[daigo]

not knockin' the w3000anv - it's a sweet can. i'm no expert but looking at the pirates fr chart the mid-bass hump starts to roll off at around 100 hz followed by a steep drop of close to 10db at 50 hz. it doesn't go deep and sounds bass lite to me. got no issues with bass quality tho.

 
It's definitely a different strokes for different folks kinda of deal.  Everyone is entitled to enjoying music the way they want it to sound like and there's no harm in finding the W3000ANV isn't the sound signature you enjoy.  

 

[up late]

didn't say that. just describing how i hear it and how it measures. it's still a lovely sounding can and a real beauty.

 

[Audioclyde]

I'm considering 'downsizing' a bit and letting my W3000ANV's go; if interested pm me.  FYI, I will be traveling tomorrow through the weekend, so it may be early next week before I get back to anyone.
 
Thanks,
 
Randy

 

[mink70]

I went to he New York area meet a few days ago and had an ear-opening experience.The Sony R10 has long been my favorite headphone for its uniquely engaging and beautiful sound, a type of sound I haven't found elsewhere up to now. However—the one piece of equipment I was hoping to hear at the show was the W3000ANV, and fortunately Maxx134 brought his (with Alpha pads installed). I spent some time listening to it on various amps, and I liked it so much that I left the meet with it, having traded Maxx my HD800 with a Cardas balanced cable. I have to say that I'm in love—I think in terms of euphony, richness, presence and sheer enjoyment, the W3000 is second only to the R10. Like the R10, it just makes me want to listen. Through it, music sounds as though the color saturation is turned all the way up, offering buckets of tone. And the details that grab my attention are musical, not sonic. Whereas with the HD800 I was noticing that the microphone captured the singer taking a breath before singing, with the W3000 I notice the way the singer bends a note or drops into a different register. Also, it is remarkably revealing of the texture and timbre of specific instruments—I've never heard cymbals sounds so much like cymbals, or been able to distinguish the sound of Blue Mitchell's trumpet so clearly from Clifford Brown's. An incredibly special and capable headphone—what a shame that AT only made two thousand units.

 

[up late]

that's one of the best descriptions of how this can sounds that i've seen. kudos to you man.

 

[Failed Engineer]

What pads are available and fit the W3000ANVs?  I'm looking for a comfort mod, so a pad with more thickness that can get my ear from touching the driver would be best.  I can't imagine that you could get a circumaural pad to fit to the phones, but if there is one I'd love to know about it.  I saw just above that the alpha pads are used, any others?

 

[walfredo]

  I went to he New York area meet a few days ago and had an ear-opening experience.The Sony R10 has long been my favorite headphone for its uniquely engaging and beautiful sound, a type of sound I haven't found elsewhere up to now. However—the one piece of equipment I was hoping to hear at the show was the W3000ANV, and fortunately Maxx134 brought his (with Alpha pads installed). I spent some time listening to it on various amps, and I liked it so much that I left the meet with it, having traded Maxx my HD800 with a Cardas balanced cable. I have to say that I'm in love—I think in terms of euphony, richness, presence and sheer enjoyment, the W3000 is second only to the R10. Like the R10, it just makes me want to listen. Through it, music sounds as though the color saturation is turned all the way up, offering buckets of tone. And the details that grab my attention are musical, not sonic. Whereas with the HD800 I was noticing that the microphone captured the singer taking a breath before singing, with the W3000 I notice the way the singer bends a note or drops into a different register. Also, it is remarkably revealing of the texture and timbre of specific instruments—I've never heard cymbals sounds so much like cymbals, or was able to distinguish the sound of Blue Mitchell's trumpet so clearly from Clifford Brown's. An incredibly special and capable headphone—what a shame that AT only made two thousand units.

 
As up late says... this is a pretty awesome description! 
 
It just makes me want to listen. Through it, music sounds as though the color saturation is turned all the way up [...] the details that grab my attention are musical, not sonic.
 
Exactly!!!
 
Thanks!
 
BTW...  I liked the W3000 way better than the R10.   
 
Best,
Walfredo

 

[3X0]

BTW...  I liked the W3000 way better than the R10.   

Best,
Walfredo

The R10 is slightly overrated due to rarity and prestige. If it was produced today I don't think it would command a price significantly higher than the W3000 or TH-900; it's certainly not superior to the latter at a technical level.

I miss my W3000 and regret selling them. I actually used to run them from the same setup as you (assuming you're using the Peachtree Nova).

 

[Pudu]

...Through it, music sounds as though the color saturation is turned all the way up, offering buckets of tone. And the details that grab my attention are musical, not sonic....

They're the Fujifilm Velvia of headphones.

 

[dallan]

I like the W3000anv better than the R10s too. Band wagon feels good but its true. 

 

[mink70]

They're the Fujifilm Velvia of headphones.

Well put, Pudu. They do the things that the very best audio components can do, and that vintage components—Altec and Tannoy speakers, the best classic turntables and tube amps—did better than modern ones. The 3000 reveals presence, color, texture, drama and scale incredibly well. These are the difficult things to accomplish in music reproduction, way beyond the usual categories like neutrality and transparency. I'm surprised how much people here on Head-Fi talk about bass, treble, mids, soundstaging  and all the usual stuff, without discussing why most of us listen in the first place—to get closer to the music, to be swept away by it. (Most of us here aren't audio engineers mixing down albums and don't need perfectly neutral headphones.) And I'm surprised how unsung this headphone is on this forum, as it's one of the few I've heard that prioritizes music over sound. 

 

[up late]

gotta admit that the th900 gets more head time but agree that the w3000anv is a lovely sounding can and totally non-fatiguing

 

[Skylab]

I like the W3000anv better than the R10s too. Band wagon feels good but its true. 

A short while after I got my W3000ANV, I sold my R10's

 

[Failed Engineer]

A short while after I got my W3000ANV, I sold my R10's

 
Skylab, what do you use to amp your W3000ANVs?  I remember a post a long time ago when you were auditioning the ECP L-2, that you said it was the best you have heard it.  I now own that combo and although I listen to the HD800 more, it is also the best I've ever heard the W3000ANVs, and I've tried most of the usual suspects.  Have you found better?

 

[Skylab]

I use them primarily with the Leben CS-300. That's actually the only "headphone amp" I own, because I have a steady stream of amps through here for my InnerFidelity reviews.