Audio-Technica ATH-A700

Summary

The Audio-Technica ATH-A700 headphones are on-ears intended for use with your home sound system. The cable is long and covered with a woven-cloth casing, so it should be safe stretched across your room.There’s also a 1/4-inch adapter included to accommodate all stereo systems.

Like fellow homebodies, the Pioneer SE0A100s and the Sennheiser HD 555s, the Audio-Technica ATH-A700 headphones shouldnt’ leave the house. They have very poor isolation and leakage control and they’re not even particularly portable to begin with. Assuming you keep them inside, they’ll offer some low-distortion playback for $300.

Frequency Response (2.07)

The ATH-A700s didn’t have the most stellar frequency response. Halfway between the 1kHz and 10kHz both channels are significantly underemphasized for a handful of frequencies, then spike back up for a moment before dipping down again. The left channel is particularly underemphasized, straying almost 20dB away from the lower limit. After 10kHz and a brief stay within the limits, it drops down again. Typically where we see headphones go wrong on this test is by over-emphasizing certain frequencies, typically the bass or drums. The ATH-A700 actually has a fairly even bass response, but they drastically under-emphasize the drums (the second downward plunge is about 7kHz, which is the attack on most drums).

Many of the comparison headphones also had a bad frequency response graph. The QC3s, for example, followed a similar trend, but fell further off the bottom limit. It seems to be a trend among over-ears to have a bit of a sudden de-emphasis towards the 7kHz range: the Ultrasone HFI-2200, QC3, and SR60 all have some sort of valley in this area. The Pioneer SE-A1000 headphones, which are similar in form factor to the ATH-A700s, actually had a very good score on this test, staying within the limits the entire time. If you like the ATH-A700s’ form factor, but want a more even keel to your sound, consider the SE-A1000s.

Headphones	Score	Frequency Response
Audio-Technica ATH-A700	2.07
Sennheiser HD 555	3.44
Pioneer SE-A1000	7.93
Ultrasone HFI-2200	3.81
Bose QuietComfort 3	1.66

Distortion (10.50)

The ATH-A700 has remarkably little distortion. The graph is a bit bumpy along the zero line, but it never crosses 0.5% distortion at any point. If you’re a finicky audiophile who hates distortion, the ATH-A700s are definitely a pair of headphones to consider.

The ATH-A700 has some stiff competition in the comparison headphones, but it was only bested by the Sennheiser HD 555. It narrowly edged out the Bose QC3s, and thoroughly trumped the other three. The HD 555 and QC3 actually use our old graph format, which starts at 20 Hertz instead of 100, so ignore the rocky starts to those graphs (we don’t score on that area because we can’t get results that are precisely accurate). Really, while the ATH-A700’s graph is slightly bumpier than the HD 555s’ and slightly less bumpy than the QC3s’, all three headphones are outstanding. The ATH-A700 has impressively little distortion.

Headphones	Score	Distortion
Audio-Technica ATH-A700	10.5
Sennheiser HD 555	13.33
Pioneer SE-A1000	2.75
Ultrasone HFI-2200	3.97
Bose QuietComfort 3	10.0

Tracking (4.35)

The ATH-A700s didn’t have the best tracking. The graph started out fine, only straying about 2dB away from the zero line. At about 500 Hz, however, the volume shifts suddenly to the right. After this swing, the line levels off for a bit, but becomes rocky around the 2kHz line. At about 7kHz there’s a significant swing from right to left. This, coupled with the weird frequency response, might make drums sound strange.

The ATH-A700 didn’t do so well on this comparison. Many other headphones get a bit crazy towards the 7kHz range and up, but they have a more balanced response up until that point. Although the ATH-A700 headphones don’t have the best tracking we’ve ever see, they could’ve been a bit more even-handed.

Headphones	Score	Tracking
Audio-Technica ATH-A700	4.35
Sennheiser HD 555	5.59
Pioneer SE-A1000	6.54
Ultrasone HFI-2200	8.93
Bose QuietComfort 3	2.49

Maximum Usable Volume (9.31)

The ATH-A700s were capable of 116.37dB SPL, which is a good level. We give max points for 120dB, since anything over that is dangerous. For most people, 116 decibels should be plenty of sound.

Isolation (3.39)

Loose-fitting headphones generally have poor isolation, meaning the ATH-A700 headphones are just another statistic. They don’t block out any bass at all, and while we were a bit impressed with the high-pitched noise they were able to shield HATS from, it in no way approached a good isolation level. Of course, you aren’t going to be wearing these headphones on a bus, so chances are this poor performance won’t affect you. Just remember that these aren’t headphones designed to drown out a jet engine or screaming kids.

As you can see, over-ear headphones are notoriously bad at isolation. The ATH-A700s actually performed better than all the comparison headphones, with the exception of the Bose QuietComfort 3s and their active noise cancellation. Given how bad other over-ear headphones are, it makes the ATH-A700s low score seem good by comparison.

Headphones	Score	Isolation
Audio-Technica ATH-A700	3.39
Sennheiser HD 555	1.18
Pioneer SE-A1000	0.53
Ultrasone HFI-2200	1.37
Bose QuietComfort 3	6.28

Leakage (3.75)

The ATH-A700s leak a lot of sound, but weren’t so bad as other over-ears like the Pioneer SE-A1000s. These aren’t headphones that will let you listen to a late night action movie while your room mates or spouse slumbers in the same room. Typically when headphones do poorly on both leakage and isolation, it means they don’t form a particularly good seal with the ear. We’re guessing this is the ATH-A700s’ case. These headphones are best used in a quiet environment that doesn’t necessarily need to remain quiet.