Team Audio-Technica Unite!

[Elephas]

I'm not getting an A900Ti. I had the A950LTD for a few weeks and then sold it.

I think the A900LTD, A950LTD and probably other A900-based variations are good options in situations where an open headphone isn't as viable. There are many situations with low to moderate environmental sound levels where an open headphone just isn't going to perform well. Even a computer's noise can interfere with the K701 or HD650, for example. Turning up the volume to try to block out environmental sound isn't a solution, because dynamics, background darkness, clarity and details are affected, and the outside sound is still going to be interfering with the music.

But overall I didn't think the A950LTD matched the K701 or HD650.

[saint.panda]

I'm thinking of getting a full-size headphone to replace the stolen HD650 (assholes took my MBP and HPDAC as well) and except for classical, I'm quite fond of the ESW9's sound signature. Tight and linear bass, PRaT-y and a touch of warmth in the mids. Quite coloured but goes well with some types of music. Is the W5000 like a big size version of the ESW9, or what would be?

I've had the A900 some time ago, but that was just a ok phone, other than that no Audio Technica experience.

[Smeggy]

The W5000 as I remember it didn't sound like your ESW9 description. They were lean, very dynamic and very fast. Hopefully I'll get another chance for a listen in the next couple of months where I'll try to spend more time with them. I've never even seen the ESW9 in the flesh but they are pretty.

I do like the KSC-75 irrespective of price and they are my 3rd most used phone behind the Stax SR-X and the K1K.

[socrates63]

The W5000 and ESW9 (I had a very short listen at a recent meet) are quite different, as smeggy noted. I owned the A900LTD for a while, and the A9xx probably sounds similar to the ESW9.

Gary, if you're a fan of the KSC75, then you definitely need to give a listen to the APureSound recabled KSC75. I bought one after I heard Big Poppa's at the November meet. Let me know if you want to borrow mine.

[purk]

But overall I didn't think the A950LTD matched the K701 or HD650.

I feel the exact same way. I sold them after they were properly burn in.

[Shiki]

So I got my W11JPN a few days ago. I haven't been listening to anything for over a week now and have had the W5000 stored in its box.

I just got everything out today for a brief listening session. My impressions of the W11JPN compared to the W5000 using the HA5000:

- The first thing that's immediately noticeable is that vocals sound different from the W5000. I remember that the W5000 sounded a bit off when I compared it to the K701, but gradually got used to it. I've heard people explain that it's the midrange. Perhaps the W11JPN's midrange is more accurate.

- Bass is thumpier.

- Treble seems rolled off, cymbals seem muted. Seems a bit more laid back.

- It seems to have a higher impedance and needs more power to run at the same volume as the W5000.

- It leaks much less sound.

- The clamping is very tight, but not uncomfortable.

Will probably do more listening over the weekend.

Now, the weird thing is that the W5000 seems to have a lot more bass than I remember it. Maybe storing it in the case has done something to it.

[laxx]

Could be that the W5000's are 102db sensitivity while the W11JPN are 98.

[grawk]

Could be that the W5000's are 102db sensitivity while the W11JPN are 98.

I've given up trying to convince people that impedance isn't why some headphones are louder than others.

[Shiki]

Got it. Less sensitive, not more impedance.

Anyway, looks like one of them might be going on sale soon...

[Dusty Chalk]

Did I post about this one already? A-T's domestic flagship, the M50:

Also, it's black.

[Nenso]

imo.. ATH-As are like.. comfy and heavy.. thats all I can say.. the M40s or w/e they're called seem so bad and overrated by ppl. ATH-A/ATH-Ws are the gems of AT. Maybe the ATH-L3000 too, I tried almost all ATH-A series but never tried the ATH-L3000s.

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah, the ATH-L3000 counts as a "gem" in A-T's lineup, I'd say.

...

...

Perhaps I'm underspeaking things -- they're the crown jewel, the diamond, in A-T's lineup.

[zChan]

I don't think I mentioned it anywhere so...

I hated the ESW9. It gave me a headache everytime I used them.

[Nenso]

木曜の晩には誰もダイブせず<--これはなんですか？　わからない！ Something about "No one should dive on a Thursday night" or "On Thursday night, no one went diving." Mind explaning? I find it really confusing!

Anyways, I was thinking of getting the ESW9 to try some time in the near future.. but not many people seem to like it other than the guy who posted in the "looking for large sized ESW9" thread. Which one do you enjoy the most?

never seen u around before (but I haven't been around myself for long either..) どうぞよろしくお願いします

[Dusty Chalk]

Boomana likes hers, I believe.

[Fungi]

I think Iron Dreamer liked it too, it's somewhere in the Mayberry thread.

[zChan]

I'm pretty sure everyone likes them, other then Ben. But he hates every portable headphone.

It's been a month or so since I gave it away to my brother, so my memory is thin. Sry.

It was the wider soundstage which the ESW9 has that threw me off. It just didn't fill it very well. Of course, I used it straight from the iPod, so it could be powering issues.

Also, it has a weird reverb effect on outdoor sound. That left it unusable in noisy environments, like walking in a busy city. I don't read this stated by anyone else, so this could be due to poor fit.

The quote is from the album"K.AND HIS BIKE" by The Band Apart

It means nothing, but it's spoken just before the song "Eric.W" starts so I like it.

I don't post much these days because I found happiness in my K181.

[Elephas]

I like the ESW9. I think it's more refined than the ES7 or Senn HD25-1.

[darkless]

For me the ESW9 took some time getting used to. I still haven't adapted completely to the rather tight clamping. It also took some burn-in (physical or mental) to adjust to its heavy thumping bass. It has more bass than both my HD650 and L3000. I'm sure it's because of the lacking headphone amp in my RME soundcard, but until Singlepower delivers my tube amp that's all I have. For the record I didn't feel that my Pico really made a noteworthy improvement on either full-size phone, but I didn't really expect it to. It was purchased for use with small headphones at work, and that's where it lives now along with the ESW9.

At work I use Winamp as player with ASIO out to my Pico. Using Winamp's EQ to take down 12 KHz a single small notch worked very well for me in taming the tendency towards headache-inducing brightness that I felt the ESW9 suffered from.

[boomana]

For me the ESW9 took some time getting used to. I still haven't adapted completely to the rather tight clamping. It also took some burn-in (physical or mental) to adjust to its heavy thumping bass. It has more bass than both my HD650 and L3000. I'm sure it's because of the lacking headphone amp in my RME soundcard, but until Singlepower delivers my tube amp that's all I have. For the record I didn't feel that my Pico really made a noteworthy improvement on either full-size phone, but I didn't really expect it to. It was purchased for use with small headphones at work, and that's where it lives now along with the ESW9.

At work I use Winamp as player with ASIO out to my Pico. Using Winamp's EQ to take down 12 KHz a single small notch worked very well for me in taming the tendency towards headache-inducing brightness that I felt the ESW9 suffered from.

Funny how we all hear things differently. I hear no thumping bass with the ESW9s, though there's a fullness that can sound congested with heavy instrumentation, and I definitely can't find a sense of brightness anywhere. The tone is to the warm side if anything, imo. As to clamping, zippo right out of the box, but I have a smaller head than some it seems. Maybe that explains our different hearing as well.

[The Monkey]

How much leakage (out) is there with the ESW9?

[boomana]

When flying back from CA, I asked tyrion, who was sitting next to me, to tell me if he could hear my music, then I turned it up louder than I would ever listen to it. He said he couldn't hear it at all. I ended up switching to my Etys, though, as I could hear more of the plane and people than I wanted to.

[Pars]

Hmm, I would love to listen to a pair of these sometime, as I need a set of isolating phones for work. How would you compare these to AKG K-271s, which is what I currently use? I do use a dynalo at work also, so amp required is fine. Also, I've never tried any IEMs, so maybe that would be a better route...

[slwiser]

Funny how we all hear things differently. I hear no thumping bass with the ESW9s, though there's a fullness that can sound congested with heavy instrumentation, and I definitely can't find a sense of brightness anywhere. The tone is to the warm side if anything, imo. As to clamping, zippo right out of the box, but I have a smaller head than some it seems. Maybe that explains our different hearing as well.

I have to say that I hear the ESW9 pretty much like boomana. A bit on the warm side with no brightness anywhere. On my larger head there was some clamping at first but this was gone away. I agree that it can sound congested with the right music.

[boomana]

Pars, though the ESW9s are great for not leaking music out, they're not so great at keeping the sounds around you from getting in. If you want isolation, get iems.

EDIT: I've never heard the K271s, so I can't help you there.