Audio-Technica ATH-R70X Review | The Redheaded Stepchild

[@pinusmasterful]

I got them here and the are the total opposite of shouty or boosted sharp treble. They are indeed not punchy but cant agree on the rest. They are pretty phenomenal if you want a smooth headphone with right timbre and no boosted frequencies.

[@aqwandrew6330]

is it really flat? which one to get or hd650 better?

[@pinusmasterful]

@@aqwandrew6330 they are a touch on the warmer side

[@jcap8391]

@@pinusmasterful how is sound stage in these?

[@pinusmasterful]

@@jcap8391 i gave them to a friend, but its pretty good for gaming so Yeah

[@jcap8391]

@@pinusmasterful What did you keep or use as a daily driver?

[@thomaswall640]

The last word I would use to describe the R70x is "shouty". I couldn't disagree with the reviewer more. I have the 6XX as well and these are VERY similar sounding headphones. The graphs show this as well. I have 3 mid-priced open back studio headphones (R70x, 6XX, DT 880 Pro -250) and the R70x is slightly my favorite. They're all great and I use them at least 6 hours a day in my studio. All of the reviews (written) of these that were done by audio professionals rave about them. But if you are a consumer, gamer, or budget audiophile you might prefer the Sennheiser. And if you like the other AT's, m50x mainly, you will probably not like these at all so try them first.

[@gooshie3]

Anything but shouty. These remind me of my Hd600s with most things fixed. Neutral but tilted to the warm side with a bump at 100hz. Better bass extention with way better imaging and sounstage than the 600. I dont know where the "way forward midrange" comment comes from. Very relaxed sound.

[@benficaM8888]

Let me explain why Audio-Technica created the wing system, It's mind-boggling how people still don't understand this outside Japan. Most (like 80% of) Japanese men apply hair wax/pomade every single day, we don't want to mess up our hairstyles when we wear headphones. And those wing system is the best at maintaining the integrity of most of the hairdo. That's why the AD series have low clamping force, and even the wing themselves don't put too much downward force. Note: Also look at the newer ADX5000, they have hollowed headband, for this exact same reason.

[@Ballacha]

POV: man discovers DF neutral tuning 😂 He cranks up the volume because he couldn’t find the sub to mid bass. Then he complains mids treble being shouty and low res because he cranked the volume. Well done. You played yourself. 🎉

[@DEALUX]

The shouty mids comment is a bit misunderstood here. They don't have an aggressive ear gain peak at all. The mids up to 4K are extremely neutral and clean. The issue arises at 6-8K where there is a bit of a peak which can cause some shoutiness or sibilance. However, to me this headphone sound more natural than the HD800 still and more clear/precise. They have very nice "air" which isn't overly boosted but about neutral or slightly recessed. Imaging is great. They do really well on binaural.

[@ResilientME]

Agree on the grain, this is one headphone where upstream gear all sounds the same. I heard the bass a lot different though, it seemed boosted and bouncy where it meets the mids, made it a good rock n' roll headphone for me. Treble sounded dark but I'm attuned to bright phones so that could be me

[@OptLab]

For me this and the m50x are basically a Sennhenser 25HD With soundstage + precise bass + comfortable It's my favorite (if we don't count Focal products...) I love them.

[@Vishmaw]

Was this R70x made in Japan or Taiwan? I wonder if there are differences between the two versions.

[@divinecurrent9053]

The main thing these do better than the 6XX/600 is bass extension and possibly bass impact, at least with stock pads. I tried them with the XL Perforated PU Brainwavz pads which does considerably improve the imaging and soundstage, and it also adds more treble extension. I didn't hear much grain or metallic timbre as you, but it is about average in terms of dynamics and slam. The 6XX is better in terms of tonal balance though, but I think if you can get a good seal with the R70X and try different (wider) pads, you may like them better.

[@rbmanb]

I wonder if my tiny ears would benefit from these headphones. Have tried M40x which were way too big on the smallest settings and gave me a migraine, and the HD280 pro which gave me ringing ears/tinnitus possibly because of it being closed back and pressure was too much for my sensitive ears.

[@metal571]

Yep pretty much. The grain on this headphone was the most disappointing part by far which is very disappointing considering the high impedance I expected a faster driver that could do better resolution, but doesn't.

[@kirjuschaks]

Also the bass was a bit muddy though good extension. It had a "industrial", lifeless timbre which was kind of unique.

[@trellusg]

I just don’t hear that grain. 😂

[@SoundWaveTrax]

Grain and detail are not mutually exclusive.

[@t.7527]

Come back bro. Get back into the headphone review game. Hope all is well.

[@metal571]

@@t.7527 I'm good. R70x is exactly as I described, and I think Resolve has had the same experience

[@NeilBlanchard]

You covered the 3 models I am considering, and I will look for your reviews of the others.

[@crowwing]

nothing this guy says correlates with my experience of these headphones at all.

[@roufali3178]

Great review 🙂 Pls review M70x, is it a good closed back encounter of R70x?

[@NotOrdinaryInGames]

I will very likely buy these in a few years. If KZbin is still here, and you still care, I will write my impressions.

[@The_Endo]

Just don't put any added pressure on the plastic joint where the cans connect to the headset, it will shatter with the tiniest of pressure. Cheap plastic.

[@jcap8391]

@@The_Endo ur a hater

[@The_Endo]

@@jcap8391 You're an idiot. I love these headphones, they are just made of cheap plastic.

[@jcap8391]

@@The_Endo I'm calling the cyber police and reporting ur comment

[@The_Endo]

@@jcap8391 +1

[@Juanixtec]

Holly shit this is almost exactly opposite to Crin's take on them, he even says that these resolve more and are as flat as HD600's. How Weird, maybe the lack of pivot makes the fit too variable between head so some will perceive them better than others?

[@terryRBNF]

I've stopped subscribing to this guy, when you hear about a product being off, you naturally blame the product. But when most of the reviews go against everyone else's then the reviewer is the problem not the products.

[@Juanixtec]

@@terryRBNF Well. Crin has a very capable measurement system and knows what he is talking about. But I know that fit is important for headphones because it does alter FR and perception of sound. I think takes vary because of this, Audio technica should release a revision with improved yolks asap

[@terryRBNF]

@Reverie meh, I tend to take the more obvious route and that the reviewer who consistently goes against the grain simply has a hearing or preference particularity. If their opinion tends to run counter against those reviewers whom you trust or against products you yourself find favorable, it's pretty obvious what conclusion you should take.

[@zaim_ipek]

As someone who has bought the r70x and listened to them on several different sources and compared them to other headphones, I do not agree with this review at all. I really want to know how these were amped for the review. These are among the most amp-dependent headphones I have heard. They prefer an extremely neutral and detailed amp as they are designed to be mixing reference headphones, and they require a very solid amount of power, more than HD600. Second, they are not mid forward or anything forward. They measure extremely flat and they sound extremely flat. They sound similar in frequency response to the several pairs of frequency corrected studio monitors when amplified properly. And Crinacle's measurements show this. It's one of the reasons I trust Crinacle's measurements. They reflect what I actually hear from the headphones I have. As for detail. . . I have not heard any other headphone yet with more midrange detail. The highs are good, dt1990 is better once you mod them to get rid of the treble spike. The bass is good, dt1990 is also more detailed there. But mids? The mids are crystal clear and highly textured, more than any headphone I have heard yet. And I have not heard them all, but enough to know the r70x are well above most of them for midrange detail. I would guess that Max didn't amp these properly if he was hearing problems with midrange detail. That's my experience with these.

[@SoundWaveTrax]

@@zaim_ipek He has plenty of source gear. I don't think source gear can change sound to the degree you're implying.

[@josuad6890]

I got this thing for a mere 200$, and well, moving from IEMs (notably B2 and starfield) and the dreaded ATH-M50 (God I swear that M50 sounds awful), it was really nice to hear this. I've heard a 350k$ set of speakers before, and this R70x would often time remind me about how it feels hearing that damn expensive set I've once heard. It's wide, it's warm, but contrary to the review, I don't really hear a lot of missing details even though it's kinda warm-ish. Even AB-ing the R70x with my Blessing 2, sometimes even hear things that B2 can't even present. Now, I didn't have a lot of experience about headphones. The only thing I know is this thing and the god-awful M50, and some other gaming headsets. If this thing is bad in headphones standard, then maybe going to a well reviewed headphones like the Sundara will give me a better experience.

[@divinecurrent9053]

I have both the R70x and the Sundara. They are around the same price new, but if you want bright and neutral with emphasized detail, the Sundara is the way to go. However, I personally prefer the tonal balance of the R70x, because it is warm but still extended, and with a Brainwavz pad swap the soundstage is as good as the Sundara. Plus, it's super light and comfortable. So if you enjoy the R70x like I do, and they remind you of an expensive speaker system, just enjoy them and don't take other reviewers opinions too seriously. I happen to really like the HD58X more than the HD600 and 650, even though pretty much every reviewer here says they're not that good.

[@josuad6890]

​@@divinecurrent9053 good to know then. Can I ask though what brainwavz pad are you using? might consider to buy one myself. Thanks!

[@josuad6890]

footnote: I'm using ifi zen dac powered with a random 5v 3A adapter on a DIY balanced cable with firmware 5.3. Just tried it with fiio BTR5 on USB dac mode, and I realized the soundstage is just... gone. Haven't got enough time to judge the sound properly though. So yeah, everything I wrote above is my impression of R70x paired with a ifi zen dac balanced with balanced jack. It may not work this way with some dac on the market.

[@divinecurrent9053]

@@josuad6890 I've tried two so far, the XL Perforated PU leather, and the normal size Round Hybrid. the XL ones make a wider soundstage and have really good treble extension, whereas the smaller hybrids are warmer and less open, actually very close to the stock pads, but more soundstage and bass. I prefer both over stock. Also, as a side note, I think Audio Technica made a very capable driver that just needs some more room to breathe, considering it is a pretty large driver at 45mm. I want to try more pads as well, because it seems that the PU leather allows more treble to come through, while the stock and hybrids pads absorb some of that energy.

[@VSN-wb2ly]

Nope, I don't know what this guy was coping but the mid is definitely not grainy as he said, the treble is not as forward as hd600 or Sundara but it's not missing either (just pushed back, with EQ you can fix it)

[@WermMilk]

i have this pair, and the right ear up is loose it seems. It swivels far too much back than it's supposed to. Anyone know how to tighten back the swivel or a possible fix?

[@aqwandrew6330]

So the r70x is not flat as many people said but more upper mid forward? while 6xx/650 have a warm mid?

[@tworeviews2732]

hmmm quite different from my experience...

[@xstx8859]

Interesting，crinacle rated it very highly

[@trellusg]

And he’s right 😌

[@aqwandrew6330]

@@trellusg is it?

[@wevegotafileonyou]

I would not call them warmish but veiled. Even with good amplifiers, they are pretty boring headphones compared to the MSR7b brother.

[@rbmanb]

So to sum it, you don't like these headphones.

[@rbmanb]

I just might give this a try since I live in Taiwan, and the rest of the brands are way to expensive to afford.

[@d1gg3r81]

Is this DMS?

[@MRFUTURETECHNOLOGYGAMING]

Redhead beautiful 😉😉❤️❤️ but I think you should get the Hifiman sundara or go get the hd600 or 650 6xx but never the 660s not worth $500 if Timbre a priority for you

[@zaim_ipek]

Which amp did you use?

[@maxsettings7884]

Asgard 3, Rebel Amp, and a modded ZDT Jr.

[@zaim_ipek]

@@maxsettings7884 Thanks for the reply.

[@mikemabike]

How is the imagining on it?

[@mynameisharlan]

I think you need to clean your ears before reviewing your headphones.

[@thomasfischer9259]

complaining about the bass in ''reference headphones''. Comparing it to the Hifiman and 6xx. lol

[@nataflet]

Thin is a characteristic of AT headphones.

[@VSN-wb2ly]

Out of all reviewers i came across, you're the weirdest one..

[@nzrlsyzwn]

why people listen to this guy lol