With its lustrous wooden cups, the WP900 follows in the footsteps of Audio Technica’s other portables like the ESW990H, though in this case the WP900 is a larger design where the earpads fit around the ears rather than on top of them. The WP900 is proudly made in Japan, and in particular the maple wood earcups have been finished by Fujinon, a local guitar manufacturer. This would explain the distinctive flame maple look that has elicited plenty of oohs and aahs from customers in-store.
The flamed Maple wood earcups are truly stunning!
Besides just looking attractive, I find the design supremely comfortable - the WP900 is lightweight, fits securely, and is one of the few headphones where the headband makes contact along every point of the top of my head. I can wear the WP900 for hours with no discomfort, though if you have larger ears, something closer to a full sized headphone like the AP2000TI might be more comfortable.
The WP900 comes with both 3.5mm unbalanced and 4.4mm balanced cables, and these attach via Audio Technica’s proprietary, and as far as we have experienced, very reliable A2DC connector. The balanced cable isn’t strictly necessary as the WP900 is fairly easy to drive, and I’ve enjoyed the headphone out of everything from the Sony ZX300, to an iPhone dongle, to a Chord Hugo 2. And when I say enjoyed, I really do mean enjoyed, because the WP900 is one of the most delightfully tuned headphones I’ve heard in a while.
The ATH-WP900 can easily be driven from a portable source like the Sony ZX300.
Since this is Audio Technica, of course we start with a forward upper midrange that emphasises female vocalists and stringed instruments. Unlike with other Audio Technica releases like the AP2000Ti, the WP900 doesn’t tend towards thinness in the upper treble. There IS a narrow peak somewhere between 9 and 12kHz that picks up sizzle on some tracks, but for me this headphone rides the knife edge in delivering detail and airiness without going overboard. I think anyone who likes Grado mids, will find a lot to like in the WP900’s natural sense of detail and energy. But unlike a Grado, and unlike even most Audio Technicas, the WP900 also delivers a fun, thumping bass line. The 53mm carbon coated drivers keeps the bass fast and punchy, and there is a mid-bass hump around 100Hz that gives everything a bit of colour without making the whole thing sound overblown. It’s not a basshead sound, but it does stand out.
A headphone like the Fostex TH610 does a better job of blending bass into a deep, resonant whole, but there is something really charming about the way the WP900 calls attention to the lower frequencies with its distinctive kick.
The ATH-WP900 is a bit like a closed Grado with more bass.
This emphasis on a punchy bass line and borderline hot treble makes the WP900 a V-shaped headphone, and the lower midrange is somewhat recessed. This is probably my biggest criticism of the signature: it tends to rob male vocalists of presence and richness. But still, I find the overall tuning works fantastically with everything from quiet acoustic and jazz, to thumping electronic, to 70s rock.
For such a compact portable design, soundstaging is not shabby either. While the WP900 won’t blow you away with the sense of scale and space found in larger closed headphones like the Sony MDR-Z1R or Sennheiser HD820, it still sounds natural and uncongested. This may be due in part to Audio Technica’s decision to steeply angle the drivers of the WP900 within the earcup.
The WP900's wider than expected soundstage may be due to the deep angle of the drivers.
Along with this cohesive soundstaging is outstandingly good note timbre. Again, the comparison with Grado is apt: acoustic instruments like strings and guitar just sound somehow right with the WP900. There is no metallic or plastic ring with instruments. We think this has a lot to do with the well tuned wooden cups, and there’s a reason why Audio Technica ‘woodys’ have a cult following.
No headphone is perfect, and even though I think the WP900 sounds fantastic and represents a breath of fresh air from Audio Technica, I still wouldn’t recommend it for people who are after an easy listening headphone for every genre. The sound is energetic, and in your face, while still preserving the tantalising upper midrange that you would associate with Audio Technica. And, unlike so many other higher end closed headphones, it does it in a compact, portable design.
I give the WP900 my personal seal of approval, and over the months we have received tremendously positive feedback from our customers. It’s been a real winner for us here at the store, so do come in and try it for yourself!
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