[I<3SQ]

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Glad to see many fans of the PRO700MK2. Audio-Technica must have thought to themselves, "Let's make a really great basshead headphone.. it has to have quantity, quality, rumble, punch, and everything else!" And we've got ourselves the PRO700MK2. Shame they totally forgot about comfort. 

Yeah, in stock form they aren't very comfortable, but add the Beyerdynamic gel ear cushions and these things are a treat!

 

[MadDawg]

Agreed!  I am listening to mine as well.  When I first got these in last week I compared them to me m50s and was thinking, "meh... these have nice bass but nothing else, they sounded very bland)  After about 40 hours or burn in mine finally decided to show up to the party.  Not only did the bass double (it was already pretty good when they were brand new) to the extent that you can feel it punching your jawbone, but the mids and highs decided to let me know they were there as well.  Now don't get me wrong here, they are still recessed some.  However these cans provide a very pleasant listening experience for a basshead like myself.  I never feel like the bass is cramping out the mids (at least not after burn in.)  I feel like the gel pads improved the soundstage slightly and brought out the highs just a bit also.
 
Here is the best part: even if you are not a true basshead you can enjoy these cans so long as you have access to an EQ.  There is not a single flaw that you can not fix by EQing these.  Well that is not entirely true, you aren't going to be able to open the soundstage on them magically, but you can't expect that from a closed can anyways.  They respond fantastically.  I know, I know, you shouldn't need to EQ a can to enjoy it.  I am not saying you have to.  However if you are worried about only being able to afford one set of good headphones then this is definitely a very strong pro.
 
Final thoughts: I do prefer these over my M50s, the sound is very similar but I prefer the build quality and the fact that these can punch in you the jaw if you want them to.  They sound fantastic out of my iPhone, my e6 (blue is fun), or my x-fi titanium (WOW!). So even though you do not need anything more powerful than a portable media player to enjoy these if you never hook them up to a full-sized amp or good desktop sound card you are truly missing out on what they are capable of.  Even the e6 is weak in comparison to the results I get from my desktop.
 
 
Gel Pads: These gel pads are HUGE, I was overwhelmed by how large they actually were once I saw them in person.  Thank you so much for advising me towards them.  I could wear these all day and still fall asleep in them at night.

 

[hitormiiss]

Got my pair of the limited edition pro700mk2's a few days ago and they sound awesome. I prefer them over the M50s because there is more prominent and tighter bass definitely not muddy bass like the Beats. I bought them at GC and then returned them to order these. Got them for 200 at buydig.com but looks like the price went up to 219.
 

 

[WakiDabeast]

I'm really confused can you guys start mentioning whether or no you used an amp with these headphones :/

 

[Dutchi MerenGue]

i think most people in here have used an amp of some kind on them, whether a portably fiio or a desktop amp like mstage

 

[WakiDabeast]

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i think most people in here have used an amp of some kind on them, whether a portably fiio or a desktop amp like mstage

haha good, cause I honestly got a somewhat balanced sound without an amp 

 

[Dutchi MerenGue]

dont forget eq, the only headphones i have that i can use without eq or any dsp's are the xb1000's and my akgk601's, on these i use somewhere between 15 and 24db's of bass boost on top of an bbe h82 harmonizer bass dsp
 
 
depends on the genre and album i'm listening to

 

[quisxx]

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dont forget eq, the only headphones i have that i can use without eq or any dsp's are the xb1000's and my akgk601's, on these i use somewhere between 15 and 24db's of bass boost on top of an bbe h82 harmonizer bass dsp
 
 
 

Are you saying that the 2 sets you mentioned have more or better bass than the pro700's?

 

[Malevolent]

Quote:

Are you saying that the 2 sets you mentioned have more or better bass than the pro700's?

 
The XB1000 has very good sub-bass extension, but the mid-bass punch on the PRO700MK2 is a bit more prominent than on the Sony cans. Both cans fare very well coupled with bass boost amps.

 

[Dutchi MerenGue]

yea basically what the guy above me said, the reason i dont like to eq the xb1000 is because i find its already perfectly tuned for electronic music, anything i add just makes it more cloudy and congested, it has nowhere near the punchy mid bass the pro700mkii's have but it does destroy it in subbass and clarity on the higher end, the pro700's are much better imo for dubstep however and infinitly better for hip hop
 
 
 
i was like you when i first got my pro700's, completely unimpressed with the bass since i had come from xb500's, stock, i honestly dont think the pro700's were worth the money, but properly amped and with eq'ing that all changed, more than the amp i think you would benefit more from eq'ing in the desired bass you want because more than any other headphones i own, these respond the best to any outside frequency change. they rarely ever distort and can take pretty much anything you throw it at at almost any volume level, these things are tanks, if you were to get an amp however i'd suggest an e9 because its relatively cheap and has built in hardware bass boost which by itself may be enough to give you what you need without having to resort to eq

 

[quisxx]

Thanks for the clarification, you guys had me ready to fold on buying a pair of 700's lol.

 

[Trae]

I guess I'll add in some more details on these headphones.
 
The main aspect that I like about these headphones is that they scale very well with equalizing and amplification. The bass has an atmospheric, yet full, sound to it, and the slightly recessed treble makes it perfect for long listening sessions. With the way I've set up my pros, the midrange sounds somewhat airy and neutral. The sound overall feels involving, warm, and smooth. 
 
One weird aspect I have with these headphones is that on a few of the songs I listen to, it sounds layered. What I mean by that is that the sub-bass sounds like it's coming from the bottom of the speaker, the midbass above that, midrange above that, and the treble on the top.
 
The soundstage on these have great depth for closed headphones, but I wish it was wider. The soundstage on these headphones feels like the music is presented around your head; primarily above your ears, in front of your eyes, near the base of your ears, and around the top of your head. I'd say that, for closed cans, they create a great musical presentation.
 
To describe the bass characteristics of these headphones, they have excellent impact, rumble, fullness, and deepness to them. To put it into a more "testable" scenario, there's so much bass that it can vibrate your eardrums in a bad way. These will make your ears feel raw and stuffed after you've been pounded by the bass after a while of listening to them. I have to force myself to listen to these at lower volumes so I don't mess up my ears. My ears can only last a few minutes on the maximum volume before distorting because there's so much bass. Not to mention, the treble intensity at that volume will quickly fatigue any ears if it's turned up to my maximum volume. With that said, listening at low-mid volumes with these headphones is a pleasure. The bass is still impactful and full sounding at lower volumes, and it compliments the rest of the spectrum very well (keep in mind that gobs of bass compliments everything in my perspective, even classical music). Sometimes I forget I'm listening to music when I'm wearing these, and I partly thank the beyer gel earpads for that (excellent seal, isolation, and comfort). It's like the music becomes a part of my thoughts... 
 
It feels that there should be some more detail in the lower registers, but the sheer quantity of bass these headphones produce will make you not care. I'm not trying to say that there isn't a lot of detail in the bass, because it's great (much better than my M50s), and every time I hear the bass on these, it feels like it's the first. The perfect drug lol. I've said this a couple times, but I strongly believe that there isn't a headphone with more bass than these. Just keep in mind that these headphones need to be modified in order to get the bass I'm describing. The procedure is all in my sig. 
 
Don't hesitate on getting the pros. Every time I think of purchasing some more headphones, these portable earthquakes prevent me from doing so. It's like having an overly possessive partner. They won't let you have anything else 

 

[Malevolent]

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i was like you when i first got my pro700's, completely unimpressed with the bass since i had come from xb500's, stock, i honestly dont think the pro700's were worth the money, but properly amped and with eq'ing that all changed, more than the amp i think you would benefit more from eq'ing in the desired bass you want because more than any other headphones i own, these respond the best to any outside frequency change. they rarely ever distort and can take pretty much anything you throw it at at almost any volume level, these things are tanks, if you were to get an amp however i'd suggest an e9 because its relatively cheap and has built in hardware bass boost which by itself may be enough to give you what you need without having to resort to eq

 
Yeah, the amazing thing about the PRO700MK2s is the level of EQing it can take. It's like a headphone that challenges you to EQ it, promising far more than what it initially delivers. In stock form, they are a good mid-level basshead can, with a dark sound, and a punchy bass signature. The rumble isn't very obvious, but this changes when you attenuate the lower frequencies. Suddenly, it starts to rumble, the punch is even more energetic.. but the clarity remains. It's quite awesome, really.

 

[MadDawg]

Has anyone tried these with an E17?  I am thinking very strongly about buying one because of the advanced EQ functions that it has compared to most other portable amps.  The fact that it is also a DAC is a bonus to me since I listen frequently at work and have to use an HP All-in-one and the sound card does leave a little to be desired.

 

[Trae]

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Has anyone tried these with an E17?  I am thinking very strongly about buying one because of the advanced EQ functions that it has compared to most other portable amps.  The fact that it is also a DAC is a bonus to me since I listen frequently at work and have to use an HP All-in-one and the sound card does leave a little to be desired.

I have. They are a great combo with these headphones. When I used it, I put the bass setting on 10 at the max volume...eargasm. It offers the same quantity of bass as my receiver, but the resolution is a notch lower compared to it, and there's less control. Given that it only costs 140 while my receiver was ~700 (now, it runs around 300), it's an excellent price for what it offers.