MorbidToaster
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2010
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It's getting really hard to not blow my DAC money on these...stay strong...
LOL! And oh so very true. One of the few headphones I truly hated, the W5000.
It's getting really hard to not blow my DAC money on these...stay strong...
So can anyone else compare these to the T1? I've wanted to try the T1 for awhile as my not LCD 2 headphone but these have my attention.
I just got mine going to burn them in before actually listening, any idea what good headphone amp to improve from my budget fiio e9
Quote:
I have both, and the LCD-3s, and I tried them all on every amp in my gear list. If you want a "not LCD-2" the T1 would certainly fit the bill.
I personally find them to have -way- too much treble. I tried them for weeks (burn-in if you will) I could never get used to them, not only is there a lot of treble but it is also harsh. I have never used headphones with so much sibilance, actually even with a couple of male voices... And though the T1 has quite a lot of bass, good one at that, the two extremes seem stretched so far apart that it sounds to me like the mids cave in, are thin and underwhelming. That's the best I can describe it. The soundstage is pretty wide too on the positive side, but the treble spike ruins them for me. If they are supposed to have less treble than the HD800 or Grados from what I've read here, I shudder to think what those would sound to me.
By comparison, the W3000s stops just short of a treble spike, and as per AT sound signature the mids are emphasized, but in good balance to the rest of the spectrum (bass brought up more etc.). Unlike the W5000 (which some here obviously really dislike ?!) where the bass drop-off is more pronounced and there is a slight treble spike... Which btw. was what started me on my search for other headphones, first in the completely wrong direction (T1s) and then in the right one (LCD-3s)
Sound preferences are personal of course, but I'd say the W3000 is the more balanced choice (and my current perfect complement to my LCD-3s), but if you want something a little more... different, the T1 is certainly a choice worth considering, a lot of people seem to like them.
A word on comfort for longer sessions: the W3000s are light and comfortable, and so is the cable. The T1 feels a bit hard at first (pads) but is actually quite comfortable and light too BUT that well-meant heavy-duty and just plain heavy thick rubber cable is actually becoming quite annoying after a while esp. relative to the lightness and comfort of the actual headphones. If I just let it hang, it feels like my head is being pulled slightly into the direction of that weight and I always end up propping it up. No such issue with the W3000 (or the LCD-3 with either the Q-Audio or even the stock cable)
I also own the W3000 and a LCD-2 r1 in my case, and I agree that they are a really nice complement to each other. For listening comfort and those amazing mids and general allround superb performance, the W3000ANV are fantastic! When I want more in your face, direct and more brute strength sound (when I listen to metal for example, or just want more impact) I go for the LCD-2. The W3000 gets more playing time since it just does most things better, but there's a place for something like a LCD-2 as well.
How does the W3k sounds directly out from your Benchmark DAC1?
It really depends on your budget, there are few amps that are known for their great matching with AT headphones, but all of them are in 1000$+ category. Amps I am speaking of are these: Yamamoto HA-02, Analog Design Labs Svetlana 2, Zana Deux SE and AT amplifiers (AT-HA5000/AT-HA5000ANV).
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