By aspect — in detail
Tonality
Contested · 9 srcSources split on the headline claim. Owners and long-form listening reviews call it flat and neutral; every source with a test bench reads a scooped midrange with a lifted top end and says plainly that it is not a flat monitor. The split tracks method, not taste.
Measured
Tape Op measured a −3 dB dip at 760 Hz, a −9 dB carve-out from 900 Hz to 3.6 kHz, +2 dB at 4.3 kHz and a 7–12 kHz lift peaking +6 dB at 10.5 kHz, confirmed on a measurement mic in a headform. SoundGuys' chart tracks its in-house consumer curve — not a studio target — to about 3 kHz.
⚠ vs. listeners — Two rigs and two independent listening tests all read the same non-flat shape, so "flat" is best understood as what the M70x feels like next to the M50x rather than what it measures against neutral.
Where it splits
not flat — a scooped, consumer-leaning curve whatever the badge says54%
“To put it simply, the ATH-M70x's voicing is decidedly "scooped" and puts strong emphasis on the highs.”
Andy Hong, Tape Op #113
it is the flat one — a neutral monitor that does what it says46%
“Customers appreciate the headphones' flat frequency response, with one customer highlighting their neutral EQ curve and another noting the absence of distortion.”
Amazon review-topic summary (18 mentions, 89% positive)
Sources split between "lean, you hear it but never feel it" and "unboosted but genuinely accurate." The complicating fact is seal: RTINGS' own consistency testing found bass delivery varies a lot between users and is sensitive to glasses, and owners report the same thing independently.
Measured
Tape Op measured significantly less harmonic distortion than the M50x from 40 Hz to 200 Hz with no ridges or valleys, then a −9 dB slope from 30 Hz down to 15 Hz and audible distortion at 25 Hz. SoundGuys' chart shows a bump around 100 Hz. RTINGS lists "Bass delivery varies significantly across users. Sensitive to glasses."
⚠ vs. listeners — The measured low end is present and clean rather than absent, so a share of the "no bass" verdicts are probably broken seals rather than tuning — a point owners arrived at on their own when one traced his missing low end to wearing glasses.
Where it splits
bass-light — not enough low end for most listeners60%
“The Audio-Technica ATH-M70x are geared towards a crisp representation of instruments and vocals but lack a substantial amount of bass for the average listener.”
RTINGS
not boosted, but accurate and unusually clean40%
“I would characterize the ATH-M70x's low-frequency performance as refreshingly accurate and clear.”
Andy Hong, Tape Op #113
Sources split on the top end, and the two camps are naming different octaves. The measured lift sits at 7–12 kHz — cymbal and hi-hat territory — while the 4–8 kHz sibilance band is left alone, so "absolutely no sibilance" and "piercing at moderate volume" can both be true of the same headphone.
Measured
Tape Op measured "a broader, more prominent lift from 7-12 kHz, with a +6 dB peak at 10.5 kHz" and extension to at least 30 kHz at −9 dB; SoundGuys' chart shows high range "considerably emphasized."
⚠ vs. listeners — Both readings survive the graph. The energy is above the sibilance region, so listeners checking vocals for sibilants hear none while listeners with cymbal-heavy material hear too much.
Where it splits
the top is hot — cymbals and picking turn brash52%
“pop/rock vocals were easily swamped by brash cymbals or trebly guitars”
Andy Hong, Tape Op #113
bright but clean — no sibilance, slow to fatigue48%
“The high-end is smooth despite it tapering off more than we are used to, and with no over-presence in the sibilant range any ear fatigue will develop a lot slower than under many other headphones.”
Robbie Stamp, MusicRadar
Sources split. Reviewers judging by ear tend to hear the midrange as present and clearly resolved — vocals and instruments cut through — while the one published dB map puts a wide dip exactly where those instruments live. Head-Fi's twister6, the most detailed listening review of the set, lands with the graph: he calls the lower mids lean and cold and the upper mids thin and lacking body.
Measured
Tape Op confirmed that dip on a measurement mic mounted in a headform, so the ear-and-graph readings agree. SoundGuys' chart has the response tracking its in-house consumer curve only as far as about 3 kHz.
⚠ vs. listeners — MusicRadar, the strongest voice for a forward midrange, supplies the reconciliation itself: "This mid curvature could also be expressed as a lighter low-end and un-hyped high-end." With the low end unboosted, a measured dip can still read as mid-forward.
Where it splits
midrange reads present and clearly reproduced58%
“Good instruments and vocals reproduction.”
RTINGS
the upper mids are carved out — thin and cold beside the ends42%
“Running test tones, I heard a small -3 dB dip centered at 760 Hz; a wide carve-out from 900 Hz to 3.6 kHz that's -9 dB down”
Andy Hong, Tape Op #113
Detail
Strong consensus · 6 srcThe one thing every class of source agrees on. Editorial, measurement, forum and owner reviews all describe it as clean, crisp and revealing — it is what people who like the M70x like about it, and what people who dislike it concede.
“M70x has a neutral bright analytical sound sig with a high level of detail retrieval.”
twister6, Head-Fi
“with the intricate nylon-stringed lead and rhythm guitar parts standing up very well against the bass guitar and drums”
Sam Moore, SoundGuys
“The sound profile is clean and transparent with low levels of distortion.”
Patryk Biernacki, Home DJ Studio
Measured
Amazon's largest review topic is sound quality: 188 mentions, 75% positive.
Soundstage
Moderate · 4 srcConsistently described as average-to-narrow for a closed back, with more depth than width. Nobody calls it spacious; the mildest verdicts call it adequate and closed-in by design.
“The frequency response also appears to produce a narrower stereo image than we'd expect”
Robbie Stamp, MusicRadar
“When it comes to soundstage, I found it to be just average in width and depth, actually with more depth than width.”
twister6, Head-Fi
Read as average. Separation and layering draw praise; placement precision does not, and gamers who tried it for positional audio preferred the cheaper M40x.
“I found separation and layering to be quite good, but positioning and imaging was just average, limited by their average soundstage.”
twister6, Head-Fi
“I use the M70x right now, but if you only care about FPS games the M40x is actually easier to hear things with.”
u/EBI_GG, r/cs2 (via RedditRecs)
Every reviewer who wore it for hours calls it comfortable — supple pads, light clamp, low weight. Owners are less unanimous: the cups are shallow, and a sizeable minority report the fit sitting loose or the ears touching the drivers.
Measured
SoundGuys scores comfort 8.0/10 while noting that "while the ear cups are plenty wide, they're a little shallow"; Amazon's fit topic runs 38% positive across 29 mentions.
Where it splits
comfortable for long sessions — supple pads, light clamp73%
“Comfort-wise, the ATH-M70x is slightly more pleasant on my head and ears for longer periods of listening.”
Andy Hong, Tape Op #113
fit is hit-or-miss — shallow cups, loose on some heads27%
“I consider M50x to be more comfortable for extended period of use.”
twister6, Head-Fi
The frame reads solid in the hand — metal yokes, no creak, survives being dropped — but the swivel where the cups meet the headband is a widely reported failure point, and it is the single most-mentioned negative in owner reviews. Repair advice conflicts: one owner was quoted €150, another says the part is user-serviceable for $15–$30.
Measured
Amazon's own review-topic tallies count 70 mentions of durability at 27% positive, 31 of build quality at 35%, and 22 of material quality at 23% — the three lowest-scoring topics on the listing.
Where it splits
the swivel hinge is a known failure point73%
“They're stylish, comfortable, and come with a good case but have a slightly weaker build quality than some of the previous ATH-M models.”
RTINGS
feels solid and takes a beating27%
“Though light, the M70x are a robust design that feel like they can take a beating.”
Robbie Stamp, MusicRadar
Isolation
Contested · 5 srcSources split between adequate and poor. The lighter clamp that makes it comfortable is the same thing that lets sound in; leakage out is low, which is why studio-facing reviews are kinder to it than consumer-facing ones.
Measured
SoundGuys' isolation chart scores 5.9/10, with attenuation building from about 200 Hz upward.
Where it splits
poor — it does not block much55%
“They also don't block noise very well.”
RTINGS
adequate for tracking, and it leaks very little45%
“Attenuation performance like this isn’t bad, with notable drops in external noise from 200Hz onward.”
Sam Moore, SoundGuys
The most negative aspect in the set. Most sources conclude that the M50x — or a rival at the same money — gets you most of the way for less, and that the hinge risk makes the premium harder to justify. The minority position is that at street price the sound-per-dollar still holds up.
Measured
Amazon's value-for-money topic runs 54% positive across 59 mentions — the most evenly split of its rated topics. RedditRecs puts the M70x at 38% positive across its Reddit review set, ranking it #1524 among over- and on-ear headphones.
Where it splits
priced above what it delivers73%
“The two headphones are very similar and the extra investment necessary for the M70x might not be worth it.”
RTINGS, on the M70x vs the M50x
at street price the sound-per-dollar holds up27%
“The price has come down a lot over the years, which makes for a pretty attractive option, even if it is a little barebones.”
Sam Moore, SoundGuys
