Features & Specifications
ATH-R70x with its utilitarian design weighs only 210 grams. It is very light, but it feels tough. It seems to be able to handle frequent use in professional applications. Durability is not something easy to test, I cannot do drop test on this demo set, or to test how strong is the cable until it breaks. So durability is only through visual and some hands-on observation. I've brought it with me in my back pack, using semi-hard case, several times, so not only using it at home. I have no issue with the build quality so far.
The following is weight comparisons without cables, with other headphones in this review. ATH-R70x is simply the lightest.
Audio-Technica R70x : 210 grams
Sennheiser HD 800 : 330 grams
Beyerdynamic T 1 : 350 grams
Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro : 295 grams
Philips Fidelio X1 : 300 grams
ATH-R70x is light, fits well, and also stays well in position. The metal headband can be bent to some degree, for better comfort and fit. I think bendable headband is a good feature to adjust the headband pressure. My concern is probably more on the headband size. My head size is probably around medium to large. T1 has 9 clicks of headband adjustment, 9 clicks left and 9 clicks right. I set it to 4 clicks both left and right for my head. The rest of 5 clicks is approximately another 2 cm on each left and right side of the headband, total of 4 cm allowance left for larger size head. With ATH-R70x, when I pushed it to the max, I estimate like there is only around 1 cm left for each side. That means probably only around 2-2.5 cm allowance left for larger head. So for users that usually need to use T1 at their maximum headband reach, please take note of this.
I highly recommend professional headphone to have detachable cable, to easily replace the cable when it spoil. not only that, when working on very large mixing console, longer cable or long coiled cable will be required. But sometime on small desk, too long cable is annoying. Detachable cable makes it easier to use the right cable to suit the working environment. ATH-R70x cable is dual-sided, each using a locking 2.5 mm TRS jack. Quoted from Audio-Technica website:
"dual-sided detachable cable that automatically maintains proper stereo orientation (no matter how it’s attached)"
The stock cable, carries both left and right channels on each side. The 2.5 mm socket on each driver only wired to one of the channel, so it doesn't matter how the cable is connected, left driver only connected to the left channel, and right channel only connected to right channel.
Well, it looks like a clever approach, but so far I have never heard users have problem with connecting cable correctly to the left & right drivers. So, looks like a solution to a problem that never been really a problem in the first place. Well, YMMV. My concern is more to the Left and Right marking that kind of obscured. For me clear Left and Right marking is more important than the cable feature above. Since the Left and Right marking are not clear, I have to rely on the different thickness of the area of the earpads to identify the right orientation. The back side of the earpads is thicker than the front side. Later on my DIY cable, I simply use red colour shrink tube on the right cable for easy identification.
Back to the cable, unfortunately, not like the ATH-Mx series which come with various cables, long, short, & coiled, ATH-R70x only comes with one 3 meters long straight cable. The cable is too long for my home use; therefore I made my own cable for ATH-R70x. I use
LyxPro LCP Quad Series microphone cable (4 wires) I bought from Amazon, with
locking 2.5 mm TRS jack I bought from Lunashop. The 2.5 mm jack fits & locks nicely.
Most of the impressions in this review are using my DIY cable. I'm quite annoyed with the stock cable, it is too long. I suggest Audio-Technica to include shorter cable for ATH-R70x. The DIY cable sounds a tad better, a tad more transparent, just a tad. The stock cable is fine, just too long for me.
The earpads are smaller than the rest of the headphones in comparison. Still comfortable, but I do prefer a little larger and deeper earpads for better comfort. ATH-R70x earpads touch my pinna lightly, not up to uncomfortable level, but larger earpads would be more comfortable. In comparison with Beyerdynamic T1 earpad below, T1 earpad inner diameter is around
5.8 cm, and ATH-R70x earpad inner diameter is around
5 cm.
Without earpad, the driver frame is actually quite thin.
Loudness Comparisons
Loudness comparison showing the approximate requirement of output voltage for the headphones to produce equal loudness. I use 85 dB pink noise (0 dBFS) generated using Audacity, to compare loudness between the headphones. I use
AudioTool app on my Samsung Galasy S4 with
Dayton Audio iMM-6 calibrated measurement microphone (with the calibration file from Dayton Audio). Setup shown previously on White Noise measurement.
The reason why I use Pink Noise for loudness measurement, Pink Noise loudness translates better to my general music listening volume, better than White Noise and Sine tune. Meaning, when I set the volume to 85 dB Pink Noise, the volume is more or less the same as the listening volume I set to listen some of my reference albums (Linn Records, Channel Classics, David Manley Recordings, etc.). Beside that White Noise and Sine tune are quite irritating to my ears.
After the Pink Noise measurement, then I play 100 Hz Sine (0 dBFS) to measure the output voltage of the amplifier. All loudness measurement is done using Yulong DA8. Yulong DA8 digital volume is easier for volume level reading and accuracy. Output voltage measured using Owon VDS3102 digital oscilloscope, unloaded.
Audio-Technica R70x
Yulong DA8 volume reading : -18.5 dB
Digital oscilloscope reading : 0.79 Vrms / 2.28 Vpp
Sennheiser HD 800
Yulong DA8 volume reading : -18.0 dB
Digital oscilloscope reading : 0.84 Vrms / 2.40 Vpp
Beyerdynamic T 1
Yulong DA8 volume reading : -15.0 dB
Digital oscilloscope reading : 1.18 Vrms / 3.40 Vpp
Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro (600)
Yulong DA8 volume reading : -10.0 dB
Digital oscilloscope reading : 2.11 Vrms / 6.00 Vpp
Philips Fidelio X1
Yulong DA8 volume reading : -28.0 dB
Digital oscilloscope reading : 0.26 Vrms / 0.76 Vpp
As you can see, the output voltage requirement of ATH-R70x is pretty close to HD 800. So far, playing a soft sounding recording at pretty loud volume (not recommended), 6.6 Vrms / 18.8 Vpp is the maximum output voltage required. iBasso DX90 has maximum output voltage of 2.69 Vrms / 7.6 Vpp, so far, generally quite adequate for ATH-R70x. This output voltage measurement is useful when looking for a headphone amplifier for ATH-R70x. Get an amplifier with at least 5 Vrms maximum output for ATH-R70x. Or if you have a lot of soft sounding recording collections, 7 Vrms would be a safer choice.
I really had good times with ATH-R70x, and I really enjoyed it. One of the best headphone for long sessions. Hope this review would be useful for the readers. Once again congratulation to Audio-Technica for this nice sounding open-back reference headphone!
Specifications
Type | : Open-back reference |
Driver Diameter | : 45 mm |
Frequency Response | : 5 - 40,000 Hz |
Maximum Input Power | : 1,000 mW at 1 kHz |
Sensitivity | : 99 dB |
Impedance | : 470 ohms |
Weight | : 210 g (7.4 oz), without cable and connector |
Accessories Included | : Protective carrying pouch |
Cable | : 1 x 3m included; Detachable with 2.5 mm TRS connector |
Equipment used in this review:
Headphones:
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x (loan demo set)
Beyerdynamic T 1
Beyerdynamic DT 880
Philips Fidelio X1
Sennheiser HD 800
Sennheiser HD 650
DACs & Headphone Amplifiers:
Audio-Technica AT-HA22TUBE
iBasso DX90
ifi micro iDSD (firmware 4.06)
ifi micro iCan
Mytek Stereo192-DSD DAC (firmware 1.8.1)
Violectric HPA V200
Yulong DA8
Yulong A28
Cables:
Atlas Equator MKIII Integra RCA cable (0.5m)
Forza Claire Hybrid RCA (8 inch) (loan from
@igndenny - Thanks a lot! Very nice sounding RCA cable!)
Pangea Audio - USB cable - PCOCC & 4% silver - 2 Meters
QED Reference Audio Evolution XLR cable (DIY 40 cm cable)
Some DIY cables
Computer & Player:
DIY Desktop PC: Gigabyte GA-H77-D3H-MVP motherboard, Intel i7-3770, 16 GB RAM, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit SP1.
foobar2000 v1.3.3
Measurement Instrument & Application:
Dayton Audio iMM-6 calibrated measurement microphone
Samsung Galaxy S4 (SHV-E330K) - Android 4.4.2
AudioTool v6.3 for Android
Owon VDS3102 USB Digital Oscilloscope
Some recordings used in this review: