Audio-Technica ATH-R70x - In-Depth Review & Impressions

[Asr]

How is the R70x when compared to the THx00 and K7xx respectively??

 
I owned the R70x, TH-X00, and K712 (not the exact same as the Massdrop K7XX, but similar enough) all at the same time not that long ago so I can offer my own opinion:
 
- The R70x had significantly more mid-bass and mid-range quantity, while the TH-X00 had more sub-bass and treble. Translation: I found that the R70x and TH-X00 both did really well with electronica & trip-hop (The Crystal Method, Daft Punk, Massive Attack), but I liked the R70x way more because it also credibly played rock and metal music equally well. It was by far the best (among the 3) at giving the "metal" bass guitar a direct-filling presence to sound supremely heavy-loaded. If you listen to metal at all, and want to hear a band's bass guitar player do his thing, the R70x should be your top choice. In short, the R70x is for folks who want their music to sound up-close and personal with a growling bass/mid-bass and forward-projected vocals. The TH-X00, on the other hand, is for folks who want something more laid-back and spatial but still want sub-bass and treble. (The R70x had treble too, but nowhere near as much quantity as the TH-X00 did, so it was quite a bit "darker" in comparison.)
 
- The R70x had more sub-bass, mid-bass, and mid-range than the K712, but it was also "darker" with a bit less treble quantity. It was pretty clearly less spatial-sounding than the K712 as well, and out of the 3 headphones was the most up-close and intimate-sounding. So if you want anything close to a spatial-sounding headphone, the R70x would be the worst option and the TH-X00 or K712 would be better for you. Despite the differences with the K712, I found both the R70x and K712 to have convincingly natural tonality when playing classical music, just in different ways.
 
To bottom-line it, if you listen to electronica/trip-hop, contemporary hard/heavy/prog rock, or any kind of contemporary metal, the R70x is a great headphone. It's still a great headphone for classical and jazz if you want a natural tonality first and foremost, and don't care for an expansive soundstage. If you listen to any other kind of music or just want a moderately-large soundstage, the TH-X00 or K712 would probably be better options (the K712 is also great with female vocals).
 
Also keep in mind that each of the three headphones has totally different amping requirements to be driven optimally: the R70x needs a high-voltage amp for its 470 Ohms (i.e., an OTL tube amp), the TH-X00 needs a high-current amp for its 25 Ohms (i.e., a typical solid-state amp), and the Massdrop K7XX needs a high-voltage & high-current amp for its 62 Ohms (i.e., a tube hybrid amp). So you can't just plug any of the headphones into any given thing and necessarily expect sonic greatness.

 

[woodpecker]

  To bottom-line it, if you listen to electronica/trip-hop, contemporary hard/heavy/prog rock, or any kind of contemporary metal, the R70x is a great headphone. It's still a great headphone for classical and jazz if you want a natural tonality first and foremost, and don't care for an expansive soundstage.

+1.
 
I've been enjoying Metallica, RATM, Faith No More, Fishbone, etc. on the R70x lately and they were superb. The earlier Metallica albums, which I've never considered to be an example of a well recorded albums, sound absolutely amazing. The distortion of the guitars feels so RAW and believable and brings back emotions from the 90's era.
For the fun of it, I compared the R70x against the Fidelio X2. Sadly the X2 didn't quite work for this type of music. The soundstage felt a bit distant and congested, whereas with the R70x, it felt like you're headbanging with Metallica in the studio.

 

[AzraelDarkangel]

I would like to hear more comparisons of the R70x to the AD1000/2000x.

 

[Aradea]

I owned the R70x, TH-X00, and K712 (not the exact same as the Massdrop K7XX, but similar enough) all at the same time not that long ago so I can offer my own opinion:

- The R70x had significantly more mid-bass and mid-range quantity, while the TH-X00 had more sub-bass and treble. Translation: I found that the R70x and TH-X00 both did really well with electronica & trip-hop (The Crystal Method, Daft Punk, Massive Attack), but I liked the R70x way more because it also credibly played rock and metal music equally well. It was by far the best (among the 3) at giving the "metal" bass guitar a direct-filling presence to sound supremely heavy-loaded. If you listen to metal at all, and want to hear a band's bass guitar player do his thing, the R70x should be your top choice. In short, the R70x is for folks who want their music to sound up-close and personal with a growling bass/mid-bass and forward-projected vocals. The TH-X00, on the other hand, is for folks who want something more laid-back and spatial but still want sub-bass and treble. (The R70x had treble too, but nowhere near as much quantity as the TH-X00 did, so it was quite a bit "darker" in comparison.)

- The R70x had more sub-bass, mid-bass, and mid-range than the K712, but it was also "darker" with a bit less treble quantity. It was pretty clearly less spatial-sounding than the K712 as well, and out of the 3 headphones was the most up-close and intimate-sounding. So if you want anything close to a spatial-sounding headphone, the R70x would be the worst option and the TH-X00 or K712 would be better for you. Despite the differences with the K712, I found both the R70x and K712 to have convincingly natural tonality when playing classical music, just in different ways.

To bottom-line it, if you listen to electronica/trip-hop, contemporary hard/heavy/prog rock, or any kind of contemporary metal, the R70x is a great headphone. It's still a great headphone for classical and jazz if you want a natural tonality first and foremost, and don't care for an expansive soundstage. If you listen to any other kind of music or just want a moderately-large soundstage, the TH-X00 or K712 would probably be better options (the K712 is also great with female vocals).

Also keep in mind that each of the three headphones has totally different amping requirements to be driven optimally: the R70x needs a high-voltage amp for its 470 Ohms (i.e., an OTL tube amp), the TH-X00 needs a high-current amp for its 25 Ohms (i.e., a typical solid-state amp), and the Massdrop K7XX needs a high-voltage & high-current amp for its 62 Ohms (i.e., a tube hybrid amp). So you can't just plug any of the headphones into any given thing and necessarily expect sonic greatness.

Thank you so much! Very helpful!

 

[Cloudtastrophe]

I would like to hear more comparisons of the R70x to the AD1000/2000x.

Check out lachlans comparison on his blog

 

[Pokemonn]

did you guys know that golden ears net posted R70x measurements. very good measurement results.
R70x's FR curve is very close to B&K optimum curve for HIFI.
 
http://ko.goldenears.net/board/index.php?mid=GR_Headphones&document_srl=5845808
 

@HybridCore has already did post the link before. Im sorry. (T-T) 

 

[Aradea]

That explains the sound hehe

 

[oatp1b1]

Sadly I've sold my R70X's now due to cup size, but I can highly recommend them to anyone who would like a more refined HD650. I found them to work better for classical due to the slight more treble detail. Very comfortable as well (apart from the cup size/my large ears), more so than the HD650 imho.

 

[Duy Le]

  I bought this cable for my R70X because the original cable is too long.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Handmade-Dyson-Audio-UPOCC-Audio-Technica-ATH-R70X-HP-Cable-1-50M-3-5mm-/351660639550

Notice that this cable does not work with R70X because the connectors do not fit

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

  Notice that this cable does not work with R70X because the connectors do not fit

What do you mean by they do not fit? They physically won't go into the headphone? They don't turn and lock? or...?

Notice that in this post, @earfonia's cable doesn't have any issues with what seems like the same connectors:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/765004/audio-technica-ath-r70x-in-depth-review-impressions#post_11565945

This is earfonia's made cable. Second pic has both stock and aftermarket.
 
 
 
-----------------------------------------------------------
This is the one on E-bay (link on post #849) which what looks like the same connectors except the shrink wrap goes over part of the silver section.

 

[PETEREK]

 
I bought this cable for my R70X because the original cable is too long.


Notice that this cable does not work with R70X because the connectors do not fit

Can you confirm that the problem is that the silver part of the connector is slightly too wide? That's the only issue I could see being possible. There are ways to avoid that issue, so please let me know.

 

[Duy Le]

 
What do you mean by they do not fit? They physically won't go into the headphone? They don't turn and lock? or...?

Notice that in this post, @earfonia's cable doesn't have any issues with what seems like the same connectors:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/765004/audio-technica-ath-r70x-in-depth-review-impressions#post_11565945

This is earfonia's made cable. Second pic has both stock and aftermarket.
 
 
 
-----------------------------------------------------------
This is the one on E-bay (link on post #849) which what looks like the same connectors except the shrink wrap goes over part of the silver section.

Yes, at first you cannot insert them into R70X because the locks on jack are too small. I tried to fix by making the locks wider at "I" part (I divide L lock 2 part: I and _) so I can insert into R70X but now they are not secured because the pin is a little bit smaller, I think so. I am not able to lock because I cannot make it wider at "_" part , I don't have tools to do that. If you don't believe me, you can buy the one and do the test.
 

Can you confirm that the problem is that the silver part of the connector is slightly too wide? That's the only issue I could see being possible. There are ways to avoid that issue, so please let me know.

No, the problem is the lock is too small, and the pin is a little bit smaller. With original cable, you insert it into R70X and it secures although you haven't locked yet.

 

[Pokemonn]

I found very interesting pic.
Denon uses Audio technica R70x for their exhibit machines!
 
please see the pic in the link.
 
http://av.watch.impress.co.jp/img/avw/docs/747/950/html/h20.jpg.html

 

[Aradea]

Just got me a Bottlehead Crack to drive the R70x.. Wow what a major difference when compared to an Ibasso D14 

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Can't wait to try mine with a few BTH amps at the next local meet, which happens to be at their headquarters.