Can somebody explain the Audio Technica imports to me?

[Davie]

Ok. The more I hear about the AT's from Japan, the more it sounds like one of these might qualify for my BIG HEADPHONE PURCHASE. I always assumed that it would be the Senn 600, but now I'm very interested in the AT's. However, the top of the AT line is quite pricey, especially for something that you can't audition or return. So...

Can anyone help me to understand the differences between A1000, W1000, A900, W100, etc. etc. etc. Also Air vs. Non-Air. I mean, I get the basic distinction between wood vs. non-wood and open vs. closed, but what does it mean for the sound???

Also, is there anywhere to get these in the US besides Audiocubes?

Thanks for any insights.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

Davie
HI: The W1000 is wood and cost more that the A1000 that is titainum. I have read that both cans somehow sound the same? If you can only look at the W1000 or A1000. Also the eggo D66 is great for portable use but I find myself listing to it at home because it is so light and fun to listen to. Good luck
PS
I consider my A1000 my major headphones for all kind of music and an upgrade seems far off with the W1000 or A1000.

 

[elnero]

Davie,

I haven't heard any of the AT headphones. I recently purchased a used pair of W100's that will hopefully arrive next week. I did a lot of research and asked a lot of questions before I purchased so I'll try to share some of my findings.

First of the A500, A700, A900, A1000 and W1000 are the newest offering from AT. The A100Ti, A55, A9X and W100 are previous versions. From what I can gather generally the AT sound is livlier than the Senn 580/600's. Somewhat brighter (but not as bright as Grado's), decent midrange that can sometimes lean towards being a bit recessed though I've heard this is not the case in the A1000 and W1000. The newer line also incorporate D.A.D.S. which as far as I can tell is a venting system that allows for better bass extension and quality. The AT's are said to have some really good bass in most of their headphones even the older non D.A.D.S. offerings.

Of notable exception seems to be the W100. While from what I understand it still has the AT sound but it's midrange is said to be a bit more forward giving it a more lush quality. I've heard conflicting things on the high end, some say they're a bit bright others say they're not. The low end supposedly has a mild bump in the upper registers and overall lacks the ultimate extension. This headphone is often described as drawing you into the music and having an almost tubelike quality.

All of these AT headphones are closed backed. Their open air offerings have not been popular in these parts and the one person I know that bought a pair was not impressed. To explain a bit further. Open backed headphones generally give an airy wider presentation, with greater sense of space. Closed on the other hand have just that, a closer and (to me) more personal presentation. Done badly there is little soundstage to speak of other than blobs of sound on either side of your head and in the middle. Done right and the presentation can approach the level of open headphones. FWIW, I've heard the AT's presentations are some of the best of closed headphones.

Now if you were thinking in terms of the HD600 then you would probably want to look at the A1000 or W1000. The sound is said to be very similar if not indistinguisable between the two so it would come down to a matter looks. Personally given a choice between the two I would go for the W1000 as I suspect it may have a slight edge in sound and they're just so damn sexy.

Again, remember I have not heard any of these. My comments are based solely on my research before purchasing the W100's. If I've made any errors I hope they will be corrected.

Hope it helps,

Phil

 

[LTUCCI1924]

elnero
HI: How arte you? Great job

 

[Kieran Comito]

I have had the A 1000 for about 3 weaks. I also own the Grado SR 225 and the HD 600. All are real good headphones. The A 1000 is a winner for me. I would call thier sound in the middle of the HD 600 and the GRado SR 225. The are alive, have a good punch or impact like the Grado's. They have a good soundstage and great detail minus the veil of the HD 600. Plus they are more user or system friendly. They sound real good out of a portable cd player and great if you have amp. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with the A 1000s. Good luck.

 

[Davie]

Quote:

Originally posted by LTUCCI1924 I consider my A1000 my major headphones for all kind of music and an upgrade seems far off with the W1000 or A1000.

LTUCCI1924,

Sounds like you're pretty satisfied with the A1000, then. Do you have the Senn 600s or other audiophile cans to which you could compare them?

elnero,

Thanks for the info. This is very helpful. I tried two of the AT models released in the US (M30 and M40ds), and think that they generally match your description of the AT sound, which I found quite appealling. Between Senn and Grado is just where I'd like to be. But as individual models, the 30 and 40 were not particularly impressive. Let me know how the W100s work out for you.

Quote:

Originally posted by Kieran Comito I have had the A 1000 for about 3 weaks. I also own the Grado SR 225 and the HD 600. All are real good headphones. The A 1000 is a winner for me. I would call thier sound in the middle of the HD 600 and the GRado SR 225. The are alive, have a good punch or impact like the Grado's. They have a good soundstage and great detail minus the veil of the HD 600. Plus they are more user or system friendly. They sound real good out of a portable cd player and great if you have amp. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with the A 1000s. Good luck.

Kieran,

Another satisfied A1000 customer. I have yet to hear anything but superlatives about the top of the AT dynamic line.


Thanks, all. I'm currently contemplating an order to Audiocubes to get the A1000s and the Sony Eggo 66s. I'll be contemplating for awhile since I've just purchased the Senn 280s.

 

[Davie]

I just remembered something I wanted to ask. What's this "limited Art edition" business? Will these things be going out of production any time soon?

 

[elnero]

They are only making 3000 of the A1000's. It was just released so there shouldn't be any rush. Audio Cubes still has a couple of A100ti's of there were only 2000 units produced. (although I believe they ran out and tracked a couple more down just before the A1000 was released).

FWIW, I haven't heard much good about the headphones AT actually releases to North America so you may find these ones quite different. They may have the family sound but I believe they're in a different league.

I'll let you know how I like em. I'm hoping they're what I've been looking for. For what your looking for you may want to look at the A1000 or W1000 though.

 

[bangraman]

I can't believe the W1000 and A1000 sound identical... Only one guy has said that so far and perhaps it was a source thing? Unfortunately I have no plans to get a W1000 to compare.


I didn't use the A1000 that much to begin with. I sort of preferred the 'clearer' sound of the A900. The thing is that the 'clearer' sound is a result of the recessed mid of the 900... I understood this by playing with the EQ on my mixers. As I get used to the A1000, I really think these might, with a 'normal' sub-$2000 (CDP+amp) source, be better than the W2002, for virtually any type of music. Not entirely sure yet but consider that my first impressions.


And yes, I owned a HD600 (stock). I felt that the A900's were only slightly inferior to the HD600 in a very quiet room, mainly by the lack of agreeableness (new buzzword guys

) in the mids. When ambient noise levels increased the 900 won easily.
The A1000's provide a much more direct feel to the sound and I can say they REALLY impressed me with a Bach concerto.


However there is no 'family sound'. I don't know where this came from. The W100 sounds different to the A100, the A100 sounds different to the A1000, the A1000 sounds different to the W2002, and the W2002 has no 'family sound' resemblance to the ATC-H2 or the ATH-EM7.

 

[RickG]

Quote:

Originally posted by bangraman I can't believe the W1000 and A1000 sound identical... Only one guy has said that so far and perhaps it was a source thing? Unfortunately I have no plans to get a W1000 to compare.

Thank you, bangraman! I'm glad to see someone else express outrage at this "blanket" Audio-Technica sound description. That's like saying all the Senn's sound the same.

(BTW, I have no plans to get the A1000 to compare to the W1000...)

 

[bangraman]

Hardly outrage, merely doubt. I may be as addicated as you guys are but I don't think I take it as seriously as some

I see what you're thinking RickG... I can pay tracked shipping from this end, you'll have to stump up the tracked shipping from your end. It will have to be after the Feb London Homeless Head-Fi Meet. I think I have enough spare headphones to listen to in the meanwhile

 

[radrd]

Just to toss in my two cents, I really like the W1000. The only other "audiophile" headphone that I have is the Etymotic ER4S, and in all honesty the W1000 completely destroys the Etymotic, and I REALLY liked Ety sound prior to owning the W1000. I listen to a lot of rock music, and also classical (mostly symphonic), if that matters.

In retrospect after reading Kevin's comparison of the A1000 and W1000, I probably would get the A1000 because they are cheaper and he couldn't tell the difference between them. But, I would have to think about it some more because the appearance of the W1000 really is worth paying extra for IMO, but not that much extra.

I think they were worth every penny of the $400 (shipped) that I paid.

 

[elnero]

Ok I'm sorry, I haven't heard the AT's and I've been just going by what I've read. I apologize, I didn't meant to imply they sounded the same by any means. I just got the impression that their is a family sound similar to the idea of the Grado's having a family sound. I'm sure all the Grado's sound different but they generally thought of as having good bass, a bit bright and more forward. (I did get the impression that the A900 and A100ti did sound similar though but maybe I read too much into it.)

 

[RickG]

Quote:

Originally posted by bangraman I see what you're thinking RickG... I can pay tracked shipping from this end, you'll have to stump up the tracked shipping from your end. It will have to be after the Feb London Homeless Head-Fi Meet.

LOL, bangraman. I certainly think it would be worth considering. I'll be glad to pay for my leg...

Quote:

Originally posted by bangraman I think I have enough spare headphones to listen to in the meanwhile

Ummm, me too...

 

[bangraman]

I just read your profile...


HOLY ****