[Mightygrey]

Gosh the wood on the ATs is 2nd only to ZMF. I love the look of these. Gorgeous!

It's actually my favourite, and I've owned ZMFs in the past. It's probably the guitarist in me that loves these guys.

 

[Nostoi]

Just rolled some Yaxi MSR7 comfort pads on thrse out of interest, with a view of adding more mid texture. Kinda works but screws up the overall frequency. Has anyone discovered any other pads that match or improve stock pads?

 

[Nostoi]

Gosh the wood on the ATs is 2nd only to ZMF. I love the look of these. Gorgeous!

Agreed. Tho my ZMF VC still take first place.

 

[Markolav]

I joined to the family... Finally ordered these gorgeous looking babies. I've wanted to own or try these since the release.

Can anyone recommend a fitting case for them?

 

[Mightygrey]

I joined to the family... Finally ordered these gorgeous looking babies. I've wanted to own or try these since the release.

Can anyone recommend a fitting case for them?

https://www.audeze.com/collections/accessories/products/el-8-sine-travel-case

 

[JML]

Go through the thread, search for case. There are several noted and pictured.

 

[Mightygrey]

Agreed. Tho my ZMF VC still take first place.

Ok, they do look pretty great.

 

[Nostoi]

Ok, they do look pretty great.

Yep, the wood on the ZMF varies a lot. I had a pair of Eikon's in the past, which were nice but by no means mesmerizing. The VC wood is also a mixed bag, and you never quite know how it'll look until you receive it. I got lucky with this pair of Camphor Burl LTD.

Having said that, the wood on the WP900 is certainly special and I get a thrill each time I look at mine. I had a few guitars made that came from the Fujigen factory where they sourced the WP900 wood and they were all outstanding.

 

[Mightygrey]

Yep, the wood on the ZMF varies a lot. I had a pair of Eikon's in the past, which were nice but by no means mesmerizing. The VC wood is also a mixed bag, and you never quite know how it'll look until you receive it. I got lucky with this pair of Camphor Burl LTD.

Having said that, the wood on the WP900 is certainly special and I get a thrill each time I look at mine. I had a few guitars made that came from the Fujigen factory where they sourced the WP900 wood and they were all outstanding.

I had a pair of the 'barnyard' oxidised cherry wood Eikons. Sure, they were nice and all, but didn't really scream 'special' all that much.

 

[gingerchoco]

.

 

[Jhilderson]

I wanted to offer some reflections on the WP900 in comparison to the MSR7B. I’ve already posted an earlier version of this on the MSR7B thread, but this is an extended set of impressions of the WP900.

First, these things are absolutely beautiful. I already have the ZMF Eikon, which many people including myself regard as fine looking headphones. They are. But I have to say, the WP900 are probably the best looking headphones I’ve seen. Despite being a flamed maple finish, they’re actually not overly “flash.” I know this finish and the factory where they come from quite well as I have MIJ Fender and a Charvel (for hair metal fans) both from the late 80s from that factory. I tried to take some decent photos, but the battery on my Lumix died. You get the idea, though. See below. The build quality is solid without in any sense being bulky. They are light and the rotating hinge on the cup feels smooth and solid. I understand the chap who designed the MSR7B also designed the WP900. The structure is similar, though the materials are of course different. Pads are very comfortable as is headband. It's amazing that the cups house full size 53mm drivers in such a small unit.

To the sound. When I bought these blindly, I was expecting them to a more refined version of the MSR7B. The MSR7B are excellent headphones for the price. Their technical attributes are outstanding and probably deserve more recognition. The WP900 is quite a bit warmer than the MSR7B. Bass is more accented. Probably by 3db in the 80khz region. This gives them more slam and impact. They handle deep sub-bass remarkably well. Potentially problematic tracks – much of Hans Zimmer’s late output, for example – can cause distortion and clipping in some headphones. My Focal Clears actually distort when pushed too far, which I don’t recommend doing. The sub-bass and bass on the WP900 is detailed and controlled. A track like “YYZ” by Rush or “Teen Town” by Weather Report is a good test. It’s a beautiful experience on the WP900. Deep, impactful, and textured. Kick drums and bass guitars are powerful and layered. Zero bloat. Massive Attack’s “Angel” is another good test track. I’m listening to it now and I hope people get the chance to try this out – because it’s sweet.

But these are not “basshead” headphones. There’s zero bleeding of the bass into the mids, which I welcome. I’m a fan of the Beyer sort of bass – tight, controlled, and with an accent on sub-bass. I don’t like mid-bass and especially when it’s flabby (I think here of the Nightowls and to some extent the Campfire Cascade when they’re unmodified). Mids are superb; lush, detailed, full. There is no recession. Male vocals are present but not shouty. Guitars are powerful. I’m listening to a 32/192 WAV rip of the re-mastered issue of Van Halen’s “Fair Warning” (arguably the greatest guitar tone of all time). The tone is rich, organic, and immensely satisfying.

When I first plugged the WP900 into my WM1A, my first sense was the WP900 does not have the peaky treble of the MSR7B. I have to say, I don’t mind a bit of sharp treble, not to the point of sibilance, but I’d rather have too much of a peak and lower it in EQ than not enough. I have now had a good day or so of listening fairly solidly to the WP900 and find the treble to be balanced, detailed, but not fatiguing. One of my test tracks for treble is Dio “Holy Diver,” especially the cymbals and high-hats which can be piercing on the wrong headphones. Here, they are close to perfect. When I’m not listening to Sibelius, Bruckner, or Mahler, I listen to a lot of supposedly “bright” rock/metal from the ‘80s (hey, boomer). It all sounds superb and detailed on the WP900. Immensely pleasing.

Soundstage and imaging are indeed outstanding. The final movement of Mahler’s 2nd must be one of the most demanding pieces of music to reproduce in any recorded format; I have quite a few DSD/SACD recordings of this symphony and the level of clarity, detail, and precise imaging on the WP900 is outstanding. The same is true of complex passages in progressive rock and metal. Listen to Dream Theater’s “Images and Words” with these for a good exercise in imaging and separation.

They pair exceptionally well with the WM1A. I already thought the synergy between the WM1A and the MSR7B was excellent – no EQ needed. I find the WM1A is actually quite a picky dap. My ZMF’s and my former pair of Sony Z7M2 sound tepid and just “off” with the WM1A, even when run through a powerful amp. But the WP900 just works. They really come to life here. I also want to add that the WP900 scale exceptionally well. I bought them mostly for portable use, but when I plugged them into my RME ADI-2 and Pathos Aurium, I was pleased to hear that they sound excellent. This is an amazing combo. On my desktop set-up, the WP900 are exceptionally snappy and precise. They could easily be one’s main desktop cans, without a doubt. Out of interest, I just A/B’d these with my ZMF Eikon. The Eikon are definitely more technically proficient headphones, more spacious, better detail retrieval, but the WP900 are not far behind.

Hope this helps those interested in these fine headphones; happy to provide more info if needed. Excuse any typos.

You compare these to the Cascades. Cascades would have some bleed of the bass, but more quantity in general.
I’m actually torn between these and the cascades at this moment. Portability is important for me, as I travel a lot and want to take some good gear. I have a Fiio q5s and a Dethonray honey h1 as sources. I’ve just sold my goldplanar gl2000’s because they’re just not great in my opinion.

I am somewhat of a basshead, but I love clarity, detail, upper sparkle. Right now my favorite sound is my Hyla Sarda IEM coupled with the q5s. My god. Perfect bass, deep and impactful, like a subwoofer in your ear, but the sound is also very crisp and clear. Female singers sound superb. It’s massively good for metal and instrumental music like godspeed for example (track: sleep. Djeez) hip hop, whatever you throw at them.

I’m looking for a headphone that has very good bass, is portable and has not only bass If you know what I mean. Little bit like what the hyla sarda does.

Would you rec me cascades or these? I take it from your review you might favor these?

 

[Nostoi]

You compare these to the Cascades. Cascades would have some bleed of the bass, but more quantity in general.
I’m actually torn between these and the cascades at this moment. Portability is important for me, as I travel a lot and want to take some good gear. I have a Fiio q5s and a Dethonray honey h1 as sources. I’ve just sold my goldplanar gl2000’s because they’re just not great in my opinion.

I am somewhat of a basshead, but I love clarity, detail, upper sparkle. Right now my favorite sound is my Hyla Sarda IEM coupled with the q5s. My god. Perfect bass, deep and impactful, like a subwoofer in your ear, but the sound is also very crisp and clear. Female singers sound superb. It’s massively good for metal and instrumental music like godspeed for example (track: sleep. Djeez) hip hop, whatever you throw at them.

I’m looking for a headphone that has very good bass, is portable and has not only bass If you know what I mean. Little bit like what the hyla sarda does.

Would you rec me cascades or these? I take it from your review you might favor these?

I had the Cascade and I can't think of a single reason to opt for them over the WP900, unless for some reason you prefer muddy mid-bass that bleeds into the mids. I find the Cascade unlistenable with all the filters attached; removing all filters - especially the white filter - adding the XL pads, makes the more bearable. But they don't have any of the clarity let alone sparkle of the WP900. To my ears, the tuning of the WP900 - energetic, with defined bass and treble, good imaging - is a success. With the Cascade, Campfire appear to have come up with a formula that they'll throw as much bass in as possible and hope something sticks. I regard it a failed design. Plus, the Cascade are one of the most uncomfortable headphones I've used - you need pads to mitigate hot-spots. Awful.

So, WP900 100%. I would also say TH900 if you wanna up up basshead game.

 

[Jhilderson]

Over ear is harder for me to decide on than iems it seems.
The Th900 seems appealing as well and I went back and forth, but also there there’s so much conflicting reports and people finding it way too sharp, quality control issues,.. and for me maybe losing some of the portability that I desire. Of course also more than double the price of the wp900. I’ve also heard plenty people say they prefer the cascade over the TH900 or Th610. So much disagreement. So I don’t dare pull the trigger on such a thing blind. The hyla sarda comes in pricy as well but at least everyone that has em are raving over them. And yes, they Are that damn good. WP900 is appealing due to clarity and sparkle you mention, portable and coming with a 4,4 connector so I can use them with my q5s and honey h1. Although I’m still torn in the over ear journey your answer helps!

One more question, I have a smaller head. Quite narrow. I have troubles with headphones being too loose, also can’t find glasses for example that fit my frame. Most too wide haha. How do you think the wp900 is for a smaller head?

Thanks for your reply!

 

[Nostoi]

Over ear is harder for me to decide on than iems it seems.
The Th900 seems appealing as well and I went back and forth, but also there there’s so much conflicting reports and people finding it way too sharp, quality control issues,.. and for me maybe losing some of the portability that I desire. Of course also more than double the price of the wp900. I’ve also heard plenty people say they prefer the cascade over the TH900 or Th610. So much disagreement. So I don’t dare pull the trigger on such a thing blind. The hyla sarda comes in pricy as well but at least everyone that has em are raving over them. And yes, they Are that damn good. WP900 is appealing due to clarity and sparkle you mention, portable and coming with a 4,4 connector so I can use them with my q5s and honey h1. Although I’m still torn in the over ear journey your answer helps!

One more question, I have a smaller head. Quite narrow. I have troubles with headphones being too loose, also can’t find glasses for example that fit my frame. Most too wide haha. How do you think the wp900 is for a smaller head?

Thanks for your reply!

I'm afraid I can't really answer the small head issue, because I have a large (though perfectly well proportioned [indeed you might say ideal]) head with a thick coating of hair. The clamp pressure is not tight by any means, so you may want to demo them. Other small headed users here may be able to offer user feedback.

 

[Jhilderson]

Haha, thanks anyways!