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Audio Technica ATH-PRO700MK2 review - Take two subwoofers...straight to the head.
May 31, 2011 at 6:34 AM Post #46 of 906
Okay, retried the Pro700 MKII for the second time, this time seriously at my friend's house in the silence of his room.
 
Now, I finally heard the "HOLYCRAP" bass that everyone was raving about... seriously, if the M50 is a muscle car, the Pro700 is a monster truck 0.0
 
The bass (the selling point of the Pro700) is very boomy, with significantly more impact than the M50 as well having a larger quantity as well (say, a 70% increase?). The general sound is warmer than the M50 though, something I did not like very much.
 
Then, I put on the M50 pads. The bass went from "HOLYCRAP" to absolute diarrhea-inducing madness. The quantity instantly came up to XB500 standards but was definitely cleaner-sounding than the Sonys. However, the bass did creep up to the mids slightly on some bass-heavy parts of certain music and impact was reduced a tad bit, a problem which the Pro700 did not have with stock pads on.
 
Versus the HFI580, surprisingly the HFI580 has EQUAL bass impact as the Pro700 with stock pads on. The HFI580 is significantly cleaner sounding with more forward mids and better treble extension. The Pro700 obviously wins in bass extension. However, I felt that the HFI580s have BETTER detail retrieval than the Pro700, but then again the HFI580 are very bang-for-buck...
 
Are the Pro700s worth the upgrade from the M50s? I say, not really. You're paying an extra 50 bucks for a warmer sound and more bass. Both provide the same level of detail pickup, but the M50 sounds cleaner and more lively. The Pro700 sound darker and warmer, which to me is a little too warm considering that the M50s are already very warm to begin with.
 
Unless you're looking for these traits (warmness and massive bass), I don't think that the Pro700 will provide the $50 worth of upgrades from the M50. Personally I would go for the XB500.
 
Then again, if you're a newbie looking for a bassier M50, this will get my recommendation.
 
May 31, 2011 at 7:03 AM Post #47 of 906
So the PRO700MK2s rival the HFI 580 huh? That's a really good compliment IMO. Would you say it's similar to the HFI580 but more laid back in it's presentation of mids and treble?  Has anyone tried using a Cowon with it and see what it can really do with the BBE equalizer?
 
May 31, 2011 at 7:20 AM Post #49 of 906
Quote:
crinacle said:
 


Aren't the HFI580 cheaper?
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The PRO700MK2s are $150 at Adorama Camera. The last time I checked the HFI 580 which was a few months ago, the price was around that area.
 
Sorry, I just edited my previous question. Would you say the PRO700MK2s are similar to the HFI 580 but more laid back in their presentation of midrange and treble?
 
 
May 31, 2011 at 7:35 AM Post #50 of 906
 
Quote:
wind016 said:
The PRO700MK2s are $150 at Adorama Camera. The last time I checked the HFI 580 which was a few months ago, the price was around that area.
 
Sorry, I just edited my previous question. Would you say the PRO700MK2s are similar to the HFI 580 but more laid back in their presentation of midrange and treble?
 
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In my country, the Pro700 is $50 more than the HFI580...

To answer your question, yes. The Pro700MK2 is much more laid back and warmer in their sound. Impact is the same on both headphones but the quantity on the Pro700 is far greater.
 
Just imagine a warmer, bassier M50. That should be its general sound.
 
May 31, 2011 at 10:34 AM Post #51 of 906
Which is more forward/"in-your-face" sounding, PRO700MK2 or XB500? Also how would you compare the two in bass in terms of deep and mid/upper bass quantity? I like the more warm and more bass comment vs M50 at least as I'd concider a bit more warmer than M50 to be optimal to me, would just wish it was a very forward sounding can as well which is important for me to get into the music. I think I did find M50 to be quite/very forward sounding from my memory but that could be inaccurate as I didn't put much focus on such thing at the time I tried them because back then I had no idea what kind of sound I preferred.
 
May 31, 2011 at 12:30 PM Post #52 of 906


Quote:
crinacle said:
Okay, retried the Pro700 MKII for the second time, this time seriously at my friend's house in the silence of his room.
 
Now, I finally heard the "HOLYCRAP" bass that everyone was raving about... seriously, if the M50 is a muscle car, the Pro700 is a monster truck 0.0
 
The bass (the selling point of the Pro700) is very boomy, with significantly more impact than the M50 as well having a larger quantity as well (say, a 70% increase?). The general sound is warmer than the M50 though, something I did not like very much.
 
Then, I put on the M50 pads. The bass went from "HOLYCRAP" to absolute diarrhea-inducing madness. The quantity instantly came up to XB500 standards but was definitely cleaner-sounding than the Sonys. However, the bass did creep up to the mids slightly on some bass-heavy parts of certain music and impact was reduced a tad bit, a problem which the Pro700 did not have with stock pads on.
 
Versus the HFI580, surprisingly the HFI580 has EQUAL bass impact as the Pro700 with stock pads on. The HFI580 is significantly cleaner sounding with more forward mids and better treble extension. The Pro700 obviously wins in bass extension. However, I felt that the HFI580s have BETTER detail retrieval than the Pro700, but then again the HFI580 are very bang-for-buck...
 
Are the Pro700s worth the upgrade from the M50s? I say, not really. You're paying an extra 50 bucks for a warmer sound and more bass. Both provide the same level of detail pickup, but the M50 sounds cleaner and more lively. The Pro700 sound darker and warmer, which to me is a little too warm considering that the M50s are already very warm to begin with.
 
Unless you're looking for these traits (warmness and massive bass), I don't think that the Pro700 will provide the $50 worth of upgrades from the M50. Personally I would go for the XB500.
 
Then again, if you're a newbie looking for a bassier M50, this will get my recommendation.
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That's what I'm talking about!  That was very well said.  Glad your friend let you hear them in the proper settings.  The MK2's certainly are "darker", but that's the thing.  It has a seemingly quieter background which gives off a better imaging than the M50's.  In fact, to me it sounds similar to the D2000's but has the Audio Technica house sound splashed in - crisp, yet mildly sharp, slightly bright tones throughout the spectrum.  In contrast, the D2000's sound like notes just being emitted from the driver, the MK2's sound like music.  My MK2's are going nowhere and unless someone near me lets me audition some Ultrasones, this is the end of the road for me in closed-cans.
 
 
May 31, 2011 at 12:41 PM Post #53 of 906


Quote:
rpgwizard said:
Which is more forward/"in-your-face" sounding, PRO700MK2 or XB500? Also how would you compare the two in bass in terms of deep and mid/upper bass quantity? I like the more warm and more bass comment vs M50 at least as I'd concider a bit more warmer than M50 to be optimal to me, would just wish it was a very forward sounding can as well which is important for me to get into the music. I think I did find M50 to be quite/very forward sounding from my memory but that could be inaccurate as I didn't put much focus on such thing at the time I tried them because back then I had no idea what kind of sound I preferred.
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I've heard the XB700's but not the 500's.  I know they might not sound the same, but comparison between the XB700's and the MK2's is that the XB's are more forward overall, especially in the highs, but the imaging is far superior (in the MK2's) which will naturally give a more laid-back sound.  In fact, the MK2's are very similar to the Denon D2000's in terms of imaging and detail, but it has the Audio Technica sound sig that I absolutely crave.
 
In addition, the M50's are a touch more forward than the MK2's, especially in the mids mainly because the bass isn't the main part being focused on.  In my opinion, if you've heard both the M50's and the D2000's, just merge those bad-boys together and you have the MK2's.
 
May 31, 2011 at 12:44 PM Post #54 of 906
lol!!!  Yeah, I'm sticking with my m50's as final closed since they are also my portables (+Zo hehehehe).  I have the fa-011's coming in today and those will be my final @ home/open/bass headphone.  I love my ad700 for vocals/acoustics/soundstage =).   I'm glad to stop so my wallet can recover lol
 
May 31, 2011 at 12:47 PM Post #55 of 906


Quote:
ziocomposite said:
lol!!!  Yeah, I'm sticking with my m50's as final closed since they are also my portables (+Zo hehehehe).  I have the fa-011's coming in today and those will be my final @ home/open/bass headphone.  I love my ad700 for vocals/acoustics/soundstage =).   I'm glad to stop so my wallet can recover lol
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I hear exactly what you're saying!  It NEEDS TO STOP!  LOL!  Got my AD700's for games, MK2's for closed/isolation, DT990's for open-back (my reference phone), Koss UR20 (for them guests, hee-hee
atsmile.gif
), and my ATH-ONTO's for mobile.  Aahhh, I'm set!
 
 
May 31, 2011 at 8:21 PM Post #56 of 906
AD700's are great for games. I wish I kept mine for just that reason. But.. had to sell them to fund my AT-PRO5MK2's- My closed/isolation pair.
 
I've always been curious... The ATH-ONTO's how do those sound? Not great I would imagine. The little wire band kind of creeps me out too.
L3000.gif

 
May 31, 2011 at 9:52 PM Post #57 of 906


Quote:
butler said:
AD700's are great for games. I wish I kept mine for just that reason. But.. had to sell them to fund my AT-PRO5MK2's- My closed/isolation pair.
 
I've always been curious... The ATH-ONTO's how do those sound? Not great I would imagine. The little wire band kind of creeps me out too.
L3000.gif
Click to expand...


The ONTO's sound great for what they are (and at the $16 price that I got them), I might write up a review.  Picture 80% of the M50's sound, to-go.  I've owned a ton of earbuds, the canned sound never seems to really get me into my music fully, plus every one of them irritates the insides of my ears.  The ONTO's alleviate those critical problems for me.
 
 
May 31, 2011 at 10:00 PM Post #58 of 906
Thanks for the Review!
 
I've actually been really curious about how these headphones sounded and there aren't many reviews for them. I will definitely have to try these out. They sound like a lot of fun!
 
Jun 1, 2011 at 5:31 PM Post #60 of 906
They do sound nice but i have just bought the M50's and comparted to my old phones they sound just brilliant. I like the bass on them as it's not to heavy and seems to fit in with the type of music i listen too (female acounstic - Kate Bush etc), the idea of lots more bass may not fit in with what i am after. If i get a chance of listening to the MK2's then i will do but for now i think my M50's should be just fine for now/
 
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