through different headphones over the years. after spending the last four or five years enjoying some of the DIY stuff i have, i thought i'd try some of the new stuff out there. there's almost too many headphones/amps/sources nowadays, way too many to try them all (i sound like an old geezer, though i'm not that old). i look for interesting and value products nowadays. while i loved my k1000/sig 30 combination back in the day, i think i enjoy listening to my alpha dogs/DIY millet max/opus DAC more for sheer musical bliss.
 
i tried listening to all the woody headphones that were around a decade ago and i think i did almost all the major ones save the sony R10. my favorite of the ATH woodys is the w100, especially when coming from a price to performance perspective, which is how i like to rate headphones. anyway, since this is a w5000 thread, here's a closeup of my ha-02/w5000 pair w/the w100 in the back doing its best bokeh impersonation. don't know if the grain and coloring of this w5000 is to everyone's liking, but i thought this pair was pretty nice.
 

 
Feb 23, 2014 at 11:30 AM Post #173 of 304
  Very pretty pattern on the wood you've got there. :p The W5000s I had two years back were lame. Way too dark, you couldn't even tell the stripes unless you looked very close.
Speaking of which, these that I found on Audiogon are quite pretty:

You're lucky guy. This pattern is beautiful and unique. Very good looking
beerchug.gif

 
 
   
i think i enjoy listening to my alpha dogs/DIY millet max/opus DAC more for sheer musical bliss.

Just post in W3000ANV thread yesterday about Alpha Dog that i also love its sound. This hp will be my next target. If I can't find W3000ANV at reasonable price, I will get Alpha Dog instead.
 
 
It's almost midnight now in Thailand. Just finish watching Liverpool match, it's time for bed now.
 
Good night all!!

 
May 9, 2014 at 6:35 PM Post #174 of 304
After being near obsessed with the W5000 in the past few months, I finally pulled the trigger last Friday, and bought them from Japan. As it was the holiday period until early/mid this week, I was informed that there may be a 2 week delay until they're dispatched... it feels like an eternity.
So I thought I'd console myself by saying hello to the W5000 owners in headfi 
atsmile.gif
 and enjoy the pretty photos.
 
I have a box set of living stereo on its way to me, so I will have lots of wonderful classical music to enjoy the new headphones with.
 
There are some polarising opinons on these headphones in this forum, but if I'm honest that just intrigued me even more! My first decent headphone was the ATH-AD700X, so I'm either used to the AT sound or they're to my liking. The only thing I'm worried about is whether I will still like the W1000X after I hear the W5000. I enjoy that headphone a lot - string quartets sound wonderful.
 
May 10, 2014 at 3:37 AM Post #175 of 304
I never listened to the 1000 so I couldn't say if you'll still like it or not but I have a feeling that you may enjoy both for different occassions.  I still really enjoy the 5000 and regularly turn to it when i'm in the mood to listen to classical music.
 
May 24, 2014 at 5:05 AM Post #176 of 304
So the headphones arrived from Japan yesterday.  I have to say that they are gorgeous. I thought the W1000X were beautiful when I unboxed them, but the W5000 takes the crown. 
I've only listened to them around 8-10 hours - mainly on Beethoven strings/symphonies - so these are initial impressions
 
Sound
I spend at least 9 hours each day with headphones on working/studying, often more. Prior to the arrival of the W5000, the headtime with my current headphones were divided like so:
W1000X (50%)
T1 (30%)
HD650 (20%)
 
I found the sound of the W5000 to my liking as soon as I put them on. The upgrade on the detail retrieval was noticeable from the W1000X and the HD650. Around the same level with the T1. 
 
The soundstage compared to the W1000X is different - I haven't totally figured out what exactly. More space is all I can say at this stage.
 
I have not found the bass lacking for my tastes and my music. I did briefly play some rolling stones albums (1968-1972 period), and I do note slightly less emphasis on the bass notes. It is definitely present, defined, with the rest of the instruments. The drums and guitar sounds are again very detailed. Nevertheless I can understand others left wanting more on the bass front.
 
Fit
The headband dimensions seem slightly different to the W1000X. Initially I felt the latter fitting my head better. I use the stock W1000X earpads which I don't find as bad as other W1000X owners - I had hifiman's velours for a while but found them itchy and are also dust magnets.
 
At first my ears rested on top of the earpad hole, but have since fit my ears inside, and now it feels supremely comfortable. The leather earpads are soft and provide a greater seal and grip. The W1000X pleathers will be replaced with W5000 pads.
 
The 3D wing design on my old AD700X did not fit me well at all, but I found those on the W1000X and W5000 very much to my liking due to the increased rigidity. I've left the headband as it is.
 
Volume
I feel like the W5000 is more sensitive on the volume wheel than the W1000X. It seems to get loud quickly. The better seal may have something to do with this. With all my headphones I tend not go beyond 10:00 on the volume wheel. With the lower impedance ATs, I normally had them between 8-9:30. Currently I have W5000 at 8.
 
Negatives
Everything below the headphones seems like an after-thought and is disappointing.
 
- The headphone cord picks up noise much more than the other headphones I own. Don't think this should be the case in their flagship model.
- I've never been a fan of the headphone cord lining of the AT phones I've owned. Plasticky and does not straighten out well. Looks and feels cheap.
- I wish the headphone jack had the black ebony wood accent similar to the W1000X's cherry wood jack. The silver metal looks out of place from the overall design. 
 
Otherwise, I'm a happy owner enjoying the music from these cans 
smily_headphones1.gif

 

 
May 30, 2014 at 4:44 PM Post #178 of 304
  Apologies for the double post all
 
Do you guys use a wood conditioner for your headphones? Unlike the W1000X, the W5000 does not seem to have a protective layer.

 
No, because I prefer the matte finish on the W5000s. Any conditioner/polisher adds a layer of gloss, afaik. I may be wrong, I'm a noob at this myself. 
 
May 30, 2014 at 6:38 PM Post #179 of 304
   
No, because I prefer the matte finish on the W5000s. Any conditioner/polisher adds a layer of gloss, afaik. I may be wrong, I'm a noob at this myself. 

Hmmn I do like the matte finish too. But I want to look after it, for a long time, and not having any experience with the material, just thought there was a particular procedure to keep the wooden cups pristine. 
 
On another note, I cannot get over how wonderful stringed instruments sound on these headphones - that is, how much detail and timbre of the instrument is retrieved. I'd read about its suitability before the purchase, but actually hearing it.... With chamber music, it's almost like discovering the same music again.
 
[edit typo]
 
Jun 1, 2014 at 10:58 AM Post #180 of 304
Any polishing should be very gentle and has to be redone from time to time. I've posted my findings before. If you would like to keep mat finish I would recommend just a clean rag and maybe a bit of furniture protector like Pronto or Poliboy . They are gentle enough and most contain bee wax which should help to protect the surface but they will not prevent small scratches or scuffs at least not that i know of. Beautiful wood pattern BTW.
 

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