[purrin]

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OK, so I'm selling my Stax rig now on the FS forum. I also just made a deal on a Zana Deux SE but I need to pay the rest soon. If it all works out, I think I might have reached my end of the road setup for Head-fi.

 
No more STAX? No more consideration of BHSE?

 

[Moghedian]

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Bending the wires were no good?
 

This is my first pair of $1000+ headphones I'm pretty reluctant to permanently bend them straight out of the box. Plus I' don't really trust myself to do it because I don't know how strong / resilient they are.
 

 

[DefQon]

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That user is actually me and they have in fact only been used a few hours. As I stated earlier in this thread they sit uncomfortably on my ears so I havn't even had a chance to test the sound or burn them in because I simply couldn't stand the discomfort, after about 15 minutes I kept adjusting them up off my ears only to have them promptly fall back down. The lack of adjustability means short of permanently modding them there isn't much I can do about it. I have a fairly large head so that might be the source of the problem but I'm a little surprised considering my trusty old ATH-AD700s are the most comfortable headphone I have ever owned.

Yeah was browsing and your item popped up. One thing which I hate about AT's headphones featuring the wire headband is that most of them with the straight elastic leather band or wing's are usually too large for my head. Even when bending the wire inward a bit. The only AT can I've had luck with slight bit of modding to remedy this problem was a AD700 I modded for a friend, and by stock the AD900 are the only ones I liked.

 

[MuppetFace]

The W3000ANV is not going to be a huge departure from the W5000 in terms of bass quantity. It's certainly more akin to the W5000 and W2002 than the W1000X and W11JPN in that regard. I'd never call these "bass heavy" or "basshead" cans. That would be including them in the same category as the DX1000 and the Edition 9, and that to me is kind of ridiculous. I do think the W3000ANV has more weight and presence than the W5000 which has an overall airier presentation. I think that's what makes the W3000ANV seem more "lush" sounding. That, and more detail. There are times when the W3000ANV comes close to sounding like the L3000, particularly during choruses and passages with a lot of layered vocals. The upper end of the W5000 can be a bit bright on certain recordings, but I'm not having that problem with the W3000ANV. I'd say overall the W3000ANV is closer to neutral, though still colored enough to be recognizable as an Audio-Technica creation.
 
As much as I like the W5000, I certainly can't make the claim that it has nothing wrong with it. Even ignoring the sound signature entirely, I'd say the construction in the arc assembly that causes fit issues with a lot of people without modification counts as a pretty big flaw. I don't think there's a single pair of headphones I own where I can't point out at least a few problems, including the W3000ANV. Coming to accept the quirks of each pair gives them more "personality" I think.

 

[TheOtus]

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In all fairness, the HA5000 may be designed to pair with ATs, but there have been positive impressions of it coupled with other brands of headphones. I found it to be comparable to other amps in the $1,000 to $1,500 price range. I fully agree that at double the price the Anniversary version is hard to justify though. I think other amps in the $3,000 range would best it hands down.
 
As for the Luxman, perhaps "warm" isn't the best term, but I find it to have a liquid or "wet" sound for a solid state amp. I think it's more stereotypically tube-like than the Zana Deux, which sounds about as solid state as a tube amp gets. Out of curiosity, why would you suggest not bothering with the P-200? I've never listened to one.

I have great interest in Luxman amps actually, being Japan made and all... ;D P-1u is probably good, but also very expensive, at the moment I can't justify myself to buy one. P-200 seems interesting and I can't see it being worse than my M1HPA. At the moment I'm considering the balanced Blossom amps too. Dual-mono Phase Tech EPA-007 looks interesting too... Caught that one from the Fujiya Avic-thread. I think it's pretty obvious that I have no idea of what I'm doing! xD

 

[orkney]

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I have great interest in Luxman amps actually, being Japan made and all... ;D P-1u is probably good, but also very expensive, at the moment I can't justify myself to buy one. P-200 seems interesting and I can't see it being worse than my M1HPA. At the moment I'm considering the balanced Blossom amps too. Dual-mono Phase Tech EPA-007 looks interesting too... Caught that one from the Fujiya Avic-thread. I think it's pretty obvious that I have no idea of what I'm doing! xD

Sounds like you've got a lot of options -- maybe spend some time with the ATs and your current setup and then decide whether anything is obviously lacking (and if so, what it is) before renewing your amp search. These cans don't strike me as being difficult to drive, nor are they particularly fussy. I've often found with amps that it becomes a question of "different," and not "better." Enjoy your honeymoon with the W3000s!
 
o
 

 

[Skylab]

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The W3000ANV is not going to be a huge departure from the W5000 in terms of bass quantity. It's certainly more akin to the W5000 and W2002 than the W1000X and W11JPN in that regard. I'd never call these "bass heavy" or "basshead" cans. That would be including them in the same category as the DX1000 and the Edition 9, and that to me is kind of ridiculous. I do think the W3000ANV has more weight and presence than the W5000 which has an overall airier presentation. I think that's what makes the W3000ANV seem more "lush" sounding. That, and more detail. There are times when the W3000ANV comes close to sounding like the L3000, particularly during choruses and passages with a lot of layered vocals. The upper end of the W5000 can be a bit bright on certain recordings, but I'm not having that problem with the W3000ANV. I'd say overall the W3000ANV is closer to neutral, though still colored enough to be recognizable as an Audio-Technica creation.
 
As much as I like the W5000, I certainly can't make the claim that it has nothing wrong with it. Even ignoring the sound signature entirely, I'd say the construction in the arc assembly that causes fit issues with a lot of people without modification counts as a pretty big flaw. I don't think there's a single pair of headphones I own where I can't point out at least a few problems, including the W3000ANV. Coming to accept the quirks of each pair gives them more "personality" I think.

An excellent post which I agree with almost 100% (other than the part about the L3000...I thought the L3000 were hopelessly colored in pretty much every respect). 
 
MuppetFace, your posts were sorely missed during your absence here.

 

[TheOtus]

Well, I do find my current setup enjoyable. My largest concern is the gain which is too high. I need to adjust the volume digitally before the DAC, which is no good, just to get the volume up enough to get a decent channel balance. I assume that the amp is not at it's best either this way.
 
EDIT: Okay FedEx... Today was the estimated arrival date.  First, they intentionally delay it all over the europe, and now it's actually late from the ridiculous estimated date they gave me?! I will never ever use that ***** "service" again.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

OK, so I'm selling my Stax rig now on the FS forum. I also just made a deal on a Zana Deux SE but I need to pay the rest soon. If it all works out, I think I might have reached my end of the road setup for Head-fi.
 

Bending the wires were no good?
 

 
You're leaving the mafia? I thought they were your audio nirvana.
 
FWIW, I've never been much of a big stat fan....speakers or headphones. I would still love the hear the SR009s though...but the $10k (including amp) is a bit much.
 

 

[Frank I]

Quote:

OK, so I'm selling my Stax rig now on the FS forum. I also just made a deal on a Zana Deux SE but I need to pay the rest soon. If it all works out, I think I might have reached my end of the road setup for Head-fi.
 

Bending the wires were no good?
 

WOW Joe the Stax life was short lived. Hopefully you found your nirvana. Enjoy the new rig and good luck selling the Stax rig.

 

[wind016]

 
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No more STAX? No more consideration of BHSE?

I don't think so, but I'm not in a hurry to sell it. I'm sure the 007mk1 with a BHSE would dominate, but it's totally impractical to me. It's open, which means I might as well use speakers. It's electrostatic so I can't use them with wet hair and I don't like to hold off showering to listen to my music in dirty and oily condition. Also, I can't travel with them. Other than the impracticalities, I also don't think it sounds better than the W3000ANV with vocals which is my main preference. Vocals are a bit bright with the SRM-323s and open headphones don't sound as intimate as ATH woodies. I'm sure a Blue Hawaii might change the brightness aspect, but it'll add another negative, like taking up half my desk space. So my Stax usually just stays hanging on its stand. Still, I liked the 007mk1 more than any other flagship until now.
 

 

[wind016]

 
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This is my first pair of $1000+ headphones I'm pretty reluctant to permanently bend them straight out of the box. Plus I' don't really trust myself to do it because I don't know how strong / resilient they are.
 

Ah, yea. If I had snapped the W3000ANV's arcs, I would have thrown them against the wall and burned them over a pentagram. The design is pretty bad. Better than the W5000, but I think they should have gone back to the previous wing designs.
 


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You're leaving the mafia? I thought they were your audio nirvana.
 
FWIW, I've never been much of a big stat fan....speakers or headphones. I would still love the hear the SR009s though...but the $10k (including amp) is a bit much.
 

In a way they are, but I could almost never use them. Whenever I use headphones, I usually require isolation. Plus, I'm usually thoroughly wet when I listen to music.

 
 
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WOW Joe the Stax life was short lived. Hopefully you found your nirvana. Enjoy the new rig and good luck selling the Stax rig.

Thank you, Frank. I change headphones like I change clothes.
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

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In a way they are, but I could almost never use them. Whenever I use headphones, I usually require isolation. Plus, I'm usually thoroughly wet when I listen to music.

 

A bit too much information here.

 

[TheOtus]

Well, I never wear any of my headphones straight after a shower, I don't think water is good for them. I might be wrong. xD

 

[Currawong]

I forgot that about the arcs. In pictures they look like the old style which were more solid, but actually they are rubber tubes over the new thin/W5000 arc style, so the fit is similarly annoying if you had issue with the W5000s or X-series. The good thing is that with 5 minutes' work they can be re-shaped to anyone's head with serious kinking.