Audiotechnica ATH-w3000 Aniversary or the w5000? Availability?
Dec 19, 2014 at 9:38 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 4

audiophonicshz

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I'm trying out closed cans now after a long time enjoying my trusty hd800's.  I've heard the m50Xs at my local store and I like the audiotechnica house sound.  I've come across two that I really want to buy, the w3000 anv and the w5000.  So my question is what are the differences (if any) between the two.  I know the w3000 is the special limited aniversary version and the w5000 is the "normal" flagship.  I've spotted some reasonable prices under $1K for the w5000, but its more difficult to find the w3000's.  What would be a reasonable price to pay for a new w3000's if I can find them? Thanks in advance!
 
Mar 20, 2015 at 10:02 AM Post #2 of 4
Generally speaking and comparing them both, the w5000 is much faster in its attack and decay. When I owned it, after getting a proper fit, it was a detail monster to me. Reason I sold it is because I was looking for a little more heft and weight to the music. The w5000 felt very light on its feet. The w3000 is sweeter sounding (not as sweet/euphonic as w11jpn or w11vtg though) than the w5000. More weight to the music. W5000 had better treble and cleaner bass though.

To me, I'd use the w5000 for acoustic and classical/instrumental kinda music, and the w3000 for vocals and lounge/progressive house or pop music. For rock, go get a pair of AD2000. Lol.

What will u be using them for? If u want crazy detail and really clean bass and fast pace, get the w5000, if youre looking to melt into groovy smoov music, get the w3000.

Again, this is just a generalization and simplified version of what I think, IMHO of course.
 
Mar 20, 2015 at 10:12 AM Post #3 of 4
Neither of them sound like the M50 from what I heard of them. The W5000 will be anemic in comparison to the M50. The W5000 is brighter, detailed and with a large stage, but rather weak bass. The W3000ANV is warmer and more musical for most people. The W5000 is a headphone I don't usually see discussed on many sites. The W5000 would be very good for classical though.
 
Mar 20, 2015 at 6:48 PM Post #4 of 4
I would say the W5000 has a cliché 'high fidelity' sound, but it's also a detail monster. It has a very nuanced sounding midrange (vocals) and upper midrange (violins)
Might be the most viscereal dynamic headphone for detail with an amp as powerful like a Dynahi. I aim to test this theory.
There might be a little distortion in the bass, I forget. But if there is, the W5000 doesn't have much bass so it's not noticeable.
 
The w11jpn in one word: romantic. Less genre bandwidth than the HD650, but it sounds like the HD650 done right.
 
The W3000Anv is the most euphonic headphone I've heard. I'd suggest storing it somewhere special and when taking it out, do it as a ritual.
Imo sounds the best with op-amp and not discrete amplifier designs.
Might be the best budget summit-fi headphone for live music. (if you have a planar magnetic or Stax for electronic music)
 
None of them are an all-round performer with regards to genre bandwidth imo.
But that doesn't diminish my admiration of them.
The 1st edition M50 sounds like no other A-T I've heard. Maybe the other editions are different, but I'd rather own a Sennheiser HD280 than that for a budget mixing headphone.
 

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