Headphones
Audio Technica ATH-AD700
Audio Technica brings us a fulgent and amazingly comfortable full-sized open back headphone with the ATH-AD700. Tending towards a more 'up-front' presentation with lightning quick transient precision, very well-resolved highs plus a tonally balanced mid-range / low frequency response, these cans will delight folks looking for clean musical detail. Ergonomic full-size build but a very lightweight headband construction helps ensure blissful sessions with just you and your music. No question, sublime listening comfort awaits audiophiles who own these cans.
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Product Features:
- Quick-toned, hyper-articulate headphone for lovers of detail
- Extremely comfortable and a light wearing experience on the head.
- Distinctive styling and strong build quality from this fine headphone manufacturer
What's In The Box:
- Detachable 1/4" (6.3 mm) adapter
If you're into lengthy audiophile headphone listening sessions deep into the night, let us introduce one extremely comfortable partner sure to get you deep access into the most nuanced details of your favorite recordings. The heavily-praised, stellarly-reviewed Audio Technica ATH-AD700 full-size headphone delivers typically superb AT sonic spaciousness and expansive imaging ability along with a crisp signature tone that emphasizes a crystalline, slightly 'forward' musical presence in the upper mids & highs that synergizes especially well with classical and symphonic music. The AD700 bass response is solidly punchy and tight; it's certainly not the huge bass demanded by big 'bass head' types, but it will still deliver very respectable low-end underpinning with accurate and punchy textural detail. The AD700 mid-ranges are also quite good and stay nicely transparent for most vocalese and well-produced singer/ songwriter recordings. A sparkling musicality, clean-toned timbral openness, and airy soundstage depth are the strengths of this can and very few headphones near this pricepoint will be able to beat it.
The Audio Technica ATH-AD700 come in a unique but smart-looking tan & off-lavender color scheme that separates them from the crowd, even here at our overly-stuffed HeadRoom 'wall of headphones' display. The honeycombed open-grill circumaural earcups are topped with a lightweight rubberized headband assembly featuring the traditional Audio Technica '3D wing' supports for easy auto-fit adjustments. No question it's a big headphone so smaller wearers may perhaps find the fit a bit too loose depending on their head size. The ATH-AD700's high-quality 10ft upscale 'hybridized' PCOCC /titanium alloy headphone cord exits from the left earcup and terminates in a small mini-plug 3.5mm [1/8"] jack with a full-size 1/4" plug handily included in the package. A free 1-year Audio Technica manufacturers' product warranty is standard.
Specifications:
- Coupler Size: Large
- Cord Type: Straight Left-Side
- Manufacturer Warranty: 1 year
- Cord Length: 10 ft. (3 m)
- Detachable Cable: No
- Noise Cancelling: No
- Wireless: No
- Impedance @ 1kHz: 32
- Ear Coupler Type: Full-Size
- Headphone Type: Full Size
- Acoustic Seal: Open
- Driver Type: Dynamic
- Microphone: No
Average Rating
Posted by jonyet from atlanta on 2012-03-09
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: stupendous comfort, strong bang for the buck
Cons: not much, construction quality could be better
After he burned them in for a couple weeks and explained why on earth he would need an amp or stereo receiver for headphones, i sat down at his computer and he cranked up some of our favorite tunes..and boy did i feel stupid.
Now getting to the point, this brought me to the realization that my old crappy sony cans from the turn of the century had to go, and that just because they were big didn't mean they were any good. After reading reviews and learning the basics about ohms and frequency response graphs, my budget and research brought me to the ATH AD700.
I let them burn in for about 7 days straight without relent through my stereo receiver and my roommate and i jumped on for some equalizing and enjoyment. The drivers on these cans are bigger than a lot of others out there, and it's easy to feel that. The soundstage created by these is nice and accurate, and to this day i still find myself looking around the room for sounds i hear in my AD700's. The high frequency end gets a little pitchy, and the bass needed a little boost, but that was easy enough to EQ out. i only have accuracy left to be desired at those ends, the mids are absolutely fantastic.
After about 4 years of owning these cans, they have served me pretty well. i haven't babied them, i have taken them overseas to italy for months, and the amount of power they require to push the drivers can be handled just fine by the DAC on any ipod/iphone device, which is a HUGE plus for me! the pads are still in good condition, but the 'pleather'-esque edges of them have worn almost entirely off (not really a big deal to me, at least).
if i can give any advice, it would be to take a little bit better care of them than i have (haven't done terrible, but i can't say they haven't been dropped a few times). My left driver has come a little bit loose and gives me the tiniest bit of a rattle, which could potentially drive an audiophile insane, though i'm ok.
that being said, i have loved every second of owning (and wearing...did i mention the comfort is stellar?! i do not want to take them off) these cans. they have opened my eyes (ears?) to things i had never fully enjoyed about music, movies, and video games. forget "5.1 surround gamer headphones," open air reference cans will blow them out of the water.
I am upgrading this week to the AKG 701's and really looking forward to writing a review on them in a few hundred hours.
cheers!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Posted by bobertoq on 2012-01-01
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Detailed, good clarity, amazing soundstage
Cons: Poor bass
SOUND
The first thing I noticed about these headphones, at least compared to my old pair, is how clear and detailed they are. Vocals and acoustic guitars sound so crisp. Everything sounds clean. The 'instrument seperation' is excellent, ie. It is very easy to distinguish the instruments from each other.
Additionally, the soundstage is incredible. It'sn't quite as immersive as I had hoped, but it blows my old headphones out of the water. The imaging is superb. I can tell where each sound is coming from. Many sounds sound like they are coming from outside of the headphone. With many songs you are surrounded in sound. With some rock songs, however, the soundstage almost seems too wide, as if you are really far away from the performers (which sounds bad).
My biggest problem with these headphones is the bass. The bass on these cans is really, really light. It sounds like the 'Bass Reducer' EQ on iTunes is always on. If you are a basshead you will not like these headphones. If you are into rock there are headphones with more bass. The upside is the bass is not overpowering, muddy or boomy unlike all the cans and speakers I've heard.
COMFORT AND LOOKS
A lot of people said these phones are too loose, but I did not find this to be true. I'm only 5'5" and 120 lbs. and my head is not disproportionately massive, so I'm pretty sure I have a small head, and they fit fine. In fact, they are very comfortable. After a couple hours my ears get a little warm, but there is almost no clamping force. These things float on your head. I can wear them for hours without any significant discomfort.
They looking freaking stoopid, though, but that isn't a concern for me. They are absolutely massive, they have that extra headband type thing that goes above you head, which makes them look even uglier, and they're pink! My brother says they're purple, but is that any better? These do, however, stay on my head when I use them, so I don't care about how they look.
CONCLUSION
I like these headphones a lot. They have an amazing soundstage and are very clean, detailed and comfortable. The bass, however, is very light.
I may sell these and try some other headphones in the price range to find the best for my tastes.
NOTE: These headphones are open. You will be able to hear everything around you and people around you will be able to hear your music. These phones sounds fine unamped from an iPod.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Posted by Mark from New Jersey on 2011-08-16
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Clarity, comfort, mids, highs, soundstage
Cons: Bass is weak
Packaging:
The packaging was a cardboard box with a plastic window once the box door was opened. The headphones came placed on a plastic cardboard stand. The only extra included was a 1/8->1/4 adaptor. For the price this is what I expected. I would expect a bit more given the $250 MSRP, but that's rarely the price anyone will pay for them.
Comfort:
I can not express the amount of joy I had putting these on after getting used to my Grado Sr80i. These super aural headphones weren't as comfortable as the Beyerdynamic Dt770 I had tried before I bought these, but I doubt many would complain. The wing technology in combined with the soft velour pads make these headphones feel like they aren't there at all. Even hours after wear there was no sweating, itching, or discomfort.
Some users complain that they are unable to get a good fit, but there is a rubber band mod many users have found useful.
Design and Build Quality:
These aren't the most durable feeling headphones, but in my year of use every day for multiple hours they have held up just fine. They aren't designed for outdoor, so using them responsibly inside will definitely keep them in good condition without problems. They do creak slightly, but only when I put them on. The wing design is brilliant to me, they automatically adjust to my head for a great fit. Overall I'm pleased with the feel of these, especially for under $100 most users get them for.
My one complaint about the design is the questionable color choice. I listed it as a con, I don't mind, though I know it turns others off.
Sound:
My first headphones were the Grado Sr80i, I wound up selling them for the Ad700 due to comfort issues and the bright sound being too fatiguing. The first thing I noticed in sound was that it was much more surrounding than I had imagined. If the Grado Sr80i are similar to being at the front in a concert, these are easily more so towards the back. The sound surrounds you and has a pleasant airy sound to it. For the price I have no found a pair of headphones that compares. This gives the Ad700s great instrument separation.
The highs are pleasant. They are clear and prominent without being overbearing nor fatiguing. The mids are also very clear, slightly pushy, but flow into the highs quite well. The lows are the bane of this headphone though. I'm not a basshead, but even I was slightly saddened about the lack of bass. There is bass, and it's definitely tight and accurate, but it doesn't extend far at all, and lacks the impact necessary for bass heavy music. Due to the lack of bass I also found these to be less engaging than I had hoped.
Overall these headphones are amazing. The highs and mids are clear, and the sound stage is unrivaled for the price. I found they sound best with clean sounding music, especially female vocals and acoustic music. They are definitely not limited to that though.
Value:
The value is rather hard to judge due to the prices on these changing rapidly. For under $100, which they can be found at, they are hard to beat. I feel they lose less value over $100 though, but only because they are regularly found in the $80 range. With that said I highly recommend these for under $100, while suggesting to wait if they are higher than that unless you are really impatient.
Please keep in mind my ratings are in comparison to similarly priced headphones, not $1,000 headphones.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Did you?
