[Uncledan]

I am plan to get a ATH-W2002, however, I have to sell my pair HD-600+Cardas cable in order to it. (I am just a college student

) So, here is my questions:

Which pair of headphone will sound better with my MG-Head OTL? is it worth to sell my HD600 to get W2002?

You know, W2002 is kind of expansive in my point of view. You guy help me pick one ...please

 

[LobsterSan]

Why not wait for the ATH-W1000 to come out? Preliminary speculation says that it might sound just as good as the W2002 (the only difference being the lacquer on the W2002). I would wait for the initial impressions of the W1000 before plunging headlong into the W2002 (since the W1000 will most likely be about half the price of the W2002).

Of course, the lacquer is quite sexy, and if money were no object I would be all over the W2002's.

 

[joelongwood]

Here's a quote from Head-Fier "zzz" regarding the pairing of the MG Head with the W2002s:
"One piece of advice as a W2002 owner I can give you is don't go with MG Head. MG Head is a fairly decent piece of gear, but it doesn't do W2002 any justice. It hisses into them at a fairly annoying (to me) level, there is virtually no bass whatsoever, and in general it does not seem to behave or sound like a tube amp with them"

 

[pigmode]

I researched that question thoroughly, and it boils down to personal taste. If you're on a budget, and are already happy with the HD600, then....

 

[The Quality Guru]

Word has it that the W2002 has more resolution than the HD600 and if it has the transparent midrange the W100 has when it's "in the zone" (which many say the W2002 does, but its midrange is better yet with more versitality) then I would venture to say that the W2002 is probably a better 'phone. I'll let some other who have heard or own these two 'phones comment, like Hirsch, Kelly, Spad, Acidtripwow, 88Sound . . . because their comments are ten times more valuable than my second hand information.

 

[Uncledan]

does W2002 worth what it cost? ($800)

 

[88Sound]

To my ears the W2002 with EMP or Grace 901 is far better than the HD600's which sound a little muffled by comparison. The W2002's are also harder to find and way more expensive. Based on zzz's comments on the W2002/MG Head combo you would likely have additional expense for an amp that would drive the W2002 to their full potential.

Big IMHO alert here.....The HD600/Cardas combination is a phone that sounds very good will all sorts of music, just not incredible.

As far as value, if you could have only one pair of phones the HD600/Cardas is a very good choice especially if you listen to many different types of music.

Whether the W2002 is worth $800 or not is a question only you can answer for yourself and probably only after purchase.

For me the W2002's were worth the price I paid.

 

[Uncledan]

Thx for all comment, I just asked my friend to help me buy the W2002 today, except to get it the end of next week. I just sold my lovely digital camera on ebay, and get enough money for my W2002, I hope W2002 won't disappointed me.

 

[kelly]

Uncledan
The HD600 and W2002 are very different sounding headphones. I wrote a somewhat lengthy review of the W2002 that's located in the headphone reviews section if you care to read it.

I'm not as opposed to the W2002/MG Head combination as other here too but the MG Head I heard them on had no problems with hiss or noise. The MG Head does not, however, truly play to the strengths of the headphone and this combination can render the W2002 blurry compared to cleaner amps. I recommend trying to find a clean, dry sounding tube that's not too bright and see how that works out. In any case, keep in mind that the W2002 will likely sound much different on other amps.

The W2002 is far more detailed than the HD600 but every component has its flaws and in this case, I was simply able to overlook the HD600's flaws easier so I've kept them around and sold the W2002. Unfortunately, I never heard the W2002 on the Sugden Headmaster which I'm told is a particularly good combination. Poor timing.

 

[Uncledan]

So, what kind of amp is prefer for W2002? what is the price about the amp?

 

[kelly]

Quote:

Originally posted by Uncledan So, what kind of amp is prefer for W2002? what is the price about the amp?

The Sugden goes for about $800-850 but is a total pain in the ass to get hold of. Good luck and enjoy a long wait if you go that route, but I liked the amp.

I'd be curious about what people think of the W2002 in combination with Jan Meier's new Preamp that is expected to be about $750 and Antness' implementation of the Kevin Gilmore Dynamic that he's selling for just under $500 assembled. Visit www.meier-audio.com and www.headamp.com if you want info on those amps but remember that you'd be the guinea pig trying to combination here. Call it a hunch.

The best I've actually heard myself was the Corda HA-1.

I'd avoid all of the tube amps except possibly the microZOTL which KurtW seems to like a lot with them. Probably something related to impedance matching. Maybe they'd be good with one of the other amps with one of the impedance-matching transformers connected but straight out of the jack, the W2002 is one of the few headphones I really didn't care for with the RKV.

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelly I'd avoid all of the tube amps except possibly the microZOTL which KurtW seems to like a lot with them. Probably something related to impedance matching. Maybe they'd be good with one of the other amps with one of the impedance-matching transformers connected but straight out of the jack, the W2002 is one of the few headphones I really didn't care for with the RKV.

My take on the ZOTL and W2002 is that they are OK together, but don't really shine. The W2002 seems to like a solid-state output, at least. Fantastic with Sugden. It's very good with HPA-1 and SHA-1. So so with ZOTL and EAR. The issue seems to be in the midrange. With solid state it can be crystal clear. With a tube driving it, there's seems to be a distortion component that muddies the image.

 

[kelly]

Hirsch
Have you put the kind of effort into tuberolling the microZOTL for the W2002 that you did for the R10?

 

[scottpaul_iu]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch My take on the ZOTL and W2002 is that they are OK together, but don't really shine. The W2002 seems to like a solid-state output, at least. Fantastic with Sugden. It's very good with HPA-1 and SHA-1. So so with ZOTL and EAR. The issue seems to be in the midrange. With solid state it can be crystal clear. With a tube driving it, there's seems to be a distortion component that muddies the image.

I have a W2002 along with a MicroZOTL.

I have had good success rolling in either a Sylvania VT-231 or Sylvania 5692 for 6SN7s along with a Sylvania Gold Pin 6201. Before the VT-231 and 5692 I was ready to get rid of the phones because they were not gelling well with the ZOTL.

Don't know if Hirsch has tried those two 6SN7 substitutes with the W2002s or not.

The other thing I have experienced is that the ZOTL will definitely pass through what the source is feeding it. I found that the ZOTL is a little finicky about the interconnects that you use. I tried Kimber Hero's, Cardas Quadlink 5-C interconnects and either combination of those cables was not a good one. When using Kimber's or Cardas interconnects, I tried Senn 600s w/Cardas, Grado RS-1, Ety ER4S headphones and the sound was so so but not great. So I took some Magnan Vi interconnect out of my ref. system and that made all the difference.

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelly Hirsch Have you put the kind of effort into tuberolling the microZOTL for the W2002 that you did for the R10?

No, but then again I regard my tuberolling the ZOTL for the R10 as a failure. Just got the EAR in a seriously good direction a couple of days ago, and hadn't even thought of the Fisher/R10 combo, which is a winner. I'm going to try the Fisher with the W2002, to see if my predictions hold up. If I'm right, the W2002 should not sound good with the Fisher, but should be great with the X-Can, or even the RA-1. We shall see...

I've pretty much locked in on my Sylvania/Ken-Rad combo for the ZOTL. Fantastic for the HP-1 and HD-600, which are the cans I'm most likely to use with the ZOTL. Time to stop rolling for a bit, and listen.

I'm splitting that setup into two separate systems. Creek CD53-EAR/R10 for redbook. Ariston/Cary LPP-1/ZOTL/HP-1 for analog.

Very soon now, all cables will be VD Nites. We'll see if they live up to the hype...