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发表于 2002-2-21 10:49:00
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一篇老外对比,R10 和W2002的文章<>WOOD IS GOOD: Sony R10 vs. Audio Technica ATH W2002
As promised, here's a new thread that will evolve into a review of the W2002. This will be more like a little diary of the ownership/listening experience, written as I progress.<>Opening Thoughts
In a lot of ways, it appears that Audio Technica had the Sony R10 in their cross-hairs when they began designing their wooden phones. They openly, almost brazenly adopted many of the innovations of the Sony R10, especially on this latest model, the W2002, which even shares the R10's lambskin ear cushions. AT has released five models of wooden headphones in all, with 4 models preceding the W2002. They've had five shots at beating the R10-- have they succeeded? Was that even their goal?<>The way I see it, the W2002 is the result of 4 successive product development experiences with "high-end" wooden phones, so I expect that the W2002 is probably as close to a state of the art dynamic headphone as exists today. What would the R10 sound like after four more product iterations? Is this even a fair comparison? Perhaps sound/design/marketing goals were fundamentally different? From this side of the ocean, it's hard to really know.<>True, The ATH W2002 is priced well-below the Sony R10, although you will recall that the R10 originally came out in 1989 when the relationship of yen to dollar was very different. I wonder how the price of the R10 and the ATH W2002 would really compare in today's dollars?<>Why am I hung up on that? I THINK it's valid to do a head-to-head with these phones, but I'm not sure. In any case, that's how I'm going to proceed.<>The Box:
A very handsome and macho-looking case that appears to be made of plastic with maybe aluminum trim. Though the box is designed to look somewhat like a Haliburton case, let's just say, its not quite as rugged. More for show, but that's fine, I am not hung up on cases, but I know some of you freaks are.
When you open the box, you get a big grin. The W2002 is buried in a red-satiny shiny material that drapes randomly all over like the backgound to those nude Marilyn Monroe photos. The effect is somewhat gaudy, almost bawdy and pornographic. Nestled deep inside all this material is Marilyn-- I mean the W2002, and I am immediately struck by their size--they are definitely smaller than the R10s.<>Verdict: Nod must go to Sony's absurdly posh leather box and hard-bound book. (What, no hardcover book on the development of the W2002? AS IF!)<>Fit and Finish
She sure is purty. Every bit as purty as the R10, but not as substantial. The R10's are BIG and comfy and snuggle the head perfectly. There's plenty of room within the R10's earcup for your ears, but not the W2002. They don't quite fit as well or as comfortably as the Sony R10's over my (admittedly large) ears.
W2002 does not have as much cushioning as the ultra-comfy R10s. Nevertheless, the W2002 is very, very comfortable in its own right-- no big red flags there.
On my head, the W2002 is not as snug as the R10s and are probably closer in snugess to the somewhat loosey-goosey Sony CD3000. W2002 feels somewhat heavier on your head than the R10s, but they are not heavy. One advantage of the W2002 over the R10's is in my ability to put my head back on my comfy chair. The R10s portrude way out in the back (baby got back!) and so they sometimes collide with the cushion in an uncomfortable way, forcing the headphones forward, if you can picture that. I do not have this problem with the slimmer W2002 and that's a good thing.<>As far as build quality goes-- the wooden enclosures are indeed very beautiful, but with the heavy laquering, they almost feel like plastic. The assembly itself is not as rugged or sturdy as the R10. Of course, they are two completely different designs, but the magnesium R10s convey stability, while the W2002 has a plastic-y frame that emphasizes flexibility. This may be a deliberate design choice that I will come to appreciate over time, it may be a limitation of the design, or a limitation of the materials they had available to use for the construction. In any case, W2002 is not as substantial in places where they pivot as the R10. Those two thin "rails" that circumnavigate the head are not especially sturdy, but maybe they don't need to be. There are two independently-moving pads that rest on top of the head. They have lots of moving pieces that allow them to conform to your head, but they are constructed of somewhat thin pieces of platic. <>The cord is very nice, but not as thick and supple as the r10s. The plug on the W2002 is SWEET. Really buff, beefy, heavy, and purty. <P>Verdict: Nod goes to Sony R10 in terms of comfort and in terms of (apparent) build quality. That said, the W2002 is extremely attractive and very well-built. It's only in comparison to the R10 that it could possibly come up short. ATH W2002 is probably more comfortable than the Sony CD3000 or HD600, although its been months since I've had either of them.<P>The W2002 will be burning in for several days, so as I have information on sound quality that's coherent and meaningful, I will post.<P>markl<P> |
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