Headphones (ath pro 700 sv)

[Nanook]

Hey all,
Just had a box of these land for a bit of an evaluation.
http://eu.audio-technica.com/en/prod...40&prodID=3784

I'll try not to bore you with details, but they are VERY good.
Excellent isolation, comfortable, huge frequency response (past audible in both directions),
all sorts of lovelly features like swivels on the cans, nice and light without feeling
like a tonka-toy, etc etc.

I won't go on (for fear of sounding like a sales man rather than a reviewer)
but thought i'd post some feedback for anyone currently in the market.
Best <sub>£150 pair of DJ headphones i've used, apart from maybe the ATANC7b
http://eu.audio-technica.com/en/prod...36&prodID=3649

I'll be leaving a pair in the studio (for moderate/light use) and comparing
them to a pair which will be heavilly used on the road for the next 6 months.
Will report back then

Safe,
CN x

[hugoblin]

look remarkably like Sony's

[Nanook]

which ones?

[lurk]

the 700s, funnily enough

[Full Lotus]

These ones?

[Mrlemon]

Im still eyeing these up after our PM conv, monies been tight past couple of months unfortunately..starting to miss having a decent set of cans....its my birthday in september though, but can i wait that long.....hmmmm

[Genghis Khant]

Whats the best price you can offer them at then Chris?

[fractalfungi]

thanks for the suggestion....
these seem like the cheapest safe supplier
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/produc..._campaign=base

anyone got a better place?

[fractalfungi]

i actually have those sonys. hurt my ears after 10 minutes, and a perculiar bass response, though they were the first phones i got for studio purposes, so I was used to superficial bassboosting cheapies before then....

[Nanook]

.....would it bore people to death to hear a complete comparrison of Sony and Audio Tech, or are people curious?

[hugoblin]

Do Want!

[fractalfungi]

I would find a comparison interesting, esp considering those sony's are like £70 i think...

[Full Lotus]

To be fair, the Sony's are more targetted to DJ's I think....They used to be over a hundred quid brand new when first released onto the market.

[Nanook]

To be fair, the Sony's are more targetted to DJ's I think....

They are both targetted at DJs.
Sony and AT both have pretty similar Research and Design budgets, but the difference is, Sony make a whole host of equipment (lots of electrical goods etc, that may not be audio related). Audio Technica deal specifically into the Pro Audio markets.

I would find a comparison interesting, esp considering those sony's are like £70 i think...

Yes, they are clearly modelled on the Sony MDRV700.
Why not?....it's a fecking good headphone.
Although, where the Sony failed, the ATs have developed.
(as you'd expect, as they were released 4 years after the Sony, so obviously
AT would have had a good look at the Sony customer Service record, and it’s pros n cons)


1 - The material on the Sony's around the swivel joint was well known for breakages.
The Audio Techs, have used the same swivel joint, but have increased the quality of the materials (you can note that they weigh 20grams more than Sony.
You can also see it is a pretty well documented and non patented way of making a swivelling can. As demonstrated by Stanton - http://www.htfr.com/more-info/MR132748

2 – An independant industry reviewer commented, "in the end you're basically paying just for the
audio quality and the Audio-Technica name."
That's fine. I don't mind paying a little more for better quality audio and build, as
I imagine many other people whose ears are their lives, also will not mind.
The driver on the Audio Technicas is Neodymium (which is stronger and lighter) and 3mm larger. Leeding to less forced sounding bottom end, and smoother response curve when hammered with high volumes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neodymium#Magnets

I’d also add you are paying for customer service.
Ever tried returning something faulty to Sony? It’s only ever happened to me once with AT (out of the thousands of Microphones I’ve sold) and it was collected the same day, and replaced the day after.

3 - Sony are made in UK (and occassionally sub contract in China)
- Audio Technica are made in Japan.
<No real difference in UK and Japanese standards in my opinion. Both are ISO 9000/1..
But the Chinese stuff fails miserably when compared against Japanese equipment>

4 - Sony was awarded the prestigious Queens Award for Export on four
occasions in the 80s and 90
- Audio Technica have won several awards at the Audio Engineering Society
(AES) convention. In other words, the difference between the Sony and AT in that respect, is very slim. (except Sony being more “Diverse”, while Audio Technica are specifically Pro Audio)


I originally got in touch with Audio Technica, as i'd had 5 years of trouble free,
(nay blissful) use out of my Audio T mics and headphones.
I was also attracted by their less than 1% fail rate (when pretty much every other
company work to 7% fail rate)
They also have such renowned quality, they do a lot of the Japanese Astronomical
supply, as well as every summer and winter olympics for the last 20 years.
They also supply exclusively to a few broadcast companies like NBC news. (so i've
only just heard, so I can't guarantee that one)


In regards to this specific comparisson, here is a A-B of the specs on paper:
(Audio Technica specs in Brackets)

Capacity (W) - 3.0 *(3,500 mW)
Driver unit (mm) - 50.0 *(53 mm)
Frequency (Hz) – 5 - 30,000 *(5 - 33,000 Hz)
Sensitivity (dB/mW) - 107.0 *(105 dB/mW)
Impedance (Ohm) - 24.0 *(36 ohms)
Weight (g) - 300.0 *(320 g)


Make of all that what you will.
I can't, in fact I refuse to do Sony down, but Audio Technica are just fantastic.
I had my first gig with them last night and could not fault them (actually, I can see the foam over the driver going quite soon, it’s pretty thin. But easilly and cheaply upgradable).
Other than that. Top Job.

Time will tell, though. I’ve just read a couple of reviews saying they don’t stand up to touring.
I have one pair in the studio and one in my record bag. Will be interesting to see if there’s a difference 6 months and several gigs down the line

All the best,
CN

[catellidj]

ATH-PRO700 SV = Denon DN HP1000

Good Headphones, but they sound "agressive" for me......

I have Sony MDR-V700's and Sennheiser HD-25 1-II, and I like these much more.

[silky]

For studio or other monitoring applications I would highly recommend the Sennheiser 280 pro's. . I've had mine for about 4 years and the quality still amazes me, super flat responce. You have to pay around double with anything else to get the same quality. I use mine for DJ'ing too but, in all honesty they are are built for comfort during long monitoring sessions, not wrapped around your neck at a squat party but I wouldn't swap em with anything. the lower spec Sennheisers on the other hand have always sounded harsh on the top end.

[Nanook]

Hi Silky.
Care to post specs/links on the 280pros?

[silky]

http://www.headphone.com/headphones/...hd-280-pro.php

http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/s...ml#reviewPage1

you can use the frequency responce comparison thing on the first link to compare...


The parts (ear pad, cable, head padding) are all replacable too which is worth bearing in mind, not that I've had to yet.

[Nanook]

The parts (ear pad, cable, head padding) are all replacable too which is worth bearing in mind

all worth baring in mind, for sure