Over the last three days I've compared the WP900to my trusted MSR7b, for approximately 3 to 4 hours each day. I don't know if it will be very helpful for other people, but I thought I would write down some kind of mini-review.
Keep in mind that I am not an expert and I've never done this kind of review before. I will probably use some wrong words when describing the sound. Also, english is not my native language, so please take that into consideration.
I don't have tons of experience with headphones. Over the course of the previous few weeks I was actually searching for a replacement for my ATH-DSR9BT (which are bluetooth headphones), that are unfortunately on their last legs. So at first I was actually comparing bluetooth headphones (Sony MX5, Sennheiser Momentum 4, Technics EAH-A800), but none of them could hold a candle to my ATH-DSR9BT. In fact, none of them even came close! They were all just severely lacking in resolution and clarity, even with ANC disabled. Then I got an idea: My old ATH-MSR7b actually sounds a lot like the ATH-DSR9BT (but I think the DSR9BT are still slightly better, especially when wired), so there surely must be a way to add bluetooth capabilities to the MSR7b? Long story short: That was my introduction into the world of Bluetooth-DACs. After trying the FiiO BTR7, I ended up with the iFi GO blu, which is a really awesome little device! It plays *very well* with the MSR7b and the XBass option adds the missing bit of *oomph* that the MSR7b are usually a bit lacking.
So, why am I even here? I am very satisfied with the ATH-MSR7b and the iFi GO blu, but while in the process of comparing headphones and DACs I just stumbled upon the ATH-WP900 and immediately fell in love with the design. Also, while my ATH-MSR7b are still working perfectly fine, I already have them for several years and, as mentioned, I think they are just not *as good* as my ATH-DSR9BT that I was looking to replace. But, to be honest, I just couldn't resist this sexy design.... So here I am.
First, a few facts that could be useful to mention before I go into my impressions with the WP900:
- I am in my mid-thirties. I have above average hearing as certified by my ear-doctor who measured my hearing abilities after an ear-infection last year. I can hear high frequencies that the vast majority of adults cannot hear anymore (which is both a curse and a blessing for me).
- I compared the WP900 to the MSR7b by connecting them via 4.4mm balanced connector to the iFi Go blu.
- The iFi Go blu has been connected to my smartphone via USB and I used the HiBy Music Player to directly output the music to USB, thus circumventing the Android audio stack and avoiding any kind of resampling.
- I mostly listen to video game music, which doesn't really say anything, because video game music can be of any genre, like Classical/Orchestral, Rock, Electronic, Chiptunes, J-Pop... Most of my music has been bought at bandcamp and downloaded in FLAC format.
After comparing the headphones for over 10 hours across three days, these are my conclusions:
Do the WP900 have superior sound quality when compared to the MSR7b? Yes, I think so! Especially when listening to classical music, the WP900 really shine! The separation of the instruments is the clearest I've ever heard and the sound stage is just as impressive! I love my DSR9BT for the fact that I can so clearly hear *where* each and every instrument is coming from. The MSR7b just couldn't replicate this with this kind of perfection. In my opinion, the WP900 are a step above of both of the others when it comes to pure sound *quality*. But, as I've been warned a few comments above, the WP900 have a different sound *signature*, which is my biggest issue with them.
There has already been a lot of discussion about the V-shaped frequency response of the WP900 in this thread. While this is probably true, I personally didn't notice the often mentioned subdued mids. I think the mids sound about the same as with my MSR7b and DSR9BT. The highs sound also very similar to me. As far as I know, headphones by Audio-Technica have a reputation for having rather harsh highs. If this is true for the MSR7b and the DSR9BT, then this certainly also holds true for the WP900. That said, I actually think the WP900 have better *controlled* highs. There is just as much detail in the highs as with the other two, probably even more so. But there are some high frequencies (especially when listening to chiptunes) where the MSR7b are almost *hurtful* to listen to and where the DSR9BT sound slightly less hurtful. Compared to these two headphones, the WP900 are actually *pleasant* to listen to when it comes to these very high frequencies. I am extremely impressed!
Now I want to speak about the bass, and this is the reason why I will probably return the WP900. Damn, that's certainly a lot of bass! I've mostly used headphones by Audio Technica before, so I am just not used to such prominent lows. I was hoping that this is just a matter of acclimatization. So instead of returning the WP900 right away, I have been using them for a few days almost exclusively, but I just cannot get over how *exhausting* it is to use them for more than half an hour or so, especially when listening to bass-heavy music. They sound *great*, but it's just too exhausting to listen to! This is surely hightly subjective and there a probably tons of people who love this kind of bass. But I am using my headphones like 80% at home, often for many hours at a time, so I just cannot get over it. If you are a bass-head who mostly uses the headphones in short bursts while being outside (and/or you just love bass), I highly recommend these headphones!
But if you are like me who likes to use the headphones at home for multiple hours after a stressful day at work, these may just not be the right headphones for you, unfortunately. Maybe some of you are able to tame these headphones by using an equalizer or other earpads (like the Yaxi mentioned a few comments above). But unfortunately I haven't been able to properly adjust the equalizer without making other songs just sound *wrong* (remember: I am not an expert) and I also don't have any 3rd party earpads.
EDIT: Added this paragraph:
On the flip side, after using the WP900 for a while, the MSR7b almost sound *hollow* when switching back to them. It takes quite a while to acclimatize back to the very subdues bass of the MSR7b after having used the WP900. Still, the MSR7b are much more relaxing to listen to. If I actually need a bit more bass with my MSR7b, I can still enable the XBass mode of the Ifi, which works extremely well with the MSR7b. Interestingly, even with XBass disabled the WP900 still have a lot more bass then the MSR7b with XBass enabled. The MSR7b with XBass enabled hit just the right amount of bass for my taste.
So, yeah, I will probably return them just because of the excessive bass. This is really a very tough decision that hurts me a lot, because other then that I freaking LOVE these headphones! The design is awesome and the sound quality is without a doubt a step above my two other headphones. The WP900 *are* an upgrade to the MSR7b in many aspects where I was looking for an upgrade, but I just cannot handle the excessive bass. I am very sad about this, especially since now I *know* that the MSR7b are not the end of the line.
About the comfort and the build quality: I don't have a lot of headphones to compare them to, but I find the WP900 slightly more comfortable than the MSR7b, which I find already find very comfortable but maybe slightly too loose for my head. The WP900 clamps **very slightly* harder than the MSR7b, which is a positive for me. Some people have complained about the build quality of the WP900, but I think they are perfectly fine. The build quality seems very similar to the MSR7b, which is a good thing. Compared to my DSR9BT, whose build quality just sucks ass (rattling buttons, squeeky frame whenever I move my head), I cannot really complain about both the WP900 and the MSR7b.