Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its “finest headphones ever.” The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
There is a new driver inside all that wood
The ATH-AWX7000 is the first Audio-Technica headphone to use its new Hybrid Matrix Diaphragm, or HMD, technology. The 58mm diaphragm combines a polymer film with a metal dome instead of relying on a single material.
Audio-Technica says the design helps the diaphragm hold its shape when dealing with high air pressure inside the closed-back earcups. It is paired with the company’s HXDT molding process, first used on the ATH-ADX7000, which is designed to make the diaphragm move more uniformly.
In practical terms, Audio-Technica is promising stronger and cleaner bass, better dynamics, and a wider soundstage. The company describes the sound as warm and lush, although those are claims that will ultimately need to be heard rather than taken at face value.
Nothing else about them is particularly ordinary
There is no Bluetooth or active noise cancellation here. The ATH-AWX7000 is a fully wired pair of audiophile headphones, and Audio-Technica includes two detachable eight-braid cables using its A2DC connectors. One is a 2.5-meter balanced cable with a four-pin XLR connector, while the other is a 3-meter unbalanced cable terminating in a 6.3mm plug.
The magnesium frame and aluminum sliders help keep the weight to around 353 grams, while Japanese deerskin covers the headband and earpads. Every pair is manufactured in Tokyo and comes with a hard carrying case. The ATH-AWX7000 is available now for $3,799.