Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7B QuietPoint® Headphones review

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7B QuietPoint® Headphones is an affordable high quality noise cancellation product. Audio-Technica has creating high quality audio since 1962, and focus on microphones, headphones and studio equipment. I think that it is really good that Audio-Technica has moved into developing equipment for home usage making their products affordable for the average Joe.

A single AAA battery powers the ANC7B, and I have yet to run out of juice from two weeks of frequent usage. The ANC7B comes with the usual adapters, and travel carrying case. The detachable cord comes in two different lengths letting you decide what your needs are. Having the cord detachable from the left headphone means that you can also get an iPhone enabled microphone for the ANC7B. Of course it has to be a complete cord with a 3.5 mm input into the headphones. I made the mistake to think that any microphone adapter would work but then you get the microphone cord started after the shortest cord.

The ANC7B has got a laid back low-key design. You can’t tell from a distance that these are $200 headphones. At times they remind me of the futuristic headphones found in Jet Set Radio with the bulk of the headphones focused on the actual ear cups.

These headphones are really comfortable to wear for long sessions due to being light weight, and having a good pressure distribution. They stay still on the head no matter what you are doing, which makes them suitable for exercising and running.

When not in use you can wear them around your neck, but they tend to put pressure on the throat making this uncomfortable after a couple of minutes. Of note is also that the ear cups aren’t that big, and if you have large ears please try before you buy. The headphones are foldable into a flat position that still takes quite a lot of space. Putting them inside the carrying case they still feel quite manageable, and protected.

The cord has got some tendencies to tangle, but since you don’t put these in your pocket you won’t have any real trouble with that.

ANC7B has to be turned on to get a clear sound out of it. When it is turned off everything sounds muted, and listening is a sad experience. Turn them on, and boom there goes the neighbourhood. Besides removing noise it also adds depth, bass and power to the sound.

If I were to compare the sound and sound distribution to a real life situation I would say that it is like standing in the middle of a concert. Not on stage like the Studio Beats by Dr Dre but rather 10 feet from the stage. The sound feels really deep, and at times I wave around me as I can hear drums several feet outside of the headphones. If you are into layered music such as jazz and classical these really lifts, and separates into clearly audible segments. Heavy metal and more aggressive music tend to sound a bit less aggressive due to this. Fast drums separated from twin guitars actually sounds strange. Of course you get used to it quite quickly but headbangers should still take this in consideration. I guess this feature would be really good for use in a studio setting, and considering Audio-Technica is well renowned for their studio monitor headphones the heritage is clear.

The Quietpoint® circuitry works a threat, and really removes outside noise. As with all noise canceling headphones focus is on sounds low in the register such as fans, computers and traffic. Higher pitched sounds come through quite clearly, and most voices are easy to hear without removing the headphones. Just turning them off works fine when you don’t want to remove them.

Like with most noise cancellation headphones you get audible interference when the Edge/3G network is working. This is just as annoying as always, and turning the headphones off for gaming is not an option to me as the sound turns out so poorly.

For gaming the ANC7B works really well except for the digital interference from using the iPhone, and phone users in the vicinity. As the sound gets depth using the ANC7B games with majestic music such as Dungeon Hunter and Romance of the Three Kingdoms get a real boost in quality and impact. Games letting you play your own music alongside the sound effects get a good mix of sounds, as the sound sources aren’t muddled together.

Final rating

The Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7B QuietPoint® is a really good product featuring great noise cancelling technique, comfortable light weight design and sound quality to die for. The only drawback is the quite generic look, but on the other hand that might make them last longer compared to more out there designs.