jessica_fae
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2004
- Posts
- 105
- Likes
- 17
I searched the forums and didn't find a thread on these headphones so I thought I'd start one. I just picked up a pair yesterday at Yodobashi/Labi in Oimachi/Tokyo. For headphone fans, there are many stores here which have large walls of headphones where one can try them(even ear buds and IEMs). The BIC Camera in Kawasaki even has the ATH-W1000 and ATH-W5000 ($1000 headphone) which anyone can put on and listen too for as long as they want.
But this review thread is on the ATH-EC700.
I decided on the aluminum ATH-EC700gm rather than the titanium EC700ti. I have a reasonable collection of headphones (from the AKG K1000 and Stax Lamdba down to the Koss Porta Pro). I was looking for a smaller ,comfortable, stylish headphone which I could wear on the commuter trains and at work. I needed a headphone which did not leak sound (train/work) but did not want too much isolation (needing to hear station names and when people at work need to bother me). I also wanted to try Audio Technica since I never owned a pair before. I was really looking for some cheap $30ish ATH-FC7 But they didn't have them. I tried all the basic ATH headphones I could and nothing really grabbed me. Lots of very nice headphones and I was really impressed by them. I can really see now why people like Audio-technica. If I didn't have such a large collection (HD580, SR60, Koss Porta-pro, KSC75, HD280pro, ER6i) I would definitely be interested in some of Audio Technica models to fit some of those slots. I will definitely listen to Audio-Technica again next time I get an itch for a new pair of headphones.
But this comes to the ATH-EC700. They caught my eye. And I listened and I was blown away. I know that first impressions like this are usually not the greatest, but I listened for a good 15 minutes very carefully. These are not cheap headphones and more than I wanted to spend, but they ticked all the boxes perfectly for me. I wear eye glasses so the over the ear style usually doesn't work for me. But these have such a thin arm band, it is there more to stabilize than to apply pressure (unlike the Koss KSC75 which is great sounding but really hard to wear with glasses). Last night I listened to them for around 3hrs without fatigue with eyeglasses on. That is very good.
The most important thing about these headphones is that I must wear them with the foam socks. These are very bright headphones without the socks (like a grado without socks). With the socks the sound becomes nearly perfectly balanced. They are very tight and detailed but still kind of warm and remind me of the Stax balance. The bass is full but tight and detailed. Vocals are very expressive. I am listening to the latest Ayumi Hamasaki album (Guilty) while writting this and it is really good sounding, I can really hear her vocal expressiveness. They are definitely more of an "in-the-head" sound than other headphones I have. These are better then the Koss Porta-pro or Grado SR60 (these are both really fun and comfortable headphones though) at least in side-by-side comparison. I almost never listen to the SR60 since getting the Koss Porta-pro and I will likely listen to the EC700 more now than the Prota-pro. But the Stax and K1000 always get the most ear time. My HD580 always seems to fall in the middle not as good sounding as the K1000/Stax but not as practical as the more portable headphones.
I think the aspect of these headphone which really strikes me (with the socks on - important) is the slightly warmer, fuller sound, but this does not come at the expense of detail. This is usually the aspect which really separates high-end headphones for me, and something really rare in portables. It is really easy to make a headphone which is bright and detailed or powerful but thick and lacking detail. It seems harder to hit the balance point. When listening to the EC700s I will sometimes be caught and pulled into the music, close my eyes and be absorbed. This rarely happens with me with anything other than my Stax or K1000s. Please don't think that I am saying that the EC700 is a replacement for the K1000 or Stax (these are 12600yen/$100 headphones). What I am saying is that for a headphone in the <$200 range the EC700 capture more of the essence of the Stax or K1000 experience than any other headphone I have had. A very happy purchase. Makes me want to start using my higher quality minidisc source again on the trains
I will say that I can see how these headphones might not appeal to everyone and I will not rave about how these are the best and how everyone must buy some. But I do want to say that that I went into Yodobashi and tried all the "recommended" headphones, how I was not particularly impressed, and then I tried this basically unknown headphone and found what I was looking for. I guess I am lucky that Japan still understands that paying slightly more in a store where people can try before they buy is important.
[edit: If you don't read the whole thread, I am truely impressed with these headphones. I rate them slightly better than my HD580 with GilmoreLite amp. Like a mini stax without need for any extra amps. Truely a highend headphone.
also check out this thread]
But this review thread is on the ATH-EC700.
I decided on the aluminum ATH-EC700gm rather than the titanium EC700ti. I have a reasonable collection of headphones (from the AKG K1000 and Stax Lamdba down to the Koss Porta Pro). I was looking for a smaller ,comfortable, stylish headphone which I could wear on the commuter trains and at work. I needed a headphone which did not leak sound (train/work) but did not want too much isolation (needing to hear station names and when people at work need to bother me). I also wanted to try Audio Technica since I never owned a pair before. I was really looking for some cheap $30ish ATH-FC7 But they didn't have them. I tried all the basic ATH headphones I could and nothing really grabbed me. Lots of very nice headphones and I was really impressed by them. I can really see now why people like Audio-technica. If I didn't have such a large collection (HD580, SR60, Koss Porta-pro, KSC75, HD280pro, ER6i) I would definitely be interested in some of Audio Technica models to fit some of those slots. I will definitely listen to Audio-Technica again next time I get an itch for a new pair of headphones.
But this comes to the ATH-EC700. They caught my eye. And I listened and I was blown away. I know that first impressions like this are usually not the greatest, but I listened for a good 15 minutes very carefully. These are not cheap headphones and more than I wanted to spend, but they ticked all the boxes perfectly for me. I wear eye glasses so the over the ear style usually doesn't work for me. But these have such a thin arm band, it is there more to stabilize than to apply pressure (unlike the Koss KSC75 which is great sounding but really hard to wear with glasses). Last night I listened to them for around 3hrs without fatigue with eyeglasses on. That is very good.
The most important thing about these headphones is that I must wear them with the foam socks. These are very bright headphones without the socks (like a grado without socks). With the socks the sound becomes nearly perfectly balanced. They are very tight and detailed but still kind of warm and remind me of the Stax balance. The bass is full but tight and detailed. Vocals are very expressive. I am listening to the latest Ayumi Hamasaki album (Guilty) while writting this and it is really good sounding, I can really hear her vocal expressiveness. They are definitely more of an "in-the-head" sound than other headphones I have. These are better then the Koss Porta-pro or Grado SR60 (these are both really fun and comfortable headphones though) at least in side-by-side comparison. I almost never listen to the SR60 since getting the Koss Porta-pro and I will likely listen to the EC700 more now than the Prota-pro. But the Stax and K1000 always get the most ear time. My HD580 always seems to fall in the middle not as good sounding as the K1000/Stax but not as practical as the more portable headphones.
I think the aspect of these headphone which really strikes me (with the socks on - important) is the slightly warmer, fuller sound, but this does not come at the expense of detail. This is usually the aspect which really separates high-end headphones for me, and something really rare in portables. It is really easy to make a headphone which is bright and detailed or powerful but thick and lacking detail. It seems harder to hit the balance point. When listening to the EC700s I will sometimes be caught and pulled into the music, close my eyes and be absorbed. This rarely happens with me with anything other than my Stax or K1000s. Please don't think that I am saying that the EC700 is a replacement for the K1000 or Stax (these are 12600yen/$100 headphones). What I am saying is that for a headphone in the <$200 range the EC700 capture more of the essence of the Stax or K1000 experience than any other headphone I have had. A very happy purchase. Makes me want to start using my higher quality minidisc source again on the trains
I will say that I can see how these headphones might not appeal to everyone and I will not rave about how these are the best and how everyone must buy some. But I do want to say that that I went into Yodobashi and tried all the "recommended" headphones, how I was not particularly impressed, and then I tried this basically unknown headphone and found what I was looking for. I guess I am lucky that Japan still understands that paying slightly more in a store where people can try before they buy is important.
[edit: If you don't read the whole thread, I am truely impressed with these headphones. I rate them slightly better than my HD580 with GilmoreLite amp. Like a mini stax without need for any extra amps. Truely a highend headphone.
also check out this thread]
