[xinque]

Might seem a silly question, but I was just wondering - does the type of wood used in the enclosure for closed-end headphones actually impact the sound?  Or is it more an aesthetic, weight, or availability thing?

 

[DarknightDK]

i'm sure the type of wood chosen does have a resonant effect on the sound.

 

[Mudshark]

Quote:

Might seem a silly question, but I was just wondering - does the type of wood used in the enclosure for closed-end headphones actually impact the sound?  Or is it more an aesthetic, weight, or availability thing?

 
The w3000ANV enclosures are made of "strikingly beautiful traditional Japanese Echizen lacquer-finshed Hokkaido Asada cherry heartwood."  According to the A-T web site, the sonic benefit of this wood is that it "reproduces magnificent natural playback."

 

[ZenErik]

Quote:

 
The w3000ANV enclosures are made of "strikingly beautiful traditional Japanese Echizen lacquer-finshed Hokkaido Asada cherry heartwood."  According to the A-T web site, the sonic benefit of this wood is that it "reproduces magnificent natural playback."

There is no doubt that the W3000ANV sounds lovely and looks pretty, but "reproduces magnificent natural playback" is what we call marketing BS. 

 
That said, I am a drummer and know how the type of wood can even affect the sound of a drum. But it's not really that comparable with headphones because the bearing edge, tuning, and drum head choice affect the sound to a much greater degree....

 

[cute]

ZenErik, "There is no doubt that the W3000ANV sounds lovely and looks pretty, but "reproduces magnificent natural playback" is what we call marketing BS."
 
Now how would you go about proving the "marketing BS", unless of course you heard the W3000ANV with and without the "Hokkaido Asada cherry heartwood." If I am not mistaken, high quality pianos are made of cherry wood to produce a certain natural desired tone. I happen to have ATH-W1000X headphones modded with ATH-AD2000 drivers, and the AD2000 drivers sound very natural in the W1000X as compared to their sound in the AD2000, at least to these ears! You are entitled to your own opinion though, but I haven't tried different material with my ESW9's either.

 

[xinque]

Well just ordered myself a pair, hopefully these will pair well with my T1s and W5.. 

 

[TheOtus]

Beachcamera is authorized.  I was impressed with their price and called them up to see if they had any plans to offer the TH900 in the near future... no dice.
 
Mine's coming in tomorrow but I'm selling it without opening it as I just bought a Stax rig.  I'll have to wait for a meet to hear them.

 
Are you serious? o_O

 

[Radio_head]

Yes.  I'd rather have a good Stax rig.  And since I know I'm not going to keep them, I'd rather return without opening than use for 45 days and return.  That's not what the policy is there for.

 

[dallan]

Good for you.  That is the ethical thing to do.

 

[shimmer n roar]

Quote:

ZenErik, "There is no doubt that the W3000ANV sounds lovely and looks pretty, but "reproduces magnificent natural playback" is what we call marketing BS."
 
Now how would you go about proving the "marketing BS", unless of course you heard the W3000ANV with and without the "Hokkaido Asada cherry heartwood." If I am not mistaken, high quality pianos are made of cherry wood to produce a certain natural desired tone. I happen to have ATH-W1000X headphones modded with ATH-AD2000 drivers, and the AD2000 drivers sound very natural in the W1000X as compared to their sound in the AD2000, at least to these ears! You are entitled to your own opinion though, but I haven't tried different material with my ESW9's either.

i've seen some photos of the internals of the w5000 and it looked full of damping material that would inhibit resonance. i don't know if the w3000anv is the same but it wouldn't surprise me. i like the idea that the wood used in the construction of a-t's woodies is chosen for more than its appearance alone, and that it does impart a unique timbral quality to the sound. but to compare the w3000anv to a piano that is designed to resonate is a stretch i think.

 

[TheOtus]

Yes.  I'd rather have a good Stax rig.  And since I know I'm not going to keep them, I'd rather return without opening than use for 45 days and return.  That's not what the policy is there for.

 
Returning and selling are two different things... At least as far as I know. xD Also, if you have not compared them and your Stax rig, it's just an assumption.

 

[Radio_head]

You're right.  At first I was going to sell but then just decided to return as the RA process was simple enough.  So no opening it up.
 
And I would rather have a Stax rig because I've had many dynamics and planars (including a handful of AT models) but have not yet owned a Stax rig.  

 

[radioplay]

Got these a couple of days ago from Beach Camera. I'm really not sure whether to keep them or not. I did some burning in and then some A/B comparisons with the D7000 and the LCD-2. I prefer these to the LCD-2 (which sounds more congested, for example when listening to a string quartet), but the D7000's bass extension and slightly more effervescent high end make most genres simply more fun to listen to for me. Even with vocal music, the W3000ANV's apparent bump in the vocal frequency range doesn't really make the voices all that magical; voices have high-frequency overtones too and they're necessary for appreciating the vocal timbre. Maybe I need a lot more burn-in, but I don't want to overuse them if I'm just going to send them back.
 
I will say though that I've noticed the W3000 has less sibilance than the D7000 and even the LCD-2, which is surprising to me because the LCD-2 is in general a darker can--I suspect in this case the W3000 is masking faults in the underlying source.

 

[3rdear]

Quote:

I suspect in this case the W3000 is masking faults in the underlying source.

This is the impression I got, too, when I was listening to low bit rate mp3s (not that all low bit rate/128kbp files sound bad).  On the LCD2.2 it sounded pretty awful in terms of sound quality, the muffled-ness stood out a bit more, but on the W3000 it sounded more forgiving and the flaws were smoothed over.

 

[wind016]

Quote:

You're right.  At first I was going to sell but then just decided to return as the RA process was simple enough.  So no opening it up.
 
And I would rather have a Stax rig because I've had many dynamics and planars (including a handful of AT models) but have not yet owned a Stax rig.  

 
Well, I sold my whole Stax O2mk1 rig after attaining the W3000ANV. I even bought a dedicated dynamic amplifier just for it and I previously had a KGSS for the O2mk1. Different strokes for different folks. Stax are detailed and airy, but they weren't as beautiful sounding and electrostats are hassle to deal with in humid surroundings.