Audio-Technica ATH-R70x Review (Headphone)

[htky]

Just to give my 2 cents, they fit very well for my fairly average European square head. They are very light and comfortable, and I use them almost daily for more than 5 hours. I do not hear any bass "distortion" and as some people have mentioned "grainy texture".
The stock pads were making a hotspot on top of my ears and were quite shallow, unlike the aftermarket pads which fit very well. They do not perceivably change any sound characteristics except slightly improve bass response and have not shown any signs of degradation over a year (also they are quite cheap).

I do enjoy them quite a lot, although I have not tried much headphones to compare them with.
As a side-note, in European used market they hover around 200€, so it's not that bad value wise.

BTW I have fitted mine with a balanced cable [..]
If you consider building a balanced cable on your own, please be aware that the cabling scheme is really weird.

Do you happen to have a schematic or a guide you followed? I had found a schematic ages ago, but cannot find it now when I finally decided to build my own balanced cable

 

[chi2]

[Edit: Correction of plug type (2.5mm)]

 

[Craigslue]

I picked up some cables from Hart Audo and work great.

 

[frogmeat69]

I picked up some cables from Hart Audo and work great.

Which model number cable ? I have cables for most of my cans from Hart, but not for the r70x.

 

[Craigslue]

Which cable ? I have cables for most of my cans from Hart, but not for the r70x.

I used their custom shop to oder. Just menton the the ath-r70x and they will know what you need I believe, they are familiar with the headphone. Anyway the order was $39.00 + $2.00 for the locking connectors. The description is HC-7 use locking 2.5mm connectors with reversible pinout. Not to worry about the mono part, the connector has 3 rings. In fact I just got it yesterday and it works perfectly. Hmm I just checked their site and it looks like all their cables just went up $3.00 in price so looks like it will be $44.00 now?

 

[frogmeat69]

I used their custom shop to oder. Just menton the the ath-r70x and they will know what you need I believe, they are familiar with the headphone. Anyway the order was $39.00 + $2.00 for the locking connectors. The description is HC-7 use locking 2.5mm connectors with reversible pinout. Not to worry about the mono part, the connector has 3 rings. In fact I just got it yesterday and it works perfectly. Hmm I just checked their site and it looks like all their cables just went up $3.00 in price so looks like it will be $44.00 now?

Thanks for the reply, I sent them an email.

 

[DrFlimFlam]

do anyone know some aftermarket pads for big ears? The stock ones are too small, like on-ear and with glasses it makes them a nogo, I would keep them with some bigger pads, but I fear they can change the sound.

 

[staticV3]

Dekoni have meaured the impact of their pads on the frequency response of an ATH-AD900X:
https://dekoniaudio.com/audio-technica-ad900x-measurements/

The fenestrated sheepskin and velour pads seem to affect the FR the least.

Now, one could assume that the ATH-R70x would behave similarly, but without measurements it remains an educated guess.

The dimensions are as follows:

 

[Blorg]

There are also several sellers of balanced R70X cables on AliExpress, I have two of them. Prices around $20-35.

I tried some larger oval pads (Brainwavz HM5) which some on Head-Fi managed to get on to the R70X, and with some fangling I was too but I didn't like what it did to the sound signature. Went back to the stock pads. I can just deal with them contacting my ears, they are so light I decided it didn't bother me.

 

[mvnchies]

Dekoni have meaured the impact of their pads on the frequency response of an ATH-AD900X:
https://dekoniaudio.com/audio-technica-ad900x-measurements/

The fenestrated sheepskin and velour pads seem to affect the FR the least.

Now, one could assume that the ATH-R70x would behave similarly, but without measurements it remains an educated guess.

The dimensions are as follows:
View attachment 207411

R70x pads are only 90mm... I found a set of velour pads with memory foam on Aliexpress that sound very similar to stock, but are infinitely more comfortable.

10.55US $ 12% OFF|Nullkeai Replacement Velvet Earpads For Audio-technica Ath-r70x Headphones Earmuff Earphone Sleeve Headset - Earphone Accessories - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

 

[Ilkless]

What I really wish is that Audio-Technica creates a more refined version of this sound with their flagship headphones, rather than the FR you see of the ADX5000 now.

 

[kmidst]

I use these headphones and find them very comfortable, but I understand how it could vary according to head and ear size. As for the sound, I find it nicely detailed and with a decent soundstage. On PC, I use equalizer APO and Peace with them, and color the sound to a shallow "scoop" (slightly more bass, slightly less mids, slightly more highs). I read several review that said they're extremely neutral headphones and so take to EQ very well. That's been my experience. I guess if anything, I wish they had a bit more bass, but heavy bass in a headphone gets fatiguing, so perhaps they are just right. I'm driving them with a Topping DX3 Pro+.

 

[Asking Dumb Questions]

Do you Guys recommend the JDS Lab Element 3 with this Headphone? if not Any recommendation with in that Price Range?

 

[Blorg]

Do you Guys recommend the JDS Lab Element 3 with this Headphone? if not Any recommendation with in that Price Range?

I haven't heard it but it should be more than enough for the R70X, Amir measured it at 268mW @300Ω. R70X isn't an amazingly hard to drive headphone, it's same ballpark as the Sennheiser HD600/HD650. Benefits from an amp but most amps will be enough for it, when I first got it I was using it with a Fiio K5 Pro which is 136mW @300Ω and I never went beyond medium gain about 12 o'clock. I was quite happy with it on the Qudelix 5K which is even much lower power. So the Element 3 should be more than fine.

 

[solderdude]

I reviewed the ATH-AD700X which shares some of the negatives I assume would also apply to the ATH-R70X.

While the headphones have a large diameter and the pads follows contours of a human head (shaped cups) the internal diameter of the pads is surprisingly small. Just 51mm.
Also the pads are not really deep and are very soft meaning they compress a lot as well. This gave me discomfort after an hour or so. A shame really as it is lght-weight and has a good clamping force and there would have been enough room for deeper and wider pads.

Add to that the unbelievable weird construction decision to NOT allow any tilt but let the vertical position of the cups to be determined by headsize/width is highly questionable.
This can cause leakage on the top or bottom of the pads depending on this.
Strangely enough a lot of their similar looking open designs seem to share this construction. Closed designs do not seem to have this (fortunately) so a good seal is insured.
No idea why such a simple construction was not used with the open designs.
Also the wings design does not work equally well for everyone.

 

[jackdanyal]

I think the price is ok. For the same price you will get sundaras, which possibly will break in 1-2 years

 

[jackdanyal]

This thing is still rather pricey, even second hand. It goes for around $250-$300 here. In that light, and considering it's rather hard to drive, the value isn't really there. I voted "not terrible".

Funny though; I see quite a few subjective reviews online praising its "deep bass extension" and "immersive spatial qualities". Some of them rank it higher than a HD600/HD650. Opinions, eh?

So, rated the headphones without listening sessions but just because measurements and because Amir liked them better than HD650/600? funny tbh. Headphones should be listened. For me personally they outperforms hd600/dt1990 and sundaras. For someone else even hd560s sounds better than sundaras. For me sundaras are really overhyped by reviewers and bloggers headphones. Most of the users who bought them don’t even have another decent headphones to compare with. I also liked them. Then I purchased Fostex T60rp and never touched sundaras and sold them.

 

[Asking Dumb Questions]

So, rated the headphones without listening sessions but just because measurements and because Amir liked them better than HD650/600? funny tbh. Headphones should be listened. For me personally they outperforms hd600/dt1990 and sundaras. For someone else even hd560s sounds better than sundaras. For me sundaras are really overhyped by reviewers and bloggers headphones. Most of the users who bought them don’t even have another decent headphones to compare with. I also liked them. Then I purchased Fostex T60rp and never touched sundaras and sold them.

Stock or Modded?

 

[jackdanyal]

Stock or Modded?

stock ones, not Argons. But you easily can convert them to Argons, but for that you need to dissample the headphones and make some changes inside.

 

[kmidst]

Adding another observation and opinion here. I now have these headphones sounding pretty incredible, can't imagine needing more really. This will sound odd, but I'm powering them now with a Creative Sound Blaster Z sound card (amplified output) and using the Sound Blaster Command software to EQ. I set the EQ levels just like Amirm recommended (flat except for 9 db boost around 32 hz and 3 db boost around 4 khz), and they sound near perfect to me. Non-fatiguing, balanced, just the right amount of bass, textured mids and highs with clarity of each instrument. I am quite happy with them.