£3,000, audio-technica.com

Audio-Technica’s audiophile range of headphones has a new flagship model, an open-backed design to complement the closed-backed ATH-AWKG that has a distinctive wooden design. The ATH-ADX7000’s UK price is similar to the closed-back model – a cool £3,000. For comparison, that’s less than Focal’s flagship Utopia model and Meze’s Elites, which I reviewed in 2024, but it’s still a significant chunk of cash. So if you baulk at paying more than a few hundred for a pair of cans, read on to find out why some people think it’s worth it.

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It’s fair to ask if there’s something of a law of diminishing returns with gear once you start getting into these big numbers. Is a £3,000 headphone ten times better than a £300 one? Plainly not – but these things can’t really be measured so simply. Anyone who has experienced true audiophile quality can attest to the fact that it can be a transformative thing, a way of listening to music that is a wholly different experience from what most equipment provides. It’s often just ‘better’ – and not in a way that you can quantify using simple multiples. Yes, there are the stats – more on these shortly – but the way an incredible pair of headphones can make you feel is also a part of it.

Headphones such as the ATH-ADX7000s are better used for leisure listening rather than intense studio use, but could be useful for checking final masters or mixes. This model has an incredibly high impedance of 490 Ohms, meaning it prefers to be connected to an amplified source for best performance and highest gain. Audio-Technica says that this high impedance delivers fast transients, a defined low-frequency response and an expansive dynamic range. The headphones work fine with more consumer-grade sources, too, in my testing. The open-backed design leaks sound, as do all open backs, and they are designed to be neutral and not colour the signal.

The headphones come in a hard carry case with two cables – both three-metre nylon-wound, with small A2DC connectors at the cup end and one with a 6.3 mm unbalanced gold-plated jack plug and the other, a balanced 4-pin XLR connector. While the jack connector is the most widely compatible, the XLR is found on higher-end dedicated headphone amplifiers and other hi-fi separates, speaking to the premium systems people may be plugging into when spending this much.

The headphones themselves are surprisingly lightweight at just 275 grams, thanks to a honeycomb aluminium build and magnesium frame and come with two pairs of swappable ear pads. The design is remarkably comfortable, with the large pads sitting over your ears and remaining pleasant even for longer listening sessions. The lightweight and open design makes them less noticeable during wear than is usual with headphones this size.

AT has taken immaculate care in designing the 58 mm drivers, with an integrated driver unit featuring enhanced alignment of circular driver components (baffle plate, magnet, voice coil, diaphragm) for “more accurate, dynamic, and detailed sonic performance” according to Audio Technica. The brand has developed a new process for manufacturing that it calls the ‘High-Concentricity X Dynamic Transducer’. The open-air design is also intended to allow free movement of air out of and around the housing, reducing internal pressure and resulting in a fatigue-free experience.

This stuff is all impressive on paper, but how does it translate to real-world listening experience? Extremely well indeed. Tested with several different systems, including a dedicated Cambridge Audio headphone amp, the ADX7000s provide a superlative listening experience across a wide range of genres and formats. The claim of neutrality is well-deserved, with the headphones revealing the many different treatments, levels and mastering processes used on different tracks of different ages rather than imposing any EQ or sound profile onto the music.

The balance of frequencies and the soundstage are exemplary, each element of a mix finding just the right prominence and amount of space that they need in the stereo field. Despite the open-backed design and the expressly-stated design decision to allow air to move out of the cups (rather than trapping it for a fake ‘bass boost’), the low end is particularly well-defined – robust and rich but also perfectly balanced. This is where open-back headphones tend to fall short, and it’s a testament to AT’s design that these don’t.

The top end sparkles with life, and the mids are powerful, without anything ever becoming overpowering or, conversely, feeling lacking. The frequency response of 5 Hz – 50 kHz is far beyond the range of human hearing, but, as I have noted before, it means you know nothing is present in the signal that you’re not getting to hear.

Running through a brace of reference tracks ranging from Underworld’s punchy techno through Nils Frahm’s spiky compositions and more, I’m struck by the extra small details these headphones reveal when compared to the perfectly serviceable models on which I listen day to day. The piano damper pedal noise here, the arpeggiated synth buried in the mix there, that I’d just never heard before. This, really, is where that extra care taken in design and manufacturing pays off.

It’s worth a quick look back here to Focal’s Bathys headphones I reviewed in 2023. At £699, they are significantly less expensive and boast a ton of modern technology, including hi-res Bluetooth, noise cancelling and a USB-C DAC mode for wired listening at up to 192kHz. While their sound wasn’t quite as razor-sharp as the ATs, the margins are pretty fine and are still extremely impressive. Someone spending £700 on the Focals is not losing much in terms of fidelity for the £2,000 or so less that they are paying compared to the Audio Technicas.

It’s a fair bet that anyone buying headphones like these is not only serious about their listening but also likely to pair them with equally high-end gear in order to really experience them to the fullest of their potential. If you do take the plunge, you will be rewarded with a superlative listening experience that reminds you of the joy that a really well-produced piece of music can inspire.

If you’re a musician or producer, the nuances and balance evident here add an extra layer of satisfaction beyond the enjoyment that every listener will get. For audiophiles, the choice between headphones at this price level can be a matter of personal preference. The margins of difference are slim, which is why an in-person test is often recommended. These headphones are a serious investment, but one that will reward you with an exceptional listening experience.

Key features

• Open-backed dynamic headphones
• 58 mm drivers
• HXDT driver technology
• Frequency response of 5 Hz – 50 kHz
• 490 Ohms impedance
• XLRM and 6.3 mm jack cables
• Magnesium and aluminium body
• 275 g weight
• 2 pairs of ear pads
• Hard carry case

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