Audio Technica ATH-AWKT review

Audio Technica ATH-AWKT

Packaging and Presentation

 

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Audio Technica provides some of the most impressive packaging in the business, and the ATH-AWKT is certainly no exception. It arrives in an enormous glossy white box, embossed with Japanese lettering, and a ‘Kokutan’-coloured illustration that hints at the subtle stripes and swirls of the wooden cups that await inside.

The headphones themselves come safely housed in a solid, timber box. The lid lifts off to reveal the ATH-AKWTs resting regally inside the cushioned, satin-y interior. Full marks for visual theatre here, but the first thing that struck me was the smell. The ATH-AKWT immediately stamps itself as ‘high end’ by virtue of a wonderful, subtle spicey smell that’s reminiscent of sitting back in an expensive Chesterfield couch – it genuinely needs to be experienced. In fact, my entire home office smells wonderful just by having the ATH-AKWT and its box sitting in here for the past couple of weeks. 

 

Two 3.0m cables are supplied as standard with the ATH-AKWT – one terminated in a 6.3mm single-ended plug, and the other with a four-pin balanced XLR connection. Their length and build imply that the ATH-AWKT is a ‘home only’ affair – they’re big, long, and in the case of the XLR cable – fairly heavy. They connect to each side of the ATH-AWKT via Audio Technica’s A2DC connector. It’s rugged and works well, but its proprietary nature means you won’t exactly find a plethora of aftermarket options available. 

 

Build, design, and comfort

The ATH-AWKT weighs-in at 405g, but in the hand, it doesn’t feel like it ought to weigh any more than its 270g open-back stable-mate, the ATH-ADX5000. It’s an incredibly light-feeling headphone despite its relative size, but the ATH-AWKT wears its weight well thanks to its skeletonised headband, and the wooden cups themselves. Audio Technica has thankfully avoided the ‘wing’ system for the ATH-AWKT, using a headband split into two arches and covered in what appears to be the same sheepskin as the two large, generous earpads. Despite not having much by way of padding, it’s comfortable and doesn’t create any unwanted ‘hotspots’ on the top of your head. 

 

The yoke and extension arm appears to be shared with the ATH-ADX5000, and adjustments feel solid, silent and accurate. I did find that my fingers often got ‘pinched’ between the cups and the yokes when I placed the ATH-AWKT’s on my head – it can hurt if you’re not careful!

And as for the feature that gives the ATH-AWKT its nickname, the ‘Kokutan’ wooden cups: well, photographs simply can’t do it justice. The finish of the hand-polished wood is so flawless and so consistent that you’d be forgiven for thinking that they are made from some kind of faux-wooden plastic. The natural swirls in the wood seem to change continuously under different lighting conditions which gives them completely different aesthetic charms at different times of day and night. While you think that you’d probably want to keep a $1,899 pair of headphones stored safely in their box, they’re so incredible looking that I can guarantee you’d make sure that the ATH-AWKT took pride of place somewhere within eye-shot at all times. 

The ATH-AWKT is certainly light on the head, but it’s honestly not the snuggest and secure fit. And here is the part where I’m going to be most critical about this $1,899 pair of headphones – whereas the ATH-ADX5000 was probably the most comfortable pair of headphones I’ve ever worn, listening to the ATH-AWKT can get downright frustrating. 

Firstly, and most annoyingly, let’s talk about the cables. They’re finished in a matte, semi-hard outer sleeve that’s more than a little microphonic. If they rub against your clothing, they’ll send noises straight-up into those fancy-looking earcups. And if they ‘tap’ against anything on your desk or in your immediate vicinity – that noise is also extremely audible. The cables exit the earcups immediately downward in a perpendicular fashion, meaning that they’ll be permanently resting and sliding against your clothing, and shirt collar if you’re wearing one. While the XLR and 6.3mm connectors and the overall quality of the cables themselves feels first-rate and designed to last, the microphonic issue really isn’t good enough at this price – it’s enough to take you out of your musical ‘zone’, regularly. 

Next, let’s talk about the pads. They’re big, wide, and high-quality sheepskin, but they’re neither deep nor supple. Those 53mm drivers are angled back at your ears, meaning the driver is less than 1cm away from the pad opening at the front of the driver, with thankfully a bit more room at the back where your ears protrude. However, the relatively shallow pads combined with a fairly light clamping force give you the impression that the ATH-AWKT is an ‘on-ear’ pair of headphones, albeit it a big, comfy pair of on-ears. The fairly average pad-seal that I was able to achieve means that isolation is only so-so. I would love them to have a fraction more clamping force – especially at the lower side of the cups around the jaw – to create a snugger, closed-in feel. 

If they were my pair of headphones, I’d be in looking to find a nice big pair of pads (such as the Eikon pads from ZMF); I’d probably look to tighten the headband some; and I’d want to find myself a nice, quiet aftermarket cable. It might sound like I’m being a fairly nit-picky, but as a flagship pair of headphones the ATH-AWKT naturally demand scrutiny and it’s important for our readers to understand what the total product experience is like. For me, listening to headphones should be all about escapism and the ability to immerse yourself in a tiny little musical bubble. The combination of these quibbles is enough to make the overall quality of life with the ATH-AWKT slightly less awesome than it should be, which is frustrating because a) it’s very easily fixed, and b) they happen to sound very, very good. 

We’ll jump onto sound in a moment, but to round things out on the design front I do want to remark that overall build and craftsmanship is absolutely first-rate. The ATH-AWKT looks, feels, and smells like a flagship ought to. Comfort, of course, will depend on the shape of your head and your ears, so naturally your mileage may vary. As always, make sure you get the chance to audition any pair of headphones before you buy them. 

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4.2/5 - (43 votes)
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Hailing from Sydney's eastern beaches, Matty runs his own beer business, 'Bowlo Draught', as well as working in creative advertising. When he's not enjoying his hifi and vinyl collection at home, he can probably be found rolling-up on the green at his beloved Bondi Bowling Club.

4 Comments

  • Reply April 27, 2020

    Sp12er

    at least they package the balanced cable in now unlike ADX5000 where people had to buy em.

    • Reply April 28, 2020

      Matty Graham

      That’s definitely true mate. The asking price for the balanced cable on top of the flagship asking price for the ADX5000 is pretty steep.

  • Reply July 29, 2020

    Igor

    How does it compare with ATH-W5000 or ATH-W1000x/W1000z?

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