biggbenn74
500+ Head-Fier
So, I got a call from one of my favorite thrift stores yesterday. They said they had a pair of vintage Audio-Technicas. So, I rushed to the shop and picked them up for 9 bucks. They hardly had any nicks or scratches on them, and they look spectacularly vintage.
I went home and got my 1/4 inch to 3.5mm adapter and plugged them into my iPhone. And they worked. They worked well. They are very detailed in the mids and highs, but the bass is just... Not present. Typical. They sound closest to a pair of apple earbuds. That's not bad at all, considering these things are nearly 25-30 years older than the apple earbuds.
They are open headphones, with a frequency response of 30-20,000hz and an impedance of around 4-16 ohms (manufacturers specifications)
The headband on the AT-701 is plushy, and it splits along the headband rails. They adjust to size via the rail sliders on both earcups. Very, very smooth transitions. No notches on them either, they just slide. And the best part, they stay where you put them.
The overall construction of the AT-701 is very sturdy. Thick plastic cups around the drivers, a velvet mesh type material for the pads, and metal rails and forks. All topped off with a nice champagne color. The cable is average thickness for this style and era of headphones, but the overall length is about twice that of your average 70's-80's headphone. Stretched out, it's around 10-12 feet long. Great for rolling around in your chair at the office.
Bottom line, the Audio-Technica AT-701 is one of my favorite vintage headphones right now. Having owned 5 pairs of headphones older than 1985 since the start of last year, I'd say this one takes the cake sound wise. Sure, the bass isn't there, but that's what I've just come to expect from headphones like this. However, I did not expect them to sound like a brand new pair of headphones in every other respect. And that, my fellow Head-Fier's, is why I collect these old gems.
Thanks for reading!
-BiggBenn
I went home and got my 1/4 inch to 3.5mm adapter and plugged them into my iPhone. And they worked. They worked well. They are very detailed in the mids and highs, but the bass is just... Not present. Typical. They sound closest to a pair of apple earbuds. That's not bad at all, considering these things are nearly 25-30 years older than the apple earbuds.
They are open headphones, with a frequency response of 30-20,000hz and an impedance of around 4-16 ohms (manufacturers specifications)
The headband on the AT-701 is plushy, and it splits along the headband rails. They adjust to size via the rail sliders on both earcups. Very, very smooth transitions. No notches on them either, they just slide. And the best part, they stay where you put them.
The overall construction of the AT-701 is very sturdy. Thick plastic cups around the drivers, a velvet mesh type material for the pads, and metal rails and forks. All topped off with a nice champagne color. The cable is average thickness for this style and era of headphones, but the overall length is about twice that of your average 70's-80's headphone. Stretched out, it's around 10-12 feet long. Great for rolling around in your chair at the office.
Bottom line, the Audio-Technica AT-701 is one of my favorite vintage headphones right now. Having owned 5 pairs of headphones older than 1985 since the start of last year, I'd say this one takes the cake sound wise. Sure, the bass isn't there, but that's what I've just come to expect from headphones like this. However, I did not expect them to sound like a brand new pair of headphones in every other respect. And that, my fellow Head-Fier's, is why I collect these old gems.
Thanks for reading!
-BiggBenn
