Audio Technica ATH-AWAS/AWKT Headphone Review: New Old School

[@bunozen1]

Great job. I was waiting for this. Since I already have the adx5k, I will be getting the AWAS, it is warmer and I want to hear that drivers, diamond like coating. Thank you.

[@MinidiscAu]

No worries! It is a nice complement to the ADX5k - a warmer, more romantic sound.

[@bentobox3140]

How did you like the AWAS? I thought the ADX5K was the better headphone on almost all fronts

[@bunozen1]

@@bentobox3140 The adx5k is great! I got the AWKT instead of the AWAS. The AWKT is special for acoustic, Jazz, also songs with strong female vocals. The better Dac amp combo the better. I would not use with portables. Probably the AWAS is a safer buy. What amp Dac are you planning to use?

[@francis9506]

omg it's lachlan!

[@StevenLee-wz2pr]

Hell, thanks for the great review. I have Sony WM1ZM, and WM1ZM2. I want to purchase the AWKT. What do you recommended for the best 4.4 cable for this set up ? Thank you

[@RX-rd4sc]

Denon d9200 vs z1r vs awas Which you prefer?

[@MuhammadKharismawan]

which is better for female vocal? AD1000x or the AWKT?

[@mhortop1]

How do these ‘woodies’ compare to the Focal Stellia?

[@garygriffiths7353]

Which audio technica headphones would be best for a metal fan. Both a portable and a desk set would be great!

[@wazzupi]

2nd anyone

[@llysender]

Something like the the MSR7 for portable and A2000Z for desk would be what I would recomend. Naturally both are coloured with the usual AT colouring and they are very detailed and nice for busy songs. One thing to note is that both headphones only have slightly boosted bass so if you wanted a very V headphone those aren't for you.That being said the MSR7 works well as a desk headphone off a high power headphone amp as well so you can just get that.

[@whiteofsoul]

wp900

[@amimartian]

@@whiteofsoul You just made me buy a pair.

[@leoyu1070]

AP2000ti is for you

[@soulfulfool]

I have seen there my beloved ADX5000 :) paired with nice tubes its remarkable headphones. As far as closed backs go I dont need any other than my Verite Closed. I'm kind of surprised that AWKT is more expensive than ADX or VC, that put them in position where rivals are very strong and to make a top closed back headphones is so hard, so hard...

[@halimj7]

Bismillah Great review. Unfortunately no reviewer is acknowledging the elephant in the room - how does the AWKT compare to the previous W5000? Thanks.

[@llysender]

Im no reviewer but imo its a incrememtal update with slightly better detail,subbass and trebble extentention and a brighter tonality. To me the key feature and also the downside the awkt has over the w5000 is that it has significant subbass but the subbass is trapped in the cups making things like explosion aftershocks sound off. That being said its still very nice for jcore edm.

[@halimj7]

llysender Bismillah We all are reviewers especially when we have the experience. Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I really like the W5000. Does the AWKT still keep the magical upper mids that make female vocalists shine?

[@llysender]

@@halimj7 yes it still have the audio technica female vocal colouring and is nicer than the w5000 in that the female vocal extention extends all the way unlike the w5000 where there is a drop in the upper suprano range which also accounts for the brighter tonality. One thing i learnt from slim over at headfi is that source wise the AWKT wants a slightly warm amp and bright ultra detailed amps like the cord dave TT cranks the upper half to unbearable too detailed levels. Personally i would never have known that as i only have the fiio k5 pro as my source. If you have the money to spend(its 1.8k) and as you like the w5000 its a pretty safe blind buy but if possible do try it and and AWAS out first.

[@whyscienceclub]

haven you heard audio technica ath awas? if yes how do they compete with denon d9200?

[@BunnyslippersEUC]

I demoed these at an hifi show last year. I gave the Audio Technica person my 2 cents.

[@leighton138]

whats a good pair of headphones for metal/punk/ska and for mixing music

[@RevoltDynasty]

Did they send you some of the rice lager? That stuff is delicious. Also great review. I suspect that there is only one headphone expert named "Lachlan" in Sydney, safe to assume this is LachlanLikesAThing?

[@PiperToTheEnd76]

How do these 3 new models compare to the AP2000TI?

[@llysender]

Interesting. To my ears the awkt is the upgrade endgame to the r70x that i was looking for. Sure its slightly brighter and has slightly less bass but in no way does it sound like the ls200 or the ad2000x which is what i think of when i hear extreme female forward. Its a really refined sound where only the subbass suffers for being trapped within the shell. That being said i agree with you AT should have made a single fat headband. Just curous if money was no matter would you still pick the wp900? Oh yeah awkt has real lether pads.

[@llysender]

@@johnsysays hmmm as much as HD660s and AWKT is mid forward the AWKT is thinner and very precise imaging wise. More importantly HD660s simply lacks the extension in both the bass and treble. The upside is that its significantly warmer so more mid and upper bass compred to the AWKT. Generally the AWKT is also not going to wow you with its presentation. But it presents every last detail in a very natural way and is something put on and get lost in the music for hours since everything from the static to the reverabtion of the tongue and other minor things will be brought out to light but without any of the harshness that analytical headphones like DT1990 bring. Just curous what do you listen to and do you have the HD660s? Since the HD660s is pretty unique and would be pretty had to get a direct upgrade. Since the HD660s is a very nice headphone already that does a very good job in the general 500hz to 8khz area but outside of that its only soso imo.

[@RR-ok4wz]

Curious: as someone who still loves their AD2000 (not the X), do you think the AWKT would be a good step up for a closed back? I'm aware of the x5000, which I'm also considering, but looking for a solid closed back from Audio Technica.

[@llysender]

@@RR-ok4wz hmmm if you want similar soundish but better res I would rec ADX5000 with Yaxi pads. Btw just curous what music do you commonly listen to. Because AWKT has very exquise vocals but is at the same time AT's most "audiophile" tuned with quite the lack of aggrasion which might be a detriment depending on how you like your music. That being said I still really like the AWKT for J-core metal and synth in general since there is no center image where everything blends together and the slam is just cheff's kiss. You dont get a very big soundstage(although since you prefer the AD2000 over X I'm sure you are ok with it) but the imaging and general attack decay is so good. Besides the general focus on the midrange its mostly a garbage in garbage out headphone but none of the flaws are highlighted so you still can listen to badly mixed edm but not kill your ears like HD800 where the upper mids just screw you over big time. Still have the AWKT and I dont see myself selling it ever.

[@mikeg2491]

@@llysender I just picked up an ADX5000 and I am thoroughly impressed, it’s hard to find headphones with unique sound signatures and it stands out from the pack of other totl phones I own like the utopia or he1000. I’m curious to try some other flavors of AT but particularly a woodie but not sure which direction to go, from what I’ve read the AWKT may be too similar to the 5000 I’d be just duplicating what I already gave? The ATH-WP900 sounds interesting as while cheaper, it is tuned more fun and might be a stronger complement to the 5000? Or would AWAS be that higher quality complement that’s not overly analytical but still leaves room for fun and retains some of that unique bass and realistic sound texture that a wood back can give versus open plastic?

[@llysender]

@@mikeg2491 I would rec the W5000 for a complimenting pair that keeps to the AT vocal sprit while still being warm and chillex. WP900 sadly I cannot rec without you first demoing since its voiced quite sharp/missing proper decay as well as a noticeable V.

[@morikawa9437]

omg you listen to Suara's songs too

[@kevinsetiawan2147]

Are these an improvement compared to wp900 or just different sound signature ? They seem to share similar driver

[@InternetUser-d7s]

I have them all. WP900 totally different sound signature.

[@amimartian]

@@InternetUser-d7s In a good way?

[@leoyu1070]

AWAS is just way better than WP900

[@leoyu1070]

They are different drivers

[@L0nkero]

Is that W1000Z @ 1:00? Could you tell how they compare to these?

[@pedecia]

Please the ATH-AWKT vs ATH-W5000

[@MsSpookykid]

I can’t agree more! The AWAS would be THE! perfect Headphone for me IF, it has a bass that is closer to the one of the WP900!

[@tcc5750]

Lachlan?!

[@roufali3178]

Review adx5000

[@ArmadaPejuang]

Nice dap and amp

[@saillog2537]

is the Z1R much better than awas?

[@leoyu1070]

AWAS is better for portable use, Z1R is too hard to drive. AWAS sound warmer and more relaxing as well

[@Yeastextract]

Z1r is a much better all rounder and of course has more bass, however the AWAS is unbeatable with any acoustic music. I’ve yet to hear the AWKT and if it’s any better than the AWAS in this regard then I might cry