Audio-Technica ATH-FC700A Headphones

Shopping for a new set of headphones is not an easy task - finding the best pair of headphones in your price range makes them a hard item to buy. They range in price from a few dollars to literally thousands of dollars, and vary in size from tiny earbuds to huge complete ear covering models. Sometimes it seems hard to pick a good pair without paying too much, and still get the comfort and sound quality that you want.

Audio-Technica has produced what they hope will be a good solution to this quandary with the ATH-FC700A set of on-ear headphones. Let's take a listen to see how well they sound.

Design and Comfort

Comfort is a major factor in any headphone purchase, especially if you will be using them for long listening sessions. And after listening to these for quite a few hours, I can say that the comfort with the ATH-FC700A headphones is superb. These do not fit over your ears, but rather the pads lay on your outer ear. Instead of covering your ear completely, they fit snugly onto your ear which gives them a smaller diameter on each pad. This makes the entire package smaller and easier to carry as well as lighter.

At a mere 4.6 ounces, these headphones don't feel like ten pound weights hanging of your ears. The adjustment pretty much takes care of itself. You put them on your head and they adjust out to fit, but they don't re-adjust when you hang them around your neck, so they hold that right size throughout the use of the product. After hours of wear they still don't bother my ears. I use these at work all day and don't feel uncomfortable at all.

Features

• New 40 mm neodymium drivers for outstanding sound
• Sealed design prevents sound leakage
• Headphones fold for compact portability
• Includes lightweight storage pouch, 1.6 ft cord with 3 ft extension and gold-plated mini-plug
• Available in 4 colors, Black (BK), White (WH), Red (RD) and Purple (PL)

Price

Price is always a big part of any purchase, and while these aren't bargain basement priced headphones, they are priced reasonably with a M.S.R.P. of $99.99. Remember, though, that this is Suggested Retail and you can usually find these headphones cheaper online.

Sound Quality Performance Testing

Absolutely essential to any headphone purchase is finding a pair that sounds as good as they look. Top on my list of sound quality characteristics is clarity and accuracy of the sound. To test the ATH-FC700A's I listened to a variety of 256 kbps audio tracks on my iPhone that I purchased from the iTunes store. I also listened to a few 128 kbps audio podcast streams.

Clarity makes all the difference with headphones, and I believe that it's part of the reason that these headphones are a little pricey. With cheap headphones the quieter, more distant sounds turn into static and go unheard. The clarity with these headphones is amazing. You will hear nuances in your music that you haven't heard before from the same song. The 40 mm drivers leave little to the imagination when listening to music, and I've noticed with audio books, the narrator sounds clearer.

In terms of blocking out external sound, the ATH-FC700A's do a fine job. The closed back design does block out most background noise that you experience. It is not a complete sound deadening that you receive with complete ear covering headphones, but it does make for a much quieter listening experience.

Folded View		Overhead View

Portability

Compact is usually a term only used to describe ear buds, but these headphones fold up neatly and come with a soft drawstring bag to carry them in. Not as small as earbuds, but I think it's worth the size difference for the sound difference. The cable on these headphones is short, but comes with a three foot extension cable. The one thing that really bugged me about the cable is that it has a Y-shaped cable. That is there is a cable coming from each ear down to the jack, rather than having a single cable out of one ear. This makes it easier to get tangled, and I would have preferred it with a single style cable.

Audio-Technica ATH-FC700A Portable Headphones

In conclusion, I can say that the ATH-FC700A headphones would be a great purchase for any listener looking for a sub-$100 pair of headphones. The sound quality is superb, and the ATH-FC700A headphones do an amazing job with clarity. As long as you can deal with the Y-shaped cable, these will be an excellent choice for any listeners.

Pros: Excellent sound clarity, Compact folding design, lightweight, comfortable on the ears.

Cons: Y-cable design rather than single wire, a bit higher priced than other headphone choices.

Rating: 4.0 out of 5

www.audio-technica.com