Audio-Technica ATH-R70x Professional Open-Back Reference Headphones - High-Fidelity Studio Monitoring & Home Listening for Audiophiles & Music Producers

I want to preface this review by saying that I did return my pair of R70x headphones, but with the 3 days that I spent with the headphones I spent close to 13 hours listening to them and do feel like I have enough experience with them to leave a review.Sound Quality: 11/10For the $350 price point there are only two competitors in that aim for a neutral frequency response. The HiFiman Sundara and the Sennheiser HD650. Both of those headphones are great, but this headphone is better than both of them in two categories.First off, bass response is slightly more extended on the R70x than it is on the HD650 or the Sundara. This is nice because… well… you hear more bass.Secondly, this headphone absolutely blew my mind with the accuracy of its imaging. Like I can’t stress enough just how impressive it is for $350. I listen to a lot of video game soundtracks and one of my go to tracks to test imaging is Can You Feel the Sunshine off of the Sonic R soundtrack. The sensation of hearing the arpeggiated synth moving back and forth across the soundstage was absolutely mind blowing.Lastly, the soundtage. The soundstage is moderately wide (from my points of reference). This actually leads to a little bit of a strange phenomenon where, despite it having a larger frequency of bass response, it doesn’t necessarily sound like it because the stage is wide. But personally, I feel like the wide soundstage really allows for the imaging to shine through for these headphones.Comfort: 3/10This unfortunately is where my raving review ends for these headphones. They are so uncomfortable. I could only wear them for about 15 minutes before my ears began to feel agitated and uncomfortable. The pads are very shallow. I could feel the outer portion of my ear rubbing against the inside of the headphone. Eventually, I just had to accept that they didn’t meet my requirements for comfort.All things considered, I highly recommend that you at least try these headphones. They sound incredible for their price, and comfort is a very subjective thing. Just because I found them to be unbearably uncomfortable doesn’t mean that you will.I've listening to all my favorites since these have arrived. At this price, I don't think you can get better.These headphones are high impedance and will require a good headphone amplifier to sound their best. I'm using a Gustard H10 with the volume dial at halfway and I get a nice mellow volume level. finally an headphone that will stretch the legs on my headphone amp. Using my Eddie Current tube headphone amp for a few minutes, I'm not hearing any wierdness. Again, I'm able to turn the volume dial to the halfway mark, letting the amp stretch itself out. The bass is really nice. It seems to a good match and I'm looking forward to more listening.BTW, turning up the volume dial ramps up the bass and low mids a lot. But does not drive up the treble to spike or stab in your ear. I quite like this a lot. To me the behaves a lot like a good speaker system.Listening to classic rock, jazz, blues, pop. The bass seems elevated from neutral. Not by a lot, but enough so that you won't think that the bass was gimped. If you want more bass, turn up the volume or turn on your EQ. The mids are really smooth and fine. Male and female vocals are very natural sounding. I really like female vocals, and nothing is lacking or missing. Treble is missing some sparkle. It doesn't help that my 68 year old ears don't hear the high end hardly at all.Switching over to KPop/JPop, the high end is well presented and very smooth. The treble spikes that sometimes stab my ears are not as pronounced making my favorites a much more pleasant listen. Most modern KPop feature heavy EDM music track often with heavy dynamic (or loudness) compression. The R70x has this all covered. Nothing sound wierd or janky.If I were to compare my higher end and more expensive headphones, I think the R70x is lacking a bit of detail. But I could say that for all my low and lower end headphones.The soundstaging is hard for me to evaluate. I like pop, classic rock, old school jazz, blues, kpop, jpop. None of these genres will really test the R70x. I guess I could listen to a classical album or two, but that genre is so far away from my preferences, I would not know if I even heard what I'm listening for.If you are deciding on a headphone in this price range, just get these and skip everything else. I can't imagine that you can find anything better. This would include all those Senns, Beyers, AKGs and Sonys. My samples in my collection might never see the sun again.A few words on construction. The headphones are very, very light. There is much metal in the headband and earcups which seem more robust than the mostly plastic body headphones common at this price range. The earpads are very thin, but they are comfortable enough. My ears don't touch the speakers. I have giant ears and I do wish the earpads inside opening were a half inch larger all around. The headband is providing decent clamp on my head, I shake my head around and R70x does not move around at all. I also have a large head, smaller heads would likely not notice much clamping force. Those wing things, I haven't noticed them at all.The cable is removable and its really long. It's construction is appropriate for the price range. I'll look for a shorter cable eventually.These are hands down the most comfortable set of headphones that I've ever worn. They are incredibly light. I occasionally find myself forgetting that I have them on.The sound quality is also excellent. It's definitely a bit quieter if you don't have a system that can drive them effectively, but the detail and slightly warm sound is very enjoyable.If I had to pick one con, I'd say that the ear pads that come with it are a bit too small and were often touching the tops of my ears. I've since replaced the stock pads with the Brainwavz XL memory foam pads to avoid that.Simplemente wow. Es el audífono que siempre estuve buscando, tras haber probado varios modelos de otras marcas (Hifiman Ananda, Hifiman Sundara, Hifiman 400SE, Sennheiser HD700, Sennheiser HD800, Sennheiser HD660S, HD600, Beyerdynamic DT990, DT880 Y DT1990, AKG 701 Y AKG612PRO) a primera escucha supe que me encantaría de él, permítanme ser más específico en cuánto a razones por las cuales lo amo.En construcción tenemos un audífono sólido de sensación muy premium a la mano, son algo pequeños y ligeros, pero muy bien hechos. Su cable es aceptable y sus pads son buenos, apenas entra mi oído en la copa así que si tienes oídos grandes evita este audífono.En cuanto a imagen y escenario sonoro, tenemos unas bellezas, simplemente vas a redescubrir tu música favorita, notarás nuevos instrumentos en nuevas locaciones, su escenario depende de la canción de escuches, cosa que me encanta, su imagen es simplemente quirúrgica, da miedo lo exactos que son.En cuanto a frecuencias graves tenemos bastante lineal, con una buena presencia, sin ningún tipo de realce en ningún momento.En frecuencias graves seguimos con el punto perfecto donde el audífono logra tener buena pegada sin ser tan invasivo, no es basshead pero si tiene excelente su presencia, un grave informativo y disfrutable al mismo tiempo.En frecuencias medias es una delicia, todos los instrumentos se oyen muy resolutivos y las voces ni se diga, no están ni adelantados ni atrasados, en su punto perfecto.En frecuencias agudas tenemos un agudo muy relajado, nada sibilante y no te va a dar esa sensación de ser "cristalino", sólo es un agudo que está ahí con cuerpo sin la parte del dolor por agudos tan altos.En general es un excelente audífono, a todos los audífonos que he tenido les encuentro fallas, pero a éstos simplemente no hay con que darle.Responde muy bien a la ecualizacion que le pongas, el driver resuelve muy bien y no va a saturar los graves o hacer agudos sibilantes.10 de 10 audiothecnica se pasó con este equipazo.I don't normally bother leaving reviews for items, but, with how good these headphones are I felt like I had to say something.I'll start by saying I’m no audiophile, but I’d like to think I can tell a good set of headphones from a bad.I'm currently driving these headphones using a Creative Sound Blaster AE-5, for me the primary use is gaming though I do sit and watch videos or listen to music on my computer time to time.Sound stage is great, I've not heard much difference to the Audio-Technica ATH-ADG1X gaming headset I had, I only replaced them as I broke them, I think the equivalent headphones would be the Audio-Technica ATH-AD900X. Sound stage was my main concern, where these have 45mm drivers and my previous headset had 53mm I was worried that these wouldn't be as good. I tend to play a lot of battle royale games so sound stage and positioning is important, having now received the headphones I’m more than happy I took the plunge.Sound clarity - clarity is second to none, even compared to my previous headset there's noticeably less distortion when sounds like explosions or heavy gun fire is present. These headphones do go more than loud enough, I wouldn't be able to sit here listening to something at max volume for even a short period of time. That been said even at full volume there is no distortion.The volume these headphones can achieve, in my opinion, is more than loud enough as I previously stated. Ignore the bad review someone has left, i found plugging these into my dock at work and also directly into my laptop didn't do these headphones any justice. Drive these headphones properly and they sound amazing. There is night and day difference between plugging these into a Samsung galaxy S10 and my sound card with clearer definition and more punch. If you want a pair of open-air headphones you can comfortably drive without an amp with decent sound quality, grab the Technica ATH-AD900X.( please comment if i'm wrong on this or if there are better options.)Comfort - These headphones are surprisingly light and comfortable. I have a fairly small head, and these certainly clamp better with the metal band rather than the plastic version. My previous headset used to slide down and I'd have to readjust, whereas I haven't had that problem with these. That being said, these are brand new so they might loosen up, I’ll update my review should that happen.Overall I’m extremely pleased with these headphones and all the hype is well deserved.I hope this is helpful to someone as when researching these headphones, I only read good things but very little on how they performed when gaming.This is the most accurate headphones I have ever experienced! I would recommend these headphones over the 900x for gaming no matter what.An amplifier is a must however as the Realtek chip on most motherboards is kinda screwy with its settings when set to Extreme (also not powerful enough to fully drive these headphones!).The build quality is great on these too. Very strong plastic and the problem with proprietary cable fittings is gone because it is detachable! I wish all audio technica headphones had this quality and the ability to detach cables! I really like the lock in feature of their cables too! Makes me feel safer knowing that the cable is securely fastened.For 3.5 mm jack users I recommend getting a MillSo 6.35 mm to 3.5 mm adapter cable for better fitting into the 3.5 mm port. This is because the native 3.5 mm on these headphones has a screw-in base for the 6.35 mm that comes with the headphones and that doesnt allow proper fitting easily!Just attach the 6.35 mm Jack adapter that comes with the headphones to 3.5 mm base of these headphones, screw it in, then fit it into the MillSo 6.35 mm to 3.5 mm adapter and bam! Now you have a longer cable, with easily fittable 3.5 mm jack that can be plugged into anywhere without the original physical issue!Frequency Response - 4.5/5: exceptionally flat in the midrange, with a slight mid bass bump. Highs are nicely rounded and non-fatiguing. The expected sub bass roll off is there, but not to the extent of most open backs. Extension is good at both ends of the spectrum. The overall tonality is neutral, with a tendency towards fullness and warmth, without becoming dark or muffled. No headphone is perfectly flat, but this is about as close as it gets without using an EQ.Soundstage - 4/5: wider than it is tall; it presents a nice middle ground between intimate and spacious.Imaging - 5/5: what really sets these headphones apart is the precise and enveloping imaging performance. Sounds appear to extend a full 270 degrees around the head, with a level of accuracy approaching that of nearfield monitors. Ideal for mixing, and almost uncontested in this price bracket.Comfort - 5/5: lightweight, with breathable pads and no contact with the top of the head. Almost perfect, requiring no adjustment on the part of the user, and can easily be worn for hours at a time. The ear cups are not the largest and do not swivel vertically, which might be an issue for some.Build - 4/5: mostly plastic, though the headband and grills are metal. The materials are of good quality and the 2-year warranty is reassuring, but the low weight and abundance of moving parts make it feel more fragile than it probably is. AT have a strong reputation for durability, and my own experience with the brand has been positive, but how this set holds up remains to be seen.Included Extras - 3/5: in the box is a 1/4" adapter and a cloth bag. A alternative cable and extra set of pads would have been appreciated, especially as the included cable is 3 metres and will be too long for some applications.Power Requirements: at 470 ohms, a headphone amp is generally recommended, however I have found that the R70X is significantly easier to drive than it initially appears, generating plenty of volume on all my devices (phone, laptop, desktop). I do not notice any difference in sound quality when plugged into my DAC/amp, so I would suggest trying the headphones by themselves before shelling out for an amp, as it may not be required.Value - 5/5: at the current price of around £250, the ATH-R70X is an easy recommendation; cheaper than most of its competition, while outperforming many of them. Few headphones are this comfortable and this accurate without major tradeoffs in other areas, even those at far higher prices.Well... I have spent almost 3 weeks looking for these "Perfect" headphones and I have seen a lot of recommendations all over the internet for various headphones and multiple amount of reasons to buy. however, i have somehow stumbled across these (these seems not to be that popular) and I have to admit. If you have a decent enough dac/amp/soundcard you are getting for yourself something really special...I have never had such headphones in my life. The way they produce sound and how differently you can experience same old tracks you are use to is unbelievable.Ok.. Granted. You got to spend over 250 pounds to get these "Cans" which might be for most people quite difficult cookie to swallow (Believe me... I wasn't sure myself if I want to spend so much on just a pair of bloody headphones) but now I understand why someone would price them so high. It is just different level of experience.I truly believe that most people will love these.All I can think off is that how different they are from closed back and the fact that you can hear your surrounding, which I actually like most of the time.Give it a go if you have spare 250 in your pocket.Enjoy !