Audio-Technica ATH-ES7 Portable Headphones, Black

I'm an Audio Technica fanboy, and I love their sound.

Compared to the AD2000 headphone with a Gilmore Lite and Bel Canto DAC3, I actually didn't miss it when I only had my ES7.
Just a nice headphone to have for fun listening. I used the 'phat pad' mod for both.
The ES7 and the AD2000 share a more similar sound signature than the other ATH cans.
 
The two extremes that the various Audio-Technica headphones seem to try to balance, 1) coloured mids and 2) balanced frequency response and PRaT.
The happy medium would be considered a 'fun' headphone.
Some of AudioTechnica's headphones can come across as tedious, depending on your personal taste of course. The W5000 and AD2000 come to mind. Technically proficient with detailed, balanced enough frequency response and PRaT but not as much about 'fun'.
Because of the trademark Audio-Technica sweet mids they are all all are indeed musical to a certain degree.
 
The W11jpn are the closest I've heard to bridging the gap between the two extremes of having sweet, musical mids while maintaining balanced frequency response/detail/PRaT.
The W3000anv is more about coloured mids and musicality than about balanced frequency response, so it would win the 'most musical' award.

Those particular rare headphone aside, the ES7 hit the 'fun' nail on the head. It has a balanced frequency response and the ATH musical midrange, what more could you ask for?
Neutral enough to be considered an all-rounder for most genres of music, sweet enough sounding to specialise in certain genres.

I owned these and the Senn HD25-1 concurrently and it was hard to decide which to reach for a lot of days.
The HD25-1 (with HD650 cable) is technically more advanced & more neutral, but the ES7 was a specialist with the genres I was listening to at the time.
These were psy-breaks, psy-trance, hip-hop.
I reached for the Senn HD25-1 more for jazz and downtempo.

For some reason I'm more sentimentally drawn to the ES7 than the HD25-1, maybe it's the mirror finish which indeed inspires pride in ownership.

I got a good deal on these and took the chance since I owned the AD-700 and tested the M-50 once.  Audio Technica knows what sound is and they do a fantastic job for their low price headphones.  After reading that these things have nice bass and people prefer them over the AD-700, I had to give them a try.  I wasn't impressed at first, but people said with burn-in, they become better.  So I burned them in a little and they were definitely correct in that aspect.  The bass started to come out as well as the clarity in the other frequencies.  The comfort wasn't bad at first, but once I had them on my head for several hours my ears were in throbbing pain after I took them off, especially my left ear.  It hurt worse than any headphone I have ever tried before.  So I put them on a large box like someone suggested and they are doing much better.  I still have to stretch them out for a few more days but it's tons better and I don't think I will sell them anymore.  If the comfort is improved, these are the best headphones you can get under $200 easily.  I did a few comfort mods like bending the headband bars and that helped a little but not much.  I also did some mods like blue tack inside the cup and that definitely brought out the bass.  The bass is decently controlled, but it lacks detail.  It hits plenty hard considering the size of these things, but I wish it was more controlled with greater resolution.  The shiny mirror finish on these things had me sold as well.  So if your looking for a cheap, very good sounding travel headphone, you can't go wrong with these.  They are very easy to drive as well.

I purchased these primarily for travelling for £134 GBP and was looking something a bit cool, so after reviewing it hear felt I could take a gamble and buy these online without trying them first, my home cans are Senn's 598 and these are not for public use, though I have tried and No No No...lol
 
on opening the packing I was pleasently surprised that the phones small and as I have small ears fitted me nice, checked the mirror and the image was positive as having a bald head can make can look enormous but these looked good.
 
Plugged it into my blackberry 9780, played a range of music from Reggae (lovers Rock), Jazz Hip Hop, Soulful house, Latin and thought they performed well, but had a flat feeling overall but very listenable regardless, had I paid over the odds.......well if you got an amp, plugged my Fiio 11 into the "berry" and plugged the Es7's in......slowly turned it up....these cans started to become alive, played around with the EQ settings and Hi/lo gain and these phones can pump out very loud whilst not distorting over a wide range of music (MP4's 256k to 320k). 
 
The soundstage is good, but my only complaint is that I found these phones fatiguing when played them above the 3rd volume setting on my Fiio 11. When played low, the mids are recessed and highs a little dull but that is a minor point as they can be brought forward with volume but overall I am happy and willing to compromise on a nice looking pair of phones.
 
Comfort - on Head, I notice them on but not in a bad way, having a bald head when you take the phones off I was aware of pressure being relieved, but not feeling much pressure on the head when wearing them.
 
Comfort - On Ears, I wear glasses, but have very small ears, the cup covers my entire ears, i am not experiencing any discomfort but cannot tell how much leakage the phones have, I feel like I can wear these for a very long time providing the volume is at a sensible level.
 
Well i'm looking next week at my 2 hour commute by train each way and record my experience and post it to test the semi closed leakage annoyance to other passengers and the extent of external noise when played at a comfortable level.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

the ES7 were my first 'expensive' headphone. I'd never spent more than $50 previously. Buying these was the start of my headphone passion. I'd always been a hi-fi stereo person, as i need to feel bass, i don't like it boomy or over whelming but i need to feel it. I thought i could never get a similar sensation from headphones so i never bothered buying mor than cheap upgrades over the awful sound from stock earphones.
 
The ES7's were a revelation to my ears.  brilliant engaging sound with deep bass and wonderful clarity (i began to hear things my $50 cheapo phones never even hinted at. I was amazed at the tight bass the detailed mids and eye blinking highs. music sounded good again while i was walking around.
 
Sadly for all the audio nirvana theres one part that lets the team down... Comfort. after only 30 minutes the strong clamping on ear design starts to make my ears ache. It's a shame, if they were more comfortable i think they'd be worthy of 4-5 stars, but the comfort takes them down to 3.5 stars.
 
The headphones have a great design, the shiny earcups are quite bling and look good as you walk down streets. the fold-ability make carrying and storing them an easy task. 
 
In all the audio they produce is wonderfully engaging. But the comfort lets the team down. Still highly recommended for frequent short distance travelers who need the best sound possible from extremely portable headphones.