Audio-Technica has a long history of excellence across the music world: from microphones and studio gear for creating music, to turntables and headphones for listening to it at home. Their flagship ADX series usually aims to bring a studio critical listening session into your home, but ADX7000 series seems to be a little different. While it still features the technical prowess needed to pick apart the most intricate mixes, there’s a sense of fun and musicality coming from ADX7000’s powerful bass that makes it stand out. Is its prominent low-end too big to maintain the level of technical performance you’d expect from  $3500 flagship headphones?

Build and Design

Audio-Technica ATH-ADX7000 comes with an excellent accessory package. The headphones come in a sturdy travel case, with a 6.3mm cable, a 4-in XLR cable, and two sets of earpads that provide different sound signatures. The cables use the A2DC connection, which Audio-Technica favors for its low-profile, secure connection, but that limits your options for replacement cables. The pads provide a significant difference in sound, which we’ll talk about more in the next section.

The headphones themselves have a lightweight, highly refined design, which – at first glance – doesn’t seem quite as luxurious as similarly priced headphones from Meze Audio or Focal, but closer examination reveals excellent material quality and an impressively sturdy build. The flex in the headband, along with the adjustment makes for an accommodating, comfortable fit that’s good for hours of listening without getting uncomfortable. Of course, you have to ask, is the sound on a level where you’ll want to listen to these for hours?

Sound

The two first things you’ll notice when you listen to ADX7000 are the sense of spaciousness, and the dynamic, hard-hitting bass. With the high-density velvet pads, the bass is kept pretty well under control, offering a sound that’s a little bit warm with a little extra spice in the treble. Swap those for the alcantara pads, and it turns up the bass just enough to deliver slam at a level that’s rarely seen in open-back headphones.

The low-end is focused on the midbass, with a notable elevation there, which rolls off slightly into the subbass. There’s a good amount of detail and texture in the bass, and the mids remain mostly uncolored. The bass response is fast, delivering relentless impact when called for.

The mids are pulled back slightly, but ADX7000 demonstrates something more like a W-shape than a V-shape, and provides good clarity and vocal presence, which manages to stand out in the sonic balance against the midbass bump.

ADX7000’s treble is also elevated, with a little bit of peakiness with the velvet pads that’s largely smoothed out with the alcantara. There’s good air and extension in the highs, which helps build the three-dimensional feeling of spaciousness in the stereo image.

The soundstage is wide and three-dimensional and ADX7000 also offers strong imaging with good weight and body to instruments and voices. The velvet pads expand the soundstage a little, but also reduce the sense of weight and body, while the alcantara pads give instruments a more substantial feeling in the stereo image.

ADX7000 has a sensitivity of 100dB and 490 ohm impedance, with a somewhat uneven impedance curve with low frequencies having higher impedance, meaning that to get the most out of the bass, you’ll either need an amp with a higher output impedance or simply higher wattage to get the most out of the headphones.

While the bass is emphasized, the presentation remains natural. With a song like “The Verb” by The Swell Season, ADX7000 demonstrates natural timbre with the acoustic guitar and violin, while demonstrating good vocal balance and positioning with male and female vocals. The dynamics and positioning of the band feels lifelike, giving you the a strong, “in the room” feeling.

On a classic rock track like Cream’s “Tales of Brave Ulysses,” ADX7000 puts Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker on a stage in front of you, with clear natural positioning. The mix is perhaps a little too separated for headphones, but the extremely open nature of ADX7000 helps with that a little, when compared to closed backs or IEMs. The bass guitar has a thick tone, while the guitar has tons of grit with some bite to the leads.

Violinist and producer Lindsey Stirling blends classical and EDM elements on tracks like “Kintsugi.”  ADX7000 delivers rich, lifelike violins, and demonstrates excellent layering and dynamics as layers of violins, vocals, and electronic elements build into a massive wall of sound. There’s plenty of impact, rumble, and general physicality in the bass, along with crisp clear, resolving highs.

Comparison: Austrian Audio Composer

If you’re looking for top-tier dynamic driver sound that balances detail and musicality, ADX7000 is definitely one of the best options out, but there are some other great options out there, with the Austrian Audio Composer being another contender for the best flagship dynamic driver options.

In terms of the build and design, Composer and ADX7000 offer similar but different takes. Both come in a nice looking hard case and include a good cable selection, and both use a proprietary connection. Both headphones are well-built and comfortable, with Composer looking more luxurious and ADX7000 having a more utilitarian build.

In terms of sound, Composer is a little more relaxed, and has more of a natural overall balance. Composer’s mids are fuller, with more detail and warmth, but the bass is toned down a little, giving you above average impact and slam, but not quite as much physicality as ADX7000 – though some subbass elements are slightly better with Composer. Composer also lacks the massive soundstage of ADX7000, but still presents strong imaging and space.

Between the two, Composer’s more neutral sound makes it more broadly appropriate for a larger range of genres, while ADX7000 has more energy and engagement for genres like pop, rock, hip hop, and EDM that favor its V-shaped leaning sound. Composer’s more relaxed presentation makes it better for all day listening, while ADX7000 is the stronger option for edge-of-your seat engagement.

The Bottom Line

If you’ve listened to the typical range of reference-tuned flagship headphones and loved the wide stage and crystal clarity, but felt like they were a little too boring, or that your favorite tracks just don’t hit the way you want them to, ADX7000 might be just what you’re looking for. It offers the same level of wide sound and strong detail as other open-back flagships while delivering exciting, hard-hitting bass that’s among the best I’ve ever heard in open-back headphones.