Audio-Technica ATH-R70x

95
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x | Reviews
T
he open back ATH-R70x has
a unique design feature: a
pair of sprung wing supports
instead of a continuous
padded headband. This has two
advantages. First they cover less of the
head and, if you run a little hot like me,
this is a good thing. Second, coupling
between sides is minimised, which is
key to good stereo separation. The R70x
are so light it is easy to forget you have
them on, a sensation augmented by the
open back design which keeps you ‘in
the room’. It is overall a less unnatural
experience than with chunky closed
backs, and this helps limit fatigue.
The cable is dual-sided and is
designed to maintain left-right
orientation whichever way you plug
them in – you just have to be wearing
the headphones the right way. The 3m
cable is of the straight variety, which for
me often ends up under the castors of
my studio chair, and oddly there is no
coiled alternative supplied.
The R70x are the fi rst Audio-
Technica headphones I have truly
enjoyed, as well as being the most
comfortable I’ve tried by any
manufacturer. Switching between them
and my main monitors has proven to be
one of the least jarring experiences I’ve
had (in this regard, not in my life, that
would be odd!), with the only shift
being in the high-end, where the R70x
are slightly less forward. These are
smooth sounding headphones across
the whole range: no humps or bumps,
no hyping, no harshness, just clarity
and detail. The response is in no way
soft and they can lay bare sibilance,
resonance and splashy mix elements
(over-hyped pads, over-exciter’ed
acoustic guitars, etc). At this price and
above I’ve used models with more
apparent ‘air’, but I don’t consider this
a defi ciency, and it means there’s no
settling for a dull mix.
Down the other end the response is
no less smooth with all the extension
you need without the slightest hint of
boom or false fatness. Moving up, the
low mids continue unwrinkled, free
from cheap scooping back (a voicing
often employed to mask uneven
response) so you can really hear what’s
going on, for better or for worse. It’s all
about the mids and low mids for me,
and with the R70x all the juice comes
through without complications;
everything appears clearly delineated
and unmuddled, unless the source is
otherwise. I easily spotted an over-
resonant tom in a recently completed
mix which I was able to adjust with
little fuss, polishing the mix off
effortlessly. I always end up banging on
about the mids as this is where the
majority of vital information sits in a
mix, and space is at a premium. The
clear articulation of the R70x makes it
easy to place reverbs and EQ elements
forward and back, while distortion and
compression artefacts from low-end
sources are easy to catch and control.
The excellent Left-Right decoupling
in conjunction with the quality of
frequency response helps create and
maintain a full width stereo image,
allowing for confi dent pan decisions
and the construction of complex sound
fi elds, as well as extreme ones. Any
phase correlation problems are also a
cinch to identify. Power-wise the R70x
have more than enough handling and
remain clear and crisp up to the
maximum level I was prepared to
drive them to.
Headphones with great performance
can be bought for almost half the RRP
of the ATH-R70x, but they just won’t be
as good, and nowhere near as light and
comfy. To fi nd any real rivals you’ll have
to shell out well over £300. I cannot
speak for mastering as it’s not my fi eld,
but for mixing and tracking reference
(in a quiet space!) these are ideal
headphones for whatever material you
throw at them. If you’re after a
high-quality pair for listening to your
hi-fi I would also heartily recommend
these; I lost a serious chunk of a
morning just listening on the R70x,
revelling in great mixes.
Audio-Technica
ATH-R70x | £279
Open back reference headphones are all about refi nement in design and
sound. Robbie Stamp tries out Audio-Technica’s new top model
WHAT IS IT?
Open back reference
headphones
CONTACT
Who: Audio-Technica
Tel: [phone]
Web: audio-technica.com
HIGHLIGHTS
1 Amazingly light
and comfortable
2 Smooth and
articulate frequency
response characteristic
3 Accurate stereo fi eld due
to mechanical decoupling
VERDICT
BUILD
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VALUE
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EASE OF USE
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VERSATILITY
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RESULTS
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A lovely balance of comfort and
sound quality creates headphones
that can help craft great mixes.
SPECS
Type: Circumaural open
back dynamic
Driver diameter: 45mm
Frequency response:
5-40,000Hz
Sensitivity: 98dB
Impedance: 470
Max input power: 1000mW
at 1kHz
Cable: 3m straight dual
side lockable
Accessories: Carry case,
6.5mm adaptor
Weight:
210g without cable
FMU301.rev_audiotechnica.indd 95 18/12/2015 10:36