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Isolation |
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• Very high decibel output without distortion.
• Not particularly good at isolating.
• Does suffer from some leakage, but not nearly as much as we would've guessed. |
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Sound Quality |
Page 4 of 12 |
Comfort |
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Maximum Usable Volume (10.00)
What we found:
The Audio-Technica ATH-W5000s were capable of 121.17dB of playback, which means they passed our test with a golden 10.00. We award a maximum of 10 points to any headphones capable of 120dB or higher with a distortion level of under 3%. Many headphones are capable of 120dB or higher, but will sound like garbage doing so. With the ATH-W5000s, you will be graced with loud music with very minor levels of distortion.
What is maximum usable volume?
No one likes bad audio quality, but people often like loud music. When volume is increased, distortion increases as well. Basically, in this section we crank up the volume and keep playing back a sond file, looking for the point at which the playback reaches 3% distortion. As mentioned earlier, 3% distortion is annoyingly noticeable.
How the test works:
This test is essentially a battery of distortion tests at varying volume levels. We keep cranking up the volume until we reach 3% distortion or 120dB. You really don't want to breech either of these thresholds. Anything above 3% distortion will sound like garbage, and anything above 120dB will ruin your hearing. To find out more about this test, click here.
Isolation (1.86)
What we found:
The ATH-W5000s weren't the best isolators we've seen. This probably won't be the biggest loss to potential users, however: you really shouldn't be leaving your home or office with these things.
Like most headphones without active cancellation, the ATH-W5000s block out more high-frequency sounds than lower ones.
Again, if you can somehow get the ATH-W5000s to contour to your head perfectly, they'll likely isolate a bit better.
How the Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 compares:
What is isolation?
Isolation refers to the headphones' ability to block out external sound. There are two ways a set of headphones can achieve isolation: active cancellation and passive isolation. Passive isolation just means the headphones are physically obstructing your ear canals. Just about every solid object is capable of passive isolation. Active cancellation uses fancy electronics to accomplish a similar effect. Headphones with active noise cancellation have microphones that listen to ambient noise. The headphones then play back a sound with an inverse amplitude. The ambient noise is then literally cancelled out by its inverse. The problem with active cancellation is that it has the tendency to cancel out sounds you do want to hear, or create noise you definitely don't want to hear. The technology is excellent at blocking bass noise, however, while regular in-ears excel at blocking out high-end noise.
How the test works:
Our isolation test is a bit more obvious than our other tests. We outfit HATS with the headphones, then blast it with noise. Fortunately, we know exactly how much noise we're shooting out, so by measuring the amount HATS actually hears we can figure out how much sound is blocked out at each different frequency. For more info on this awesome test – or any of our other, equally awesome tests – click this link.
Leakage (8.12)
What we found:
The ATH-W5000s leak, but they do so very directionally. Unless you have a very specific head shape, there will be a gap between your head and the top of the ear cups. Sound will leak out of this opening, but not much sound will leak out elsewhere. All in all, while the ATH-W5000s did a good job blocking leakage, it is present; it just isn't particularly loud.
What is leakage?
Leakage refers to any sound escaping the headphones. Leakage is bad if you're in a library, but not really an issue if you're going to be listening in private. In fact, a lot of leakage is generally indicative of an open soundstage.
How the test works:
To test leakage, we outfit HATS with the headphones, then pipe some pink noise through them. We have a microphone set up a few inches away to pick up on any sound that escapes.
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