Audio-Technica ATH-M70X Professional Studio Monitor Headphones

Comments about Audio-Technica ATH-M70X Professional Studio Monitor Headphones:

I am using these primarily for monitoring during recording/tracking. There are three things that are important for the me as a musician while I'm recording: 1) ISOLATION: These cans do an admirable job in both isolating external noise from getting in, and also preventing whatever's playing through them from leaking out into the microphones. 5 stars 2) COMFORT: These headphones are very comfortable. The padding on the head strap and the ear cups is very soft and easily finds a good fit against my skull's contours with no excessive pressure on the top of my head or my ears. Note that I wear glasses and they cause no discomfort, unlike other headphones like my Grados. These 'phones feel a lot like Bose Quiet Comfort 15 on my head, which is a very good thing as I regularly wear those for 14+ hours straight on flights from Japan to Detroit with no issues. The M70x is not quite as comfortable as the Bose, but it's pretty close. The only thing I noticed is that the edge of my outer ear touches the driver fabric when I'm wearing them. My ears don't protrude that far from my head, and I could imagine that if you have ears that do stick out a bit, these headphones might not be as comfortable. 4 stars 3) SOUND: These headphones are revealing and detailed, which is what I want during recording. The sound is neutral with no obvious peaks or troughs across the frequencies that I can hear. Listening through these headphones I notice things that I struggle to notice in recordings that I have listened to dozens of times. Sometimes this detail can be a sign of excessive treble response which can become fatiguing, but I don't feel like the sound from the M70x is the least bit fatiguing. The soundstage is open and wide, and imaging is quite good. Instruments are easy to place in space, and there is a wonderful airiness to the music. The only noteworthy deficiency is in the bass ... I am not a fan of headphones that emphasize the bass frequencies. Those headphones and loudspeakers that emphasize the bass usually make the music sound like the bass player is playing the same note throughout the whole song. The M70x phones do not easily reproduce really deep bass. I can hear deeper bass only if I crank the volume levels up to the point where I wouldn't want to listen for long periods. Oddly enough, when I first started listening to them, I thought the bass was remarkably deep. I was listening to some music through my home audio system's preamp and I had turned off the main power amp to make sure I wasn't picking up any sound from my loudspeakers. The bass drums I heard in the opening of The Eagles Hell Freezes Over version of Hotel California was amazing; extending deep into the lowest registers. After listening to a few other tunes and being really impressed with the bass I heard, I pulled the headphones off my head to ask my wife something, and I heard some really low bass notes without any accompanying music. I thought for a minute that perhaps a car was driving by with the stereo cranked, and then I realized I had neglected to turn off my subwoofer (d'oh!). After I corrected that and re-listened to Hotel California again, I realized the bass I had perceived before was actually coming from the subwoofer and not the headphones ... If I am forced to make a choice, I prefer a playback system with a leaner sound compared to one with over-emphasized thick and muddy bass. I found these headphones are a little lean, but not objectionably so. I can hear individual notes in the bass line, it's just that those notes don't reach down to the bottom end like what you hear live, or from a proper loudspeaker / subwoofer. But I have never heard a headphone that does reach that low without bloating the bass into a blubbery mess. This slight bass deficiency is, in my opinion, much better than the one-note thumping I hear in other headphones. AT's engineers and product management deserves kudos for making this tradeoff. The smooth midrange and treble parts of the spectrum are so nice to hear through these cans that I could listen to music on these for hours. 4.5 stars

Comments about Audio-Technica ATH-M70X Professional Studio Monitor Headphones:

These were my first pro headphones and I am very pleased. They are so balanced and they are great for mixing, producing, etc.! Their frequency response is about as close to flat as any set of speakers could ever get. And they sound great too. I also use them live at my church. They don't block out as much sound as the M50's, and they certainly don't block out as much sound as the M40's, but they do me well for live monitoring. I would say they block out just under 20dB.

Don't expect to end up with an amazing pair of listening headphones after buying these!!! They are made for producing! IF YOU ARE NOT A PRODUCER, DO NOT BUY THESE! You will be wildly disappointed. Companies like Bose, SONY, and Beats make headphones that are designed to please the ear of the music consumer. These headphones are designed to service the music producer in giving them an accurate idea of what their mix really sounds like. And they do that very well. If you want a good pair of listening headphones, go with the M40's. They are great for listening!

Comments about Audio-Technica ATH-M70X Professional Studio Monitor Headphones:

I am very well pleased with all aspects of these headphones.

Comments about Audio-Technica ATH-M70X Professional Studio Monitor Headphones:

I have read multiple reviews from several sources, this is just my own opinion.

My sources to test from were my Samsung Galaxy S5 Active and Sony NWZ A-17, with no amplification.