Audio Technica the master of WOOD

Jun 3, 2024 at 12:28 PM Post #481 of 580
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Demoed both W1000X and W1000Z today. While W1000X is really good for vocals I am really attracted to W1000Z. The teak is gives a nicely dry sound while still giving crazy slam and very complex vocals. Very tempted to buy one.
 
Jun 3, 2024 at 1:31 PM Post #482 of 580
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Demoed both W1000X and W1000Z today. While W1000X is really good for vocals I am really attracted to W1000Z. The teak is gives a nicely dry sound while still giving crazy slam and very complex vocals. Very tempted to buy one.
I decided to pick my W1000Z from the shelf after a while. Indeed a lovely sounding headphones for certain type of music, especially for female vocals, acoustics and like. Bass is too light for my liking overall but midbass is nice and lush. Maybe too "niche" of a headphone for me but I'm afraid I would regret selling it away. :smiley:
 
Jun 5, 2024 at 4:23 PM Post #485 of 580
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Got a practically brand new W1000Z at 300SGD. Its a real shame they discontinued it. This is so good for EDM, metal and vocals in general.
Good to know that there is availability in Singapore. :)
 
Jun 12, 2024 at 7:43 PM Post #487 of 580
Starting the morning with the lovely ATH W5000. Always gorgeous for female vocals especially. :)

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Jun 25, 2024 at 8:12 PM Post #488 of 580
Been spending the past couple of days with the lovely ATH-W2002 and the L3000. :)

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Jun 26, 2024 at 12:03 AM Post #489 of 580
I miss my L3000 dearly. My ownership must be around 10 years ago but i still remember it extremely well. Is there anything that comes close to it which is currently on the market? Maybe a zmf? Even though it was colored it had extreme technicalities (for that time) and a very life like representation. I never heard a zmf but from reading about them some of their offerings could have a similar tonality. Has anyone ever compare them? I would hate to buy a L3000 and it becoming a beautiful doorstop with AudioTechnica being out of replacement drivers...
 
Jun 26, 2024 at 8:28 AM Post #490 of 580
I miss my L3000 dearly. My ownership must be around 10 years ago but i still remember it extremely well. Is there anything that comes close to it which is currently on the market? Maybe a zmf? Even though it was colored it had extreme technicalities (for that time) and a very life like representation. I never heard a zmf but from reading about them some of their offerings could have a similar tonality. Has anyone ever compare them? I would hate to buy a L3000 and it becoming a beautiful doorstop with AudioTechnica being out of replacement drivers...
Hey, I used owned the ATH-L3000 (Vesper pads installed) and currently own the ZMF Atrium closed Olive LTD (Suede pads installed). I also tried the ZMF stock wood AC at meets and did a quick A/B comparison with the ATH-L3000 on a Schiit Folkvangr.

For the comparison below, I will state using the Olive wood LTD for the ZMF AC as that is the ZMF AC I actually own.

To me, they sound nothing alike, it’s an apple to orange comparison imo. Both headphones are more tune to their company house sounds, so it’s more about what you are looking for in your tracks at the end of the day. Both have good bass, but the ZMF AC goes lower making the bass sounds more fuller in the mids with a more rich sound. ZMF AC can get a little harsh in the upper midrange and higher frequencies, while the ATH-L3000 were pretty smooth to me. I say the trade off is that the ZMF Atrium closed allows me to hear more details in the music and better soundstage presentation in exchange of sounding more harsh up top vs the ATH-L3000. I went ahead and ordered a solid mesh plate for the ZMF AC to see if I can smooth out those frequencies. The ATH-L3000 was easier to get better vocal clarity vs where I had to use my really good setup to get the ZMF AC to good enough for me.

I say if you more into vocal centric tracks ATH-L3000 is a pretty good choice, but I also think ATH wooden headphones in general does a really good job for vocals. The ATH-L3000 is more of a balance sounding headphone to me vs the ZMF AC where it can get harsh up top depending on the setup, recording, and your ears. If you want more of a fuller sound presentation with a pretty nice soundstage, the ZMF Atrium Closed on Suede pads is pretty good. The reason I sold my ATH-L3000 is because I thought I would be quitting headphone and moving on to speakers, but I forgot a really good value of a closed back headphone is isolation. I bought the ZMF AC as a “replacement close-back headphone” since the ATH-L3000 is so freaking rare and also cheaper than a used ATH-L3000. The ZMF AC is still a pretty good headphone in its own right, but not at all similar to the ATH-L3000 for me. The ATH-L3000 is still my favorite closed back headphone to date since I prefer focusing more on vocals. I’m working on smoothing out the upper mids and higher frequencies on the ZMF AC, so hopefully the mesh plate with tune the AC more to my liking to dethrone the ATH-L3000 for me.
 
Jun 26, 2024 at 6:48 PM Post #491 of 580
Moving on to the L5000 this morning. :)

Still the ATH house sound. But definitely not as bossy as the L3000. The compensation, in my view, is it has a bigger soundstage and excellent layering and separation. Well, not surprising considering the intervening decades between the L3000 and the L5000.

But, as with all ATH woodies, excellent for vocals. Listening out of the SAEQ Hyperion Ge/Holo Spring 3 KTE. I do find that the lush tube like sound signature of the Hyperion Ge is a great pairing with ATH woodies. :)

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Jun 28, 2024 at 3:01 AM Post #492 of 580
Hi, hope this is the right thread to ask... I have a pair of W3000ANV that I am looking to sell. Have had them up on local sales sites (Sydney, Australia). The one thing I am not sure of is what these would be valued at. Only ones I have seen for sale are ebay and those are asking 3k, which seems very excessive.

They are in very good condition (no scratches etc) and with original packaging (including cardboard box it was posted in).

Thanks
 

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