Audio Technica W1000X

[Currawong]

I finally managed to get a few hours to myself to head into the city, have a relaxing lunch and try out the W1000X in the Best Denki, which has a high-end headphone listening table. When I arrived, they were plugged into the AT-HA2002 and sourced from a Sony SACD player. I didn't note the model as I've become a source snob and consider just about anything sigma-delta to sound harsh and digital. Ignoring the inevitable fact that my the classical tracks on the CD I brought with me were going to annoy me in that regard, as well as a lack of familiarity with AT amps, I concentrated on what I could of the sound.

Shotgun summary: Imagine W1000s with more treble, or W5000s with much more (possibly Denon-level, but better quality) bass and a bit more treble, but still with the forward mids and the drop in the upper mids/lower treble that is the AT sound signature. Both were on the table too so I could compare them, but I didn't do so comprehensively, but enough to get the primary tonal differences. I admit I'm probably not that great at quickly determining some of the other abilities, such as speed, with headphones and really need some time with them at home.

What struck me most is that is that because of the very forward mids, they will be somewhat annoying to listen with using poor equipment. For me, I hate mids so forward, as it makes a lot of music sound tinny, as well as making the headstage seem much smaller. However, with the W1000X there is a lot more treble and a lot more bass than what I'm used to hearing from an AT. The A2000X to me, for this reason, sound like they are all over the place, in the wrong places tonally, in a somewhat similar way the HD-650s do to me, excepting that the HD-650s have much more bass. I think the W1000X would rock balanced on my smoother-than-a-baby's bum rig, but I'd still wish for slightly less forward mids and a bit more in the upper-mids -- around 6.3k where people find the HD-800s annoying. The Headroom graph below (for the W5000) shows it well. They are though, for me almost there tonally otherwise. If you don't want all that "LETS PARTY!" bass, but want more treble than the W5000s, there is always the A2000X. Pity about the poor fit though.

Here are the notes I made on my iPhone while listening, cleaned up so they make some kind of vague sense:

Busted (dZihan & Kamien): Good bass punch. AT vague upper mids show here.

Monsoon (Jack Johnson): The deeper bass comes through clearly along with some mid bass.

2nd choice (Marti Jones) sounds rather tinny because of the forward mids.

Tin Pan Alley (Stevie Ray Vaughan) bass comes through strongly and sounds glorious because the mids are mostly all guitar and Steve doesn't sing so close to the mic.

Serves Me Right to Suffer (John Lee Hooker) sounds rather boomy.

Chopin's Berceuse in Des-Dur, op. 57 (Vladimir Ashkenazy): Badly recorded Chopin that has glare (?) is irritating, emphasizing the effect of the mic being possibly too close to the piano and digititis in the source. Ditto classical and jazz.

The Body Acoustic (David Chesky) fares better with more space around the instruments.

Next time I go, I'll pull the AD2K out of the rack and compare it as well and use the P1u instead. Unfortunately they don't have the Esoteric SACD player on the table any longer.

[Dusty Chalk]

Well, the answer to that is, you need to own some SACD's.

Also, you should still note the model number. In the Sony lineup, anything in the ES series > CD/SACD player > CD/SACD/DVD player.

[The Monkey]

So, Curra, it sounds like--in short--the W1000x kinda sucks, no?

[n_maher]

Wow, that headroom graphic is pretty much in line with how I feel about the W5000, sucked out lows and peaky. They remain the one headphone I hated from the moment I put them on.

[Currawong]

Yeah, I am slack about the SACD player. I googled it though and it was a SCD-X501 very likely, unless they have more than one SACD player that looks like this:

In the Headroom graph, if you add the part of the HD-800's FR below 1k to the W5000's FR above 1k then add more treble still (maybe a result of the thicker pads?) then you have the W1000X, roughly speaking.

[Raez]

Did it have the same wood as the one in the release? I know they're a little sly on that sometimes...

[Currawong]

Yup.

[postjack]

I found a lot to like about the W5000, though it's anemic bass always bothered me.

[tkam]

Wow, that headroom graphic is pretty much in line with how I feel about the W5000, sucked out lows and peaky. They remain the one headphone I hated from the moment I put them on.

Agree completely, the lack of bass and odd mid-range put these on my least favorite phone list immediately.

[Raez]

Yup.

I think it's sexy. I wish I had a headphone store 1/1000 of that quality here.

[Currawong]

It's a rare thing and I was surprised to find they had a high-end table. All the stores have the same headphone racking, all the cans hooked into a distribution box with crap jpop playing. Even on this table, they had a couple of headphone splitters coming from the amps with all the headphones plugged in.

[XXII]

It's a rare thing and I was surprised to find they had a high-end table. All the stores have the same headphone racking, all the cans hooked into a distribution box with crap jpop playing. Even on this table, they had a couple of headphone splitters coming from the amps with all the headphones plugged in.

I was at the big Yodobashi in Osaka a year ago and they had practically all the in production high-end cans (Stax, Grado,....) connected to Marantz SACD players

[purk]

Well...thanks for your impression. Wish they have better source to make them sound better for evaluation. Most entry level's sony has enemic bass and thin sound signature.

[Currawong]

I think, despite the crap source, I still got the general idea. At most the sound was more digital and less detailed than I was used to, so I put down any harshness as being from the source (I've not tried any ATs that I thought were harsh, one good thing about them). I did try Craig's woody AT collection on my rig at one stage and found no improvement, with the tonal balance still off-putting.

Another thought that came to mind is, I'd take the W1000X over L3000s. The bass was a similar kind of awesome, from what I remembered of my brief time with balanced L3000s, but at 1/6th of the price.

[purk]

Another thought that came to mind is, I'd take the W1000X over L3000s. The bass was a similar kind of awesome, from what I remembered of my brief time with balanced L3000s, but at 1/6th of the price

If that's true, I will be in for a pair. Wish the USD is stronger.

[tkam]

Really L3000 type bass? If so I'm probably in for a pair as well.

Purk hurry up and buy a pair so you can confirm or deny this .

[postjack]

L3000 type bass sounds intriguing. I've been wanting a "reasonably" priced AT phone with bass for years.

[Dusty Chalk]

I'm in for a pair, though I remain skeptical it's "L3000 awesome". If it's even 1/6 as awesome, it's still pretty fucking awesome.

[Currawong]

Yeah, I wouldn't trust myself either in the comparison, but it has a lot of bass, too much at times with some music, but to me, with the AT amp, it sounded good and punchy, at least better than the "needs-fuckloads-of-dynamat-to-fix-the-poor-construction" Denons. It didn't seem to sacrifice everything else (my complaints about mids notwithstanding) for the sake of the bass, as much as the L3000s seemed to. That probably means it's brighter. What I wish I knew right now was how much the L3000 sounds like the W1000.

I hope to go into the city again this weekend to get an iMac, so I might have another shot at nailing down the abilities of the W1000X (I'll use the Luxman/Yamaha combo this time). Any music you want me to try with them suggest away (and anything I should listen for) and I'll see what I can get together. I'll have a go at a better AD-2000 and W1000 comparison too. They have the SA5000, D5000, A2000X and W5000 on the bench too and I could take my HF2s in.

[purk]

Really L3000 type bass? If so I'm probably in for a pair as well.

Purk hurry up and buy a pair so you can confirm or deny this .

Sorry Todd, I'm waiting for someone else to reaffirm this impression. Budget is tight in my household, unfortunately. No more new headphone for awhile but if ever, it will be the JH13pro.

[postjack]

so pricejapan has these for 555USD shipped. is that still the best place to procure eastern electronics?

[Ridleyguy]

so pricejapan has these for 555USD shipped. is that still the best place to procure eastern electronics?

I don't know about "best", but I got very good service from them, including a prompt response to an email question on the shipping date for my W1000X.

[Superpredator]

PriceJapan was sourcing them for somewhere around $580 when I was looking to buy, IIRC. Definitely where I'd purchase for $555 if I hadn't bought used.

I posted some early impressions elsewhere, comparing the W1000X to the W2002, W11JPN, and (from memory) W5000 and W100. Essentially, and this is an oversimplification, the W1000X sounds like a hybrid of the other ATs I've owned. It isn't limited to one side of the genre spectrum or the other the way the 2002 and JPN are, and it takes the better qualities of the 5000 and 100 while leaving most of their considerable flaws behind. Great performance without the pitfalls that come with specialization. A very nice release from AT.

[postjack]

I don't know about "best", but I got very good service from them, including a prompt response to an email question on the shipping date for my W1000X.

i guess by "best" i mean "cheapest".

PriceJapan was sourcing them for somewhere around $580 when I was looking to buy, IIRC. Definitely where I'd purchase for $555 if I hadn't bought used.

I posted some early impressions elsewhere, comparing the W1000X to the W2002, W11JPN, and (from memory) W5000 and W100. Essentially, and this is an oversimplification, the W1000X sounds like a hybrid of the other ATs I've owned. It isn't limited to one side of the genre spectrum or the other the way the 2002 and JPN are, and it takes the better qualities of the 5000 and 100 while leaving most of their considerable flaws behind. Great performance without the pitfalls that come with specialization. A very nice release from AT.

thanks to both of you for your responses. the promise of a W5000 with more bass really has me intrigued, and its been a while since I've bought a headphone.

[Currawong]

I had another listen to them, out of the P-1u this time, with a Yamaha SACD player, which was better than the Sony POS I tried last time. Not sure whether it was the different amp or that the headphones weren't new, but the bass was more mellow than I remember, not intruding as much as it did when I last tried them, however they are still very mid-forward, too much so IMO. The new style of pads used in the X-series pushes the drivers away from the ears, so you get more treble, but I get the impression that the treble is a big peak or two above the mid-range, as the upper-mids/lower treble seemed to be somewhat weak. I'd say they are good for AT woody fans, especially if you're looking for something more balanced than the limited edition woodies. If you don't want the bass, then you can get the A2000X, which are probably somewhat closer to a closed AD2000. You'll be doing some funny arc shaping if you're like me and don't have a big head.