To clarify further the metal is a relatively thick round steel. I'll get a picture and thickness measurement when I'm home later. So far I've had no luck bending it. It feels very robust and springy.
Best I could do in the lighting at the moment but it gives an idea.
To clarify further the metal is a relatively thick round steel. I'll get a picture and thickness measurement when I'm home later. So far I've had no luck bending it. It feels very robust and springy.
I finally purchased a pair of AT woodies (these) as a potential upgrade from the ATH-A900X.
Given that I'm in Australia, costs are admittedly higher, but I must say my first instincts were:
a) Wow, this packaging and included goods are pretty crap. I mean, having had the A900X I knew what to expect, so I shouldn't exactly be surprised, but having just spent $750 on these it becomes more stark in terms of how other companies are treating their higher-ish-end products. At least the JVC DX700 box I have is essentially reuseable for storage, rather than almost a toss-away. The floppy red felty plastic stand thing is barely useable and a pain to manipulate.
b) These are really light, and the teak is much darker than I expected.
c) I'm used to the fabric-covered cable of the A900X and this cable seems less impressive. Am I off base here? Is the rubberized cable better or less likely to twist and catch and whatever?
d) Can't they give us a felt bag, or something, at least??!
e) earpads not leather?
Feeling fairly ripped off.
However, I did have a quick-ish listen to them and they are pleasant, though the inward facing earpads are kinda weird to get used to, but it was a pleasant experience. I've not spent a lot of time listening to any headphones seriously in a while, and I haven't gotten out the A900X in a longer while than that, so I am not entirely sure regarding the comparison yet, but I will do some studious side-by-side comparing before and after burn in over the weekend, hopefully, and will try to write up the results/impressions.
Please let me know if my concerns or feelings are off-base!
I finally purchased a pair of AT woodies (these) as a potential upgrade from the ATH-A900X.
Given that I'm in Australia, costs are admittedly higher, but I must say my first instincts were:
a) Wow, this packaging and included goods are pretty crap. I mean, having had the A900X I knew what to expect, so I shouldn't exactly be surprised, but having just spent $750 on these it becomes more stark in terms of how other companies are treating their higher-ish-end products. At least the JVC DX700 box I have is essentially reuseable for storage, rather than almost a toss-away. The floppy red felty plastic stand thing is barely useable and a pain to manipulate.
b) These are really light, and the teak is much darker than I expected.
c) I'm used to the fabric-covered cable of the A900X and this cable seems less impressive. Am I off base here? Is the rubberized cable better or less likely to twist and catch and whatever?
d) Can't they give us a felt bag, or something, at least??!
e) earpads not leather?
Feeling fairly ripped off.
However, I did have a quick-ish listen to them and they are pleasant, though the inward facing earpads are kinda weird to get used to, but it was a pleasant experience. I've not spent a lot of time listening to any headphones seriously in a while, and I haven't gotten out the A900X in a longer while than that, so I am not entirely sure regarding the comparison yet, but I will do some studious side-by-side comparing before and after burn in over the weekend, hopefully, and will try to write up the results/impressions.
Please let me know if my concerns or feelings are off-base!
I did try ordering from the 589 (EGlobalDigital) and the 599 (DWI, related to EGlobal) but they did not have stock and were unable to fulfill my order. I did get a refund and their service was good, but they weren't very quick to acknowledge or inform me of the inability.
As such, I went with an Aus company afterwards, Minidisc from Chatswood, as that is the best Aus-based price that I have found.
I would probably give EGlobal a go again, but only after verifying stock.. that being said is obviously a grey importer.
I ordered a W-1000Z last week and just got it today. It really bothering me that they aren't what I imagined they would be like. The wood cups are a lot darker then what I see in pictures (I'm assuming camera flash, lighting, and other factors is causing the ear cups to appear brighter in photo). The ear cups also feel a lot more plastic then I thought they would be as well (I wasn't expecting the glossly finish to make it smooth and plastic like). Sound wise they are good but I just can't keep from wondering if they are counterfeit or not. Are there counterfeit of W1000Z or older version of these headphones (W5000, W1000X, etc). Thank you
I ordered a W-1000Z last week and just got it today. It really bothering me that they aren't what I imagined they would be like. The wood cups are a lot darker then what I see in pictures (I'm assuming camera flash, lighting, and other factors is causing the ear cups to appear brighter in photo). The ear cups also feel a lot more plastic then I thought they would be as well (I wasn't expecting the glossly finish to make it smooth and plastic like). Sound wise they are good but I just can't keep from wondering if they are counterfeit or not. Are there counterfeit of W1000Z or older version of these headphones (W5000, W1000X, etc). Thank you
Hi, where did you get yours from? Can you give us a picture to show what you are looking at?
My cups also are much darker than expected, but from what I know the source is reputable?
I ordered a W-1000Z last week and just got it today. It really bothering me that they aren't what I imagined they would be like. The wood cups are a lot darker then what I see in pictures (I'm assuming camera flash, lighting, and other factors is causing the ear cups to appear brighter in photo). The ear cups also feel a lot more plastic then I thought they would be as well (I wasn't expecting the glossly finish to make it smooth and plastic like). Sound wise they are good but I just can't keep from wondering if they are counterfeit or not. Are there counterfeit of W1000Z or older version of these headphones (W5000, W1000X, etc). Thank you
I didn't like the sound of mine when I 1st got them, a bit thin in the highs although the soundstage was brilliant. I did a dynamat extreme mod on the drivers and replaced the pads with Alpha Pads and now they sound a lot better to me; a more full sound without losing any of that great soundstage-in fact, I think the soundstage may have even gotten better.
Hi, where did you get yours from? Can you give us a picture to show what you are looking at?
My cups also are much darker than expected, but from what I know the source is reputable?
I got them from a 3rd party seller on Amazon so not really sure if it reputable. I know there are a lot of counterfeit M50 out there but not sure if people make fake woodies. Do the cup feel kind of like plastic? I guess the gloss finish on it can make it feel plastic like and I was just expecting them to be more wood like. Sound wise they sound ok (but hadn't had too much time to spend on them). Pictures of it below
I got them from a 3rd party seller on Amazon so not really sure if it reputable. I know there are a lot of counterfeit M50 out there but not sure if people make fake woodies. Do the cup feel kind of like plastic? I guess the gloss finish on it can make it feel plastic like and I was just expecting them to be more wood like. Sound wise they sound ok (but hadn't had too much time to spend on them). Pictures of it below
Hi again, sorry about the delay. I hope you have not been super concerned in the meantime.
The image here: http://imgur.com/7gP1e0e look almost exactly like mine, so I have good faith in what you say.. presuming that mine are correct as well. I agree that the wood coloring is much darker than any of the sales images show - though it seems similar in Currawong's video as well?
I would agree that the cups are very smooth and glossy - but I think that's OK, and the don't have a huge wood feel or wood weight, which while confronting at first - is what we want to have, as well, in terms of not being obnoxiously heavy.
Another thing I am seeing of note is that the other side of your headphones.. the cup's wood markings there is very dramatic and unusual, the wide upside-down U and so on.. pretty neat.
Update 1: A recap of just-out-of-the-box listening and a 2nd session before any prolonged burn-in.
Just tinkering around at first, without any comparison type things, I listened to some standard 70's rock that I like to try headphones with, such as Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You", and some other things of more dubious quality, and I found the sound to be a little sizzlingly hot - lots of highs emphasis, etc - guitar work in that vein would overwhelm and irritate my ears. I didn't notice a whole lot out of the wooden aspect, any sense of organic feel or warmth that I had experienced with the JVC DX700. However, in songs without any piercing highs (such as some My Bloody Valentine), it wasn't too bad, but left me wondering and waiting for more comparison.
The second time I dug out the A900X, which is at the heart of my purchasing decision, and did some side-by-side stuff, with different passages from a variety of songs - including some Manic Street Preachers, some Pearl Jam, some tracks from the Phantom of the Opera, some Queens of the Stone Age and some Arcade Fire, all in FLAC. At this point, and perhaps due to the track selection, or some other aspect of the scenario, I found myself not hearing the ringing in the highs as much, and not as much irritation except when listening to the opening guitar notes of All Surface, No Feeling. I did all of these songs back and forth between the two models, and what became apparent was the mid-bass hump in the A900X (which I find enjoyable, impactful and giving at least rock a good driven sort of feeling) is mostly gone in the W1000z, which seems to be allowing everything to separate out even further. Also, it does appear that the bass response of the W1000Z goes a bit deeper, or is just less obscured by the bloat. I would say at this point that the mids are very much the same and it is becoming so much more apparent (even though I have long espoused them myself) that the A900X are a momentous purchase in their price category, presuming people can get a good fit. The highs are mostly similar, but due to the previously experienced differences I look forward to doing more comparing.
There were times during the 3 hours that I spent playing with them that I was thinking, "Man, I guess I know what happens here as we enter the more expensive headphones, and what did I expect?", thnking I was either too stupid/untrained or just a sap for buying into the hype for higher end headphones because of the close performance link between the two models. However, as I dug into more and more songs, I did notice the differences above - and I think I like what they bring? They do feel a bit more honest without the mid-bass hump but I am not really sure if I like them more, presently.
Still bummed out by the packaging but my lovely partner has given me a felt bag I can use from one of our favourite handbag companies, so.. I can deal with that now.
Have done 8 hours of burn in today, and may play again later.
I didn't like the sound of mine when I 1st got them, a bit thin in the highs although the soundstage was brilliant. I did a dynamat extreme mod on the drivers and replaced the pads with Alpha Pads and now they sound a lot better to me; a more full sound without losing any of that great soundstage-in fact, I think the soundstage may have even gotten better.
yea I did the same thing on my W1000X, though I put the Dynamat in the bottom part of cups. What I got out of the mod was a brighter but smoother treble, that pretty much devoured almost all of the decay leaving the headphone REALLLLLLLLY Dry an Aggressive. But the sound stage is insanely deep, instrument seperation is also really stunning, an mirco details are spot on! In fact I don't like using it on Tubes or warm amps any more as it makes the headphone sound sluggish imo
My point being, I like the brighter sound signiture with the genres I feel the ATH house sound suits. A lot of Jazz,Classical, Rock, a little bit of Underground RnB an Hip Hop. The stuff that's mastered a little darker [an classical]
How ever, a lot of EDM an Metal don't play well with the W1000X I have. I'd image the W1000Z keeps a simmilar sound sig [curra seemed to find a bit of the same him self] even keeping that damned "romantic" decay in the mids,
Either way, Dynamat mod does wonders. An as for pads, if the L3000 Fit they would proably balance the headphone out really nice, but give you a very lack luster Sub Bass Response [smoother highs though an less decay overall (which is what I intended to do with my modding, I lucked out with the Pads bringing the same qualities to the headphone as the mod]
how ever j$money Pads or Alpha pads will add a nice bit of bass into the mix, I liked the W1000X for edm only with the Alpha an j$Pads honestly.
Basically, the L3000 added a better lvl of transparency, the Alphas will add a touch more colour an fun!
I own a LA D5k [Alpha Pads BABY] an it's SUPER fun to listen to. So I choose to turn my W1000x into a transparent surgen. Considering the ATH house sound either path works nicely
Update 1: A recap of just-out-of-the-box listening and a 2nd session before any prolonged burn-in.
Just tinkering around at first, without any comparison type things, I listened to some standard 70's rock that I like to try headphones with, such as Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You", and some other things of more dubious quality, and I found the sound to be a little sizzlingly hot - lots of highs emphasis, etc - guitar work in that vein would overwhelm and irritate my ears. I didn't notice a whole lot out of the wooden aspect, any sense of organic feel or warmth that I had experienced with the JVC DX700. However, in songs without any piercing highs (such as some My Bloody Valentine), it wasn't too bad, but left me wondering and waiting for more comparison.
The second time I dug out the A900X, which is at the heart of my purchasing decision, and did some side-by-side stuff, with different passages from a variety of songs - including some Manic Street Preachers, some Pearl Jam, some tracks from the Phantom of the Opera, some Queens of the Stone Age and some Arcade Fire, all in FLAC. At this point, and perhaps due to the track selection, or some other aspect of the scenario, I found myself not hearing the ringing in the highs as much, and not as much irritation except when listening to the opening guitar notes of All Surface, No Feeling. I did all of these songs back and forth between the two models, and what became apparent was the mid-bass hump in the A900X (which I find enjoyable, impactful and giving at least rock a good driven sort of feeling) is mostly gone in the W1000z, which seems to be allowing everything to separate out even further. Also, it does appear that the bass response of the W1000Z goes a bit deeper, or is just less obscured by the bloat. I would say at this point that the mids are very much the same and it is becoming so much more apparent (even though I have long espoused them myself) that the A900X are a momentous purchase in their price category, presuming people can get a good fit. The highs are mostly similar, but due to the previously experienced differences I look forward to doing more comparing.
There were times during the 3 hours that I spent playing with them that I was thinking, "Man, I guess I know what happens here as we enter the more expensive headphones, and what did I expect?", thnking I was either too stupid/untrained or just a sap for buying into the hype for higher end headphones because of the close performance link between the two models. However, as I dug into more and more songs, I did notice the differences above - and I think I like what they bring? They do feel a bit more honest without the mid-bass hump but I am not really sure if I like them more, presently.
Still bummed out by the packaging but my lovely partner has given me a felt bag I can use from one of our favourite handbag companies, so.. I can deal with that now.
Have done 8 hours of burn in today, and may play again later.
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