ATH-W3000ANV

[mypasswordis]

Glad to hear you got rid of the PS1000s. No one deserves that kind of pain. Nice write-up on the W3000.

[peepshow]

I like the W3000ANV a lot, but I think that it lacks some bass weight. I'm not sure if it improves upon the W5000 a great deal in that department.

[peepshow]

I've been keen to compare the W3000ANV with my friend's W5000 and had the opportunity to do that today. I'd like to share some impressions if that's allowed. ; ) The phones were fed lossless files via a macbook and Burson HA160D. I listened to the same tracks on each phone in turn. I found these headphones sounded very similar with the differences in presentation being subtle rather than marked.

The W3000ANV has a slightly lush presentation compared to the drier W5000. The W3000ANV's highs are like spun gold, they really are gorgeous. The W3000ANV's treble presentation seems a little more extended and detailed than the W5000. The mids are front and centre of the A-T house sound but again, the richer presentation of the W3000ANV just made it more euphonic and enjoyable. It's the kind of headphone that you start out trying to listen to analytically and soon find yourself being seduced by its charms. I found the W5000 to have some mid-range glare that could make it fatiguing. I didn't notice this with the W3000ANV. The bass weight sounded pretty similar to me with both phones rendering bass that is taut and textured. Bassheads should look elsewhere.

The W3000ANV has smaller ear cups than the W5000, which are almost ridiculously huge. Having said that, I found the larger ear cups of the W5000 very accommodating for my flappers, and appreciated its relaxed fit compared to the tighter clamping W3000ANV. In terms of build quality, the W5000 looks and feels like the more solid headphone. Both have long cables that are microphonic and prone to twisting, but the cloth covered cable of the W3000ANV is a pain in the arse.

The differences between these headphones almost lies in the intangibles. They do sound like very close siblings but I prefer the W3000ANV's more romantic presentation to the somewhat muscular W5000. It's just a lovely sounding headphone and I can't quite say that about the W5000. The price has dropped by almost $200 since I bought mine from PriceJapan, who don't seem to be having any problems sourcing this so called limited edition headphone. That's a bummer for me but possibly an inducement for those of you who might be sitting on the fence over this one.

[purrin]

Did you feel the W5000 had more emphasis on the midrange than the W3000ANV? I found it harder to turn up the volume on the W5000 because of that. It just became all midrangy and shouty.

Also, the W3000 seemed to have a lot of mid-bass - at least for me. Could be amp dependent though. Don't know what you are running.

[peepshow]

Perhaps, it's hard to say without spending more time with them both. They sound far more alike than different to me. I do think that the W5000 sounds harder and this could be due to the mid-range glare that I think I heard. But what da fock do I know? I'm hoping to borrow the W5000 soon for another comparison.

[donunus]

http://headfonics.co...ersary-edition/

Heres a review of these cans on Headfonics

Edited February 19, 2012 by donunus