Full review: https://audiorambles.com/audio-technica-ath-e70/
Packaging and Accessories
The minimalist design on the outer layer is to my fancy, maintaining a sleek yet premium feel to the product. The black cardboard box underneath it houses the IEMs, which can be found nestled within a hard yet malleable foam upon opening. It’s nothing spectacular, but it gets the job done, though for a flagship product, perhaps more could have been desired.
Accessories provided include:
– A small black case
– Comply Foam tips
– A few pairs of silicone tips
-3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter
Similarly, a relatively disappointing accessory haul for a flagship product.
Build Quality, Fit, Comfort and Isolation
Aesthetics (6.5/10): Gorgeous products like the IER-Z1R or the Anole V3 spark a certain type of joy within me, and the E70s are far from having such appeal. The piano black shells are accompanied with a see-through window allowing you to see the circuit board for the crossovers, which of course begs the question: why would I want to see the copper circuit board for the crossovers? Surely they’ll be some tech lovers who disagree with me, but I’d like to stand by my opinions.
Build Quality (8.5/10): While the shells are made of plastic, they’re sturdy and thick, capable of withstanding significant beating. Detachable cables are also always a plus, though Audio Technica opted to install their own propriety MMCX-like connectors instead of the industry standard MMCX ones. Mini-rant though, why make your own proprietary ones unless you can better the industry standard (QDC), or have a perfectly good reason to implement one (JH Audio)? Till then I’ll always see proprietary ones as a cash grab and inconvenience.
Fit and Comfort (8.5/10): Once in the ear, they sit flush and are comfortable for hours on end due to their flat profile and smooth, rounded shape with no jagged edges (looking at you, Campfire). The issue, however, would be the hard, sturdy, and unapologetic memory wires on the E70. Memory wires are a declaration of war against the mental well-being and happiness of humanity, and should be illegal under the United Nations Human Rights Declaration. Don’t use memory wire. I hate memory wire.
Isolation (9/10): With a good seal, the E70 isolates fantastically, blocking out majority of the noise around the user due to its unvented design which sits flush in the ear.
Sound
Disregarding the boosts in bass and lower treble, the E70 sounds quite linear throughout, possessing a warm tilt in the grand scheme of things.
Bass (8.5/10): The lower end of the E70 benefits from a slight boost in the bass region, receiving a healthy bump towards north of neutral. It’s not overly emphasised, but just enough to give most songs a fair kick. While my own personal preferences would lead to me finding them insufficient, most listeners would be more than happy.
Bass on the E70 goes very low, reaching similar depths as the IER-Z1R, for example. There is good rumble on the E70, achieving what many balanced armature setups fail to do with relative ease on tracks featuring heavy deep basslines such as Lorde’s “Royals” or Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy”. Although E70 maintains a subbass focus, the midbass can and does deliver when called upon to get toes tapping. Slam and impact are very good, and just shy of dynamic driver benchmarks, though they make up for it by preserving the snappy, agile bass response BAs are famous for.
Even though they sport purely balanced armature drivers, the texture of the E70 is extremely close to that of capable dynamic drivers. They are a joy to listen to in that regard, detailed with realistic decay, and some of the best bass you can get on a Balanced Armature IEM.
Mids (7.5/10): While possessing a warm tilt, the midrange of the E70 has very good clarity, and is more resolving than the QDC Anole V3. The midrange is placed slightly forward, allowing for more enthralling vocals, though they never become fatiguing to listen to. Male vocals have good weight to them, capably reproducing the velvety, powerful vocals singers such as Andrea Bocelli belt out. Female vocals have similar presence and are similarly pleasant, sounding breathy and sweet on tracks such as IU’s “Through the Night”. Audio Technica has approached a very balanced and linear approach to the midrange, a tuning which likely aims to please the majority, while maintain good air throughout. Detailing, however, is the Achilles Heel of the E70’s midrange, which can be said to be just “above average”, simply not good enough to command such a high price tag. Otherwise, the midrange is hard to fault.
Highs (6.5/10): I’ve had the displeasure of listening to many poorly tuned sets which can get overzealous in the lower treble, producing bouts of sibilance. Yet, while sibilance is bad, splashy treble, in my opinion, tops it as a crime against humanity. Unfortunately, the E70 has it in abundance, and frequently enough to become a cause of concern. The cause isn’t a trigger-happy boost in the lower treble, but it’s simply that the lower treble is loose and uncontrolled, which is a damned shame, given that the treble is quite accomplished otherwise, with great detail and timbre on instruments such as hi-hats or cymbals on tracks like The Eagles’ “Hotel California”. It’s linear and smooth up till the upper end, where it starts to roll-off, lending the E70 a slightly darker sound. As a result of the treble splash, the E70 is also difficult to listen to on higher than average volumes.
Soundstage, Imaging, Seperation and Timbre (7.5/10): The E70 casts a wide stage, and an above average Z-axis. Height is good but eventually hampered due to the roll-off. Imaging is quite average, with instruments distinguishable but sometimes not occupying their own pocket of space. The E70 also does not handle complicated tracks such as “Little Talks” particularly well, sounding a little muffled occasionally. Timbre, however, is fantastic from top to bottom, with instruments and vocals sounding natural with good note weight throughout.
Conclusions
The splashy treble is ultimately a fatal flaw for the ATH-E70, something not even their genuinely incredible bass response can salvage. For listeners who have a greater lower treble splash tolerance, are after a smoother sound, and comfortable with the fact that the E70 is simply not as technical as many of the sets in its price range, they might be worth a shot. For my sensitive ears however, these are a no from me.
Packaging and Accessories
The minimalist design on the outer layer is to my fancy, maintaining a sleek yet premium feel to the product. The black cardboard box underneath it houses the IEMs, which can be found nestled within a hard yet malleable foam upon opening. It’s nothing spectacular, but it gets the job done, though for a flagship product, perhaps more could have been desired.
Accessories provided include:
– A small black case
– Comply Foam tips
– A few pairs of silicone tips
-3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter
Similarly, a relatively disappointing accessory haul for a flagship product.
Build Quality, Fit, Comfort and Isolation
Aesthetics (6.5/10): Gorgeous products like the IER-Z1R or the Anole V3 spark a certain type of joy within me, and the E70s are far from having such appeal. The piano black shells are accompanied with a see-through window allowing you to see the circuit board for the crossovers, which of course begs the question: why would I want to see the copper circuit board for the crossovers? Surely they’ll be some tech lovers who disagree with me, but I’d like to stand by my opinions.
Build Quality (8.5/10): While the shells are made of plastic, they’re sturdy and thick, capable of withstanding significant beating. Detachable cables are also always a plus, though Audio Technica opted to install their own propriety MMCX-like connectors instead of the industry standard MMCX ones. Mini-rant though, why make your own proprietary ones unless you can better the industry standard (QDC), or have a perfectly good reason to implement one (JH Audio)? Till then I’ll always see proprietary ones as a cash grab and inconvenience.
Fit and Comfort (8.5/10): Once in the ear, they sit flush and are comfortable for hours on end due to their flat profile and smooth, rounded shape with no jagged edges (looking at you, Campfire). The issue, however, would be the hard, sturdy, and unapologetic memory wires on the E70. Memory wires are a declaration of war against the mental well-being and happiness of humanity, and should be illegal under the United Nations Human Rights Declaration. Don’t use memory wire. I hate memory wire.
Isolation (9/10): With a good seal, the E70 isolates fantastically, blocking out majority of the noise around the user due to its unvented design which sits flush in the ear.
Sound
Disregarding the boosts in bass and lower treble, the E70 sounds quite linear throughout, possessing a warm tilt in the grand scheme of things.
Bass (8.5/10): The lower end of the E70 benefits from a slight boost in the bass region, receiving a healthy bump towards north of neutral. It’s not overly emphasised, but just enough to give most songs a fair kick. While my own personal preferences would lead to me finding them insufficient, most listeners would be more than happy.
Bass on the E70 goes very low, reaching similar depths as the IER-Z1R, for example. There is good rumble on the E70, achieving what many balanced armature setups fail to do with relative ease on tracks featuring heavy deep basslines such as Lorde’s “Royals” or Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy”. Although E70 maintains a subbass focus, the midbass can and does deliver when called upon to get toes tapping. Slam and impact are very good, and just shy of dynamic driver benchmarks, though they make up for it by preserving the snappy, agile bass response BAs are famous for.
Even though they sport purely balanced armature drivers, the texture of the E70 is extremely close to that of capable dynamic drivers. They are a joy to listen to in that regard, detailed with realistic decay, and some of the best bass you can get on a Balanced Armature IEM.
Mids (7.5/10): While possessing a warm tilt, the midrange of the E70 has very good clarity, and is more resolving than the QDC Anole V3. The midrange is placed slightly forward, allowing for more enthralling vocals, though they never become fatiguing to listen to. Male vocals have good weight to them, capably reproducing the velvety, powerful vocals singers such as Andrea Bocelli belt out. Female vocals have similar presence and are similarly pleasant, sounding breathy and sweet on tracks such as IU’s “Through the Night”. Audio Technica has approached a very balanced and linear approach to the midrange, a tuning which likely aims to please the majority, while maintain good air throughout. Detailing, however, is the Achilles Heel of the E70’s midrange, which can be said to be just “above average”, simply not good enough to command such a high price tag. Otherwise, the midrange is hard to fault.
Highs (6.5/10): I’ve had the displeasure of listening to many poorly tuned sets which can get overzealous in the lower treble, producing bouts of sibilance. Yet, while sibilance is bad, splashy treble, in my opinion, tops it as a crime against humanity. Unfortunately, the E70 has it in abundance, and frequently enough to become a cause of concern. The cause isn’t a trigger-happy boost in the lower treble, but it’s simply that the lower treble is loose and uncontrolled, which is a damned shame, given that the treble is quite accomplished otherwise, with great detail and timbre on instruments such as hi-hats or cymbals on tracks like The Eagles’ “Hotel California”. It’s linear and smooth up till the upper end, where it starts to roll-off, lending the E70 a slightly darker sound. As a result of the treble splash, the E70 is also difficult to listen to on higher than average volumes.
Soundstage, Imaging, Seperation and Timbre (7.5/10): The E70 casts a wide stage, and an above average Z-axis. Height is good but eventually hampered due to the roll-off. Imaging is quite average, with instruments distinguishable but sometimes not occupying their own pocket of space. The E70 also does not handle complicated tracks such as “Little Talks” particularly well, sounding a little muffled occasionally. Timbre, however, is fantastic from top to bottom, with instruments and vocals sounding natural with good note weight throughout.
Conclusions
The splashy treble is ultimately a fatal flaw for the ATH-E70, something not even their genuinely incredible bass response can salvage. For listeners who have a greater lower treble splash tolerance, are after a smoother sound, and comfortable with the fact that the E70 is simply not as technical as many of the sets in its price range, they might be worth a shot. For my sensitive ears however, these are a no from me.