Graz
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2004
- Posts
- 726
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- 15
After much lurking here on the forum, I’ve decided to take a crack at my first headphone review…
I recently picked up a pair of audio-technica ATH-A700’s here in Taipei. As I know that this particular model is fairly difficult to obtain in the States & therefore few have had a chance to check them out, I thought I’d share my views on these cans with the forum.
Cost:
Price paid was approx $145 USD. This is probably not the cheapest one could obtain these cans since Taiwan imposes a fairly hefty import tax on Japanese electronics goods (presumably to help protect the domestic Taiwanese electronics market)…anyway, price-wise ymmv. To me, it seems like a fair price.
Link to pics & specs for the ATH-A700: http://www.audio-technica.com.sg/ath-a700.html
Appearance, Build Quality, Fit/Comfort, Isolation:
As a proud & loving ATH-W1000 owner, I find these to be very attractive cans (some may find them to be too big for their taste…I think they look pretty bitchin’). The blue cups have a deep, metallic finish which is not evident in the website photo. The paint treatment definitely adds a classy, attractive touch to what I think are an already nice looking set of headphones.
Aside from the cups & pads the cans are all plastic. Despite the large-ish overall size they feel light and very comfortable on my head. They feel durable and of good quality (certainly well in line with the cost). The cable is sleeved in a nice silky (actually nylon) over-braid (similar to the W1000) which helps prevent kinks & twists. The cable is terminated to an 1/8-inch jack & a ¼ inch adapter is provided. Pads are soft pleather.
Fit and comfort are outstanding (at least on my head). These are easily the most comfortable sealed cans I’ve ever worn. The circum-aural pads rest securely, fully surrounding my ears with no undue pressure. Isolation is quite good…I can play at fairly loud volumes without disturbing those around me.
Sound, Listening Experience, Comparison, etc.:
Before purchasing, I demoed these cans at my favorite little hi-fi shop here in Taipei (which, conveniently enough, is also an audio-technica distributor). They have a brand, spankin’ new Shanling CDT200 sitting there for demo use <drool>. Since they don’t carry any headamps there, I figured the tube stage headphone out on that little sweetheart would do just fine for demo purposes, so this was what I used. It was nice to be able to spend at least a little time demoing prior to purchase…a refreshing change vs. the typical leap of faith purchase. My first impression with the A700 was very positive…thirty seconds into the John Scofield demo disc I’d brought along with me, I was already pretty sure I was gonna buy these cans. Fresh out of the box, and with zero break-in, I was immediately impressed.
Bass is very good & a definite strong suit of these cans. It’s deep & punchy with good extension but nicely controlled…nothing sloppy or bloated here. I think audio-technica does “sealed-can” bass extremely well & the A700’s are no exception. To me the bass sounds neither over-emphasized nor under-emphasized…well-balanced would be the best way for me to describe it.
Midrange is well-rendered, coherent, smooth, and reasonably transparent... certainly not in the same caliber with the W1000, which has outstanding midrange IMO, but very good for a can in this price range.
Highs are also nicely rendered, although not the strong suit of these cans IMO. While there is no trace of sibilance, even at high volumes, they do seem a bit veiled and not the most accurate to my ears, and again nowhere in the class of the W1000. I’m a freak for highs, and nothing I’ve heard yet compares with the detail, accuracy & transparency of the ATH-W1000. That said, I again have to reiterate that for a set of headphones in this price range, the A700 does extremely well with highs.
Soundstage is wide, and reasonably deep. I’ve only been passionately into head-fi for around a year or so, and I have to say that “soundstage depth” is one listening skill I’ve not even come close to mastering. I really have to focus and project mentally to experience this listening phenomenon, but I’m getting there slowly. Given the limited number of headphones that I presently own or have listened to, I’d say that my preference at this point is for a fairly shallow to medium soundstage depth. I like immediacy & visceral impact in a headphone, and to my ears, the A700 has both of these characteristics.
Also available for comparison demo at the time I made my purchase were the A500 and A900. The A500 has similar sonic characteristics to the A700, however with a much shallower (in fact, almost no depth at all) soundstage, at least to my ears. I was duly impressed with the A900, but to my ears there was little appreciable difference between the A700 & A900. More skilled & experienced audiophile-grade ears may hear a discernible difference…I could not. Subsequently, I felt the additional cost of the A900 did not represent a commensurately better listening experience…again, ymmv.
I bought these headphones specifically for office use, and thus far (aside from the Shanling demo experience) I’ve only listened to them on my office rig. My office rig consists of the following:
Laptop-->Monkey’s Audio/Foobar2000-->M-Audio Audiophile USB-->self-built cmoy (actually, one bad mutha of a cmoy if I do say so myself...pics & details here: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=82781).
My musical tastes run the gamut from jazz to metal…I’ve thrown pretty much everything I have in my collection from a genre standpoint at the A700’s and have yet to find a real weakness. They truly are a great multi-purpose sealed can for the money.
I have heard neither the Beyer 250 nor the AKG 501 (other good cans in the same relative price range), and I know that both of these models have a fairly faithful following on this forum. I’d love to give them a comparison listen, however I’m betting that the A700 would more than hold its own against those two. I’d be interested to hear input from anyone who owns, or has owned all three. I do own a set of HD555’s which are in the same general price range, and the A700 puts them to shame IMO. The 555’s sound extremely dark & veiled in head-to-head comparison…it’s no contest really. I presently have a set of HD280 Pro’s on order from HeadRoom, and I have half a mind to just cancel the order, but I’ve decided to at least give them a listen. I suspect though, that I’ll be taking advantage of HeadRoom’s return policy…
Obligatory Disclaimer:
The preceding represents the views and opinions of one listener (me)…etc., etc.
Peace,
Graz
I recently picked up a pair of audio-technica ATH-A700’s here in Taipei. As I know that this particular model is fairly difficult to obtain in the States & therefore few have had a chance to check them out, I thought I’d share my views on these cans with the forum.
Cost:
Price paid was approx $145 USD. This is probably not the cheapest one could obtain these cans since Taiwan imposes a fairly hefty import tax on Japanese electronics goods (presumably to help protect the domestic Taiwanese electronics market)…anyway, price-wise ymmv. To me, it seems like a fair price.
Link to pics & specs for the ATH-A700: http://www.audio-technica.com.sg/ath-a700.html
Appearance, Build Quality, Fit/Comfort, Isolation:
As a proud & loving ATH-W1000 owner, I find these to be very attractive cans (some may find them to be too big for their taste…I think they look pretty bitchin’). The blue cups have a deep, metallic finish which is not evident in the website photo. The paint treatment definitely adds a classy, attractive touch to what I think are an already nice looking set of headphones.
Aside from the cups & pads the cans are all plastic. Despite the large-ish overall size they feel light and very comfortable on my head. They feel durable and of good quality (certainly well in line with the cost). The cable is sleeved in a nice silky (actually nylon) over-braid (similar to the W1000) which helps prevent kinks & twists. The cable is terminated to an 1/8-inch jack & a ¼ inch adapter is provided. Pads are soft pleather.
Fit and comfort are outstanding (at least on my head). These are easily the most comfortable sealed cans I’ve ever worn. The circum-aural pads rest securely, fully surrounding my ears with no undue pressure. Isolation is quite good…I can play at fairly loud volumes without disturbing those around me.
Sound, Listening Experience, Comparison, etc.:
Before purchasing, I demoed these cans at my favorite little hi-fi shop here in Taipei (which, conveniently enough, is also an audio-technica distributor). They have a brand, spankin’ new Shanling CDT200 sitting there for demo use <drool>. Since they don’t carry any headamps there, I figured the tube stage headphone out on that little sweetheart would do just fine for demo purposes, so this was what I used. It was nice to be able to spend at least a little time demoing prior to purchase…a refreshing change vs. the typical leap of faith purchase. My first impression with the A700 was very positive…thirty seconds into the John Scofield demo disc I’d brought along with me, I was already pretty sure I was gonna buy these cans. Fresh out of the box, and with zero break-in, I was immediately impressed.
Bass is very good & a definite strong suit of these cans. It’s deep & punchy with good extension but nicely controlled…nothing sloppy or bloated here. I think audio-technica does “sealed-can” bass extremely well & the A700’s are no exception. To me the bass sounds neither over-emphasized nor under-emphasized…well-balanced would be the best way for me to describe it.
Midrange is well-rendered, coherent, smooth, and reasonably transparent... certainly not in the same caliber with the W1000, which has outstanding midrange IMO, but very good for a can in this price range.
Highs are also nicely rendered, although not the strong suit of these cans IMO. While there is no trace of sibilance, even at high volumes, they do seem a bit veiled and not the most accurate to my ears, and again nowhere in the class of the W1000. I’m a freak for highs, and nothing I’ve heard yet compares with the detail, accuracy & transparency of the ATH-W1000. That said, I again have to reiterate that for a set of headphones in this price range, the A700 does extremely well with highs.
Soundstage is wide, and reasonably deep. I’ve only been passionately into head-fi for around a year or so, and I have to say that “soundstage depth” is one listening skill I’ve not even come close to mastering. I really have to focus and project mentally to experience this listening phenomenon, but I’m getting there slowly. Given the limited number of headphones that I presently own or have listened to, I’d say that my preference at this point is for a fairly shallow to medium soundstage depth. I like immediacy & visceral impact in a headphone, and to my ears, the A700 has both of these characteristics.
Also available for comparison demo at the time I made my purchase were the A500 and A900. The A500 has similar sonic characteristics to the A700, however with a much shallower (in fact, almost no depth at all) soundstage, at least to my ears. I was duly impressed with the A900, but to my ears there was little appreciable difference between the A700 & A900. More skilled & experienced audiophile-grade ears may hear a discernible difference…I could not. Subsequently, I felt the additional cost of the A900 did not represent a commensurately better listening experience…again, ymmv.
I bought these headphones specifically for office use, and thus far (aside from the Shanling demo experience) I’ve only listened to them on my office rig. My office rig consists of the following:
Laptop-->Monkey’s Audio/Foobar2000-->M-Audio Audiophile USB-->self-built cmoy (actually, one bad mutha of a cmoy if I do say so myself...pics & details here: http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=82781).
My musical tastes run the gamut from jazz to metal…I’ve thrown pretty much everything I have in my collection from a genre standpoint at the A700’s and have yet to find a real weakness. They truly are a great multi-purpose sealed can for the money.
I have heard neither the Beyer 250 nor the AKG 501 (other good cans in the same relative price range), and I know that both of these models have a fairly faithful following on this forum. I’d love to give them a comparison listen, however I’m betting that the A700 would more than hold its own against those two. I’d be interested to hear input from anyone who owns, or has owned all three. I do own a set of HD555’s which are in the same general price range, and the A700 puts them to shame IMO. The 555’s sound extremely dark & veiled in head-to-head comparison…it’s no contest really. I presently have a set of HD280 Pro’s on order from HeadRoom, and I have half a mind to just cancel the order, but I’ve decided to at least give them a listen. I suspect though, that I’ll be taking advantage of HeadRoom’s return policy…
Obligatory Disclaimer:
The preceding represents the views and opinions of one listener (me)…etc., etc.
Peace,
Graz
