[AudioDwebe]

A friend of mine at work asked me for a suggestion for some headphones and, after listening to what he was looking for, I suggested the AD700's based upon all I've read about them here (and also the enthusiasm shown by my brother, who I gave one to last year as a gift).

They came in today (at the office) and he came in later expressing his disappointment in his computer's soundcard (one requirement was that the cans be easy to drive). It gave a low-level hum/buzz which was annoying.

I had my pod on me so I plugged it straight in, put on some of the more "audiophile" sounding tunes and gave it back for him to listen to. The smile on the man's face was priceless. He was totally blown away by how well the cans sound.

I, too, took a listen and gotta admit that I was more than just impressed; was pretty much blown away, myself, hearing the sound coming out of these lightweight, yet sturdy-looking cans.

The bass seemed nice and deep (but not necessarily tight - at least not yet), the midrange seemed only slightly recessed and the higher frequencies had a sense of sparkle and air. Soundstaging seemed pretty first rate.

Needless to say, I am considering obtaining a pair for myself.

 

[iareConfusE]

Get them. I've had my AD700's for a few months now, and I believe they're completely burned in. They sound amazing right now. With the right source and amp, you can extract bass out of these phones without any distortion.

The sound stage is just epic. Even though I don't have much to compare it to, I just know that its insanely wide and awesome to listen to.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Yep, soundstage is insane for a $100 headphone.
That said, Audio Technica might of 'cheated' a little bit by angling the drivers, but it does the trick very well.

Silly good for gaming and are my gaming cans for a reason.
I prefer these over another great gaming can, the DT880's for 'serious' FPS gaming.
As said, with the right stuff in the other parts of the audio chain (see bassy e.g. X-fi Prelude as a source), the bass comes out nicely. Nice fast and punchy but however lacks the deep bass impact. Very good cans for $100-120 new and one of the bargains of the headphone market.
These headphones don't need an amp however they do improve with one (A little bit, not significantly but still noticeable)

 

[mango salsa]

besides being open and closed headphones, do the aforementioned sound qualities of the AD700 apply to the A700's?

 

[Crikey]

Yep, these are pretty amazing

Like others have said the soundstage is really wide (though I don't have really anything to compare it to like iareConfusE). The highs are just so sparkly and full of energy. The bass is there as well, it comes out when it needs to and I find it sufficient.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mango salsa /img/forum/go_quote.gif besides being open and closed headphones, do the aforementioned sound qualities of the AD700 apply to the A700's?

No. The 'A' series is very different from the 'AD' series.

 

[iareConfusE]

I don't believe you will get the same sound stage from the A700's as you will from the AD700's due to it being closed. I'm pretty sure the drivers are identical, but the open vs closed form factor makes a huge difference.

 

[lucky]

Easily the best phones under the $250 mark, and there are only a handful of phones I'd trade it for above that price point.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Maybe you guys don't remember, but 2 yrs ago the A900 (closed) was hearlded as the gaming headphone to get..Word of mouth got so big, audio cubes, advertised the A900 on their front page, saying how great they are for gaming. All of a sudden the closed versions are inferior..Now the gaming can to get are the AD700s. Then again, I remember people on head fi telling me how crappy the ultrasone headphones are.

 

[chinesekiwi]

They're not the best gaming headphone (see STAX, MDR-F1) but for best bang-for-buck for both music and gaming, it cannot be beaten.

 

[fraseyboy]

^ Nice new avatar. Have you heard any Stax or the MDR-F1?

To the OP: I found that the mids became less recessed with burn in.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinesekiwi /img/forum/go_quote.gif They're not the best gaming headphone (see STAX, MDR-F1) but for best bang-for-buck for both music and gaming, it cannot be beaten.

Probably..I still think electros would be best for gaming, at least in theory.

 

[chinesekiwi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ Nice new avatar. Have you heard any Stax or the MDR-F1?

Nah, just read up other people opinions of it here and gauged it against my experiences.

 

[jonathanjong]

And, pray tell, where did you Kiwis get AD700s?

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonathanjong /img/forum/go_quote.gif And, pray tell, where did you Kiwis get AD700s?

FS forum.

Back when 1 NZD = 0.81 USD