 Little pieces of heaven |
| Review Date: May 22, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Duane Mason, West Coast |
Me: {if you care...} BA in Music, 20+ years music/sound production consultant...
You: on occassion like the likes of Diana Krall, Tommy Emmanuel and Anthony Wall ...
then you'll love these cherry wood-covered sonic marvels. They are wonderful to listen to, and eye-catching pretty as well. I don't mind letting others used these - as clip-ons, they are not exposed to personal hygiene like earbuds are. It's important to note these are set up to run the wire around the back of your head and not down the front of your neck. I've found this impacts by a fair amount how well they stay on my head.
Pros: they really sound great, very balanced, easy on the ears (you could seriously wear them for hours and forget you have them on), big sound but easy to carry with included pouch, no "in ear" fitting/discomfort issues
Cons: Only one so far, and it's not much of one - because they are clip-ons and light, I forget I have them on and move quick enough to dislodge them a bit on occassion, like when I play the Air Drums. It's not a show stopper, you get used to it quick enough. I don't jog but I am not sure you could wear them jogging, but for fast walking or a plane ride, they are great.
I've let others listen to them and they love them too. The price point is a tough one - do you really want to drop $100+ for phones you haven't heard? When I pay this much, I want a really good sound. These deliver and then some. I have pro quality recording phones and these keep up with them very well. I also have/had Bose earbuds - I returned them, these are much, much better sounding and fitting. Like I said, they are balanced sounding - they are not thumpers, they don't make your earlobes rumble. They play the lows just fine, but if you're used to a car stereo that rattles the windows with a 5000 watt subwoofer, you might find these a little light in the bass.
If you are after clarity, like to listen to what the musician recorded, like to listen to classical, pop, rock and jazz, I think you'll be in heaven hour after hour if you select these. |
Worth the money
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| Review Date: December 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Austin Harding, |
Okay let me lend my 2 cents about these cans- my main points:
1. Yes, worth the money
2. No significant downside
3. Comfortable
4. Look great
5. Sounds like 250 bucks
On my first point: Once you pull the trigger on these cans, you can be assured you haven't been suckered by inflated reviews. I've tried all its contenders and you simply must pay more to meet its match. If you have a good ear and aren't mislead by the Bose and dr. dre bass subterfuge, you will appreciate every moment these are on your head. If you're worried about sound leakage-don't be. I've had people plug these babies into their iphones at max and there is hardly a peep from them. If you want noise cancellation buy the Bose, but you'll be getting inferior sound. And let me add to that- just placing these over your ears significantly deadens the ambient noise,and with the music on- it won't matter.
Downsides? Ideally, I'd like these to fit completely over the ears, however once you've worn them for a while its not an issue. Another downside I can see is the wood housing succumbing to someone sitting on them. ( get a hard case )
Comfort: Light, and the cushions are just perfect for long durations. Careful, you might fall asleep!
Looks: Wood cans- classy. Not overly large or rediculous looking.
The sound: This is why you're buying them! When you get these delivered, make sure you have a comfortable chair and plenty of music. Let me give you a warning about break in- it sounds like geek gibberish but its not. As I've listened, I've noticed a far deeper tone develope and low frequencies resonating more pleasantly, basically the 'mud/distortion' you think you hear at first actually does disappear.
If you're spending this kind of money, you obviously have quality music to listen to. Great songs that take these around the whole range of frequencies: Beneath Alrischa (DaVinci code soundtrack) -why mention it- the song contains some frequencies so low I was feeling as well as hearing the song. Also 'mad world' donnie darko.
Another mention. Pay 20 bucks for a cheapo headphone amp, I'm using the E5 Fiio- its chinsey but puts that extra bump my iphone doesn't provide without blasting my eardrums.
Enjoy.
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Surprising Clarity and Power
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| Review Date: July 18, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Charles J. Villalobos, Denver, CO |
I bought these not knowing what to expect. I've never owned Audio-Technica equipment before. Having Grado headphones and audiophile speakers (av123), I consider myself a bit of a junior snob when it comes to sound reproduction. Grados not being a very portable type of headphone, I've used a pair of Koss KSC-75, which were doing a very nice job for their size. Well, those busted a little while ago and so I decided to roam around for a different set. At that point found these. Reading several reviews I expected to find that they worked about as good as the Koss's for five times the price.
I eventually decided as long as they weren't worse than the Koss's, they would do the job with with an upgrade in style. I mean come on, wood enclosures? That's just awesome! And considering Amazon was selling them for less than half their retail price, it also felt like a darn good deal.
Well, now I have them and I'm thoroughly impressed. If that's all you needed to hear you can stop reading and buy these. Unless you're a mega-audiophile snob, you won't be disappointed.
Ok, so now let's take the review step by step:
Fit - If you've ever used clip-on head phones, you'll usually note a couple of issues. First, the shape of the clip can affect the wear comfort allot. Rigid clips end up digging into the ear making it impossible to wear for a long time. Second, it's often the case that to make them comfortable you have to wear them a bit loose so that they don't press on your ears too much. Unfortunately, this makes them unstable and unfit for moving around even a little. Fit them too tight and they are a hassle to get on and off. Third, if you wear glasses like me, you soon find that clip-ons take up a bit of room on your ear, making it impossible to wear bent stem frames. I was fortunate that I wear straight stem frames, so I only had to move the stem up and rest it on the clip-ons. Most of the time this worked fine, but it does skew your vision.
Well, the ATH-EW9 solve all o these issues. The clips are made of soft flexible rubber suspended by a wire. You never feel the wire and the rubber just forms around your ear. The pad in front of the speaker is a soft cloth covered memory-type foam. Next, the clip is on a spring load so they open and close clam-like, giving easy on and off action. Lastly my glasses and the clips fit well together on my ear, barely know they are near each other. The weight is a feather. When put these on, having used the Koss's, I felt like I didn't even have them on.
Sound - In a word: "clear". In two: "clear" and "powerful". Unless you're a bass-head you'll find the max power output of these 28mm drivers seriously louder than is comfortable. The bass is clean and tonal and is capable of pounding a little bit, though not head rattling. They are also not completely closed, having side vents porting the back of the diaphram. This seems to help make the sound crisp without being tinny and effects a wider sound stage.
All in all I'm really glad I got them. They are very stylish and sound as good as I'd expect from such lightweight headphones.
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Amazing headphones for an even more amazing price!
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| Review Date: February 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: D. Bernard, St.Charles, Missouri United States |
There's no need to mention that these have amazing sound quality. You won't find clip on headphones better than these. I would like to mention as others have that these do not have booming bass. If you are looking for booming bass these are not for you. If you are looking for incredibly accurate bass (as well as the mid's and high's), then these are for you.
Inner ear headphones give me a headache, so these were one of my only options for high quality and very portable headphones. My main concern when I ordered these was comfort. Fortunately, these are the most comfortable headphones I have ever owned (I own over 20 pairs)!
I should mention that the headphones I received were a lighter colored wood than the stock Amazon picture. As they are hand carved, it is possible that the color may vary slightly. I would like to note that the coloration on the left and right earpiece match perfectly though.
If you are thinking about ordering these, what are you waiting for? Some may believe the price is a bit high (but in my opinion they are worth the retail price). You will be very pleased with these headphones! |
Easily best headphones I have ever used.
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| Review Date: May 21, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Shaun Wightman, Orlando, FL USA |
I'm going to level with you... I don't know anything about music... or music theory. What I do know is I love the heck out of these headphones. These are pretty. They honestly look like a very expensive musical instrument. These things look like they should belong in a steampunk alternate reality.
Aside from the looks, they sound great. I'm not a bass hound, but I do enjoy a fair amount of variety in my music, so it handles everything I throw at it; from New Wave, Hair Metal, Folk, Grunge, Jazz, and a smidge of symphonic power metal. I can safely say that it handles all of these beautifully.
Finally I wanted to point out that they are feather light and I barely can tell that they are on. These are the FIRST headphones I have EVER owned that I can say this about. I have always suffered from "Big-ear-itus" and cannot wear any sort of headphones without some form of discomfort, so this is a HUGE plus for these headphones.
The only negative I can say for them is the cord. Like many other reviewers have stated, these are a "behind the head" type of cord, so the right side has a much longer cord that the left side. This for the most part isn't a problem, but they have built this to accommodate a neck size that rivals the Hulk. I could also have stood for the splitter to be a little farther down on the cord... it's pretty close to the ear. I just want to say that this is in NO way a dealbreaker, and I'm just being over critical because this is the ONLY FLAW I can think of.
So in my un-expert opinion, if you are sick of sore ears and blandly designed headphones... you cannot go wrong with these babies. |
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