[Mindless]

I'm kind of curious on these, they look really nice and seem very comfy. My question is, are they worth the money ($449 at audiocubes2) and is the sound quality good? for example, better than my HD600's?

 

[fyrfytrhoges]

i own both and in my opinion the w1000's are better than the hd 600's, but not by much. it has been so long since i listened to them both side by side that it would be unfair for me to give you specifics but i will say that after i bought my w1000's my hd600's started gathering dust.

 

[bangraman]

Your ears will sit up and take notice of the music more with the W1000. Sometimes though, with the characteristics of the W1000 this needn't be an altogether totally pleasant experience. I think it's not much better than the HD600... but not much inferior either. The HD600 has some sonic advantages and is probably an easier phone to listen to, but the W1000 has the edge on perceived detail, wear comfort and source versatility. In terms of frequency response, if you imagine the response of the HD600 as a block, it's as though you shifted it towards the right a bit. If you like your music served up precise and cold, then the W1000 is for you. In my view the way it sounds is about as far as you can get away from the 'woody' character that you expect.


In a further edit: Once you get used to the phone, it's quite likely that you start to think "why does bangraman say it's cool?". It is extremely well defined and once again, when you get used to the sound there's no sense of lack of bass. I wore it continuously for a while whereupon I lost the sense that it was a cool phone. When I then switched to the other phones I had at the time (ATH-A900, ATH-A1000, ATH-W2002, MDR-CD3000) and was overwhelmed by the comparative fatness of the sound. It's like the Etymotic earphones that way. It has everything, it just throws things at you in a slightly antiseptic way in comparison to other phones.

 

[mjg]

it seems they went up in price. Last i checked they were 380.

I would definatly say they 'aren't' worth the price. I switched to Hd600s, and i must say, although very detailed, the w1000s weren't musical, sounded cold, and extremly bright. And bass just wasn't there. You can say the bass is accurate, and articulated, just not emphasized the way I like in my music.

I say, go for w2002s if you can find them, or tryout the hd600s, at half the price, i'd say they are a bargain. They are much more enjoyable to me.

 

[bangraman]

I don't know mjg. If you read his post and if you read his profile, he's removed the foam on the HD600. In my view, this ruins the HD600-ness of the HD600 and wrongly tries to make them into something they're not, but it does result in a sharper sound. If that's what he's looking for, the W1000 does a much better job.

 

[cadobhuk]

isnt cd3000 superior to w1000 at the lower price?

 

[bangraman]

mostly yes.

 

[pj325is]

What the junk?


Last time I checked, both of these (cd3000 and w1000) were both like $300 or $350. What's with the price increase?

 

[Music Fanatic]

Quote:

Originally posted by pj325is What the junk? Last time I checked, both of these (cd3000 and w1000) were both like $300 or $350. What's with the price increase?

Check out the Yen/Dollar exchange rate changes (although that doesn't explain why other items didn't change in price.) Another theory says that Audiocubes is having trouble getting stock at the low prices they were charging, so they raised their price to reduce demand so that they can promptly fill any order. But all of this is just speculation.

I'm heading to Japan soon and am looking forward to the chance to check out these headphones and try my hand at negotiating a lower price.

 

[mjg]

yea sorry, i didn't realize he already owned the hd600s...


And considering he wants real sharp, detail, perhaps that is a good idea?


But, that price for the w1000 does suck totally. I would say he should try out cd3000's maybe. He will get the detail, and bass ; )

w1000 just wasn't for me. I am pretty interested in the w2002s though.

Thread starter: If your budget is big and y ou want, give em a shot. I hope you get what you pay for though, i think the price may have went up due to people not buying alot of them?
Isn't that how it usually works? Also consider the a1000s, most people say they sound the same, and perhaps at a lower price? when i saw the prices at 380, the at 1000s were the same.

 

[radrd]

Quote:

Isn't that how it usually works? Also consider the a1000s, most people say they sound the same, and perhaps at a lower price?

Not even close, according to Bangraman who extensively compared them. No, that myth was started by a member named Kevin who isn't around anymore. Apparently he has a system that makes all headphones sound the same.

 

[SeventyFive]

So does anyone know why the price of the W1000 and the CD3000 went up so much in price?

A look at the exchange rate shows that the exchange rate is currently 1 USD = 109.43 JPY and was 1 USD = 119.64 JPY on June 30th. Looks like a good part of that price hike is due to the weakening US dollar...

 

[DanT]

Not that I have any money left to spend on headphone but does anybody knows about pricejapan.com

They will buy you stuff from japan for a fee + shipping. 5% but with a standard minimum of 4000yen that mean anything less than $700US will be 4000 yen fee
the thing is you have to find the online store yoursefl. They recommand a search engin but it dosen't always find the best price.

So far I found with a couple of minute of google the w1000 for 35,500 yen (or 36,000-48000 yen in most place)
that mean 39,500 with the fee around $360USD + shipping


http://www.avforums.com/ seem to like them also they are specialise in projector.

 

[ROK3]

I own the W1000 but not the CD-3000 or the HD600. I love the sound of them, but you may want to try them with an amp that is known to be "warm." I have heard that many people enjoy the W1000 with a tube amp. These are very comfortable headphones as well.

As for the price the dollar is very weak over here right now. With this year's new high end AT phone being a limited edition one (with high pricetag), the demand may not have shifted away from the W1000 yet. Maybe that's another reason why the price is still high. (opposite example is what is going on with HD650 driving down price of HD600 right now...)

Quote:

Originally posted by Music Fanatic I'm heading to Japan soon and am looking forward to the chance to check out these headphones and try my hand at negotiating a lower price.

Good luck negotiating Fanatic! I had a blast in Akihabara shopping for the phones, but ended up getting a better price at a local version of Best Buy/Circut City. Practice the following lines (poor Japanese spelling follows)

Ima Nanji Desu Ka? (how much is it?)
Chotto Takai Desu. (It's a little expensive) <-i.e. make me a better offer

--ROK

 

[zeplin]

i have the W1000's and love them. but, i run them out of a warm cd player and darker, warmer sounding amp...with a little tone control too (i turn down the treble a wee bit and the bass up a little bit too)

i've heard them under harsh circumstances, and they aren't that great. but i do like them better than the HD600's. they are somewhere in between the HD600 sound and the Grado type of sound. can't go wrong with em if you have the right setup for them.