[MattHead]

Hello all. 
 
I've been lurking around for a while now trying to learn as much as I can, but it is time to start posting. Thanks everyone for all of your contribution to the site. I greatly enjoy it.
 
I bought some ATH-AD700's last week, mostly based on the reviews here at head-fi. I already have the Koss Pro DJ100's and I wanted a budget-minded open 'phone to get a taste of what open designs had to offer. I do listen to a fair amount of classical, acoustic, etc. and I had $100 so it made sense. 
 
The issue I am having is that they are pretty harsh to my ears in the upper mid-range to lower treble. There seems to be a peak or spike in that area that becomes glaring and removes the "air" and texture for those frequencies. I often have to keep the volume lower than I would like just to keep that spike from being painful (and I don't listen very loudly anyway). Whenever an instrument or vocal hits this range the impression of depth or soundstage disappears and it becomes upfront and glaring with everything else around it sounding great. When this isn't happening I really enjoy the imaging and clarity.
 
I'm bringing this up because I haven't seen many people complain about this with the ATH-700D. I'm wondering if they just need more time to burn-in or if I got a bad set? They have less than 10 hours on them. I am using a JDS Labs CMOY V2.03 that is set up for low impedance 'phones with the source being either a Rotel CD player or lossless from my iPhone.
 
Just some history, I have B&W 703's with Rotel electronics in my main rig, so my budget choices to this point (Pro DJ100, AD700) don't quite measure up to what I'm used to. I just wanted to take the headphones one step at a time to appreciate the process. I hope this makes sense and thanks for the help.

 

[djviciouscycle]

I get a little distortion in the sound of the AD700 when playing through certain players.  Through my iPod Touch, Aiwa bookshelf stereo, and computers, no prob.  But I get graininess on some notes when plugged into my TEAC standalone CD player.

 

[Hellbishop]

Sounds like your going through sibilance which is natural. My Audio Technica Ath-AD700 had the same. It goes away after a certain time and you'll be able to play them as loud as you want without worrying about any sudden sharp treble happening. For now just play them at a safe volume and let them burn in naturally. I've had my Audio Technica Ath-AD700 for about a year and a half already with the sound still improving and sounding like nothing else in my ten plus headphone collection. A very unique sound signature.

 

[MattHead]

Thanks for the input Hellbishop. I will just give them some more time. I will probably just let them play for a few days on their own.