The NEW ATH-ES700.. - Page 9

I will always have a place in my collection for the HA-S500..Once a fan always a fan. Love my HA-S400 too..

A little update.

I overnight my burn in on these.. I just put them on for the first time today..The sound has opened up a touch more..

About 20 hours so far.. The clarity is very nice on these cans. AT has always had great vocals on their cans these cans are no exception..I am wondering if AT did a preburn on these cans as the sound seems to be consistent. I don't expect big changes on these. Actually if the sound stayed the way they sound right now. I have no complaints. 

Oh yea these might be like your woodies. These were so clear and sounded so mature on open box. I was telling myself there is no way these are gonna sound even better than they already do. But I am a believer in burn in. My AD900X sounded compressed on open box but opened up to be one of the best sounds I have by far. These ES700 don't reach the scope of sound of my AD900X but for a portable they have a very similar sound tuning to them and sound wonderful in every way.. These compliment my AD900X. The perfect cans to show off your taste. lol.

So I did some pad swapping and in a bit of bad news. I don't know if I like the pads that are on these cans. It is surprising they threw in cheap pleather pads and not leather ones.. The pads that are on these which are the exact same ATH pleathers we have been using for the HA-S500. And due to the shallow cups and added clamp the pads are not as comfy as they are on the HA-S500.

I took a look at the pads that came off my WS55 and They happen to be about 1/4inch wider in diameter and are actually much higher quality. These are very similar to the M50 pads in quality which are much more comfier than the stock pads. Not only that but the headphones actually sound more spacious using these pads.. I am very surprised AT did not use better pads on these much more expensive headphone over something like a WS55.

I also tried the ATh velours and I didn't like the sound at all. It sounded too bright and with much less definition.. Lets out too much sound perhaps. In any case that didn't work out.  These WS55 pads are what these cans should have came with. So this is a little set back. I am sure guys that have these will agree these pads are not optimal for this headphone.. So we are forced to pad roll.. Anyways this is the pick and you can see the size difference and how much more thicker the padding is on my WS55 pads.

Not only the comfort much better but the sound is actually better in that these pads have a wider opening.. The center pads are the stock pads that came with these cans..

Well considering the cup has them arms on there. There is no way to put the HM5 pads on these. Unless I want to try out some cuts where the arms hold the cups. But for now at least the WS55 pads are what AT should have put on these. They make the cans semi circumaural. More cicumaural than on ears. Way more comfy and sounds better.

These pads cost $22 online and another $12 to ship.  So that adds to the cost of these cans.. Looks like AT cut the corner where it matters the most. The pads. The sound is very well worth getting these WS55 pads for simply because comfort factor is so much better. I got the clamp to loosen up but the stock pads are so thin you can feel them on your head. These WS55 pads have much better clamp distribution on the head so they are much more comfortable not to mention more plushy..

They don't look as nice with the pads sticking out on the sides but are completely worth it for the comfort level and a more open sound they produce.. I kept on thinking the pads will loosen up to fit better. These are plenty loose right now. The clamp is not what was the issue here it is them pads. Look how thin they are. They sit on your ear and even with light clamp you can feel them on your ears. These WS55 pads all but eliminate that discomfort all together.

AD900X. The sound is one of a kind. These compliment them in that I can take these with me on the go but the AD900X for me is it.

The comfort level on the AD900X are like pillows on the head. I never realized just how comfortable that is until I got these. Lol. As great as these ES700 sound you can't overlook the comfort factor. I didn't realize yesterday how uncomfy the pads were. I was using these all day and for longer durations even with a lighter clamp you can feel them stiff pads on your ears. Not the best comfort. AT threw these pads on here because they fit flush with the cup making them look slim and sleek.

I was lucky I had my WS55 with me. You guys can tell just how much better comfort those pads are gonna provide over them stock pads.