Audio-Technica ATHANC7 Noise-cancelling Headphones
by AUDIO TECHNICA
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List Price: Our Price: $164.99 You Save: $54.96 (25%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
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for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Audio-Technica ATHANC7 Noise-cancelling Headphones
Customer Review: Well worth the price if you are a frequent traveller
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought it after reading all the reviews here. Afterwards, I took a trip that totaled 30 hours on the plane. Here's my experience:
Pros:
1. Solid construction. Much better than my friend's flimsy Bose QC3.
2. Noise cancelling works pretty well. I tried my friend's QC3 and they are pretty close on that regard. (I didn't have the chance to try them side by side, so I can't tell which one is slightly better.) My guess is that Bose's NC technology probably works slightly better than ANC7, but with the ANC7's tight fit around the ear, the results came out similar. (I also bought or tried the Sony and Philips, and they are waste of money even though they are cheap.)
3. Audio quality is decent. People who say that audio quality is disappointing when NC is not turned on didn't take into consideration of the fact that this is a headphone with a 40mm driver. Your regular MP3 player simply doesn't have the power to drive these without turning on the NC/amplification circuit. I plugged it into the receiver with the NC off and the sound quality is amazing, strong and very tight bass, very dynamic sound although high is not as smooth as I would like. The drop of sound quality from NC On to Off on a mp3 player is about the same as the increase from via a mp3 to via receiver. (Don't run it through the receiver with the NC on. The double amplification causes too much noise.) My other home-use headphone Sony MDR-CD580 also uses 40mm driver. It has silky smooth high and mid when plugged into a receiver, but if plugged into a MP3 player, it sounded like crap. In summary, you really need to plug this into a decent receiver/amplifier to experience what this headphone is really capable of.
Cons,
1. It fits my ears ok and is comfortable enough for a couple of hours of continuous use. It does get a little hot after a while, and after 4 hours of continuous use, it's starting to get a little uncomfortable.
2. I don't particularly like the leather ear cup. Would prefer it has a cloth cover that let ear breathe like the Sony MDR-CD580 which used to have raving reviews about its comfort here on Amazon.
Customer Review: It really leaks. What a pitty!
Summary: 4 Stars
I tested the Denon AH NC732, the Audio Technica ATH-ANC7B, the JVC HANC250 and the Bose QC15.
Let me start by the worst of them as it was clearly the JVC, despite the reviews I checked. Actually, given the reviews, it was the first one I bought. However, soon I placed them, the sound was not good at all. The noise cancellation was ok, but you could hear a slight buzz. I return it
Then I bought the Audio-Technica. The sound is wonderful as well the noise cancellation, the best of the first three. I return it because the noise cancellation only works for the person using the headphones :-). Someone on the side can hear very well the music being played. Despite what some reviews say, it has nothing to do with the sound volume you are using. The headphones just leak very easily.
There was another reason that made me return them. They are just too big! As I want to use the headphones for air travelling, I suspect that with these headphones, someone would ask me if I was not mistaken as I should be on the groung maneuvering the ground movements of the plane :-) I return it.
Then I bought the Denon's. They were the best considering the sound quality and the noise cancellation performance. You hear a slight wiss with the NC on, but it does not bother. Also, they are very comfortable (I used them from Frankfurt to Houston 9h flight). I kept them...
Last, the Bose QC15 are really good. I test them in a Apple store during the Christmas shopping period. I was amazed with the NC performance. Actually, it was so good that I felt a bit dizzy in the end. I think this is something that one will get used to. The sound was just the best and much better than the QC3 in all spectrum.
However, they cost more than twice the Denon's and not sure at all if it is worth it. I had trouble to justify it for me, although I travel a lot and I can afford them.
Also, they are bigger and heavier, which is important to consider to fit in a bag with computer.
At the end, considering all the money lost with the returns, I may have been better off if I went directly to the Bose.
Customer Review: Very very impressive.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have always like Bose, and almost bought one after months of salivating, but based on the reviews here, I decided to give the Audio Technica a try.
It's very good. My wife and I flew around the world just recently, and I got to see it's effects on long distance air travel. In one flight lasting 14 hours, I watched three movies straight (yes, it is very comfortable) in what can only described as the quiet of your home. And slept or read the rest of the time. It's amazing anyone can be fresh after 14 hours of sitting in a plane, but if you cancel the noise out of that equation, the odds turn to your favor.
One nice feature - you can take the audio input wire off the headphones for getting up quickly ( my wife tends to use the rr quite often) - a feature I loved.
And boy does it work - the difference is astounding with and without it. You raise the highly comfortable over-the-ear pads off your ear slightly, and all of a sudden you realize how noisy even a brand new wide body airline is with the dull engine roar and babies crying, never mind the little shuttles that ply the US skies these days. Then put it back on your ear, and all is calm and quiet in your world.
The construction is solid - 5 stars. Everything smacks of quality, right from the packaging to the headphone cable. And the case that comes with it is ideal for storing the headphones, as well as your iPod if you have it, or any mp3 player.
Sound quality is decent, but is good only when the Noise canceling feature is activated. Else it sounds like it doesn't have the oomph. But I would keep the noise canceling activated all the time, because unlike some others I have tested, it doesn't fill your ears with an annoying white noise in the absence of audio. Battery life is excellent - in fact lasted for over 30 hours of use.
I would love to test the Bose® QuietComfort® 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® Headphones, but for this price, I doubt Bose can do anything to catch up to AT. Fantastic job, you guys at Audio Technica.
Customer Review: Great headphones
Summary: 5 Stars
I travel quite a bit for work and purchased these (ATH-ANC7) because I had to crank my Grado headphones up way too loud to hear them over the noise on the plane. These work extremely well at canceling out the jet engines and other plane noises. Just got back from Australia, and would have gone nuts if I hadn't had these cans. Audio Technica includes the adapters for airplanes, too. I discovered that they also work extremely well at work for canceling out the ambient noise (ie, computer fans, vents, etc) - I hadn't realized how noisy my work area was until I started wearing these. Unfortunately, doesn't work as well at canceling out coworker discussions... However, the over the ear design does block out a significant amount of external noise anyway.
Only three things that I found to complain about with them - 1) after ten hours or so of wearing them, they started to get uncomfortable. But show me another pair of cans that I can wear for that long and not have them hurt - certainly not my Grados or any earbuds. 2) There's sometimes a weird "vacuum-y" feeling that I suspect is induced by the noise canceling, but when it happens, it's normally only momentary. 3) the plastic surrounding the jack rattled a bit at first, but once a cable is plugged in, no rattle. And it really doesn't rattle anymore. Weird.
Other stuff - the battery (the first one) has so far lasted around fifty hours and is still going strong. The headphones are comfortable enough to sleep while wearing them. And while I don't think they sound quite as good as my Grados, they do sound excellent - very accurate across the board. A pleasure to listen to. Great protective case - big enough to fit an iPod nano, and probably big enough to fit one of the bigger ones. Cool blue power LED. A nice thing with noise canceling headphones is that they allow you to listen to your music quieter than you otherwise might, which can help a lot with protecting your hearing.
All in all, I'm very pleased that I bought these - they do exactly what they're supposed to do, are comfortable and well made, and sound great. A great deal for the money.
Customer Review: Just gorgeous sound
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow! I stopped at a local music store tonight and looked at their array of headphones. I decided on these because I liked several things. One, the specs were what I was looking for. Two, they were noise canceling. Three, they had replaceable ear pads. Finally, they have a detachable cord! If the cord goes bad I can just buy another one.
I can't tell you how pleased I am with the sound. I'm hearing details I haven't heard before! I listen to all sorts of music. So far I've listened to some Jan Garbarek, Ralph Towner, James Taylor, Anne Dudley, Manuel Barrueco, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, P.M. Dawn, Acoustic Alchemy, Deep Forest, Paul Winter, Chick Corea, Rachel Portman, Soul II Soul, John Mayer, Egberto Gismonti, The Art Of Noise, Jeremy Soule, Black Eyed Peas, Basil Poledouris, Panic! At The Disco, The Roots, Guns 'n' Roses, Guy, Dio, Peter Kater & R. Carlos Nakai, Pink, Nils Petter Molvaer, George Michael, Michael Stearns, Madhouse, Röyksopp, Steely Dan, Metallica, and Evanescence. Most of the music I listened to were in MP3 or FLAC format and had a bit rate of 192 or higher. I did listen to a few at 128 and they sounded good too, but never as good as the higher bit rate files.
I decided to list those artists because the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint's sounded amazing while listening to all of them! I'm hearing things I've never heard before. Others have complained that they aren't hearing a good bass response in these headphones. It's true their is no bass boost like some other headphones have, they won't add bass where there is none. I've been in professional music studios for most of my adult life and these headphones remind me of the true, honest sound you would get from nice studio monitors or nice studio headphones.
The bottom line is that I love these headphones and look forward to many years of enjoyment from them. The best part is that I got them brand new for $106, tax included, from this local music shop. I was stunned when I looked up the prices when I got home. I would easily pay twice that for these headphones, they are amazing!