Audio-Technica AUD ATHR70X ATH-R70x Professional Open-Back Reference Headphones, Black

The Audio Technica ATH-R70X are exceptional headphones unlike any other in my collection. The design is very eye-catching and appealing with the honeycomb-patterned grills, exposed drivers, and patterned headband. The 3D-wing headband is more comfortable than any other headband I've tried to date, including the AKG K700 series, because it distributes the feather-light weight of the headphones on contact points on the upper sides of your head instead of on the top middle of your scalp. The sound profile is truly stellar, and may even surpass my Sennheiser HD650/HD6XX headphones. The ATH-R70X's are slightly more neutral and revealing than the HD650's with a touch of warmth and a wider soundstage, making it very pleasant for music enjoyment and analytical listening. Sub-bass is somewhat lacking, but I have grown accustomed to this in open-back headphones. Lack of lower bass can easily be fixed with EQ, but most of the time I don't even think EQ is that necessary, considering just how neutral the sound profile is already. Male and female vocals really shine on these cans. Because of their slight warmth and neutral frequency response, the ATH-R70X's excel at most every genre of music I have thrown at them (classical, jazz, pop, rock, electronic). I'd say these outclass many Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, and AKG headphones I have tried. Perhaps the only annoyance is the extra-long cable, but that can be easily fixed with a twist tie to hold the extra length of the cable together similar to how it is folded out of the box. The dual-sided detachable Y cable is pretty neat. The headphones themselves do feel a bit delicate partially due to their very light weight, so caution is advised when moving them in a bag. The pads are very comfortable, and are angled slightly to ensure the optimal placement on the ears. Why these headphones are not more popular, I'm not sure, but they deserve recognition among the Hifi greats. Do note that you need a properly powerful amplifier to get the best out of these cans. I use the JDS Labs Atom DAC & Amp stack, which powers the 470ohm ATH-R70X's wonderfully for only $200. These might just be the best-sounding and most comfortable headphones Audio Technica has ever made, at a fairly reasonable price point. I wholeheartedly recommend the ATH-R70X's for their exceptional comfort and sound quality.

I'd really decided on the HiFiMan Sundara, but these were on my radar too and they had a great Amazon warehouse deal so I thought I'd try them. Well, I like them. A lot. They do have one nagging imperfection but they're great.I wanted a pair for my turntable/headphone setup specifically. I have the Sennheiser 6xx which have a pretty laid back/rolled off treble. I actually like that with digital as it can help smooth out any digital harshness. Plus I can easily EQ a bit more treble if needed. For vinyl, with no EQ, the 6xx does not provide quite enough sparkle. The ATH-R70x provide the sparkle. They sound great with my vinyl setup powered by a Topping L30 and paired with a Fluance Rt-85 deck with a Sumiko Moonstone (great cartridge btw) , and digital paired with a Raspberry Pi Roon endoint into a Schiit stack (modi 3, Magni 3+) But they're very balanced from bass to treble. They do not over exaggerate the bass, thankfully. However, they can bring serious low end when necessary. They handled Massive Attack's Mezzanine album's massive bass with aplomb, I felt it in my chest.There is a 3D dimensionality to the music with these that is enthralling. The music seems to swirl around, go up and down, etc. Vocals are centered nicely basically right on or just in front of your forehead (seemingly). It's not like a large, expansive soundstage, but I like it. A lot. On some tracks the midrange can be a tad recessed, including vocals. That's the one chink in the armor. I like the 6xx better for midrange and vocals. But these ATH-R70x are superior than the 6xx in soundstage and treble sparkle and airiness.I threw a variety of genres at these in both vinyl and digital formats and I didn't find anything it couldn't handle capably. Plenty of great little subtle details, digging deep into the recording. Nice separation of various instruments/multitracks including subtle little backing vocals and such, that I'd never noticed before on familiar recordings. Great rhythmic drive. Again the only real caveat are those slightly recessed vocals, but it's only with some recordings, not all.These headphones are very lightweight and very comfortable. I like the low key industrial-ish look. They look very serious and capable but also have some style.One thing to note is that my warehouse deal seems to have come with different earpads than pictured. They're blue colored soft leather and are perhaps a bit larger than what the stock ones look like in pictures. No idea how that would change the sound.I may still grab the Sundara at some point but these are definitely not going back. I like 'em a LOT.

I prefer neutral (aka reference) headphones. I had a pair of AKG Q701 that, like all AKG's with similar design, have serious durability issues. I loved the sound on the Q701's.I did not do a side-by-side comparison, but the ATH-R70x sound similar enough to the Q701 that nothing is jarringly different. Thus, I love the sound of these headphones as well.Comfort-wise, the ATH-R70x is super comfortable. It is so light it is ridiculous - feels almost like an old-school Sony Walkman headphone. I can wear them for hours without discomfort.These headphones have a lot more impedance that the Q701's - 470 Ohms. This definitely made them less loud, but I can still get them loud enough that an amp is probably not mandatory.I got FiiO K7 amp/DAC to use the ATH-R70x and it sounds great. Balanced output definitely boosts volume quite a bit. Again, I do not think you absolutely have to have an amp for these headphones, and recommend you try them out before buying an amp. Good balanced cables are not cheap, btw. I highly recommend skyaudiocables on eBay - they made custom cables to my specifications for a reasonable amount of money.These headphones are probably not for everyone - not everyone wants neutral sound. Not everyone wants high impedance (which, again, I don't think is as big an issue as everyone says). But if you want neutral sound and a great soundstage, these headphones are great. Especially if you catch them on sale (they go as low as $266). I use them for gaming and music.