I dont think a pair of toy headphones with blinky lights and colorful graphics would stand up to a pair designed to sound good.
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Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 Headphone Review @ [H]
- Thread starter FrgMstr
- Start date
I dont think a pair of toy headphones with blinky lights and colorful graphics would stand up to a pair designed to sound good.
I would have to agree that most people think the standard stand mic sucks. I love my Logitech usb stand mic. Quality is great and I usually have to put my outbound to half. Great combo with the AD700s.
Agreed. The AD700s have one of the biggest sound stages you can get in a set of cans. Definitely wins in general as the best budget headphone imho.
I personally rock the Beyer dt880s nowadays (owned the AD700s for around a year), but they also cost 2.5x more
what i think people should pull away from this review is that audiophile headphones are superior in every way to the gimmicky gaming headsets. the fact that it doesn't include a mic is a plus imo, when those cheap gaming headset mics break, you need to replace the entire overpriced unit. i would not like to see [H] review other audiophile headphones though, it would quickly turn into a pissing contest on the forums. for some reason every1 wants to claim that audiophile headphone A is superior to audiophile headphone B when it is clearly a matter of personal preference, we don't need this turning into another head-fi .
P.S. i have found that quality cans will benefit from a good sound card with a built in amplifier, regardless of the impedance (ad700/hd555's for example have significantly better bass with my forte). forte/stx cards are only hype if you are using shit headphones imo.
.P.S. i have found that quality cans will benefit from a good sound card with a built in amplifier, regardless of the impedance (ad700/hd555's for example have significantly better bass with my forte). forte/stx cards are only hype if you are using shit headphones imo.
Soundcard matters very little in sonic output. You are unlikely to see much difference between lets say a Xonar DS vs STX considering 2.1 usage. I have no idea about all of this dolby and EAX garbage. Dac A and Dac B, may give a different flavor of sound, but that says nothing about the units reproduction. It doesnt matter if it is a $50 soundcard or a $500 Dac, other than EMI from the soundcard, the two will sound the same on like headphones. Unless, in fact you are using high impedance headphones.
From an electrical engineering standpoint, no there is no benefit from using an amp on low impedance headphones. You may think they sound better because they are louder (a common misconception and test fallacy), but sonicaly they sound exactly the same. Considering the same headphone of course. Your view is objective. From a Physics and Engineering standpoint, which is objective, there is no difference.
In the real measure of things, the two headphones you mentioned are both crap. Maybe not to the average consumer, but certainly in the audiophile world. Though I use A700's because they provide good bang for the buck. But I don't consider myself an audiophile. Just a person who once was one, but quickly realize its a fools game.
Headphones/speakers give by far the greatest gain in sound quality. Spending $100 more on a soundcard, is silly when you only have $100 low impedance headphones. The amp and EMI protection you are paying for are going to waste. You would all be much better off with better headphones than these AD700's, and a moderate source, like maybe the udac or the audio-gd sparrow.
That amp on your forte, stx, st is not doing a thing for you with 32 Ohm impudence headphones. Save yourself the $140 and buy a set of nice speakers or better headphones, you will be much better in the long run.
Sorry if I anger anybody.
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0ptional
Don't Trust Your Friends with Your Decanter
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For those of you rocking 5.1 sets, just do the math on the cost/quality of the driver included in say, a 100$ set of those vs a regular 2-driver set of headphones..
you get 8 (2 front 2 rear 2 center 2 woofers) for 100$ or rather, 8 12.5$ drivers.
or 2 50$ drivers.
Which would you rather listen to? Which do you feel you're getting more from with your money?
All the higher end headphones are 2.0 for a reason.
Please let 5.1 headphones/sets die, real headphones do the positioning even better and have much better sound quality than 5.1 sets do for equal pricing.
And as mentioned before, standalone mics work just the same way as one connected to your headphones do, in fact they're probably of much higher quality just like normal headphones are vs those 5.1 sets.
you get 8 (2 front 2 rear 2 center 2 woofers) for 100$ or rather, 8 12.5$ drivers.
or 2 50$ drivers.
Which would you rather listen to? Which do you feel you're getting more from with your money?
All the higher end headphones are 2.0 for a reason.
Please let 5.1 headphones/sets die, real headphones do the positioning even better and have much better sound quality than 5.1 sets do for equal pricing.
And as mentioned before, standalone mics work just the same way as one connected to your headphones do, in fact they're probably of much higher quality just like normal headphones are vs those 5.1 sets.
I bought a pair of AD700's a couple of years ago. Fantastic sound and comfortable to wear.
Only issue is the open backs do annoy the girlfriend if I turn the volume up a bit too much.
A nice step up from my previous Sennheiser HD 212Pro set that I bought many years ago. However, if you are looking for a good fun knockabout pair of phones the 212Pros are worth a look.
Only issue is the open backs do annoy the girlfriend if I turn the volume up a bit too much.
A nice step up from my previous Sennheiser HD 212Pro set that I bought many years ago. However, if you are looking for a good fun knockabout pair of phones the 212Pros are worth a look.
Great review! I was in between choosing these or the Sennheiser HD555s about 6 years ago and found the Sennheisers for cheaper but I think either one is a great value.
I love mine as well. After 6 years or so, they're still kicking and only have a hairline crack on one side thanks to a buddy tripping over the cord while I let him borrow them.
I love mine as well. After 6 years or so, they're still kicking and only have a hairline crack on one side thanks to a buddy tripping over the cord while I let him borrow them.
Luthorcrow
[H]ard|Gawd
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I love my AD2000s. I am not a fan of closed headphones. The A700/AD700 and A900/AD900 are the standard recommend headphones anytime someone asks about what are the best headphones for gaming on headphone forums. Great performance for the price.
Normally I would agree with you on this as I have a pair of Technics RP-DH1200's and they rock my music the way it needs to be rocked. However, since I got my TRITTON AX51 Pro 5.1 True Surround Sound Headset I have to say I very impressed with their performance. Yes there are 8 smaller speakers but size does not equate to quality. If they are implimented correctly that is what matters. I used to have a full 5.1 surround speaker system (Creative Inspire 7.1) and my new headset lets me hear things I didn't hear before with either my Technics or my 5.1 speakers. Are they perfect?.. probably not. But they are very good and well worth the $$. Try them before you bash them.
I have the same setup but with the HA-RX900's. Very good $50 headphones. Didn't want to spend quite $100 on headphones so I picked these up instead and am very impressed but have little to compare them too.
Bisectors Fore
Limp Gawd
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I got the closed A-700's about ten days ago and so far I've been very happy with them. I haven't had a chance to try them out in gaming yet, but I will do that tomorrow with Modern Warfare 2.
jeansamedi
Weaksauce
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very nice review! i had the 700s and recently bought a pair of ath-ad900's paired with the zalman mic. Both sets are worth every penny!
DrDeathGNJ
Gawd
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Great review! I too have a FAT Head! So I think you have finally sold me on headphones! BravOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! As Always!
ol1bit
[H]ard|Gawd
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I have the ART A900's ART Monitors for over 3 years! LOVE them!
I like the closed ones, I like the bass, and can't hear my wife screaming. LOL!
I like the closed ones, I like the bass, and can't hear my wife screaming. LOL!
Oh I get that, it's just the WoW headset has a built in soundcard and wouldn't require me to buy a seperate sound card like the AD700's would. I just ordered one of the wireless WoW sets, can't wait to get them.
this is incorrect, the onboard audio card lacks the power to give the open air ad700's enough bass. with the forte's bass boost i can push enough power to the low end frequencies. the normally bass anemic ad700's sound more full, i.e the onboard sound doesn't put as much power at the highest volume as i do at listening levels.
Speaking of why a lot of people don't think of stand alone clip on mics for headsets. The only clip ons I've seen are just mics that clip on to the ear piece or wire. I have not seen one with any kind of rigid extension that could bring it down to mouth level like a headset does (like that picture of the mod where it looks like the guy took off a mic from another headset).
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Great review, but I have had these cans for almost 1.5 years now and love them... why such a late review? I guess that unlike GPUs, they dont age fast..
Also worth looking at are the ATH-A700 closed ear cans.. same comfort, but not tiny version of your music herd by others.. more sweat however.
Also worth looking at are the ATH-A700 closed ear cans.. same comfort, but not tiny version of your music herd by others.. more sweat however.
Much appreciated. Just ordered myself the wireless WoW setup. More than I've invested in PC audio before, but I expect it's going to be a huge difference from my cheap uncomfortable junk headset powered by my on-board sound card haha.
I'll throw a post in the WoW wireless headset review thread when I've had a chance to play with the and form an opinion.
Most microphones really don't need to be 2 inches from your mouth to work. If they did, you wouldn't have so many positive reviews for clip on mics. Also if you wanted to make a mod like the one in the picture, desktop boom mics are shaped like that. Though with the prices of the bottom end headsets also being like 10$, I suppose you could just as easily cannibalize one of them for it's mic.
i just ordered a set based on this review. i have the astro a40s and i have a hard time hearing where sounds are coming from when theres alot of crap going on. the review says the headsets wont have this problem. hopefully i made a good decision.
No, thats is not true and that now how electricity works. 32ohm impedance is 32ohm impedance. It doesn't matter how much current the device is receiving.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_impedance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_induction
You can surly push more current and thus make the headphones louder, that is fine. But the limitations of the headphones are of 32ohm and that doesnt change. They are just as efficient at low current as they are high.
Change in current whether it be from high to low or low to high doesn't change sound quality. Any test done between low and high current should have equal db ratings.
Anybody else have a problem with them being a little too loose? I got mine a week or so ago, and they are very comfortable, but they feel like they hang down a little too far on my ears (maybe my head is too small). I kind of wish I could adjust the spacing between the "wings" and the earcups themselves.
That is one semi-common issue with them.
One reason they are so comfortable is because of their very light clamping force compared to other headphones. Unfortunately that means that if you have a smaller head, they might not fit tightly enough on you.
Do they sink down of their own accord, or do they just feel like they're going to slip down? Like, if you move them up on your head do they come right back down? Some people that are used to tighter headphones just get the insecure feeling even though they're on there just fine.
Also, I suppose you could try carefully bending them inward like you can with normal headphones, but I dont know how that would work with these. Looking at my a700 I can't see how I could get enough bending force on the headband without endangering the mounts that hold the cups on.
your ass is talking and your mouth doesn't know what it's saying. i've been studying electricity for years, considering i'm a senior physics major. lemme simplify for you, the sound card has a bass boost, you know how much bass these headphones have at maximum volume? take that and then supplement the lower volume with that bass. it's really that simple, i don't need to explain how electricity works for you to understand it, a 3 year old could grasp the concept.
Just gonna barf up all my thoughts here...
-Thanks for reviewing more computer peripherals. Different cache sizes on the same cpu gets tons of coverage but stuff like headphones gets crickets.
-Shell casings are how I usually measure game sound quality.
-Why no mention of glasses wearers? Probably the majority of users here and glasses are real game changers for headphone design comfort. I have a pair of hd-457 that have literally sat around unused for years because they are so uncomfortable.
-I dont have a big head but clearly there is something wrong because all headphones I own feel like a midget sitting on my head with a leg lock around my ears.
-I had been hunting for new gaming headphones and saw the ABS AZ-1 for 35$ with free shipping at Newegg. Literally the hour after the ups man dropped them off you put this review up. 7$ to return ship plus 6$ for restock fee and I am just gonna hold onto them for when I need a mic. The AZ-1 are great for the price they have USB, (no sound card needed) built in mic, virtual 7.1, and some pretty fun voice distortions. I am totally gonna hop in game some day and use the little girl or tranny voice option.
Based off your review I just ordered these ad700 and am really looking forward to their comfort and quality. Money is tight but I love nice sound quality. Good speakers or headphones last for years and years unlike most parts of computers.
I use some Edirol MA--10d I got for like 130$ years ago. They have outlasted every other computer part several times over and still doing fine. They are very solid monitor speakers with optical in. (you have to disable dts and dd5.1 pass-through in windows) They sound pretty good at high, mid, low, loud, quiet. There is not the usual one aspect that is weak sauce.
-Thanks for reviewing more computer peripherals. Different cache sizes on the same cpu gets tons of coverage but stuff like headphones gets crickets.
-Shell casings are how I usually measure game sound quality.
-Why no mention of glasses wearers? Probably the majority of users here and glasses are real game changers for headphone design comfort. I have a pair of hd-457 that have literally sat around unused for years because they are so uncomfortable.
-I dont have a big head but clearly there is something wrong because all headphones I own feel like a midget sitting on my head with a leg lock around my ears.
-I had been hunting for new gaming headphones and saw the ABS AZ-1 for 35$ with free shipping at Newegg. Literally the hour after the ups man dropped them off you put this review up. 7$ to return ship plus 6$ for restock fee and I am just gonna hold onto them for when I need a mic. The AZ-1 are great for the price they have USB, (no sound card needed) built in mic, virtual 7.1, and some pretty fun voice distortions. I am totally gonna hop in game some day and use the little girl or tranny voice option.
Based off your review I just ordered these ad700 and am really looking forward to their comfort and quality. Money is tight but I love nice sound quality. Good speakers or headphones last for years and years unlike most parts of computers.
I use some Edirol MA--10d I got for like 130$ years ago. They have outlasted every other computer part several times over and still doing fine. They are very solid monitor speakers with optical in. (you have to disable dts and dd5.1 pass-through in windows) They sound pretty good at high, mid, low, loud, quiet. There is not the usual one aspect that is weak sauce.
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Questions for anyone who knows more then me.
I have a Realtek ALC 885 and an old first gen/ PCI/ X-FI titanium. I like saving the few watts leaving the XFI out but would the XFI be much better with these AD700?
I love positional audio and I have the virtual 7.1 ABS AZ-1 in games if there is no option for speaker setup just it default to 2.0?
Does having the USB drivers for AZ-1, realtek ALC 885, and creative X-FI drivers all installed at once in windows 7 x64 causing me any problems?
I have a Realtek ALC 885 and an old first gen/ PCI/ X-FI titanium. I like saving the few watts leaving the XFI out but would the XFI be much better with these AD700?
I love positional audio and I have the virtual 7.1 ABS AZ-1 in games if there is no option for speaker setup just it default to 2.0?
Does having the USB drivers for AZ-1, realtek ALC 885, and creative X-FI drivers all installed at once in windows 7 x64 causing me any problems?
I have an X-FI Titanium in my primary machine. The Audio-Technica headphones have a low impedance and your card can power them with no problems. CMSS3d in headphone mode works great with these cans. HIGHLY recommended.
Cheers,
Earl Keim
Audio-Technica reviewer, HardOCP
Cheers,
Earl Keim
Audio-Technica reviewer, HardOCP
There is an old school mod to make them tighter, either for more bass or for smaller heads. Basically take a rubber band and place it between the two '3d wings', this will pull the speaker housings closer together depending on the type of rubber band you use.
Will do thanks Brother.
Apparently I have a big head and wide feet, I hated shoes until I found New Balance "Wide" class and I have always despised headphones but maybe no longer if these ad700 finally deliver.
For anyone else thinking of ordering, I ordered through Buy.com from BeachCamera (I think its called) ordered late last night and they shipped free fedex first thing this morning. That's even faster then the Egg, and they were cheaper.
I saw these same ones at Bestbuy and a local guitar store for 250$.
Apparently I have a big head and wide feet, I hated shoes until I found New Balance "Wide" class and I have always despised headphones but maybe no longer if these ad700 finally deliver.
For anyone else thinking of ordering, I ordered through Buy.com from BeachCamera (I think its called) ordered late last night and they shipped free fedex first thing this morning. That's even faster then the Egg, and they were cheaper.
I saw these same ones at Bestbuy and a local guitar store for 250$.