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Audio Technica ATH-AD700 Headphones: AU $105 Shipped from Amazon.com

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I've been waiting a good year for a decent bargain to come up for these headphones. These headphones get excellent reviews, and are widely described as one of the best you can get in that price-range. (Only criticism some people have of them is a weaker bass.)

Missed out last time they were available on Amazon to ship to Australia (about 12 months ago), since then I've been checking Amazon every now and again hoping they'd come back.

And now suddenly Amazon have allowed these to ship to Australia! Not sure how long this will continue. Plus it's definitely the cheapest you can get them new in Australia, currently AU$105 shipped.

PS: When checking out, Amazon uses a dodgy exchange rate when giving the price in AUD, to cover the costs of exchanging currencies. It is usually cheaper to swap the currency to USD instead of AUD, and pay your bank's foreign transaction fee (eg mine was 2.5%).

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Price History at C CamelCamelCamel.

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closed Comments

  • +4

    I wouldn't consider these headphones audiophile.

    • I beg your pardon?

      • +11

        It's true - people shouldn't buy them expecting audiophile headphones, they should consider them better than the average consumer's headphones. In fact, when I had the AD700s, I found them pretty bad for music and good for gaming and movies. The AD900s that I had were better for music - but for the price you pay you can still get far better headphones.

        For music-based headphones, that are the start of the "audiophile" range I'd say the Alessandro MS-1s are the best performance:price. That's for music listening. They're $139 delivered from headphones.com.au - http://headphones.com.au/psingle?productID=19

        If anyone wants headphone buying tips, let me know - I've sampled so many headphones at so many price points that I think I can give a decent guide on what to buy depending on what you want them for (games, movies, music) and what kind of music you listen to. Edit: And where they'll be used - quiet/loud place or by yourself.

        • Fair enough. Maybe you can help me - I'm looking to upgrade my beyerdynamic DTX 800's, which have seen better days.

          I mainly listen to music and I want as much clarity as possible - able to pick out what individual instruments are doing. I have enjoyed the sound out of the beyers, I'm willing to spend up to about $300.

          Styles: intricate jazz, house/dance music, classical/orchestral.

          For home PC listening.

          DT440 worth a look?

        • Can you recommend something similar in price-point and style to the SHURE SE310? I found sound wise to be fine, but the build is poor. Sent back a number of times for replacements since I first purchased them in '09. I use them on the go mostly: Think an eclectic music collection from Lady Gaga to Vampire Weekend to Miles Davis to Bach.

        • +1

          I just ordered the Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro for $216. If you enjoy the Beyer sound then I would stick with them and go with either the DT880 or DT990. All 3 can be had for < $300

        • +1

          @The Quote Train, I'd have to agree with serideth on this one, the DT990 Pros are really nice. Not great for my music collection, but still some great headphones.

          For classical/orchestral you really can't beat a pair of nice neutral headphones like the AKG K701 - but it depends on the user themselves, with my K701s and mixed with a decent amp (think neutral DAC/amp combination like the O2/ODAC) they really shine and become worldclass.

          @fred09, around that price point in in-ears my only experience is the UE TF10s (I found the TF10s go well with almost any music) - they are a little on the bassy side, but go well with a neutral amplifier/source and even unamped they aren't "boomy" just contain some extra bass - detailed at that. I upgraded to the top UE customs because I loved the TF10 sound signature so much and mixed with the O2/ODAC amp/source combination, they are just the best listening experience I've been through.

        • Thanks - where did you get it for that price?

        • +1 for the Alessandro MS-1's. Superb listening experience for the price.

          Headphones.com.au aren't the cheapest - you can get the MS-1's for $109 with free shipping to Australia direct from the Alessandro website: http://www.alessandro-products.com/headphones.html

        • Or you can buy Alessandro MS-1s direct from the manufacturer for $114 USD delivered.

          And yes, AD-700 fall well short in terms of audiophile qualities.

          Alessandros are quite nice but they're very coloured indeed.. a long way from neutral. I like them for listening straight out of iPad and stuff..

          AD-900 has nice details but I find vocals to sound too thin and it does quite lack bass. On the plus side its very easy to drive with prety much any source.

          K701 is superb headphones.. And given they go for under $300 nowadays, a real bargain. But they need just the right amplifier to drive them otherwise they sound pretty dead.

        • +2

          Agreed on the K701s, which I use as my main at-home headphones, and the TF10's, which are my on-the-go IEMs. Gecko, how do the K701's sound paired with the O2/ODAC combo? I'm currently pairing them with the E17/E09K combo, curious to know the difference.

          Also agreed on the DT880 and 990 - definitely an upgrade over these AD700s. In my humble opinion, you're keen on clear neutral sound, to hear the way music actually sounds recorded, go for the 880's. The 990's slightly emphasise treble and bass to produce more of a "fun" signature.

        • +2

          Hey Eivad,

          The K701s have a really flat signature with the O2/ODAC - but oh god the detail is incredible, simply amazing. I love a nice flat signature for my classical collection, and that's when I reach for the K701s. You might be disappointed by them if you like more than just neutral. Everything else I grab my UE customs and listen with them, as they provide just the right colouration to be suited to most any kind of music - mixed with an awesome soundstage, feels like the music is directly interfaced with your brain.

          And everyone else, yeah direct from manufacturer is the cheapest but after a few bad purchases with overseas purchases (not Alessandro - my MS-Pros from them were amazing and aftersales support was brilliant), I'm a big fan of buying with a nice local warranty - might not be worth the extra $25 to everyone else especially here on ozbargain (as I understand it's 20% odd of the purchase price!), but to me I much prefer buying locally - sort've promotes headphone stores in Australia which we're severely lacking!

        • Gecko,

          Thanks for the detailed explanation - I have to agree the detail is indeed incredible on the 701s - the tight bass and wide soundstage suits classical and jazz so well.

          I've got to try driving them with the O2/ODAC combo, but sadly I can't find a JDSLabs store here in Australia. Maybe I'll drop down to our sister state and pay Noisy Motel a visit =)

        • I would recommend Audio Technica's ATH-M50 headphones. They are designed as monitor headphones so the clarity is there, at a reasonable price too. I bought two pairs, one for my basic home studio and one for using on the go.

          Best headphones I have bought, I am interested in music production though and want to hear all the instruments and clearly which these do. Normally I might not recommend to others but you mentioned you want to hear all the instruments.

          I am by no means an audiophile or overly experienced with music production but I know what I like and these are great.

          EDIT: Looked on Amazon, about $113 shipped to Oz. http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATHM50-Professional-Mon…

          There are straight and coiled cable varieties. I prefer the coiled. My straight cabled ones gets tangled so easily.

        • I would recommend Audio Technica's ATH-M50 headphones. They are designed as monitor headphones so the clarity is there, at a reasonable price too. I bought two pairs, one for my basic home studio and one for using on the go.

          Need to burn them in and sound will be amazing. Also they need to improve on the damn headband (no cushioning) + pleather earcups (sweaty ears!)

        • Hi Gecko, do you mind to tell me where to get the O2/ODAC? I want to drive DT 880 600ohm.

          The one I googled seems only come with US AC adaptor?
          http://www.jdslabs.com/item.php?fetchitem=48

        • +1

          Hey sheepy,

          Yeah get it from jdslabs.com and get the 15v VAC power adaptor from jaycar. If you're really serious about buying it, let me know and I'll find the exact power adaptor I bought.

        • Thanks Gecko, if you can find the exact power adaptor that'll be great!

        • Alright, it's this one here: http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=MP3059&keywords=…

          Just in case you don't know, you need an AC adaptor, not the regular DC adaptors you get with hard drives and things, that's why you need this special one.

          make sure you use the right tip, as a friend couldn't get his odac/o2 combo working for ages and it was just the wrong tip.

        • Awesome! Thanks Gecko.

    • Fair enough, have removed from title, it's probably a subjective thing anyway. I simply copied it over from Amazon.

    • +4

      Pretty subjective thing really…

    • I don't know why people are negging him, these headphones are used more for gaming (excellent for FPS), and less for audiophile (or even studio recording) purposes.

      Audiophiles do still listen to "entry-level audiophile" headphones, eg Grado SR80i. These, despite being in a similar price range, focus much more on music quality, neutrality, and transparency than the ATH-AD700s do. That's why these headphones cannot be classified as audiophile.

      If you try to use these to really appreciate music quality, you'll be left wondering why your music has such an abnormally wide soundstage, and lack such bass.

      Nevertheless, still a set of great headphones. Not necessarily a good price though The AD900's were selling for $110 shipped a couple of days ago, and have substantially better tonality and transparency.

      • Woah, AD900s were selling for $110? Do you have a link please (I can't find it here on OzBargain/Google)?

        They normally sell for like $200+, from what I found on Google. Or $270 on Headphonic.

      • are you sure the AD900 were selling for $110?

      • Lol AD900 were never even selling for $110 shipped for New ones from Amazon or even elsewhere. Any link to back it up please ?

        Ok got the deal for this but it was a Price Mistake .Most of the order from ebay/BugDig were cancelled See more details on this thread :

        http://slickdeals.net/f/5557760-Audio-Technica-AD-900-79-99?…

        No way it could have ever sold for 80$ :P

  • +1

    agree, subjective.
    I've read a huge amount of forums, reviews etc.. and these are the headphones for me (I hope).

    Thanks for the post.. will use link.

  • went with the Samson SR850, which according to whirlpool Gaming Headphones forum is a better buy. But at this price, might as well grab these when the local price hovers around $180

    • +1

      Much better value for sure, better sound quality from the Samson, but ATH-AD700 is the most comfortable headphones I have ever worn, better soundstage too, so ideal for long gaming sessions.

      • +1 - definitely most comfortable I have worn too =)

      • have you got the velour pads for the Samson, the stock ones on the Samson are very uncomfortable, but with the velour they are comfortable enough for long gaming sessions

  • seems tricky to change to usd.. suggestions?

    (edit: i see.. after 'proceed to checkout' .. button says 'switch currency' in the box on the right titled 'Order Summary')

  • +2

    Excellent headphones, using them right now. Extremely comfortable even for long periods of time.

    +1

    • Do they really have purple mesh on the cups or is that just in the photo?

      • +1

        Steel purple mesh. The over the ears part are reallly comfy and it auto adjusts to every head size!

    • using them for what?

  • I bought these about a year ago - I didn't really like them. I have a smallish head, so these were really uncomfortable. What you might not realise on first sight is how BIG they are, so google some pics. Also they are 'open' headphones so they don't give you privacy and people close to you hearing it could get annoyed. The sound itself was very good for the price tho, but better suited to games and movies than music.

  • Good headphones but I have two issues (I know you point out they can now be shipped):

    1- This is generally their normal price on Amazon, therefore

    2- What until Cyber Monday has finished to see if it drops.

    This could be the best price, who knows, but I'll reserve judgement.

    • i've been looking on amazon for these for a long time.

      never seen them deliverable to australia for much under $140

    • bxpressiv is right.

      camelcamelcamel.com tracks Amazon pricing - the average price Amazon has been selling these for in the past 3 years is $97.67, with the lowest being $81.53.

      With regards to Australian shipping - I've been following various sets of headphones on Amazon for a couple of weeks (DT990s, Q701s, these ones and more) and I've seen each set available to ship to Australia for at least 1 or 2 days during the past 2 weeks.

      You can use camelcamelcamel to set price watches and email you when the price falls below a certain level.

      Perseverance, my friends, perseverance.

  • I've got these headphones. Fantastic sound (although bass heads will be extremely disappointed) and durability. Very comfortable as well can wear all day.

  • These headphones lack bass but apart from that I find them excellent. Very comfortable for long sessions and they sound fantastic in video games, movies and music.

  • Awesome headphones, been using them for over 2 years now. They are so comfortable. I usually have trouble wearing most headphones for more than an hour but I can wear these for a few hours easy without getting sore ears.

    • Similar experience, had mine for about 2 years and can wear them all day they are so comfortable.

      At this price I was about to buy a spare set, just incase… but the other half talked me out of it.

  • I've heard good things about these, I used to have the closed A900 so be wary that this is an open can. (sound leakage)

  • This is definitely a bargain. I bought mine for around 160 and they are great value for money at that price. Fantastic for games and decent for music and movies. They do have quite a bit of sound leakage though like people have said.

  • +1

    How does the M50 compare to these? Fairly similar price point.

    • I'd also like to know this. I have the ATH-AD700's but am awfully tempted to buy the M50's too!

    • +1

      ad700 has much bigger sound stage but tinny bass. m50 has pretty good bass but virtually no sound stage.

      personally, id get the m50 for music, but the ad700's for gaming or movies.

    • Safwanc pretty much said it ^

      Keep in mind that the M50s are closed headphones, whereas the AD700 are open. Open headphones are generally known to have better soundstage, but you can't take them outside because they leak a ridiculous amount of noise. M50s therefore are better for bus, train and plane trips, whereas the AD700s are brilliant when used at home.

    • I have both. But I use the Ad700 most of the time because it's so comfortable. M50 has better noise isolation and much better bass, but I like the Ad700's sound more, after optimizing EQ to get more bass.

      • Yes, if you are after more bass the M50's are the go. I also have the A700's (closed version) and prefer using these when listening to more piano, acoustic guitar and vocal based music.
        You gotta remember that sound is very a personal thing, what I might consider good another person may consider bad.

  • I've got a pair of these, they do sound nice and are comfortable for those with a medium-big size head. The only downside is that they have very little bass whatsoever even through an amplifier or dedicated soundcard. This deal is a great price though.

  • Nice find.
    they are also shipping these to Australia for ~$88
    http://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic-MMX-Multimedia-Digital-Mi…
    better for gaming imo. Awesome sound and has mic.
    or these if you have no need for USB connection
    http://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-Beyerdynamic-DT234-Pro/dp…

  • So there are no headphones that are good at everything (i.e. comfortable, closed, good bass, great soundstage)?
    Is it possible to get something with the above attributes for between $150-$200?

    I'll be mainly using the headset for gaming and the occasional movie/music.

    • i really think to get it perfect for your head shape and sound preference you'll have to try some yourself.

      some places (noisy motel?) allow you to swap if you aren't happy.

    • +1

      if u want bass on these headphones just increase the bass on the player's EQ, that's what I did to mine. Its preconfigured as basslight but you can increase the bass, not like it's incapable of playing it.

      • You can do this but it still isn't good bass, I'd love for these to have good bass. If they did I'd be experiencing multiple eargasms while listening with these things.

    • The DT770s would be a good choice for those criteria. It would be bordering on $200-$250 though, try and see if you can hold out for a good deal :)

    • Thanks All, I'll check out the DT770's as a start

    • It's hard to know what you expect/want.
      But the cans I posted above are light weight, closed, and great sound for under $100. And have a mic boom.

  • If anyone have low budget around 50$ you can check on Takstar 671 on ebay or ali express , it look huge because the big 53mm driver and the sound is awesome. It sound signature have dt880 bass but with bigger sound stage maybe like 701 but I'm not sure it the same ,well it cheaper and great for ozbargain :). For the lazy http://headfonics.com/2011/04/takstar-ts-671-what-can-i-get-…

  • Just got mine today, they are AWESOME! Great sound, perfect for the music I listen to so I'm not really worried about the apparent lack of bass. As other posters have suggested, they are pretty big, although they seem to fit me quite well and are extremely comfortable.

    Cheers OP!

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