[Dsnuts]

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Are these real over ear or WS55 over ear?
I'm pretty happy with what I got right now so anything else including the WS99 is just curiosity. 

Full over ear.. Not the biggest cups but if you have regular sized ears it will be fully over them. If you have donkey sized ears will be more like the WS55.

 

[waynes world]

Quote:

Sorry wayne.  I asked Ds to write up a comparo for you as he is the master of sucking people in.  I don't think you'll regret the WS when you jump on board.  

 
I like how you say "when you jump on board". Like, it's a given or something! Hmmm....

 
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I was listening to the FXZ200's today after a session with the WS99 and I had to go back to the 99's.

 
Oh oh. You and dsnuts make quite the dangerous tag team LOL!

 

[DannyBai]

Quote:

 
I like how you say "when you jump on board". Like, it's a given or something! Hmmm....

 
 
Oh oh. You and dsnuts make quite the dangerous tag team LOL!

I know that you like your AT's as much as Ds and I, if not more.  You'll get these SOON enough.  

 

[Dsnuts]

Lol. The peer pressure..Don't do it Wayne.
 

 

[waynes world]

Double post (see next one).

 

[waynes world]

Quote:

I am telling you and everyone else that reads this thread.  Headfi has some big hype on other bassy cans but these have been overlooked by practically everyone.. Someone's gotta right the ship here.. These deserve more popularity among headfiers, guys that appreciate their deep highs and full mids as much as their low hitting bass... I feel it is my duty to tell others what they are missing. Give these a go and it will not disappoint. More than that. They will teach what a proper bass can should be..For the price one can get these cans for.. Absolutely worth your hard earned cash and then some. These are right up there with the bang for dollar the AD900X represents. Easily.

 
Honestly, I don't know if I could handle more than one pair of ATH awesomeness. How would one choose which headphones to use? It could drive a simple man like me insane. But at least I'd be driven insane with a smile on my face!
 
Quote:

I've had the WS99's burning for the past few days.  They have somewhere near 70 hours now.  The signature has been hard to get used to.  I also received the CKN70's at the same time so they have been both burning in and I've been switching back and forth with hasn't helped any.  Today I've been strictly using the WS99's with various amps and daps.  I have been listening to them out of the O2/ODAC combo and could not figure out what was missing.  The bass just didn't sound right.  Then I tried out of my iphone 5 and I like that combo better.  The bass seemed fuller and more quantity but slower.  Possibly the neutrality of the O2/ODAC combo didn't suit these headphones to my taste.  Next, I tried it with the DragonFly and I was getting similar results as the O2/ODAC combo.  Next up is the RSA Intruder and that combo matched perfectly.  The bass was tight and fast.  Deep and wide stage.  RSA amps work well with bassy headphones and this combo seems justified.  Still, these headphones shouldn't be so picky with sources is my thought.  I again switched to another amp in the Leckerton 6S MKII with op amp 209.  Another good match with the WS99.  This amp brings out the treble more than the Intruder and bass gets fuller but doesn't sound as tight as the Intruder.  The stage seems wider but not as deep as the Intruder.  Not sure if I needed to write all this but it was my experience so far with this headphone.  I also used the DX100 and Studio V 3rd Anniv. and the WS sounded pretty good with both.  The DX100 came in sounding just as good as the Intruder if not better.  
 
To wrap it up, I think Ds is right that these will work better with an amp.  Although I like the headphones with the iphone 5, amping them brings out the speed of the bass which is crucial of this headphone.  This is a bassy headphone with forward midrange which is very unique and unlike most other headphones in this category.  For example, I've never heard Massive Attack sound any better.  The bass presents itself in the mid-bass area but not overly so that it gets annoying.  The sub-bass comes out when it's in the music and has literally vibrated my ears.  I also tested it against M100 and the midrange is absolutely more forward in the WS and M100's bass sounds muddy with some tunes.  The treble is more sparkly with the WS without sibilance.  The WS is a faster headphone with more energy but might not suit as many genres as well as the M100's.  

 
Some of Danny's comments above are making me a bit concerned about how source/amp dependent they may be.
 
How does the WS99 sound out of my ELE DAC and my E12?
 
How does the WS99 sound out of my Samsung Galaxy Tab2 (through Neutron and Noozoide)?
 
How does the WS99 sound out of my Clip Zip (and E12)?
 
The solution obviously is for someone to ship me off their WS99 for a while lol!
 
 
Quote:

Lol. The peer pressure..Don't do it Wayne.
 

 
Mmmm beer!

 

[RoMee]

Quote:

Full over ear.. Not the biggest cups but if you have regular sized ears it will be fully over them. If you have donkey sized ears will be more like the WS55.

Thanks, I'm not sure if I'll hop on this hype train but I did really like the WS55 when I had them and an over ear version is definitely welcomed.
If I can find a pair for cheap I'll pick it up. Right now upgrading my source and my desktop setup is more of a priority.

 

[Dsnuts]

Well there are a couple factors. For one Danny's WS99 is a new pair and does not have the full burn in quite yet so things may change and I suspect they already have for the better..I remember there was some wonkiness that was happening when I was burning in my cans as well so I suppose a full 100 hours or so needs to happen to have them drivers settle in a bit more so. I would go for 200 actually..
 
The greatness of the sound tuning and tech behind this can. When bass is in the recording be it natural or synthetic. It will come out and hit fast, full and deep. When bass is not present. It will be like listening to a bass light can..I suspect the drivers goes through some phases when burning in and eventually settles to a solid sound once the full burn in takes place..
 
I haven't tried it yet but I will report back with how these sound on the Ele by tomorrow I am gonna guess perfectly fine because bass phones sound great on the Ele..The WS99 has some warmth to the sound which the Ele will synergize with as well...I have no doubts it will play fine on your clip. With the E12 I am gonna guess some outrageous synergy. It drives fine on my Sony Z1060 so I bet it will drive fine out of your galaxy tab2.

 

[Dsnuts]

Quote:

Thanks, I'm not sure if I'll hop on this hype train but I did really like the WS55 when I had them and an over ear version is definitely welcomed.
If I can find a pair for cheap I'll pick it up. Right now upgrading my source and my desktop setup is more of a priority.

You should have hopped on that Audinst MX2 deal. That deal was too good of a deal not to bite. $198 for a newly redesigned Audinst MX1 in the MX2. The sale is now over unfortunately they now cost $248 shipped.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Going from the AD900X to a WS99 is like moving from 10 rows back in your favorite concert hall directly to front stage.. 

 
You guys are killing me, how can I resist order one now. This can seems to fit all my preferences I have. I actually like front stage / in-your-face sound which tends to come thanks to a forward midrange most of the time. I remember partly selling for example Denon D1100 and DT770 Pro for that very reason, because it felt like I was sitting in the backrows in the concert hall so I felt left out from the music, it didn't engage me! With Q40 I'm using now the sound is very up-front which to me makes for very engaging & fun listen, especially when you put on those EDM tracks and hardstyle like I love, then it becomes impossible to sit still when listening to music (the ZO2.1 amp also further enhances this signature so Q40 + ZO2.1 is turning me into a monkey on crack literally xD). I'm all about that engaging listen! For me that's when the enjoyment comes when you unconditionally have to start moving to the beat!

 

[Dsnuts]

These are what I hoped the Pro700Mk2 was gonna sound like. lol. AT has learned a lot from the previous efforts and I can be honest when saying. Everything I have bought from AT this year has been home runs. All of them.. AD900X. ES700. CKS1000. CKN50 and CKN70 and these WS99s. All of these are exceptional and using Tenso buying from Amazon Japan.. A steal for what they sell them for. I bet the little brothers the WS77, ES500, and the CKS99s are all excellent as well. Just based on their track record I can't see how those will fail.
 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

So let me get this straight and see if I got the picture right, is this an accurate description of WS99?
 
- It has a very fast and hard hitting bass with good depth 
- It has slightly forward midrange
- The highs are slightly sparkly but not bright and sibilance free
- The soundstage is very up-front with a good sense of depth (not so much width)
- They should be circumaural for most people
- The pads are relatively shallow but comfort seems to be quite okay (for you two anyway, Dannybai & Dsnuts)
 
What about isolation? I like to have some isolation from outside noise (read; drown out my computer fans).

 

[JRUNCK]

[size=small]I don't think these have leather pads but haven't been able to confirm. Do the [/size][size=small]ATH[/size][size=small]-WS99s have leather ear pads? Also would they sound good for hip hop? I have other cans in mind that work well for hip hop but am curious about the 99s. I was thinking about exchanging my [/size][size=small]ATH[/size][size=small]-ESW9As for these. I like everything about the ESW9As except they don't have enough bass for me.[/size]

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

[size=small]I don't think these have leather pads but haven't been able to confirm. Do the [/size][size=small]ATH[/size][size=small]-WS99s have leather ear pads? Also would they sound good for hip hop? I have other cans in mind that work well for hip hop but am curious about the 99s. I was thinking about exchanging my [/size][size=small]ATH[/size][size=small]-ESW9As for these. I like everything about the ESW9As except they don't have enough bass for me.[/size]

 
Well to me it sounds like these define what hip-hop sound signature is about (in my subjective opinion of course):
 
- Up-front soundstage (engaging)
- Boosted bass
- Forward mids (hip-hop is pretty much bass & vocals)
- Slight treble sparkle up top so it's not too dark (vocals/mids doesn't get too smooth sounding => lack of clarity)
 
(Hip-hop music benefits like from a gentle "W-shape" FR response IMO with a bass boost (impactful/punchy/fast, not too sloppy bass that drowns out mids) and small peak around 500-1500Hz area especially (max 5dB or so, otherwise it starts sounding unnatural) in the mids and then at like 8~12kHz(+) for some sparkle) 

 

[retrophonic]

I only listened to the WS99's briefly, but my initial impression s out of the box, are that they are more balanced than the M100's. The highs extend further and the mids are more forward. The M100's has more bass slam and goes deeper while the WS99's bass sounds tighter. The M100's also have a wider soundstage and a fuller sound. The WS99's haven't been properly burn in, nor did I do any extensive listening, so take these comments with a grain if salt, but so far I'm impressed.