[Trickle2xw]

Hey guys. As the title says I’m a bit drawn back by the amount of grain I think I am hearing with these headphones. This is my first real set of headphones and it blew my expectations away at first, but the more I listened to them the more I hear what I think the term for is grain. Female vocals sounds pretty piercing and brassy also when they tend to get into their higher pitch notes. A quick example of what I’m thinking is “grain” is when I play Little Girl Gone by Chinchilla and around the 10 second mark when she says “man”. My 2.1 system, and my Truthear x Crinacle Zero blue handle it fine and smooth but these headphones seem to texture it in a way it isn’t supposed to sound I think. Also playing hearing some buzzing noises in certain songs pretty clearly, maybe they are just exposing bad mastering? Like in the song Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo starting at the 2.06 second mark when she says “the” in this verse I hear buzzing in the right ear up. In mono audio it comes out both. Are my headphones possibly faulty. I would sell and buy a different kind if they weren’t so good for FPS shooters. My player is Tidal FLAC setting, Topping E30 II & L30 II.

 

[earmonger]

I have ATH-R70X and hi-res Tidal as well. I think that what you're hearing is the reference/revealing aspect of the ATH-R70X, which isn't always flattering. (Though it is useful for imaging!)

I listened to "Little Girl Gone" on Tidal and right after she sings "little man," there is some distorted sound. I think it's in the recording -- it's even more prounounced in my treble-happy Etymotic ER3XR. All I hear in the Olivia Rodrigo is a surge of the (probably synthetic) strings, and there is a whooshy noise at 2:16 that seems to be part of the production.

But I do think it's worth checking to see if the phones are defective. Audiocheck https://www.audiocheck.net/ has some good headphone test tracks which would tell you if something is loose or rattling in there, always a possibility. You can also (gently! that leatherette looks fragile) remove the earpads and see if there's hair or dust in there.

Modern pop production is made to leap out of less than ideal speakers -- computers, Bluetooth boxes -- so some producers do crank up the treble for that immediate sizzle. There's probably a free software equalizer you could apply to music and remove from gaming.

 

[Trickle2xw]

I have ATH-R70X and hi-res Tidal as well. I think that what you're hearing is the reference/revealing aspect of the ATH-R70X, which isn't always flattering. (Though it is useful for imaging!)

I listened to "Little Girl Gone" on Tidal and right after she sings "little man," there is some distorted sound. I think it's in the recording -- it's even more prounounced in my treble-happy Etymotic ER3XR. All I hear in the Olivia Rodrigo is a surge of the (probably synthetic) strings, and there is a whooshy noise at 2:16 that seems to be part of the production.

But I do think it's worth checking to see if the phones are defective. Audiocheck https://www.audiocheck.net/ has some good headphone test tracks which would tell you if something is loose or rattling in there, always a possibility. You can also (gently! that leatherette looks fragile) remove the earpads and see if there's hair or dust in there.

Modern pop production is made to leap out of less than ideal speakers -- computers, Bluetooth boxes -- so some producers do crank up the treble for that immediate sizzle. There's probably a free software equalizer you could apply to music and remove from gaming.

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I am just not used to how revealing they could be. So you hear a bit of distortion in Little Girl Gone around the word the then too, it’s basically for me when she says the word it sounds grainy almost compared to being smooth from my other methods of listening. I’ll also check out the website but this give it a shot to make sure I don’t hear nothing. Never tried a frequency sweep, can I damage the driver by going to low or to high on the sweep? Also people tend to talk to me when I have them on and a few occasions I can feel a bit of spit come out of their mouth probably also getting into the open back driver diaphragm. Should this be something I worry about, can it absorb into the driver and change the FR of it? Also the vampire song I hear the buzzing on both sides but not so much how you explain it.

 

[earmonger]

On Olivia I hear a guitar noise when she's singing "ah" after "sunk your teeth into me." For me it's in the right ear but it's definitely part of the song.

Just keep the volume at normal listening level -- not painful -- on the headphone tests. The ATH-R70X is supposed to go all the way down to 5 Hz -- human hearing low end is 20 Hz, 2 octaves above that -- so you're not going to damage the drivers.

The ATH-R70X are made for all-day recording studio use. I'd expect they can handle a little moisture. Obviously you don't want to dunk them in a bathtub, but conversation should be OK.

With other headphones -- Grados -- I have gotten some buzzing on a particular note when a hair gets stuck under the earpad next to the driver. Grado earpads are a lot looser than the ATH-R70X ones, making it much easier for something to get in there, but I do think it's worth checking if you can be gentle with that leatherette stuff. I've actually never taken off the earpads; after more than a year, they still seem completely unworn, so they're probably sturdier than they look too.

 

[Trickle2xw]

On Olivia I hear a guitar noise when she's singing "ah" after "sunk your teeth into me." For me it's in the right ear but it's definitely part of the song.

Just keep the volume at normal listening level -- not painful -- on the headphone tests. The ATH-R70X is supposed to go all the way down to 5 Hz -- human hearing low end is 20 Hz, 2 octaves above that -- so you're not going to damage the drivers.

The ATH-R70X are made for all-day recording studio use. I'd expect they can handle a little moisture. Obviously you don't want to dunk them in a bathtub, but conversation should be OK.

With other headphones -- Grados -- I have gotten some buzzing on a particular note when a hair gets stuck under the earpad next to the driver. Grado earpads are a lot looser than the ATH-R70X ones, making it much easier for something to get in there, but I do think it's worth checking if you can be gentle with that leatherette stuff. I've actually never taken off the earpads; after more than a year, they still seem completely unworn, so they're probably sturdier than they look too.

Do you happen to know what the driver material is constructed of? Like I heard if paper drivers get some moisture they would deform. My Heco’s are actually a type of paper construction and for that reason I leave the protective covers on them. I can’t find anything of the construction of them online.

 

[earmonger]

Do you happen to know what the driver material is constructed of? Like I heard if paper drivers get some moisture they would deform. My Heco’s are actually a type of paper construction and for that reason I leave the protective covers on them. I can’t find anything of the construction of them online.

If you look under the Features tab here ... https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/ath-r70x ... it suggests the drivers are made of carbon composite resin. At least that's how I read it.

They were made for extended use in recording studios, and they're not inexpensive. It seems pretty unlikely to me that they would use something as fragile as paper for the drivers. They are built to last -- as I said, mine are like new after more than a year.

Meanwhile ... try to keep people from talking so close to you! There's a pandemic going on after all.

 

[Trickle2xw]

If you look under the Features tab here ... https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/ath-r70x ... it suggests the drivers are made of carbon composite resin. At least that's how I read it.

They were made for extended use in recording studios, and they're not inexpensive. It seems pretty unlikely to me that they would use something as fragile as paper for the drivers. They are built to last -- as I said, mine are like new after more than a year.

Meanwhile ... try to keep people from talking so close to you! There's a pandemic going on after all.

Thanks! I did a frequency sweet and found that at certain higher frequencies one side seems to be a bit louder than the other, mostly prominent in performing a 20hz-20khz sweep. Not sure if this is normal? Doesn’t seem to be an issue with the source as my IEM’s seem to stay more even throughout the sweep.

 

[earmonger]

Channel imbalance is definitely not normal, especially since you know it's not the source.

You may have a defective pair -- and if high frequencies are spiking in one ear, that would explain what you're hearing.

Can you contact the seller?

 

[Trickle2xw]

Channel imbalance is definitely not normal, especially since you know it's not the source.

You may have a defective pair -- and if high frequencies are spiking in one ear, that would explain what you're hearing.

Can you contact the seller?

Yeah it’s like one side spikes and then the other does slightly after, even in mono audio. Wasn’t sure if a slight driver imbalance is normal, it’s not super noticeable but it almost feels like the sound travels from the left to the right of my ear and vice versa when the frequencies get higher. And to be honest most female vocals on these headphones sound very brassy and sharp, almost fake. So maybe my pair is defective. They have a two year warranty luckily.

 

[donnytramp]

Hey guys. As the title says I’m a bit drawn back by the amount of grain I think I am hearing with these headphones. This is my first real set of headphones and it blew my expectations away at first, but the more I listened to them the more I hear what I think the term for is grain. Female vocals sounds pretty piercing and brassy also when they tend to get into their higher pitch notes. A quick example of what I’m thinking is “grain” is when I play Little Girl Gone by Chinchilla and around the 10 second mark when she says “man”. My 2.1 system, and my Truthear x Crinacle Zero blue handle it fine and smooth but these headphones seem to texture it in a way it isn’t supposed to sound I think. Also playing hearing some buzzing noises in certain songs pretty clearly, maybe they are just exposing bad mastering? Like in the song Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo starting at the 2.06 second mark when she says “the” in this verse I hear buzzing in the right ear up. In mono audio it comes out both. Are my headphones possibly faulty. I would sell and buy a different kind if they weren’t so good for FPS shooters. My player is Tidal FLAC setting, Topping E30 II & L30 II.

r70x does suffer from treble grain and is more revealing with a better source, which is why i got hd600 instead

 

[dunring]

I'd do the test tone sweep every 1khz and write down the l/r results in case you have to send them back under warranty. I had a different pair last week where each side was 4db off, each side at different frequencies. Thought I was going crazy until I mapped it out with a decibel meter and test tone generator. Spatial effects were funhouse. If you include test results they'll be certain to replace them with a good one.
Good news is you have a great amp, I had the L30ii and with 10ohm IEMs they are amazing how silent the noise floor. Lots of power, but the weapon of choice for IEMs.

 

[Trickle2xw]

I'd do the test tone sweep every 1khz and write down the l/r results in case you have to send them back under warranty. I had a different pair last week where each side was 4db off, each side at different frequencies. Thought I was going crazy until I mapped it out with a decibel meter and test tone generator. Spatial effects were funhouse. If you include test results they'll be certain to replace them with a good one.
Good news is you have a great amp, I had the L30ii and with 10ohm IEMs they are amazing how silent the noise floor. Lots of power, but the weapon of choice for IEMs.

I got a new pair, seems better. Still not a fan for these headphones and female vocals though. They seem brassy and piercing. May try and EQ on them, only worried about hurting the headphones if the EQ pushes to much bass. Just listening to “Spend The Night” by BJ The Chicago kid, when the female verse kicks in at around 12 seconds it sounds unnatural, where as my IEM’s handle it and other high pitch vocals much smoother. Maybe I’m just not a reference tuning kind of person?

 

[donnytramp]

I got a new pair, seems better. Still not a fan for these headphones and female vocals though. They seem brassy and piercing. May try and EQ on them, only worried about hurting the headphones if the EQ pushes to much bass. Just listening to “Spend The Night” by BJ The Chicago kid, when the female verse kicks in at around 12 seconds it sounds unnatural, where as my IEM’s handle it and other high pitch vocals much smoother. Maybe I’m just not a reference tuning kind of person?

r70x does suffer from treble grain and is more revealing with a better source, which is why i got hd600 instead

 

[earmonger]

Indeed, reference tuning might not be for you. I hear what sounds like Auto-Tune at that spot, which does sound artificial, but I also hear it on my IEMs. I hear the Auto-Tune in some of BJ's lines too.

The ATH-R70X is for studio use where producers want to nit-pick every detail, plus you may just be more sensitive to treble than I am. Sennheisers could be a good alternative for you.

 

[Trickle2xw]

Indeed, reference tuning might not be for you. I hear what sounds like Auto-Tune at that spot, which does sound artificial, but I also hear it on my IEMs. I hear the Auto-Tune in some of BJ's lines too.

The ATH-R70X is for studio use where producers want to nit-pick every detail, plus you may just be more sensitive to treble than I am. Sennheisers could be a good alternative for you.

They are great for gaming me for certain mixing that is done right sounds amazing. Maybe I will pick up a Mass Drop HD6XX to go along with these. One more song, I’m guessing this is probably poorly mixed, but when listening to BRRR B by Brezden, Gucci Mane at around the 4 second mark I hear a rattle sound coming from the right side, I think it is possibly just poor mastering. Can you hear it too?