By aspect — in detail
Soundstage
Contested · 8 srcThe signature trait and the defining argument. One camp — the reason it's a gaming-forum legend — hears an unusually wide, airy, out-of-head stage that few sub-$200 open-backs match. Another, including a measurement head and owners of rivals, hears it as good-but-overhyped, 'artificially enlarged,' or simply 'not exceptional,' with the AKG K612 Pro rated wider. Everyone agrees it's at least spacious; the fight is whether it's genuinely class-leading.
Measured
The width is a real effect of the substantially angled 53 mm drivers plus the recessed presence region, not a graphable 'spec.' Notably the objective sources are the cooler on it: RTINGS calls the stage merely 'satisfactory,' and Solderdude 'not exceptional' — while a K612 Pro owner (r/headphones) reports the K612 stage is bigger, and a high-upvoted reply blames 'urban legends on the internet.'
⚠ vs. listeners — Not a factual dispute so much as a reputation one: the stage is genuinely wide, but whether that's 'class-leading' or 'over-repeated hype' depends on what you compare it against — and much of the legend traces to the gaming community rather than to head-to-head listening.
Where it splits
Huge, airy, class-leading for the money — the reason it's a gaming legend.60%
“few other headphones at this price can match that scale of space.”
What Hi-Fi?
Overhyped / 'not exceptional' — an internet urban legend that rivals beat.40%
“a bit wider/spacious than most other headphones but not exceptional.”
Solderdude, DIY-Audio-Heaven
Universal agreement on the fact — the low end is light and rolls off below ~100 Hz, with no real sub-bass rumble — and a genuine split on the verdict. One camp hears it as clean, controlled and perfectly fine for an open-back you don't buy for bass; another hears it as simply too thin, a real shortcoming for anything bass-forward. It takes bass EQ well, which many owners rely on.
Measured
DIY-Audio-Heaven measures the response dropping off below 100 Hz ('no deep rumbles anywhere'); RTINGS files it as 'not as well-balanced' as pricier open-backs. Distortion is low, so it EQs up cleanly. The lone dissenter on the fact is Audio46 — a retailer's own blog — which claims 'you get some oomph to your bass,' a positive-outlier read no measurement supports.
⚠ vs. listeners — The camps don't dispute that it's light — the roll-off is real and consistent. The split is valence: an 'honest, clean' low end for classical/vocals/competitive gaming versus a genuine deficiency for bass-forward genres, and it depends heavily on your music and whether you'll EQ.
Where it splits
Simply too thin — a genuine lack of weight and slam.55%
“We would have liked more weight to the low end and a tauter bass for a punchier sound”
What Hi-Fi?
Sources split on the top end. One camp hears it as inoffensive and non-sibilant — not accentuated, easy to listen to. Another hears it as thin, hard or sharp, an edge that tires on some recordings. Both are describing the same measured trait: narrow upper-treble peaks over an otherwise distant, lean treble.
Measured
DIY-Audio-Heaven measures narrow peaks above 8 kHz — +5 dB at 10 kHz and +10 dB at 14 kHz — over an otherwise 'distant/thin' treble, which it says put a 'sharp contour in instruments (fake detail)' and add sharpness on some recordings. A r/headphones listener similarly reports 'some sibilance around 9–10k.'
⚠ vs. listeners — Same narrow upper-treble energy, opposite valences: 'detailed and inoffensive' versus 'thin and hard.' How it lands shifts with the recording and the listener — Solderdude notes the peak 'won't be objectionable' and may even help for listeners over 60, i.e. it's partly an age/ears thing.
Where it splits
Inoffensive and non-sibilant — distant rather than hot.45%
“The treble is not accentuated. There is no sibilance but depending on the recording there can be sharpness.”
Solderdude, DIY-Audio-Heaven
Thin, hard and sharp — a fatiguing edge on some tracks.55%
“A stubbornly hard treble”
What Hi-Fi?
It's very light with a gentle clamp, and many wear it for hours happily — but the '3D Wing Support' that replaces a normal headband is polarizing and head-shape-dependent. The cups swivel but do not tilt, so narrow or wide heads can get an uneven seal or hotspots, and the wings can feel too loose. Comfort is a camp split, not a flat win.
Measured
~275 g without cable, medium-low (~4 N) clamp, self-adjusting spring 'wing' headrests, cups that swivel but can't tilt, and a fairly shallow 51 mm-inner-diameter pad. One r/headphones owner puts the fit complaint plainly: 'the comfort isn’t great … the headband system is super finnicky.'
Where it splits
Light, low-clamp, roomy — easy all-day wear.55%
“the over-ear design and their soft earpads are roomy and comfortable.”
What Hi-Fi?
The no-tilt 'wing' fit is finnicky and doesn't suit every head.45%
“The fact that the cups can not tilt is a real let down and I would even call it a design omission/error.”
Solderdude, DIY-Audio-Heaven
The other half of its gaming reputation: clear, snappy placement that competitive FPS players prize for hearing footsteps and directional cues. It's mostly praised for positional precision, though a minority find the imaging actually weak or 'artificial' and preferred other sets for gaming.
“Seriously a wall hack headphone”
r/HeadphoneAdvice
“The imaging is what threw me off, that’s when I went to the 58x”
MarshmallowCannon (r/headphones)
Its defining tonal move: a midrange-forward voicing that makes vocals read clear and 'snappy,' since the bass and treble sit lower. But there's a measured presence dip (2–4 kHz) that also makes the mids feel a touch relaxed/soft rather than fully 'present,' so descriptions range from 'super clear vocals' to a slightly 'off' midrange lacking bite.
“they sound very clear and snappy in the midrange, also in the spatial effects, which is why they are popular for gaming”
atyne_mar (r/headphones)
“The mids thus have a ‘relaxed’ signature.”
Solderdude, DIY-Audio-Heaven
Measured
DIY-Audio-Heaven measures a 7 dB dip between 2–4 kHz (audible, and part of the 'off' character), while RTINGS — reading the overall balance — says the AD700X 'slightly overemphasize the mids' because bass and treble are pulled back around them.
Broad agreement that it is not neutral: a mid-forward, non-reference voicing with light bass and an uneven top end that measurement and listeners alike call distinct and a little 'off' at first, though most acclimate quickly. Whether that reads as 'clear and snappy' or 'weird' is the valence carried by the bass and treble camps.
“The ATH-AD700X is not a neutral headphone. It has a distinct and somewhat ‘off’ tonal balance”
Solderdude, DIY-Audio-Heaven
“AD700X is a midrange-oriented headphone.”
atyne_mar (r/headphones)
Measured
The character is the sum of three measured moves: bass roll-off below ~100 Hz, a 2–4 kHz presence dip, and narrow upper-treble peaks — a mid-centric, non-Harman balance rather than a bright or warm one.
Consistently described as clear and detailed for the money — a big part of why it suits acoustic, vocal and classical listening — with the honest measurement caveat that some of the perceived 'detail' rides on the treble peaks rather than true resolution.
“There’s plenty of detail on offer, although a slightly brash top end can curb the enjoyment somewhat.”
What Hi-Fi?
“These seem to have so much detail.”
r/HeadphoneAdvice
Measured
DIY-Audio-Heaven cautions that the narrow treble peaks put a 'sharp contour in instruments (fake detail)' — perceived resolution partly boosted by the upper-treble lift rather than genuine micro-detail.
Heard as quick and 'snappy' with decent attack — its transient clarity is part of the gaming appeal — but slam and macro-dynamic weight are limited by the light bass, so it doesn't hit hard. A modest, not headline, strength.
“The ATH-AD700Xs have decent dynamics and attack too”
What Hi-Fi?
“Mids do not sound very dynamic but also not lifeless”
Solderdude, DIY-Audio-Heaven
Unabashedly plasticky and light — it feels cheap and looks 'technical' rather than premium, though it's not notably fragile. The recurring gripe isn't durability but the fixed, non-detachable 3 m cable (no balanced option), which several owners find too long and annoying for anything but a desk.
“it does feel a little cheap, and it does feel like it might simply disintegrate into its most basic components should a strong wind blow.”
Audio46
“the comfort isn’t great, the cable is absolute garbage, and the headband system is super finnicky.”
testurshit (r/HeadphoneAdvice)
Measured
Fixed 3 m cable terminating in a 3.5 mm jack (6.3 mm adapter included), no detachable/balanced option; the plastic 'creaks a little when adjusting it on the head but not while wearing it' (DIY-Audio-Heaven).
Isolation
Strong consensus · 3 srcOpen-back by design: it blocks almost nothing and leaks freely both ways. Expected for the type and not a flaw, but it rules out offices, commutes and shared rooms — this is a quiet-home headphone.
“It is an open headphone so outside noises are not attenuated much.”
Solderdude, DIY-Audio-Heaven
Measured
Open-back; RTINGS' isolation/leakage testing and every source agree it isolates essentially nothing.
A study in 'value for what, exactly.' For its specific skills — competitive-FPS positional audio, a big airy stage, feather-light long-session comfort, and running straight off a phone — it's still defended as a bargain. As an all-rounder it's increasingly seen as outclassed: reviewers and owners repeatedly point to the HD 560S, HD 599 or Fidelio X2HR as more balanced for similar money, and note the price has crept up.
“it's a solid headphone at their price”
atyne_mar (r/headphones)
“There are certainly better sounding open headphones to be found in this price class.”
Solderdude, DIY-Audio-Heaven
