[donunus]

Has anyone reached out to Audio Technica about why they don't offer the pads for separate purchase?

I am still trying after emailing a few departments. AT service isn't like emailing audeze thats for sure.

 

[SkyZippr]

Not sure what you mean by "weird audiotechnica special jack," these use 2.5mm locking connectors on the headphone end.

Iirc they are proprietary. The cable outputs both L and R signals to both jacks, and the headphone cups pick up the correct signal. Also the locking mechanism requires thinner and longer connectors which is not so common, so I don't think it's a stretch to call them "weird audiotechnica special jack".

 

[donunus]

I've been sending emails to Audio Technica and was passed around to different departments twice about the pads. Until now, still no reply.

Because of this, the longetivity of these cans will only depend on how long the pads last or maintain the original sound

Finally found out that they do actually sell the replacement pads directly from their parts department.

 

[DecentLevi]

INTRODUCING THE RUBI (Prototype) Shielded headphone cable for r70x
​

Coming fresh of the heels of my brainchild involving much custom design for the most optimal design I could reasonably attain for a Y-cable (3.5mm to dual RCA), the variant for r70x was born and man am I ever pleased with the result!!! This began from my quest to find the best possible Y-cable for serious duties between my DAC and huge tube amp. I reached out to numerous vendors on Etsy for quotes and design ideas and it turns out the Darren from the Arctand store was not only the most helpful and willing to go custom, but that the result FAR surpassed anything I could have ever expected.

My initial order was for the Y-cable, which I was upgrading from an Audioquest Evergreen. The difference was really eye opening, noticing my system really blossom from what could be described as a "good" sound and now I'm experiencing sound in greater dimensions of space, robust drums, absolutely impeccable handling of drums and PRaT that has seemingly no limits of perfection to mimic any recording be it dark, bright, fast, slow and anything in between, in it's most pure, pristine true to life character with never a single detail added or removed (quite transparent and musical, never clinical.). I do not come to such conclusions lightly, having used the former Y-cable full time for a month, completed 4-6 A/B's critically listening on a hi-end full size rig with lossless songs of multiple genres that I'm deeply familiar with, and have had it now for almost 2 months. The result really left the former in the dust. I had also compared it to another Y-cable SKW High end WG Series that's supposedly "made of ultra-high purity single crystal copper and single crystal silver", but to me it sounded horribly dull and un-detailed compared to this total transparency and quite the showstopper. Also I had zero desire to further move up the Audioquest ladder, being even their top design "Angel" for $1,000 lacked the design and shielding I was getting from Darren with Arctand (for about 1/8th the cost).

I actually had to try twice to get it right. My initial r70x headphone cable from Darren was designed around 4x wires each wire 26AWG Neotech copper + silver hybrid cable. My theory was that Neotech knows what they're doing (they usually do), and copper / silver should be the magic bullet! But I was immediately disappointed with a quite dull sound that lacked dynamics and energy, aside from perhaps a good soundstage. Multiple A/B comparisons were done with the stock r70x cable over several days and I still had a much higher preference for the ATH r70x stock cable (helped along nicely with addition of 6 specific ferrite clamps I was using on it).

So naturally I wanted Darren to make an r70x cable using the same stuff as the Y-cable! And to my luck, he was happy to oblige. To further sweeten the deal he said this design improves on the Y-cable, using a fully balanced design and some other detail. YES PLEASE!!! When I received it I was surprised at the craftmanship, but I am blown away every listen to the sound!

Model: RUBI (Prototype) Shielded headphone cable. Mega 18AWG conductors.
Construction: 18AWG Varistrand OCC (-Ve), 18AWG stranded Pure Silver (+Ve)
For inquiries: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Arctand (message Darren and ask for Levi's y-cable or r70x design)

To me this has helped me truly realize the potential of Audio Technica's R70x headphones. What used to be a very good sound is now downright jawdropping. Formely hazy / fuzzy bass and decent treble are now replaced with very proper and robust / precise bass and treble that is totally pure a to me without any flaw. Everything has really opened up, and it's as if things may be further improving with burn-in! They've come into their own, retaining the same sound signature. I'm now using both Y-cable and R70x cables in my system and I'm getting a truly resolving sound and a feeling this system can scale to infinity.

Darren is a custom cable builder in Singapore, but shipping was nevertheless fast and cheap to the US all 3 times. He can of course make this for any headphone balanced or SE, and RCA interconnects. He said the next cable will be further improved for better flexibility between the Y-split and the headphone.

 

[llysender]

INTRODUCING THE RUBI (Prototype) Shielded headphone cable for r70x
​

Coming fresh of the heels of my brainchild involving much custom design for the most optimal design I could reasonably attain for a Y-cable (3.5mm to dual RCA), the variant for r70x was born and man am I ever pleased with the result!!! This began from my quest to find the best possible Y-cable for serious duties between my DAC and huge tube amp. I reached out to numerous vendors on Etsy for quotes and design ideas and it turns out the Darren from the Arctand store was not only the most helpful and willing to go custom, but that the result FAR surpassed anything I could have ever expected.

My initial order was for the Y-cable, which I was upgrading from an Audioquest Evergreen. The difference was really eye opening, noticing my system really blossom from what could be described as a "good" sound and now I'm experiencing sound in greater dimensions of space, robust drums, absolutely impeccable handling of drums and PRaT that has seemingly no limits of perfection to mimic any recording be it dark, bright, fast, slow and anything in between, in it's most pure, pristine true to life character with never a single detail added or removed (quite transparent and musical, never clinical.). I do not come to such conclusions lightly, having used the former Y-cable full time for a month, completed 4-6 A/B's critically listening on a hi-end full size rig with lossless songs of multiple genres that I'm deeply familiar with, and have had it now for almost 2 months. The result really left the former in the dust. I had also compared it to another Y-cable SKW High end WG Series that's supposedly "made of ultra-high purity single crystal copper and single crystal silver", but to me it sounded horribly dull and un-detailed compared to this total transparency and quite the showstopper. Also I had zero desire to further move up the Audioquest ladder, being even their top design "Angel" for $1,000 lacked the design and shielding I was getting from Darren with Arctand (for about 1/8th the cost).

​

I actually had to try twice to get it right. My initial r70x headphone cable from Darren was designed around 4x wires each wire 26AWG Neotech copper + silver hybrid cable. My theory was that Neotech knows what they're doing (they usually do), and copper / silver should be the magic bullet! But I was immediately disappointed with a quite dull sound that lacked dynamics and energy, aside from perhaps a good soundstage. Multiple A/B comparisons were done with the stock r70x cable over several days and I still had a much higher preference for the ATH r70x stock cable (helped along nicely with addition of 6 specific ferrite clamps I was using on it).

So naturally I wanted Darren to make an r70x cable using the same stuff as the Y-cable! And to my luck, he was happy to oblige. To further sweeten the deal he said this design improves on the Y-cable, using a fully balanced design and some other detail. YES PLEASE!!! When I received it I was surprised at the craftmanship, but I am blown away every listen to the sound!

​

Model: RUBI (Prototype) Shielded headphone cable. Mega 18AWG conductors.
Construction: 18AWG Varistrand OCC (-Ve), 18AWG stranded Pure Silver (+Ve)
For inquiries: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Arctand (message Darren and ask for Levi's y-cable or r70x design)

To me this has helped me truly realize the potential of Audio Technica's R70x headphones. What used to be a very good sound is now downright jawdropping. Formely hazy / fuzzy bass and decent treble are now replaced with very proper and robust / precise bass and treble that is totally pure a to me without any flaw. Everything has really opened up, and it's as if things may be further improving with burn-in! They've come into their own, retaining the same sound signature. I'm now using both Y-cable and R70x cables in my system and I'm getting a truly resolving sound and a feeling this system can scale to infinity.

Darren is a custom cable builder in Singapore, but shipping was nevertheless fast and cheap to the US all 3 times. He can of course make this for any headphone balanced or SE, and RCA interconnects. He said the next cable will be further improved for better flexibility between the Y-split and the headphone.

Thanks for informing me that Darren has spare 2.5mm twist lock. Going to order from him now. After buying his USB cable and a custom cable for the hifiman R9 I can very much recomend him. Its crazy how much a cable can make a bloated wooly bass like the R9 into a tight crazy strong headshaking yet clean overall sound. Cant wait to get the cable for the R70X.

Just a word of caution for any potential buyers though, the shielding material he uses is slightly microphoneic so its not suitable for portable use. Then again I doubt people will be using the the R70X outside.

 

[hahachah27]

Iirc they are proprietary. The cable outputs both L and R signals to both jacks, and the headphone cups pick up the correct signal. Also the locking mechanism requires thinner and longer connectors which is not so common, so I don't think it's a stretch to call them "weird audiotechnica special jack".

yeah exactly haha you got what I meant

 

[Flognuts]

Does this Darren have a link?

 

[llysender]

Does this Darren have a link?

https://www.carousell.sg/u/arctand.labs/

Not sure if he has a proper site for international customers but this is how i contact him.

Also as he will be going for army reservist any orders will only be completed end of october assuing he has the materials on hand.

 

[DecentLevi]

Does this Darren have a link?

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Arctand

I'm pleased to see you guys taking the lead. It's really an extraordinary cable and the r70x seems to have infinite ability to scale. I've since made multiple system upgrades and I can hear every one of them. Not to mention right now I'm getting sound that has to be heard to believe, and I feel this headphone is now almost competing with the big boys, let's just put it that way.

The thickness of the cable is a bit of a trade-off. For me it is more of a modest discomfort when moving my head moreso than any microphonics, but it's a trade-off for the superb performance. I did suggest his next cable doesn't use shielding between the Y-split and the termination which should improve that. Actually his thick shielding is very beneficial IMO. It was from my suggestion, because with former headphone cables I noticed they really benefited from a series of ferrite clamps. Alas I discovered those to be quite bulky and cumbersome, which actually makes the shielding a good alternative.

@llysender did you get any cables from him?

 

[llysender]

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Arctand

I'm pleased to see you guys taking the lead. It's really an extraordinary cable and the r70x seems to have infinite ability to scale. I've since made multiple system upgrades and I can hear every one of them. Not to mention right now I'm getting sound that has to be heard to believe, and I feel this headphone is now almost competing with the big boys, let's just put it that way.

The thickness of the cable is a bit of a trade-off. For me it is more of a modest discomfort when moving my head moreso than any microphonics, but it's a trade-off for the superb performance. I did suggest his next cable doesn't use shielding between the Y-split and the termination which should improve that. Actually his thick shielding is very beneficial IMO. It was from my suggestion, because with former headphone cables I noticed they really benefited from a series of ferrite clamps. Alas I discovered those to be quite bulky and cumbersome, which actually makes the shielding a good alternative.

@llysender did you get any cables from him?

Yep. Lazy to rearange my speaker setup and workstation to take pics of the speaker cable and usb cable so only the hifiman cable for now.

I havent really heard his other cables but he makes cables that are very much to my preferences being tight vocal centric with moderately quick decay that sounds natural and doesnt get in the way of fast paced songs. My R70X cable will be coming end of next month(or end of this week if he can finish before leaving for the army retraining but doubtful).

The only part of my setup I havent replaced with his cables is my pre amp to power amp but only due to the cost of needing to run 2X4m of cables to my speaker setup.

Hmmm I never ever got ferrite clamps to clean up the sound in a way that doesnt also affect phase where everything is slightly dragged out so I cannot in good faith rec using them even though they are a decently cheap solution.

 

[crazywipe]

2 weeks with the r70x + Aune X8 Magic DAC anniversary and Aune X7s class A amp. The combo sounds phenomenal!
Got them for 150 eur used like new it was a steal!

I have also Beyer dt 1990 in the house... the r70x trash them so bad, I can't listen to the 1990 anymore. Going to the 1990 after the r70x, the sound got closed-in, midrange got sucked out and the treble become so sharp... The 1990 is on sale.

I have to say it is true that sounds very similar to the Sennheiser hd6xx line tonally. What is different, is the openess of the sound, soundstage is wider and it has a nice separation. When I got the 1990, I had the 58x in the house, the 1990 sounded more open. The r70x sounds more open than the 1990 by a substantial degree.

Comparing with the hd600 (memory), the r70x sounds a little darker, fuller and more 3 dimensional.

The overall tone is so natural, it's a very nice headphone for long listening session.
Cymbals sounds fantastic, detailed and smooth.

In spite of the open design, the r70x has a minimal leakage. I can use them in the night with no wife and kids complain. This is a plus!

This is a very nice set of cans!

I think Tyll would love the r70x


ps: next step I will order a mogami balanced cable

 

[Corti]

2 weeks with the r70x + Aune X8 Magic DAC anniversary and Aune X7s class A amp. The combo sounds phenomenal!
Got them for 150 eur used like new it was a steal!

I have also Beyer dt 1990 in the house... the r70x trash them so bad, I can't listen to the 1990 anymore. Going to the 1990 after the r70x, the sound got closed-in, midrange got sucked out and the treble become so sharp... The 1990 is on sale.

I have to say it is true that sounds very similar to the Sennheiser hd6xx line tonally. What is different, is the openess of the sound, soundstage is wider and it has a nice separation. When I got the 1990, I had the 58x in the house, the 1990 sounded more open. The r70x sounds more open than the 1990 by a substantial degree.

Comparing with the hd600 (memory), the r70x sounds a little darker, fuller and more 3 dimensional.

The overall tone is so natural, it's a very nice headphone for long listening session.
Cymbals sounds fantastic, detailed and smooth.

In spite of the open design, the r70x has a minimal leakage. I can use them in the night with no wife and kids complain. This is a plus!

This is a very nice set of cans!

I think Tyll would love the r70x


ps: next step I will order a mogami balanced cable

Hmm, that’s curious. I was actually looking to try the beyer dt 1990 some time, due to people actually praising the good and wide soundstage. How about resolution in a direct comparison? I think the R70x is not the most resolving headphone (but still good enough). Also do you use EQ? Like taming the sharp treble a bit and bringing out the mids on the 1990, would you still prefer the R70x?

I agree with the R70x sounding more open and more 3 dimensional than the Senn HD6-- line. It kind of made my 6XX obsolete.. it really feels like a direct upgrade to the Senns keeping the tonal balance but improving mainly on (Sub)bass and soundstage.

I also have the HFM Sundara and I think that one has a better soundstage/imaging than the R70x, particularly deeper. However I prefer the Audio Technicas with most genres due to the warmer bass and the more “organic” sound compared to the planar magnetics “coldness”. Of the 3 hp’s I mentioned the R70x got the most headtime in the last couple of months. Really love these cans.

 

[wantan]

What are you miss

Hmm, that’s curious. I was actually looking to try the beyer dt 1990 some time, due to people actually praising the good and wide soundstage. How about resolution in a direct comparison? I think the R70x is not the most resolving headphone (but still good enough). Also do you use EQ? Like taming the sharp treble a bit and bringing out the mids on the 1990, would you still prefer the R70x?

I agree with the R70x sounding more open and more 3 dimensional than the Senn HD6-- line. It kind of made my 6XX obsolete.. it really feels like a direct upgrade to the Senns keeping the tonal balance but improving mainly on (Sub)bass and soundstage.

What are you missing with the R70x that the headphone doesn't resolve?
I think the soundstage of the r70x is very good and big and it's one of the the best tuned headphones out of the box. The dt1990 needs some EQ in the treble for most people, it's very bright. Beyerdynamics stick out features imho is their excellent silky midrange combined with detail and clarity. The dt1990 wins over the r70x in build quality and seviceability. Soundstage is simillar, the dt1990 wins by a small marging in imaging, it's just cleaner sounding.

I've not listened to the Sundara but compared to HFM xs and Ananda I'd prefer the dynamic headphones every day.

 

[SilverEars]

I've been listening to the r70x for two days now, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the headphone in comparison to the HD650.

Build wise, I thing they are wonderful - light, yet sturdy and well designed. I have a fairly large head, and find myself pushing the two wings right to the headband, creating a little bit of tension on the top of my head. Overall, still a very comfortable headphone.

Sound wise, this is where the r70x gets interesting for me - some things I think they do very well, but this one thing is really bugging me.

Let's start with the positives:

- Bass quantity and subbass extension are very very good for a dynamic of this price range, and they easily best the 650's in this department imo.

- In terms of midrange, these are my new reference for a neutral midrange response. Clear and balanced, I am actually struggling to say that the 650's midrange are outrightperior in any respect. Sure, vocals do come off drier on the r70x, but they are incredibly lifelike and dynamic, presented without the 'shoutiness' that some note on the HD6 series of headphones.

- These are not a wide sounding headphone like the HD800's but width is a little better than the 650's, with imaging following the same trend as well

- The punchy and extended bass, combined with the balanced and life-like presentation of the midrange make these a more dynamic listen than the 650's especially for pop or rock music.

And now my one problem with these headphone: To my ears, there is a bit of a hole in the very upper midrange/low treble area, where the higher pitch guitar strums and backing piano of tracks sound distant and lacking in body. Yet these are not dark headphone, as I find treble extension to be pretty darn good. So while these don't lack any air up top, there is this percieved 'hole' in the aformentioned frequencies where it actually makes a lot of my tracks (anything with piano, more acoustic tracks) sound quite off compared to many of my other headphones. The rest of the frequency response I find to be dynamic and balanced, but this one element of the sound can make many tracks sound a little compressed, messing up the overall timbre and realism of the track.

This is really a shame for me, because I find everything else about this headphone to be best-in-class in its pricerange. Maybe some more brain burn-in will help, but right now, I still find the HD650 sounds more 'right' with respect to the overall presentation, despite the r70x besting it in many induvidual technicalities.

This is just my opinion, and I would love to hear if anyone agrees or disagrees with me on this!

Your bit about the 'hole' explains what I hear out of them. Something in the highs just seems off like it's too smoothed out and missing details. I understand if people think it's 'pleasant' sounding, but I find that Sennheisers outputs more information, just sound more complete if we discount the sub bass. But also, Sennheiser's bass can improve with the right amp, mainly tubes. Maybe bass tonally not the best due to lack of subs, but quality is up there.

 

[Corti]

What are you miss

What are you missing with the R70x that the headphone doesn't resolve?
I think the soundstage of the r70x is very good and big and it's one of the the best tuned headphones out of the box. The dt1990 needs some EQ in the treble for most people, it's very bright. Beyerdynamics stick out features imho is their excellent silky midrange combined with detail and clarity. The dt1990 wins over the r70x in build quality and seviceability. Soundstage is simillar, the dt1990 wins by a small marging in imaging, it's just cleaner sounding.

I've not listened to the Sundara but compared to HFM xs and Ananda I'd prefer the dynamic headphones every day.

k, thanks for you opinion on the 1990 vs R70x. I guess I’ll have to go to a store then and try the beyers out for myself to see if they suit me.

If I only had the R70x I probably wouldn’t miss anything in the details but against the Sundara for instance.. I hear a lot more details in the treble-range with the Hifimans. But then I generally chose tonal balance and soundstage over resolution, so the ATs win most of the time. Also their light comfortable build is a huge plus (the uneven weight-distribution of the Sundara really starts to annoy me).

The beyers build quality and serviceability (especially with them sitting in my country for spareparts) surely is a good argument and since I have no trouble using EQ they may be a valuable addition. Looking forward to trying them.