ATH-AD1000PRM, ATH-ESW10JPN

[kirkwall]

These look fabulous. If I lived in a country where the currency was not in a death spiral I'd be queueing up for a pair. For those of you using them with tubes, would something like an Earmax Pro drive them reasonably well? These sound like wonderfully emotive phones, perfect for an office system.

Thanks for the impressions, Boomana, beautifully observed and written.

best,

k

[aardvark baguette]

The amp in an ipod drives them reasonably well. Any amp as strong should suffice, imo.

[zippy2001]

Is the 25% cashback instant or do you have to wait?

Usually 60 days after your purchase (although this time period may vary for some stores), and when your cashback account reaches a balance of at least $5, you can claim your cold, hard cash. Terms and conditions.

[zChan]

Even though I hated the ESW9, after reading Boomana's impression I couldn't resist. It comes this saturday.

Also the actual retail price was alot cheaper then I expected.

[boomana]

Even though I hated the ESW9....

uh....you did read where I said they share the same sound signature.

Hope you like them, but if you don't, hang onto them, and sell them in a year or so. You shouldn't lose money. I'm still enjoying mine, but I'm also enjoying the 9s again. The 10s are a better headphone, but with that perceived sense of heightened clarity, they are more fatiguing as well. This shouldn't be a problem unless you're obsessively listening for hours on end.

[Fungi]

This shouldn't be a problem unless you're obsessively listening for hours on end.

Wait, you mean that's not the right way to listen?

[boomana]

Since I do pretty much everything that way, I'm not the right person to ask.

[penger]

I tried using live search to find a pair on ebay and nothing came up even though they do exist... Do specific stores have to offer the cash back? Or am I being stupid (probably the case). Can someone explain specifically how it works?

[padam]

It seems I'm getting one next week as well.

What amp should I get for it? I was thinking of Head-Direct EF-1 or Little Dot I+ or maybe iBasso D3 because it has a DAC as well.

Maybe I shouldn't have sold the Pico...

[Torpedo]

Probably you shouldn't have sold the Pico While I have to recognize I haven't tried it, I'm sure it's well built and technically well conceived.

Skip the Little Dot by all means. I tried a LD III here and it's probably the worst amp I've ever listened to, with many problems, starting with a quite loud background noise (despite using not high sensitivity phones and the "premium" tubes the owner said he fitted) and following with transients smearing, bright treble, texture-less bass, soul-less voices... too many things. Maybe the I+ or later models are any better, but were it my dough and had I to purchase blindly, I wouldn't like to risk it to learn it's not any better than the III.

I suspect that no amp is needed to get good results from the ESW10. We'll see, I should receive it soon.

[HeadphoneAddict]

It seems I'm getting one next week as well.

What amp should I get for it? I was thinking of Head-Direct EF-1 or Little Dot I+ or maybe iBasso D3 because it has a DAC as well.

Maybe I shouldn't have sold the Pico...

I'll be able to let you know how they sound with EF1, iBasso D3 and Pico next week - the only one I don't have is the Little Dot

[aardvark baguette]

ONLY 6 PAIRS LEFT

edit: 5.

Just purchased a backup pair

[postjack]

I just read that the finish is actually urushi. Thats got to be what makes these cans so damn expensive:

Products of NAKAYA handmade fountain pens

So any word on the other cans in this thread, or are they not out yet?

[aardvark baguette]

AudioCubes.com - Audio-Technica ATH-AD1000PRM Air Headphones -

[postjack]

AudioCubes.com - Audio-Technica ATH-AD1000PRM Air Headphones -

Yeah I just did a search on HF. Doesn't looks very exciting.

[aardvark baguette]

For that money, I'd really like to see a different headband. Something like the L3000, so it doesnt look like you have a roof antenna on your head.

[Fungi]

Most of the impressions of the AD1000PRM I've read do not look good. They say it's got nice clear mids and highs, but has the less desirable bass-less AT sound. Less bass quantity than the AD2000.

[postjack]

Most of the impressions of the AD1000PRM I've read do not look good. They say it's got nice clear mids and highs, but has the less desirable bass-less AT sound. Less bass quantity than the AD2000.

Ouch. The AD2000 has nice bass. I'll never understand why headphone manufacturers like to take away good bass. The W5000 could be damn near perfect if they could shift some of that upper midrange into the bass. Hell, it wouldn't even have to go that low, just some midbass would be great.

[deepak]

The W5000 could be damn near perfect if they could shift some of that upper midrange into the bass. Hell, it wouldn't even have to go that low, just some midbass would be great.

You just described the L3000

[postjack]

You just described the L3000

Did I mention it also needs to be <$1000? Then it'd be perfect.

[F1GTR]

I tried using live search to find a pair on ebay and nothing came up even though they do exist... Do specific stores have to offer the cash back? Or am I being stupid (probably the case). Can someone explain specifically how it works?

It's really easy.

1. Load up Internet Explorer (It's a Microsoft offer so I'm going to use an MS browser to complete the deal. I'm sure it will work just fine in Firefox but I'm not going to take any chances.)

2. Go to Live Search

3. Perform a search with the words "cheap wii"

4. Near the top of the screen you will see a box that is a different shade than the rest of the entire page. It is like a light grey/blue. In that box you will typically see three offers. They will read something like "Wii Cheap - Buy Wii Cheap. YOU MAY GET 25% OFF IF ELIGIBLE." Next to these three offers you will see a blue hyperlink that read "LIVE SEARCH CASHBACK"

5. Click on that link and it will take you to ebay automatically.

6. Once the page has loaded up you should see a LITTLE GREEN LOGO at the top of the screen next to the ebay logo that reads "Microsoft Cashback 25%: Must use Buy It Now" and there will be another little hyperlink next to the logo that reads "See conditions"

7. IN ORDER FOR THIS TO WORK THAT GREEN LOGO THAT READS MICROSOFT CASHBACK MUST BE SHOWING AT THE TOP OF YOUR SCREEN

8. Now simply search for any item that you are looking for, such as the ESW10JPN, but it MUST BE A BUY IT NOW ITEM. Those are the only auctions this promotion will run on. You can edit your search results to only show buy it now auctions by using the search options on the left hand side of the page. Also, for the cashback to work you must purchase the item and complete payment through Paypal within ONE HOUR of clicking on the initial link and loading of the ebay page. So therefore, know exactly what item you are going after, find it, and complete the transaction right away.

9. When you click on a buy it now item, you of course will be taken to the confirm purchase page. ON THIS PAGE YOU WILL SEE A BOX THAT SAYS CONGRATULATIONS THIS ITEM HAS QUALIFIED FOR MS CASHBACK and you will see the exact dollar amount that you will be earning on the item.

10. There is a maximum discount of $200 per item/transaction.

11. Once you are finished with the ebay transaction, go back to live.com and look for the link at the top right of the page that says "cashback". Click on that and create a Microsoft ID for your account assuming you don't already have one. Once this is complete you will be taken in to your account page where it will show the cashback you have earned so far and which items are pending and such.

12. Sit back and wait for 60 days or less until the cash shows up as retrievable in your account and then send it to your Paypal account for withdrawal in to your bank account.

Hope this helps a bit.

[padam]

One worrying opinion from the other forum: "I was looking on both phones and it looks like the little pin that prevents you from swiveling the cup too far is made of plastic on the ESW10jpn (Whereas on the ESW9 it's a brass pin)" That's a little disappointing...

[Fungi]

The ESW9 uses a plastic pin too.

[wrecked_porsche]

Its metal on the ES7.

Wonder why AT changed it to plastic.

[padam]

What about the (new) Graham Slee Novo? I've read on this forum that the builder prefers AT headphones for his amps.