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

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.

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.

Bought mine as Amazon open box. I have one Stevie Ray Vaughn SACD that has always sounded flat, dry, lifeless, like a perfect labratory sequencing of ones and zeros but not musical. It sits on the shelf a lot. My other headphones are; HD600, HIFIMAN Sundara, Phillips Fidelio X2HR and X3. Playing many CD, HDCD, and SACD discs through a Yamaha S1500 player and headphone amps (Gilmore Lite, Schitt Asgard 3 and Dark Voice) with these Audio Technica comfortable and light headphones has been a joy. The secure cable attachment is appreciated and the cable quality very good. I loaded the SRV disc playing through the Dark Voice and was the sound was transformed beautifully as musical, rounded, alive with no sensation of laboratory ones and zeros. That alone makes these a clear winner. Why "nearly" excellent? These Made in Japan headphones are nearly impossible to find the right or left sides, there's only a tiny molded L and R marking. Also the decorative Audio Technica branding sticker on the right ear cup has a wrinkle in it. Picky? Yes. Would I buy again? Absolutely.

These probably do need an amp. Really like the configuration and tuning. Pretty neutral clean sound. Prefer an open back which these are. The main issue I found with these was the pads being somewhat uncomfortable and overall a bit bulky feeling. Each driver has its own plug which is pointed straight down. There termination is pretty long.I found these constantly hitting my collar and being a bit of a nuisance. These are very comfortable over all however I feel like moving my head required a constant readjust and they are sort of big and unwieldy feeling. The provided cables is very long too. Too long in my opinion.I have been searching for comfortable open back headphones. These are the closest I have found so far. Pros include very good sound, very light weight, and reasonably comfortable.Cons for me: Need a higher powered audio source, really long cable, sort of finicky comfort. Sort of a bummer to return these but comfort is a key factor and I found myself feeling the need to constantly adjust them and it's like they stick out in weird areas a bit too much. So close to perfect. You could obviously upgrade to a different cable and pads but for the price it's not the best value out of the box unless you happen to click with the ergonomics right away they could be great. I guess it's all relative in terms of comfort.