Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7

The Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 headphones are comfortable, but a bit hard to position for a proper fit. As over-ears, they are small and portable; compared to in-ears or other headphones focused on portability, the ATH-ANC7s are a lot to lug around. They aren't the best-connected headphones, since their longer cord is shorter than five feet, but it does help them hook up with greater ease than headphones focused on portability.

Comfort (6.50)
Our standard subjective-section caveat applies here: your head is likely shaped nothing like our own, so you should therefore only use this section as a rough guide of what to expect.

We thought the ATH-ANC7 headphones were decently comfortable. They don't lock your head in a vice grip, but don't move around much. This is partially due to their cup design, which fits your ears inside the cup padding. This makes it a bit hard to get them to fit on your head correctly, but keeps them on once you have.

Extended Use (6.50)
After a wear session of six hours, our opinions of the ATH-ANC7s comfort were exactly the same. The pressure didn't exacerbate over time, the band didn't start to put pressure on the top of our soft heads, and the ear cups didn't make our ears particularly hot (which is a problem with over-ears). While these headphones aren't the most comfortable we've ever worn, they're also more comfortable than average.

Cable Connectivity (7.64)
The ATH-ANC7s' cord is just over 5 feet in length. This is a good size for a cable, as long as you're intending to connect to your front pocket; if you're still rocking your cargo pants from the 90s, it'll stretch down to your second set of pockets.

The cord is removeable, so adding an extension or in-line
accessories is easy.

The headphones also come with the two standard adapters: 1/4-inch and airplane.

These adapters are standard inclusions.

Portability (2.47)
These headphones, as over-ears, aren't the most portable headphones out there, but they are more portable than a lot of other over-ears. This means you won't be able to just shove them into your pocket like you could a pair of in-ears, unless you have remarkably spacious pockets. It also means you will be able to carry them around more easily in your bag/purse/luggage than you could, say, the ATH-A700s.

The headphones do come with a case, which will keep your headphones and their accessories safe and organized. Of course, the case itself isn't magically smaller than the headphones, meaning you will need a bag to hold it.

Here is what the case will look like all closed up.

Open it up and you'll find a velcro pouch stuck to the left half and an
ergonomic jack-o'-lantern face on the right half.

This is what the case will look like with all your stuff inside it.

Customizability (2.00)
There aren't any real customization options included in the packaging. You can tilt the ear cups and swivel them slightly, the band extends, and you can remove the cord to use your own. There are no additional faceplate or padding options, or optional accessories included.

Maintenance (0.50)
Unfortunately, the ATH-ANC7s are very hard to disassemble. The cup padding is stuck on with glue, so unless you have some rubber cement and a steady hand, you might not want to try pulling them off. If you do pull off the padding, you'll find a thin piece of foam covering up the headphones' innards. We wish manufacturers would stop using glue and start using screws.

Other Features (5.00)

Battery Dependency

The ATH-ANC7s do not require a battery to play back music. This is definitely a great feature since many, many active-cancellers do require batteries, or else they won't work at all.

The headphones do require batteries for their active noise cancellation feature, however. The headphones will be able to get about a 40-hour charge off a single AA, which is pretty good.

Active Noise Cancellation
The active noise cancellation has an average implementation. You can turn it on and off, but it doesn't have any bonus features.