The NEW ATH-ES700..
Feb 27, 2013 at 2:11 PM Post #317 of 1,098
Quote:
For Rock n Metal it is as well as EDM. I like vocals a lot on my MDR-1Rs

I really wish I could demo those headphones. I've always thought about buying them since before they came out, but after all the impressions I'm worried they won't meet my expectations.
 
Feb 27, 2013 at 2:29 PM Post #319 of 1,098
All I am saying is double kicks with make your eyeballs shake! lol.

I stated this on the HA-S500 thread but I think the ES700 has a very refined I want to say elegant sound.
 
The WS99 is full frontal a bit on the aggressive but balanced so well that it is non fatiguing or harsh.. The sound traits of the WS99 lends to any genre with bass, bass drum kicks and guitar riffs and music with a more aggressive nature. Be it dub step or speed metal and and sub genres that cater to that sound.  But at the same time it is because of the full mids and the balancing it actually pulls of more delicate music with no issues as well.
 
Feb 27, 2013 at 9:24 PM Post #322 of 1,098
So... The postman came with my package on Tuesday. (No Homo)
 
Out of the box the first thing I noticed was the PVC pouch included. I had the experience of purchasing a fake ES7 and that came with the PVC pouch, as opposed to the real deal's soft fabric pouch. That got me worried for a bit and I quickly looked up pictures of the ES700 online and found that it does indeed come with the PVC pouch.
 
Once on the head the comfort improvement over the ES7 is immediately apparent. I did not have much issue with the ES7's comfort as it is after bending the headband.
 
About the sound out of the box, the first thing I noticed is the soundstage being wider and a more laid back signature. When I last looked for a replacement for my ES7 I auditioned the ESW9 and ES10. Now the thing about the ES700 is that I feel it is right smack in the middle of the triangle of those 3 sound wise.
 
Very happy customer here! 
smily_headphones1.gif

 
Mar 2, 2013 at 4:10 AM Post #323 of 1,098
I've been lurking for around 4 years and have finally gotten around to making an account on head-fi. I think I'm still an audiophile noob, though.
 
Anyway, my ES700 came a few days ago along with the WS55 pads that dsnuts has recommended. After replacing the stock pads with the WS55 pads, I still encountered a pretty heavy clamping force that makes the ES700 uncomfortable to wear after an hour.
 
In addition, I also have an ES7 and an ES10. On both of them, I performed the mod where I bent the metal hinges outward a little in order to reduce the clamp. However, on the ES700, the hinges are extremely stiff. Even after applying a considerable amount of force, the hinges barely moved at all. I've been stretching the ES700 around a clump of textbooks for about three nights, but the clamp still has not gone away.
 
So, has anyone else encountered this problem and remedied it with another method? Maybe I should use more books?
 
If it helps any other potential buyers, I also have the Sony MDR-1 and I think that the ES700 is quite a steal for the price I purchased it for ($145 + shipping at cdjapan). I just wish that I could fix this clamping problem T_T
 
Mar 2, 2013 at 5:18 AM Post #324 of 1,098
I don't know how far you would want to go with the book size just to stretch that ES700 enough. I have a larger than average size head but I didn't think the ES700 is uncomfortable. Just the pads, but it is not to the point of getting fed up. Maybe your head shape and ES700 just happen to be not so 'compatible', or more so sensitive to clamping. That could happen.
 
Mar 2, 2013 at 12:53 PM Post #325 of 1,098
Quote:
I've been lurking for around 4 years and have finally gotten around to making an account on head-fi. I think I'm still an audiophile noob, though.
 
Anyway, my ES700 came a few days ago along with the WS55 pads that dsnuts has recommended. After replacing the stock pads with the WS55 pads, I still encountered a pretty heavy clamping force that makes the ES700 uncomfortable to wear after an hour.
 
In addition, I also have an ES7 and an ES10. On both of them, I performed the mod where I bent the metal hinges outward a little in order to reduce the clamp. However, on the ES700, the hinges are extremely stiff. Even after applying a considerable amount of force, the hinges barely moved at all. I've been stretching the ES700 around a clump of textbooks for about three nights, but the clamp still has not gone away.
 
So, has anyone else encountered this problem and remedied it with another method? Maybe I should use more books?
 
If it helps any other potential buyers, I also have the Sony MDR-1 and I think that the ES700 is quite a steal for the price I purchased it for ($145 + shipping at cdjapan). I just wish that I could fix this clamping problem T_T

 
Could you test the ES700 against your ES7? I too have an ES7, but it seems that the ES700 is miles ahead of the the ES7.. at least from what I'm reading here on Head-Fi. 
frown.gif
 Thanks!
 
Mar 2, 2013 at 4:33 PM Post #326 of 1,098
Quote:
 
Could you test the ES700 against your ES7? I too have an ES7, but it seems that the ES700 is miles ahead of the the ES7.. at least from what I'm reading here on Head-Fi. 
frown.gif
 Thanks!

 
Most of my music is Japanese pop with female vocals (Supercell, Utada Hikaru, Choucho, etc), Japanese rock (Nano, Uverworld), anime OSTs (Yuki Kajiura, Yoko Kanno, etc) and trance/electronic (Redalice, Comiket albums). I just listened to the ES7 and ES10 again through a Fiio E17 amp. The level of detail in the ES700 is much higher compared to that of the ES7. Everything just sounds...clearer. Personally, I think that the ES700 is a cross between the ATH IEMs CK-10 and the CK90 Pro in headphone form. Unfortunately, I don't own those IEMs anymore due to breaking them. The ES700 is slightly bright sounding (no fatigue) with superb mids and highs. There is a certain lushness that makes the music very engaging to listen to. The female voices also come alive extremely well.
 

(Soooo good)
 
As for purely instrumental tracks, the ES700 holds it own, but not to the level of the AKG K701 or the MDR-1.
 

(Great on ES700, but amazing on K701/MDR-1)
 
 
I find myself preferring the ES700 sound signature over the MDR-1 although I do think that purely analytical listeners should go for the MDR-1. However, the MDR-1 still holds the best comfort of any headphone I have ever owned.
 
Compared to the ES10, I would say that either of the ES700 and ES10 would satisfy my listening. However, I don't EQ the ES700s at all while I do for the ES10s. Without EQ, the ES10s sound dark and murky. I would think that the ES10s would be better for acoustic and rock music in addition to pop music or music with heavy bass, I also have Logitech UE900 and use the same EQ settings for it as do I the ES10s (8 db at 3kHZ and 10db at 6 kHz). The female vocals on the unequalized UE900 are veiled, which bothers me.
 
Among the headphones/IEMs I own in my collection, the go to devices would be:
 
Portable: UE900/ATH ES700 > ATH ES10
Home Listening: Sony EX1000/ATH ES700/Sony MDR-1 > Sennheiser HD598 > AKG K701 (there was a time when I listened to this all the time D:)
 
Right now, I seem to be in a phase of preferring slightly colored music. Every few weeks or so, I will alternate between analytical and dynamic devices for some unknown reason. I'll think that analytical on the AKG K701 is amazing then transition to the HD598 and think that's awesome, too. Or I'll alternate between the MDR-1 and the ES10.
 
I'm still not sure if I'm describing these things correctly...but I hope this helped.
 
Mar 3, 2013 at 4:59 AM Post #330 of 1,098
Quote:
 
Most of my music is Japanese pop with female vocals (Supercell, Utada Hikaru, Choucho, etc), Japanese rock (Nano, Uverworld), anime OSTs (Yuki Kajiura, Yoko Kanno, etc) and trance/electronic (Redalice, Comiket albums). I just listened to the ES7 and ES10 again through a Fiio E17 amp. The level of detail in the ES700 is much higher compared to that of the ES7. Everything just sounds...clearer. Personally, I think that the ES700 is a cross between the ATH IEMs CK-10 and the CK90 Pro in headphone form. Unfortunately, I don't own those IEMs anymore due to breaking them. The ES700 is slightly bright sounding (no fatigue) with superb mids and highs. There is a certain lushness that makes the music very engaging to listen to. The female voices also come alive extremely well.
 

(Soooo good)
 

 
Thanks for the comparison. It looks like the ES700 is really a contender in its price range. I will definitely need to head down to have a listen sometime soon. 
smile.gif

 
Btw, how is the clamp/comfort on the ES700? I find the ES7 quite uncomfortable, and I can barely take 15-20 minutes of listening on them before taking them off for a quick breather.
 

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