Audio-Technica's ATH-W2022 celebrates the brand's 25 years of wooden headphone craftsmanship and its 60th birthday, along with the extremely limited edition AT-MC2022 phono cartridge.

Although not as limited as the anniversary dual moving coil cartridge, the Japanese sourced and assembled ATH-W2022 will only see 100 headphones made.

Sporting specially designed, developed and optimised baffle-integrated 58 mm drivers featuring a pure titanium centre dome pressed to a thickness of 30 microns (0.03 mm), the ATH-W2022 is said to place emphasis on mid-high-range audio reproduction with an excellent high-frequency response.

We are told that Innovative Core Mount Technology, adopted from the ATH-ADX5000, places the driver unit optimally for improved airflow and excellent full-range audio reproduction. Additionally, a newly designed magnet circuit incorporates a pole and yoke structured from laminated pure iron plates to reduce back electromotive force (back EFM).

Those drivers are encased in beautiful Mizume (Japanese birch) housings finished in the Japanese maki-e lacquer technique, incorporating hand-painted Sakura (cherry blossom) and hou-ou phoenix designs on the left and right sides, respectively.

Finally, the anniversary headset is completed with a headband and earpads made from deerskin “for long-lasting durability and comfort” - unless you were one of the deers, obviously.

Meanwhile, the headphones are presented in a special 60th anniversary commemorative wooden storage case with a Kiso cypress lid cut to complement the irimoya styling of the headphone arms.

As well as the headphones, you will find two detachable 3.0 m (9.8-foot), cloth-wrapped cables (with A2DC connectors at the headphones) made from 7N-class DUCC (Dia Ultra Crystallised Copper): one with a 6.3 mm (1/4-inch) gold-plated stereo plug, the other with a 4-pin XLRM balanced connector.

The Audio-Technica ATH-W2022 will be available this Winter with an RRP of US$9,000.

Visit Audio-Technica for more information