Audio- Technica ATH-PRO700mk2 Review

Audio Technica ATH-PRO700mk2's

The sturdily built Audio- Technica ATH-PRO700mk2's are a pair of bass centric over ears aimed at the relatively crowded "DJ" headphone market. They feature swiveling, folding and rotating ear cups, above average passive noise isolation (largely due to the clamping force) a fully adjustable, notched and numbered headband as well as a durable plastic construction. While they can often be found for much less, the $230 dollar retail price point makes these headphones a relatively expensive choice. In many ways the ATH-PRO700mk2's price point is justifiable, however there are few ways in which the $230 dollar price point isn't warranted. The ATH-PRO700mk2's are another one of those extremely subjective headphones that produces a very polarizing sound characteristic.  People tend to absolutely love the sound signature or absolutely despise it. I am unfortunately the latter, but in my extensive listening to the PRO700mk2's I have tried to get past my personal preferable sound characteristics and truly get a feel for what the PRO700mk2's bring to the table.

The ATH-PRO700mk2's are packaged in a sufficiently protective box and include a nice faux leather drawstring carrying pouch, 1/4 inch adapter and two cables, one very short straight cable and another coiled cable.  The ATH-PRO700mk2's do have detachable cable functionality, so the inclusion of two cables is a very nice addition.  The coiled cable is threaded on the end allowing for insertion of the screw-on 1/4 inch adapter.  Both straight and coiled cables screw into the PRO700mk2's left ear cup resulting in a secure fit so that the cable can't be pulled out of the headphones by an accidental yank or snag.  The overall build quality is fantastic, with a durable plastic construction and beefy joints.  The PRO700mk2's even surpass my Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's in terms of construction quality and overall ruggedness.  Both cables are a relatively thick gauge with plenty of insulation insuring cable durability for years and years of listening.  The headband is thick and provides ample clamping force.  The ear pads are a bit disappointing as they are extremely thin (more on that later) and the adjustable headband is a bit too resistant to well... adjusting. Aside from a few issues, the build quality is pretty much top notch as far as durability is concerned.  I think the aesthetic design is ok, I just don't understand why Audio Technica didn't accent the Audio Technica logo on the side of the ear cups with a different color (silver maybe?).  I suppose that Audio Technica was trying to go with a more simplistic, non-flashy design with the PRO700mk2's but I really wish that they had emulated the legendary Audio Technica ATH-M50 aesthetic design more.  This is however only a minor personal gripe that has nothing to do with the most important factors when choosing a headphone: comfort and sound quality.

Housed within the PRO700mk2's ear cups are absolutely massive 53mm driver units, that would be much more impressive if they weren't jammed so close up to your ear!  The drivers are not recessed into the ear cups like many headphones and the ear pads are so thin that part of your ear literally rests on the metal grille that protects the driver.  This provides for a very uncomfortable listening experience.  I honestly cannot fathom why the ear pads are so thin. In addition, a hefty amount of clamping force is present, that wouldn't be so bad with some decent ear pads but is exacerbated by the thin ear pads. While the sound quality of the PRO700mk2's is somewhat debatable, the comfort is absolutely not.  All Audio Technica needs to do is slap some thicker, comfier ear pads on the PRO700mk2's and the problem is solved!  The ears also do tend to get a bit hot and sweaty during extended listening sessions due to a lack of breathability from the ear pad material.

PRO700mk2's and included accessories

Ah, the sound quality.  This is the most sensitive subject in regards to the PRO700mk2's.  The main issue that I have with the PRO700mk2's sound quality or rather sound signature, is that it only performs well with very selective genres.  I was initially alluded to this fact after reading several peoples reviews claiming that the Audio Technicas were bass heavy headphones.  They are indeed bass heavy and the bass is one area where I am able to appreciate the PRO700mk2's massive 53mm driver units.  The bass extends low without significant roll off until the extreme (and I mean extreme) low end is reached.  I wouldn't classify the bass as being controlled because it simply isn't, but it isn't particularly muddy either.  The bass is relatively punchy but can sometimes be a bit slow and by that I mean that in faster, more complex tracks the bass feels like it lags behind ever so slightly. The mid range is quite honestly a fail in every sense of the word with these headphones and like the comfort it is an area that was obviously overlooked by Audio Technica.  I now feel nostalgia from when I wrote my Sony MDR-XB700 review, what was the word that I repeated a hundred times in that review? Oh yes, I remember now, it was RECESSED!  The mid range is very badly recessed and disappointingly so. In this fashion, rock and acoustic music becomes near unbearable to listen to with these headphones. Medium range vocalists also suffer due to the recessed mids.  The treble is a tad too sparkly for my tastes and I would say that its verging of sibilance most of the time and does become sibilant at the extreme upper ranges.  Overall blending between frequency ranges could be better, but this issue is likely due in part to the aforementioned lack of mid range clarity, definition and detail and its subsequent recessed state.  If only the mid range where much more prominent and the upper range was toned down just a bit, these headphones would be just perfect.  They perform very bad with any genre thats not bass centric.  This is unfortunately the case with many similar DJ headphones, but I was hoping for the ATH-PRO700mk2's to break the mold and this apparently is not so.

Portable ball configuration

The PRO700mk2's have received mostly rave reviews from most of the folks who have bought them although many have stated the same issues that I have in this review.  The ATH-PRO700mk2's will suit the type of listener who prefers bass centric music and isn't a "genre switcher" like me, who can go from trance to classical, to jazz to hard rock in one listening session.  I can assure you that if you prefer comfortable headphones and or listen to music that is not bass centric or even if you are treble sensitive, the ATH-PRO700mk2's will not suit you in the slightest.  The bass is impressive, but that and the build quality (not comfort) are the only areas where I was impressed.  Their is a headphone out there for everyone, this particular pair however, is not for me.  I will give credit where credit is due and sum up with this: the build quality durability wise is fantastic, the comfort needs much improvement, the sound quality, while subjective, provides good bass response but mediocre to poor mid range prominence, clarity and definition, the upper range is almost their but it is just a tad bit too sibilant in the extreme upper ranges.  I implore anyone considering the ATH-PRO700mk2's to, if possible, audition a pair and listen to them for yourselves whether its at your local audio/ headphone source or a friends pair in addition to considering what my review and others have stated in regards to sound quality in particular.  Be sure to check out the links below!

CLICK HERE for Audio- Technica ATH-PRO700mk2 Product Page
CLICK HERE for Audio- Technica ATH-PRO700mk2 Amazon Product Page

Grado SR-80i Review

Grado SR80i's

The Grado SR80i's are open backed, on ear headphones that sport an impressive combination of an expansive sound stage, a warm sound signature that plays particularly well with vocal, acoustic and rock music, a sparkly upper register with tight and controlled bass all for the extremely reasonable $100 dollar price point. The SR80i's mark an improvement over the original Grado SR80's, this includes slightly improved bass response due to newly enhanced driver units.  The 'i' moniker indicates "improved" according to Grado, and the SR80i's do indeed offer marked improvements over the original SR80's like increased ear pad comfort and an ever so slightly tweaked design.  The SR80i's are truly spectacular on almost every single level and are currently one of my favorite headphones in my collection.  Aside from a few minor drawbacks that buyers need to be aware of, the SR80i's sport a fantastic price to performance ratio.  Prepare for the SR80i's to be showered with praises in the next few paragraphs because these headphones are honestly in my opinion some of the best value cans on the market for their respective price point.

The SR80i's are manufactured by Grado Labs in the U.S.A, specifically in Brooklyn New York.  They came packaged in a rather simplistic box reminscent of 80's style packaging.  Within the flat box is of course, the SR80i's themselves surrounded snugly by a plethora of protective foam, a 3.5mm to quarter inch adapter, a nice little note to the buyer about the headphones and a warranty notice.  No carrying case nor pouch is supplied with the SR80i's, but considering the open backed nature and price of the headphones this is not a detractor as you wont want to be taking your SR80i's out of the house very often. Other than the aforementioned items, accessories are strictly limited to the quarter inch adapter.  This is part of Grado Labs no nonsense, no frills approach to absolutely awesome audio quality.

SR80i Right Ear cup/ Driver Housing

If you haven't gotten the vibe yet simply from the aesthetic design, the SR80i's are purposely intended to look have a retro look and feel to them.  The first thing I thought about when I first saw the SR80i's and many of Grado's other headphones was of the old 50's and 60's style headphones, specifically the headphones that the radio operator uses in the beginning of the popular Kings Speech movie.  The aesthetic design is fairly polarizing: you either love it or you hate it.  I happen to love the retro design and feel of the headphones, but folks preferring more modern looking gadgetry will likely not care for the Grado SR80i's aesthetic design. They are an on ear design, and the pads take a bit of getting used to.  They are a tad bit itchy at first, but if you wear them enough and break in the pads, the itchiness will recede in time.  The build quality is what I would categorize as sufficient.  They are most definitely not travel headphones.  The construction is far too fragile for travel and the open back design defeats the entire purpose of travel headphones.  I have confidence that, if treated carefully, they will last many many years but if you are one of those that tend to abuse your gear, you may want to look elsewhere: your SR80i's won't hold up long.  The headband has absolutely no padding on it whatsoever.  This did not prove to be a detractor for me as I have plenty of hair atop my head, but for those who are bald, this fact could prove to be a comfort issue.  I only have one major gripe in regards to the build/ design of the SR80i's.  The ear cups have the ability to swing around infinitely and this often results in the cables being tangled and twisted. Aside from this minor flaw, the SR80i's score an acceptable level of fit and finish.

As far as sound quality is concerned, the SR80i's are absolutely some of the very best budget oriented open backed headphones on the market.  The SR80i's embody what I would consider to be a relatively warm sound signature, but they simultaneously don't sacrifice upper range clarity and definition.  The instrument separation is absolutely phenomenal for headphones in the $100 dollar price bracket. When  listening to rock and acoustic style music, I am able to discern each individual instrument with absolute ease.  Listening to any type of acoustic or instrument oriented music (in other words, non-electronic music) the SR80i's provide an incredible amount of depth, width and three dimensional feel to the music that is simply not found in comparable open backed headphones.  In my opinion, I feel that the Grado SR80i's dish out the perfect amount of bass.  The bass is not overbearing nor deficient or lacking in tightness and definition for that matter.  It blends beautifully with the mid range.  The Grado SR80i's are not plagued by recession in the lower, mid or higher ranges.  Everything is beautifully balanced and equally proportional. The mid range is extremely clear and precise and results in outstanding guitar representation. The treble is bright and sparkly, symbol crashes are crisp, female vocals are represented beautifully. All of this is maintained without the slightest amount of sibilance or harshness to the upper range.  Many people indicate in Grado SR80i reviews that the SR80i's are best suited for acoustic and rock music genres.  I respectfully disagree, as I have spent countless hours listening to trance and similar electronic genres with the Grado SR80i's and was impressed by the tight bass response and sparkling treble and how it translated when listening to electronic music.  Do not be deterred from the SR80i's if you aren't a rock listener, they perform equally as well with most electronic genres.  In regards to pure sound quality, the SR80i's are unmatched at the $100 dollar price point.  I could not be happier with these headphones, they are truly spectacular.  I now fully understand why Grado headphones have attained such a following.

flat ear pads and 3.5mm plug

There are a few things that buyers need to be aware of before they buy these headphones however.  The first is that these headphones ARE NOT intended for travel or out of the house use.  They have a relatively fragile build quality and in addition they are open backed headphones that readily let sound in and out.  In other words, they don't block outside noise hardly at all and they also leak whatever you are listening too.  Open headphones are not and have never been really designed for traveling or any similar function.  In addition the SR80i's are an on ear headphone design.  Many reviewers have complained about the comfort level of the SR80i's, and while I don't have a problem with them, be aware that they will be sitting on your ear.

In summary, the Grado SR80i's are an amazing set of headphones at an absolutely amazing value and entry into beginning audiophile grade open backed headphones.  If you don't mind the open backed, on ear design of the headphones and love a warm, beautifully balanced sound signature all at a budget price, then the Grado SR80i's are the headphones for you.

Be sure to check out the product links below:
CLICK HERE for Grado SR80i Product Page
CLICK HERE for Grado SR80i Amazon Product Page

Dunu DN-11 Earphone Review

The Dunu DN-11 'Ares' are a interesting pair of earphones in that they utilize balanced armature drivers instead of dynamic drivers that are much more common in earphones in this price range.  The DN-11's sport a frequency response of 10Hz to 20kHz (according to information on their website), the aforementioned 6mm balanced armature driver design, a 26Ohm nominal impedance rating, beautifully crafted real gold driver housings complete with red and blue accents indicating right and left ear buds respectively and the shiny gray color scheme that nicely contrasts the gold. They can be had anywhere from $70 to a maximum of $100 dollars depending on where you get them.  So without further delay (other than a quick shout out to Dunu for sending these out for review) lets see what the DN-11's have to offer.

The Dunu DN-11's came packaged in a box that might even put Beats by Dre packaging to shame. Once the plastic is removed and the magnetic flap is opened you are presented with two gleaming gold ear buds and a shiny zippered case.  But wait, theres more! Underneath the earphones and case themselves is housed two, yes two more cases (one is brown leather like pouch and the other is a very nice very soft felt type pouch with a gold magnetic closing mechanism).  A wide variety of ear tips are also supplied in addition to the ear tips already installed on the DN-11's.

Upon holding the DN-11's I noticed how heavy they were for be

Dunu DN-11's Spectacular Packaging

ing a tiny little pair of earphones.  This of course because of the real gold used in the construction of the driver housings.  While some have stated that the gold used in the DN-11's construction is in fact 24 karat gold, I haven't been able to determine the truth in this claim partially because Dunu does not claim that its 24K gold on their website I am not a precious metals expert.  Whether or not its 24K gold or not is irrelevant however as the build quality is absolutely top notch.  The ear pieces or driver housings are extremely solid, the cable is insulated with high quality, flexible and relatively tangle free rubber.  The area where the singular cable splits into two is protected by an aluminum strain relief piece with the "Dunu" brand name nicely etched into its surface. The connector is a slightly angled L type connector and terminates with a 3.5mm gold plated connector.  Overall, the Dunu DN-11's build quality is absolutely top notch.  The only issue I see in regards to build is that the heavy weight of the gold driver housings often makes keeping the earphones in your ear a difficult task if you are doing anything other than sitting down.  Cable noise was also relatively low which is nice.

While the Dunu DN-11's do posses an incredible level of build quality and craftsmanship, the sound quality while not terrible, could use a bit of tweaking.  The sound quality of the Dunu DN-11's is not bad in the true sense of the word, but it is rather just a bit disappointing for the $70 to $100 dollar price point.  First of all, I found it extremely hard to find a correctly sized ear tip. Achieving a good seal with an ear tip that sits well in your ear is absolutely crucial for being able to hear low frequencies and for gaining an overall sense of sound quality.  The ear tips that came on the Dunu's didn't fit me in the slightest, I tried some slightly smaller ones, those didn't fit.  I then tried the two flanged ear tips and they fit ok except that bass still sounded too light and distant.  I finally settled on a medium sized ear tip that fits the best out of all the ones I tried but still doesn't fit nearly as well as most earphone ear-tips do for me.  While I was able to perceive the bass extension much better with these ear tips, the Dunu DN-11's are no doubt a "bass light" earphone.  The bass extends surprisingly low but lacks punchiness and presence.  Its very much in the foreground compared to the mid and upper ranges, however the bass is clean and not bloated or muddy at all.  There is a little bit of a bass roll of at the low frequencies (not the extreme low frequencies mind you) but the bass extension is actually some of the best that I have heard in balanced armature earphones or IEM's.  The midrange is very nice, present and clear however the DN-11's do not possess a warm or smooth midrange per se.  The highs on the DN-11's are very crisp, accurate and prominent but refrain from any and all sibilance which I like. Once again, the upper range extension is relatively impressive for a earphones with a balanced armature driver. Its interesting because to my ear, the mid range seems more present than the lower range and the upper range seems more present than the mid range. The DN-11's like to produce sound in a relatively unexciting manner, somewhere in no mans land between analytical and "fun" headphones that color the sound.  The sound stage is fairly decent for being a balanced armature earphone design, of course it won't beat a pair of full sized open backed headphones.

I am really on the fence in regards to the Dunu DN-11's sound signature.  I can say with certainty that I am not a huge fan of the DN-11's sound signature, but I can see how it may appeal to others.  It's by far one of the most interesting earphones I have ever listened to or reviewed.  Taking a glance at other reviews, the DN-11's seem to have received relatively positive reviews overall, but many reviewers state that the DN-11's sound signature is a bit strange.  I am inclined to agree with them, but I also know of many more recent Dunu IEM and earphone models that appear to received very positive reviews.  I am sure that there are people out there that would absolutely love the DN-11's sound signature, I simply happen to not be among them. However,  just because I don't personally care for the sound doesn't mean that you shouldn't check them out.  Be sure to give Dunu a good look and consideration for your next IEM or earphone purchase at the link below.

CLICK HERE for Dunu product website
CLICK HERE for Dunu DN-11 'Ares' Amazon product page