azurelogic
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2011
- Posts
- 3
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- 0
I've spend far too much time on this site over the last few weeks, but I just finally made an account today to make this post.
I first decided that I wanted some new headphones when I realized that I was getting too fatigued from listening to my Klipsch Image S4 IEMs for long periods of time. They have great bass, but the highs are pretty harsh for my tastes. All I had were those and some standard white iPod earbuds (ugh). So, I originally started my search looking at DJ headphones. I had wanted Sony's MDR-V700DJ for a long time, but I never looked into them until recently. Almost ever review talked about the hinges cracking and no one really talked about them having truly amazing sound. Then I found head-fi. After reading for days, I was just about settled on the ATH-M50. I tried to go hear a pair at my local Guitar Center, but they didn't have anything for demo. The guy was nice enough to open a box and let me try them on for fit. I realized then that most of the DJ headphones were too small for the isolation that I wanted.
I went back through the reviews one more time, and that's when the PRO700MK2 jumped out at me. I took a hard look at my musical tastes. I love dubstep, breaks, other forms of electronica, rap, and an occasional splash of hard rock. My car stereo's EQ is set to +7 out of 8 on bass, -1 on treble. I don't have subs, but I bleed my Kicker's dry of every last bit of shake I can. I, head-fiers, am a basshead. I have confessed. I had been afraid of the PRO700MK2 because of comments like "strap 2 subwoofers to the sides of your head". I realized that this is exactly what I was looking for. I should also point out that I don't hate treble. I still wanted something that had clear highs. This is what kept me from other cans like V-Moda Crossfades (I've heard them, too muddy) or Beats by Dre (ugh). Don't worry, the PRO700MK2 delivers.
Plenty of people have already posted pictures of these guys, so I'll spare that detail. I got mine for $135 off of buydig.com. The packaging is solid. The contents were: the ATH-PRO700MK2 (of course), 2 1/8" cables, a threaded gold 1/4" adapter, a carrying bag.
The detachable cables were a big plus for me. I can't even tell you how many pairs of headphones I've had bite it because of the cable. One cable is a ~4 ft. straight cable, threaded on one end, the other end is unthreaded with a skinny area right before the plug, allowing it to fit perfectly inside the recession caused by my iPhone case. The other cable is a coiled cable that stretches to ~10 ft. It is threaded on both ends, though it's got a longer section of straight cable on one end than the other. This is the cable that is meant to be used with the threaded 1/4" adapter. Both cables are thick and solid feeling.
Attaching the cables may be a little bit tricky sometimes until you get a feel for it. You have to make sure that the cable is plugged into the headphones completely before you start to screw it in, or else it'll just spin and spin without screwing in. I have yet to have any problems with the cable coming unscrewed accidentally.
Enough about the cables, what about the PRO700MK2 itself. Before I talk about sound, I want to talk about build and comfort. As for the build, Audio Technica designed these guys with some pretty beefy plastic all around. There's not the metal accents present in the M50, but it's fairly solid. I definitely don't feel any significant weakness in the joints. I should point out here that there is a fairly decent range of motion for the cups, plus they collapse in towards the band for easier transport. Comfort is one of the problem areas for these guys. The pads are rounder and not as plush as the M50 pads. They don't fully surround my ears usually. As such, they can get somewhat uncomfortable during longer sessions. The best remedy for this is replacing them with M50 pads. I picked up a pair of those for about $20 somewhere else online. With swapped pads and a little stretch in the band, they fit great.
Now, sound quality. I love these headphones. On a flat EQ from my laptop or iPhone, there's still bass for days. With the M50 pads, you can even feel the shake against your skull. If you don't love bass, don't bother with these. They sometimes overwhelm me with heavier tracks, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's like being full from a meal. Thanks, I've had enough bass. It tasted great. The mids are definitely a bit recessed. It just feels like there's this specific frequency band that these headphones can't do. Low female vocals and certain guitar riffs suffered the most. The problem is probably made more noticeable by the massive bass. As for the highs, for my taste, they're perfect. They're clear with a little bit of shine and sparkle, but not too much. Definitely not as harsh as my S4 IEMs.
As for power handling, they don't seem to distort no matter how loud I turn them up, even into the range that was causing some pain and discomfort. Also, as I've been reading and learning about soundstage and imaging, I'd say that there are mild effects of this here. There have definitely been times that I could feel a more 3D sense of the layout of the vocals and instruments, but as I listen to mostly heavily processed tracks, I don't get much of a chance to test this.
All things said and done, if you love the kind of music I do and you really love bass, these are a solid piece of work, and you should definitely check them out. They are a force that needs to be felt.
I first decided that I wanted some new headphones when I realized that I was getting too fatigued from listening to my Klipsch Image S4 IEMs for long periods of time. They have great bass, but the highs are pretty harsh for my tastes. All I had were those and some standard white iPod earbuds (ugh). So, I originally started my search looking at DJ headphones. I had wanted Sony's MDR-V700DJ for a long time, but I never looked into them until recently. Almost ever review talked about the hinges cracking and no one really talked about them having truly amazing sound. Then I found head-fi. After reading for days, I was just about settled on the ATH-M50. I tried to go hear a pair at my local Guitar Center, but they didn't have anything for demo. The guy was nice enough to open a box and let me try them on for fit. I realized then that most of the DJ headphones were too small for the isolation that I wanted.
I went back through the reviews one more time, and that's when the PRO700MK2 jumped out at me. I took a hard look at my musical tastes. I love dubstep, breaks, other forms of electronica, rap, and an occasional splash of hard rock. My car stereo's EQ is set to +7 out of 8 on bass, -1 on treble. I don't have subs, but I bleed my Kicker's dry of every last bit of shake I can. I, head-fiers, am a basshead. I have confessed. I had been afraid of the PRO700MK2 because of comments like "strap 2 subwoofers to the sides of your head". I realized that this is exactly what I was looking for. I should also point out that I don't hate treble. I still wanted something that had clear highs. This is what kept me from other cans like V-Moda Crossfades (I've heard them, too muddy) or Beats by Dre (ugh). Don't worry, the PRO700MK2 delivers.
Plenty of people have already posted pictures of these guys, so I'll spare that detail. I got mine for $135 off of buydig.com. The packaging is solid. The contents were: the ATH-PRO700MK2 (of course), 2 1/8" cables, a threaded gold 1/4" adapter, a carrying bag.
The detachable cables were a big plus for me. I can't even tell you how many pairs of headphones I've had bite it because of the cable. One cable is a ~4 ft. straight cable, threaded on one end, the other end is unthreaded with a skinny area right before the plug, allowing it to fit perfectly inside the recession caused by my iPhone case. The other cable is a coiled cable that stretches to ~10 ft. It is threaded on both ends, though it's got a longer section of straight cable on one end than the other. This is the cable that is meant to be used with the threaded 1/4" adapter. Both cables are thick and solid feeling.
Attaching the cables may be a little bit tricky sometimes until you get a feel for it. You have to make sure that the cable is plugged into the headphones completely before you start to screw it in, or else it'll just spin and spin without screwing in. I have yet to have any problems with the cable coming unscrewed accidentally.
Enough about the cables, what about the PRO700MK2 itself. Before I talk about sound, I want to talk about build and comfort. As for the build, Audio Technica designed these guys with some pretty beefy plastic all around. There's not the metal accents present in the M50, but it's fairly solid. I definitely don't feel any significant weakness in the joints. I should point out here that there is a fairly decent range of motion for the cups, plus they collapse in towards the band for easier transport. Comfort is one of the problem areas for these guys. The pads are rounder and not as plush as the M50 pads. They don't fully surround my ears usually. As such, they can get somewhat uncomfortable during longer sessions. The best remedy for this is replacing them with M50 pads. I picked up a pair of those for about $20 somewhere else online. With swapped pads and a little stretch in the band, they fit great.
Now, sound quality. I love these headphones. On a flat EQ from my laptop or iPhone, there's still bass for days. With the M50 pads, you can even feel the shake against your skull. If you don't love bass, don't bother with these. They sometimes overwhelm me with heavier tracks, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's like being full from a meal. Thanks, I've had enough bass. It tasted great. The mids are definitely a bit recessed. It just feels like there's this specific frequency band that these headphones can't do. Low female vocals and certain guitar riffs suffered the most. The problem is probably made more noticeable by the massive bass. As for the highs, for my taste, they're perfect. They're clear with a little bit of shine and sparkle, but not too much. Definitely not as harsh as my S4 IEMs.
As for power handling, they don't seem to distort no matter how loud I turn them up, even into the range that was causing some pain and discomfort. Also, as I've been reading and learning about soundstage and imaging, I'd say that there are mild effects of this here. There have definitely been times that I could feel a more 3D sense of the layout of the vocals and instruments, but as I listen to mostly heavily processed tracks, I don't get much of a chance to test this.
All things said and done, if you love the kind of music I do and you really love bass, these are a solid piece of work, and you should definitely check them out. They are a force that needs to be felt.
