protoss
Headphoneus Supremus
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**Bonus 3
“Audio Technica ATH W2002 won the 2001 GRAND PRIX Award by Stereo Sound, Japan.”
ATH-W2002 is a limited edition of headphones. The 3rd one in line. The 2nd rarest one in line and 3rd limited edition headphones so far. The W2002 was created to Commemorate the 40th anniversary of Audio Technica’s founding in 2001 and the 2nd headphone to celebrate Audio Technica anniversary.
The making and legacy of W2002 makes this woodie very unique.
Building the W2002 headphone is a laborious task. Only seven wood shells can be processed when it was in production. It takes about 50 minutes with several machines working simultaneously, using special tools such as, special cutting edge knives to engrave and slice the wood, making these headphones pretty unique.
Afterward, the wood gets polished and repeatedly painted after the cutting and shaping of the wood. This process is highly laborious and must be perfected because a failure rate of 30% was on the table. This made these headphones extra difficult to create. In total, after the perfect matching and building of these beautiful headphones, only 1000 units were ever produced worldwide!
After the success of these cups and the common sense of the durability and reliability of the W2002 headphone, the cup design was used for all the other AT headphones such as, W1000, L3000, W3000, etc...
This is why the W2002 is unique and legendary. It was the first Audio Technica headphone to change the wood cup design and made it a standard cup design for the next woodies of the future.
Introducing the legendary W2002:
Release Date: October 21, 2001
■ Type: Closed - Dynamic
■ Frequency range: 5 - 40000 Hz
■ Impedance: 40 ohm
■ Maximum input: 2000mW
■ Sensitivity: 100 dB
■ House: lacquered wooden
■ Weight: 340g
■ Unit: #1000
*Discontinued
Build:
The W2002 uses Asada cherry wood (Asada Sakura), wood material. It also uses the same 1400-year-old Echizen lacquer that was found on the W11JPN headphone.
The W2002 uses the same Asada Sakura wood as other previous woodies. The biggest difference is that these headphones had a whole new design of the cups. If you are wondering what came first, the W2002 or the W1000? It was the W2002 that came first. In many places, I notice it is written the W1000 was released in the year 2000 and the W2002 released in 2001. The fact is the W2002 was released in 2001, and the W1000 was released in 2002, followed by the L3000 release in 2003 and the W5000 in 2005. Nothing was released in the year 2004.
The W1000 outrightly can be stated as the cheaper, lower-end model of the W2002.
Wings:
The W2002 uses the same Wing design as previous models.
Handles:
The 40th anniversary beautifully painted on the left and right.
Wires:
The W2002 was the first Woodie to have two cables on both sides of the cups. It has the same wire as the W11JPN, W11R headphones. The cables use the same cloth-wrapped cabling; at the tip of the plug, it has a 6.3mm gold plated plug with a wood case written ‘Japan’ on it.
Earpads:
The earpads on the W2002 are lambskin leather. It is one of the best earpads but now discontinues. The W5000 earpads are all anyone needs to match these ones. I prefer my YAXI earpads overall.
Box:
This is the first time a Woodie was well protected from the elements. The W2002 came in a big plastic/aluminum box. Inside is greeted with a nice morone silk/velvet cloth. The previous models were housed inside a cardboard box—almost a disgrace for such an extraordinary model as the woodies.
Drivers:
The drivers are again angle and place perfectly for your ears to get the best sound.
Sound:
The sound is similar to the W1000 but a better refine version. Not as bright and trebly as the W1000. The W2002 is warm and neutral. I notice the treble is rolled-off. The bass is shy and not slamming. The headphone is somewhat picky with amps and can sound amazing with the right one. If not, it can sound thin and bland. With my gear its full-bodied.
The W2002 scales very well with higher end modern amplifiers.
Conclusion:
This is one of the best headphones in the Woodie line. Unfortunately, it is also the most controversial of the bunch. When it was released, it was a straightaway match against the R10 for some reason. It was unfortunate as the R10 is much better period. The W11R should have been the rightful challenger to the R10, as I hinted at in my W11R review, but sadly, no one ever heard of those back in American circles in the year 2001. Even the W2002 was difficult to obtain outside of Japan in the early days of 2001. Today (2021) you can somewhat come across them more easily but still difficult because they are a rare item.
I personally adore these, well it seems like I like all the woodies in general
The W2002 headphone is a great chilled out headphone. And slowly becoming one of my all time favorites!
Out of the seven woodies in order. The W2002 can easily be rank in the top 3 or best in the line.
Rank 9.5 / 10
“Audio Technica ATH W2002 won the 2001 GRAND PRIX Award by Stereo Sound, Japan.”
ATH-W2002 is a limited edition of headphones. The 3rd one in line. The 2nd rarest one in line and 3rd limited edition headphones so far. The W2002 was created to Commemorate the 40th anniversary of Audio Technica’s founding in 2001 and the 2nd headphone to celebrate Audio Technica anniversary.
The making and legacy of W2002 makes this woodie very unique.
Building the W2002 headphone is a laborious task. Only seven wood shells can be processed when it was in production. It takes about 50 minutes with several machines working simultaneously, using special tools such as, special cutting edge knives to engrave and slice the wood, making these headphones pretty unique.
Afterward, the wood gets polished and repeatedly painted after the cutting and shaping of the wood. This process is highly laborious and must be perfected because a failure rate of 30% was on the table. This made these headphones extra difficult to create. In total, after the perfect matching and building of these beautiful headphones, only 1000 units were ever produced worldwide!
After the success of these cups and the common sense of the durability and reliability of the W2002 headphone, the cup design was used for all the other AT headphones such as, W1000, L3000, W3000, etc...
This is why the W2002 is unique and legendary. It was the first Audio Technica headphone to change the wood cup design and made it a standard cup design for the next woodies of the future.
Introducing the legendary W2002:
Release Date: October 21, 2001
■ Type: Closed - Dynamic
■ Frequency range: 5 - 40000 Hz
■ Impedance: 40 ohm
■ Maximum input: 2000mW
■ Sensitivity: 100 dB
■ House: lacquered wooden
■ Weight: 340g
■ Unit: #1000
*Discontinued
Build:
The W2002 uses Asada cherry wood (Asada Sakura), wood material. It also uses the same 1400-year-old Echizen lacquer that was found on the W11JPN headphone.
The W2002 uses the same Asada Sakura wood as other previous woodies. The biggest difference is that these headphones had a whole new design of the cups. If you are wondering what came first, the W2002 or the W1000? It was the W2002 that came first. In many places, I notice it is written the W1000 was released in the year 2000 and the W2002 released in 2001. The fact is the W2002 was released in 2001, and the W1000 was released in 2002, followed by the L3000 release in 2003 and the W5000 in 2005. Nothing was released in the year 2004.
The W1000 outrightly can be stated as the cheaper, lower-end model of the W2002.
Wings:
The W2002 uses the same Wing design as previous models.
Handles:
The 40th anniversary beautifully painted on the left and right.
Wires:
The W2002 was the first Woodie to have two cables on both sides of the cups. It has the same wire as the W11JPN, W11R headphones. The cables use the same cloth-wrapped cabling; at the tip of the plug, it has a 6.3mm gold plated plug with a wood case written ‘Japan’ on it.
Earpads:
The earpads on the W2002 are lambskin leather. It is one of the best earpads but now discontinues. The W5000 earpads are all anyone needs to match these ones. I prefer my YAXI earpads overall.
Box:
This is the first time a Woodie was well protected from the elements. The W2002 came in a big plastic/aluminum box. Inside is greeted with a nice morone silk/velvet cloth. The previous models were housed inside a cardboard box—almost a disgrace for such an extraordinary model as the woodies.
Drivers:
The drivers are again angle and place perfectly for your ears to get the best sound.
Sound:
The sound is similar to the W1000 but a better refine version. Not as bright and trebly as the W1000. The W2002 is warm and neutral. I notice the treble is rolled-off. The bass is shy and not slamming. The headphone is somewhat picky with amps and can sound amazing with the right one. If not, it can sound thin and bland. With my gear its full-bodied.
The W2002 scales very well with higher end modern amplifiers.
Conclusion:
This is one of the best headphones in the Woodie line. Unfortunately, it is also the most controversial of the bunch. When it was released, it was a straightaway match against the R10 for some reason. It was unfortunate as the R10 is much better period. The W11R should have been the rightful challenger to the R10, as I hinted at in my W11R review, but sadly, no one ever heard of those back in American circles in the year 2001. Even the W2002 was difficult to obtain outside of Japan in the early days of 2001. Today (2021) you can somewhat come across them more easily but still difficult because they are a rare item.
I personally adore these, well it seems like I like all the woodies in general
The W2002 headphone is a great chilled out headphone. And slowly becoming one of my all time favorites!
Out of the seven woodies in order. The W2002 can easily be rank in the top 3 or best in the line.
Rank 9.5 / 10
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