ATH-AWKT Headphones

The ATH-AWKT over-ear wooden headphones feature housings made from the rare Japanese hardwood Kokutan (striped ebony). Long used for woodwind instruments and pianos, this dense wood with the handsome black and brown stripes suppresses unwanted resonance to deliver clear, natural sound reproduction. The half-gloss finish, applied by hand, brings out the natural beauty of the wood’s grain – a beauty that will only deepen with age.

The headphones are equipped with exclusive 53 mm drivers with highly efficient German Permendur magnetic circuitry that deliver exceptionally accurate audio with a wide sound field. Each driver’s lightweight, durable titanium flange and 6N-OFC (high-purity, oxygen-free copper) voice coil ensure precise diaphragm movement and signal transfer. Our exclusive D.A.D.S. (Double Air Damping System), which divides the housing structure into two separate acoustic chambers, provides smooth, accurate bass response.

The arms that hold the housings are made from a lightweight, highly rigid magnesium alloy. The arms are angled to provide the best possible fit with excellent earcup seal. The comfortable fit is enhanced by the smooth, durable sheep skin earpads and headband.

The headphones also feature A2DC (Audio Designed Detachable Coaxial) jacks for secure connection to the two included 3.0 m (9.8') detachable cables. One cable has a 6.3 mm (1/4") gold-plated stereo plug for use with standard audio equipment. The other cable features a 4-pin XLRM balanced connector for use with the latest high-fidelity equipment to achieve better channel separation.

The Move to Hi-Res Audio

While many listeners may believe that high-resolution audio came along with the introduction of the Compact Disc in 1982, constraints on the disc’s storage space always prevented CD audio (standardized at 44.1 kHz/16-bit) from fully and completely reproducing the original recorded sound. The advent and subsequent popularity of MP3s only made this problem more pronounced – the necessary compression of these files causes audio information to be lost, thus greatly reducing the audio quality. But with lossless audio file formats, faster Internet speeds, and storage space increasingly easy to come by (and in ever-smaller packages), the push is on to create audio equipment capable of capturing and reproducing true Hi-Res Audio, generally considered to be 96 kHz/24-bit or better. The Hi-Res Audio logo certifies that a product meets the Hi-Res Audio standards. Per these standards, headphones must have transducer frequency performance to at least 40 kHz. As a producer of these types of audiophile headphones since 1972, Audio-Technica is well-positioned to provide audio solutions that meet the demands of Hi-Res Audio media formats, allowing for the full reproduction of their extended sonic characteristics.

Features

• Kokutan (striped ebony) housings, hand-finished with half-gloss, suppress unwanted resonance for clear, natural sound reproduction
• Exclusive 53 mm driver units with highly efficient German Permendur magnetic circuitry deliver powerful audio with a wide sound field
• Driver’s lightweight, durable titanium flange allows the diaphragm to react to the signal more accurately
• 6N-OFC (high-purity, oxygen-free copper) voice coil provides ideal signal transfer
• D.A.D.S. (Double Air Damping System) structure provides deep bass reproduction
• Two detachable 3.0 m (9.8') cables with A2DC (Audio Designed Detachable Coaxial) connectors at the headphones: one with a 6.3 mm (1/4") gold-plated stereo plug, the other with a 4-pin XLRM balanced connector
• Magnesium alloy headphone arm is angled to provide the best possible fit with excellent earcup seal
• Stitched ergonomic earpads and headband are made from smooth, high-durability sheep skin for long-lasting comfort
• Japanese craftsmanship: all Audio-Technica wooden headphones are hand-assembled in Tokyo

Press and Reviews

Major HiFi

by Gabby Bloch
May 2020