Audio-Technica, a well-known maker of turntables, cartridges, microphones, and headphones has announced its new ATH-WB LTD audiophile wooden headphones. The limited-edition ATH-WB LTD is designed to deliver richly detailed, natural sound and is handcrafted from layered woods and premium materials.
Audio-Technica touts the benefits of wooden headphones for their natural beauty and beneficial sonic properties. The ATH-WB LTD continues this philosophy.
Each ATH-WB LTD is handcrafted in Audio-Technica’s facility in Tokyo, Japan.
The housings are made from flame maple, walnut, and mahogany. This combination of the different woods yields excellent acoustic damping properties, for purer, more musical audio reproduction.
To complement the stunning woods, the earpads and headband are made from sheepskin for long-wearing comfort.
The headphones support sonic realism, with articulate, textured bass, exceptional midrange accuracy and presence, and open, extended high-frequency reproduction.
The headphones are compact and have a fold-flat design for easy portability, making them the ideal companion for everyone seeking true high-end audio quality from personal audio players, laptops, smartphones, and other devices.
Core Features
- Wired design based on Audio-Technica’s 60th anniversary ATH-WB2022 wireless wooden headphones.
- Support for detailed audio reproduction with fast bass transients, and articulate upper-mids and treble tonality.
- Three-layer maple, walnut, and mahogany housings recreate a natural sense of fullness and harmonics, enhancing the acoustic reproduction of instruments with realistic bass texturing.
- A proprietary 45 mm HD driver, with a high-performance magnetic circuit and DLC (diamond-like carbon) coated diaphragm, has been specially tuned to provide rich, detailed sound from an analog connection.
- Earpads and headbands are made from sheepskin for long-lasting durability and comfort.
- Headphones swivel flat for convenient storage in the included carrying pouch
- Includes two detachable 1.2 m (3.9′) cables with A2DC (Audio Designed Detachable Coaxial) connectors at the headphones.
- 3.5 mm (1/8″) gold-plated stereo mini-plug and 6.3 mm (1/4″) adapter
- 4.4 mm (1/6″), 5-pole gold-plated balanced plug
- 6.3 mm (1/4″) adapter is included
Comparison
| ATH-WB LTD | ATH-WB2022 | |
| Price | $1,599 | $2,700 |
| Headphone Type | Wired | Wireless |
| Fit Configuration | Closed-back | Closed-back |
| Driver Type | Dynamic | Dynamic |
| Driver Diameter’ | 45 mm | 45 mm |
| Frequency Response | 5 – 50,000 Hz | 5 – 45,000 Hz |
| Maximum Input Power | 1,000 mW | Not Applicable |
| Sensitivity | 104 dB/mW | 106 dB/mW |
| Impedance | 40 ohms | 47 ohms |
| USB | – | Yes (ver 2.0) |
| Bluetooth | – | Yes |
| Microphone | – | Yes |
| Rechargeable Battery | – | Yes |
| Charging Time | Not Applicable | 2.5 hours |
| PlayTime | Not Applicable | 9 Hours (Max) |
| Weight | 320 g (11.3 oz) | 350 g (12 oz) |
Initial Impressions
Audio-Technica offers up products in all price ranges and after releasing their $5,500 AT-ART1000X ultra high-end phono cartridge, why not release a pair of $1,600 high-end limited edition headphones?
The Japanese manufacturer, however, has already proven that it can offer world class headphones that rival some of the best available and their flagship Narukami HPA-KG NARU Tube Headphone Amplifier is one of the most expensive ever introduced at $108,000 USD.
We spent time with it at CanJam 2024 and it was quite the experience.
There will only be 300 of the ATH-WB LTD available worldwide, so your chances of getting one might be pretty slim.
Pricing & Availability
The limited-edition Audio-Technica ATH-WB LTD wired wooden headphones are available in limited quantities at a suggested retail price of $1,599.
Tip: This is a special, limited-edition model, with only 300 units available throughout the world.
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Asa
June 21, 2024 at 8:06 pm
Still two left (ATH-WB LTD} as I write this…Friday, 2:00pm MST. Not in the market, but great looking set of headphones.
Dustin Offman
June 24, 2024 at 3:13 pm
“Real wood” disc on plastic headphones, made in Japan with a production run limit of 300 units. $1,599.
Wait for the $300 plastic Chinese version, then buy Beyerdynamic DT700/900 Pro X.
Ian White
June 24, 2024 at 5:41 pm
Dustin,
One may have to at this point. Audio-Technica has almost sold out of them.
IW