[Mudshark]

Sam Tellig reviews the ATH-W3000ANV in the July Stereophile at page 25.  He doesn't claim to be a luxury headphone expert, but he gave them a very positive review.

 

[dallan]

Happy

 

[shimmer n roar]

 

[Xymordos]

After ABing I think that W3000 seems to do better in layering than the W5000, which means that W3000 shows more details than the W5000. However, the treble is around the same.

 

[dallan]

I bought these and the thread came to a standstill......
Guess they hit their newness limit for FOMs posting.

 Or expiration date.
 
Well, gotta say, these blow me away.  At first i questioned the bass quantity by a bit but at this point it is really just the layers and the instrument separation.  I am really astounded.  I am also amazed that it seems to pair so well with the Zana Deux.  I didn't even bother plugging them into it for the first few days, but since i have i haven't changed back once.  That may have something to do with the separation and depth. I just sit here shaking my head in awe. 
 
Runon sentence alert!- I normally don't go bonkers over new phones, i just sit with them and make an occasional comment but i am glad i read this thread after not keeping up too much for half a year and decided to take a chance on an AT flagship with hesitation, it was one of those times it paid off, makes up for once or twice it didn't on other purchases

 

[Skylab]

I'm still thoroughly enjoying mine. I'm bringing them to ChiUniFi tomorrow, will see what people think.

 

[dallan]

Yeah, actually your comment pushed me over the edge.  Hope they like it, really a remarkable phone.

 

[daigo]

Quote:

I'm still thoroughly enjoying mine. I'm bringing them to ChiUniFi tomorrow, will see what people think.

I'm sure you'll get a few smitten by their sound.  I had a chance to listen to a pair at a meet here in SF and they left a big impression on me.  Couldn't resist buying them when they were finally being sold by a US retailer. 

 

[wind016]

It seems many people are running the Zana Deux for the W3000. Any recommendations for DACs? I still find my Anedio to be a bit bright.

 

[purrin]

Schiit Gungnir? You can always return it if you don't like it.
 
or roll a smoked glass RCA 6SN7 GT tube on the ZD.

 

[dallan]

The smoked glass that i have tried sound good at first but i end up feeling like they are sounding a little muffled. But that is with the hd800 and hd650, haven't rolled yet with the ATs.

 

[purrin]

I agree that one can be muffled. An alternate could be the clear glass RCA 6SL7GT.

 

[musicman59]

Quote:

It seems many people are running the Zana Deux for the W3000. Any recommendations for DACs? I still find my Anedio to be a bit bright.

I am listening to them with my WA5-LE and my PWD MkII and love them. I really like the MkII. Mine is an original MkI that I upgraded to MkII and the upgrade was worth the money IMO.

 

[dallan]

i use a psaudio digital link 3 that was highly modified, one clock i put in was over 30% more expensive than the whole original dac and that was just part of it.  I really like the sound. Hopefully it will last me for a while.  

 

[wind016]

Quote:

I am listening to them with my WA5-LE and my PWD MkII and love them. I really like the MkII. Mine is an original MkI that I upgraded to MkII and the upgrade was worth the money IMO.

 
Quote:

I agree that one can be muffled. An alternate could be the clear glass RCA 6SL7GT.

 
 
Quote:

I am listening to them with my WA5-LE and my PWD MkII and love them. I really like the MkII. Mine is an original MkI that I upgraded to MkII and the upgrade was worth the money IMO.

 
Quote:

i use a psaudio digital link 3 that was highly modified, one clock i put in was over 30% more expensive than the whole original dac and that was just part of it.  I really like the sound. Hopefully it will last me for a while.  

 
Thanks for the responses. I guess I try out a RCA 6SL7GT first before making any big purchases. I put so much money on just a W3000ANV =/