Audio Technicia ATH-SQ5 - Page 4

Please back report guys and let us know what you think. I suggest doing a 50+ hr. for burn-in.

Well, they finally arrived today, the build quality is fantastic Doing burn-in right now..

I've been looking at these for awhile (read a lot of positive reviews, could not find many negative ones) and was just wondering if anyone can compare these against the ATH-ES7? Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of testing these headphones out in person and I'm not too really an audiophile either (so long as it sounds better than those cruddy iPod earphones then I'm usually happy) so at the moment, my primary concern is comfort. Regarding the ATH-ES7, they were supra-aural for me. I found the clamping extremely uncomfortable and my ears were killing me after using these for around 50 minutes. If anyone has had the luxury of trying/owning both of these products and is kind enough to recount their experience, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

could someone compare tiz with FC700?

IMO the SQ5 is quite mediocre sound-wise. comfort is good. they don't look as good as in the photo. The construction is very plasticky.

my ranking goes (portapro as a benchmark because it's been there since like forever):

SQ:
1. ES7
2. Portapro
3. FC700
3. SQ5

comfort:
1. SQ5
2. FC700
3. Portapro
4. ES7 (ouch)

looks:
1. ES7
2. Portapro (some may hate the retro look though; this is subjective)
3. FC700
4. SQ5

build quality:
around the same; slight edge for ES7

the es7  doesnt have a big soundstage. i find them very intimate. although it is ACCURATE. i feel like i can turn my head and watch the singer, who is standing a few feet away from me. or reach out and touch them. if anyone gets the chance, listen to a lossless rip of opeth's damnation album. and let us know how accurate the soundstage is =)

 

i would say that there is a lot of bass presence, but it isnt a bassy phone. the bass is very detailed and tight, but even the sq5's bass has more volume. its just lower quality by a small margine.

 

heres my short review on the sq5:

 

 

thought people would be interested.

I've had my SQ5s for several days now, and so far I like them though there are a few issues. Keep in mind I haven't spent a ton of time burning them in, maybe 15 hours or so. Also keep in mind that I'm coming from the M50.

 

First of all they're really comfortable and light. The headband has a ton of padding. And I personally think they look as just as good in person as they do in pics, though they're fingerprint magnets. My biggest issue with the design is that you can hear every creak and moan that the headphones make as you move around with them on. I hope this goes away with time and it's just a matter of them breaking in. You can even hear it over the music at times. If you aren't moving about too much you probably won't notice it. I used them while running at the gym and that's when it was most noticeable. Probably not the ideal gym phones.

 

Sound quality is pretty good to my ears, but they definitely aren't for bass heads. I saw a few comments from people saying the bass "kicked", and I just ain't getting that. Probably because I've been using the M50s so much so my perspective isn't exactly neutral. At one point the highs were a bit piercing/fatiguing, but I had EQ on. Without it I had no such complaint.

 

Overall I'm fairly satisfied with these, I just hope the creaking goes away. And they definitely aren't worth the $180 list price. But for the $44 I paid, I'm satisfied so far.

Indeed, it cracks and moans, the pad is very plastic (not even close to pleather) and imo the clamping is a tad too tight (i get headaches after a while).

 

I haven't used mine for a while, but it does lay around so that some family members plug it into the iPad when they need to be discrete with the Youtube (ex: listening to them @ 4am)

 

As for SQ, it was ok (read: ordinarily better than cheapo ear plugs) but I didn't get any "Nice!" moment while listening to tracks.

I just noticed something. I'm only getting the creaking noises from the left cup. Same for you?

i think the "bass kick" is more the mid bass than the sub bass. they def dont have real bass kick, but Tom drums and such will give a satisfying thump if my memory serves me right. this goes for a raw bass drum sound. but not sub-bass which is digitally added into most modern music.

Edited by Skoobs - 10/11/11 at 8:37pm

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002B8B0K8/

http://www.electronics-expo.com/make-a-store/item/AUDATHSQ5ABK/Audio-Technica/ATHSQ5ABK/1.html

 

Maybe they're a good deal for $44.95?

I just thought I should report -  I was at the official Audio Technica store in Sydney (Australia) and was told that the SQ5's were discontinued and replaced with the SQ505's. Similar design but the headband is a little more streamlined. I had a listen to the 505 and as far as I could tell it sounded relatively similar, though strangely harder to drive. I picked up the last pair of SQ5's there for $50 AUD (which is actually a pretty amazing price for Australia.) I have always liked the design and fit of these and now I something nice for running with.

I purchased the SQ5 from an online retailer and was told that they had just run out of stock but would do the SQ505 for the same price. Got them shipped to me in Australia for $84 all up. Has anyone done a comparision of the two?

 

I personally can't comment on the sound quality of the SQ505 as I am pretty new at this. However I can report that there isn't the creaking and moaning etc that others have had with the older SQ5.

Edited by jrmhng - 6/26/11 at 10:44pm

Wow I didn't know about the 505 maybe I'll try them out, still loving my SQ5. Anyone here try them? http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-SQ505-Foldable-Dynamic-Headphones/dp/B004Y3KWPW/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1314643003&sr=1-4

 

You can still get the SQ5 on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-SQ5-Portable-Headphone-Red/dp/B002TYOSCQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1314643003&sr=1-3

the sq5 is kind of hard to drive. i was using them straight out of my nano today and they sounded like junk. they sound better out of the sansa clip+. i will have a couple amps coming my way in the near future and i can try them with various sources and amps.