Purchased the ATH-ANC7s a couple weeks back and they’re the first pair of “real” headphones I’ve ever purchased over $40. At first I was looking at the Bose QC headphones but I couldn’t rationalize a $300 purchase. Instead I bought some Sony headphones a year ago and they’ve suited me enough to not really care too much. Now, work has been a little loud and it’s only going to get more chatery around my office so I started looking again only to be convinced that $300 is just too much for headphones–again–, even if I’m going to have them on for 6 hours a day x 5 days a week.
Then I read an article in Wired magazine reviewing noise canceling headphones and they rated the Bose QC 2s at 8/10 and their pick for best noise canceling headphones was these Audio-Techincas at $240 list. Soon after reading I went straight to Amazon and noticed the $130 tag, then eBay and found Amazon’s deal was huge so I ordered them through Prime.
After 2 weeks of using them I’m loving them. The sound is crisp and powerful, they sound so good that every other stereo that before sounded okay now sounds like crap.
The set is very comfortable. The design makes you want to put the headset on backwards but after putting them on I had to think the unique design contributed to comfortableness. The cups fit perfectly over my ears and the padding never irritates, they do make a suction after a long time of wear (if you have very short hair on the sides).
The quality of the headphones are notable. It comes with a great soft/hard case, especially if you’re planning to using them for travel. My one complaint, the cord it comes with is too short, at only 6 feet (standard) I’m in the need of buying a longer one. But with the set having a jack it allows for getting a male-male cord for use and let’s you use the noise canceling without any cord.
The Noise Canceling is good. I had wanted it to work perfect, not allowing anything in but as expected only the consistent ambient noise was canceled out. Something I didn’t expect was, voices actually sound crisper. At first I thought these were a waste because of the noises and voices I still heard but I found myself trying to listen for noise rather then just using them. So after a few hours I was comfortable enough to the point that I couldn’t even hear the phone sitting next to me with just some light music playing.
Overall, the phones are great. Wired rated them at 9/10 and I’d have to agree although I’m completely biased. And at such a large price discount they’re definitely worth it. I’ve already purchased a set for a fellow employee and I’d suggest anyone thinking of noise canceling headphones to get these now while you can.
