Customer Reviews

Audio-Technica ATH-EM7 GM Adjustable Aluminum Clip-On Headphones

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It is important to know what your getting into when buying headphones. These headphones are clip-on style headphones which are not for everyone. If you are looking for headphones that are like cup/cans yet can fit in your pocket clip-ons are a good choice for you. Although if you wear glasses clip-ons might not work for you, ear buds might suit your portable needs. So, just make sure clip-ons are right for you before you even think about these headphones.

I have glasses and clip-ons do work for me, but the ATH-EM7s do seem to be a bit more of a bother with my eyeglasses than other clip-ons, just a minor bother really.

Anyway, these are great sounding headphones. I used to have a pair of sony MDR-Q22 headphones, and after getting the ATH-EM7s I realized the amount of clarity of sound I was missing. It is like getting new eyeglasses for your ears. The break down of the headphones:

PROS:
*High sensitivity (109 db), which allows for a louder sound without higher volume (making them better for use with portables).

*Reasonable resistance (32 ohms) which makes it easier for devices to drive.

*Great sound, the sound is just clearer and more detailed than anything I have ever heard.

*Lightweight

CONS:
*The "Ear Hangers" are comfortable, but it might take some time to learn how to position them correctly.

*The primary cord is only .5m (~2ft), but it comes with a 1m (3.3ft) extension. The reason it is designed this way is to be more in-line remote friendly, which I don't have an in-line remote so it is annoying.

Another thing to consider about these headphones is they do not have a "booming" bass. If you like to feel bass pounding your ears these are not the phones for you. However, if you enjoy good detailed bass without the pounding these are the headphones for you.

Bottom line: These are great clip-on headphones with loud great detailed sound. The "Ear hangers" could use some work.

This is my second set of Audio Technica headphone. The ATH-EM7 has the sound familiar to Audio Technica fans; excellent clarity over all frequency ranges, but lacking on bass. This is surprising given the 28mm drivers. The headphones are smaller than expected, and very, very lightweight -I have ear buds that feel heavier. The clips are very comfortable for extended listening, but because of that, I don't think they would be good for working out, as the clips don't hold quite tight enough for strenuous activities. I think these headphones are optimal for classical listening, but are still well suited for everything shy of heavy metal or bass booming hip hop.

Just got them out of the package the other day. I listen to allot of music and I have something of a fidelity fetish. These head phones are magnificently crafted. They are so light that you hardly notice they are on. They are extremely comfortable. I had an old pair of Sony clip-ons that I used to wear prior to these, but I could always feel where they pulled and rubbed. I suppose you get used to it after a time, but with these you don't have to. As for sound they are clear and powerful. If you have never owned a nice pair of head-phones and would like a nice mid range choice these are it. I would put them above Sony any day.

These are great headphones, especially for the price of $50. I was looking for a high audio quality clip on which is comfortable and wont fall off while I am skiing- That is what I got! I use them for everything and I really like the swing-click mechanism in the hangers. If you see someone you want to talk to say on campus, you can slick them open and they stay on your ears but the speeker swings away from your ear. Mostly this feture is for ease of taking on and off, but it works well in this mannor too. On top of that, these headphones have a great ability to let you hear outside noises if you listen to your music a little quieter, yet the sound is still very clear.

Let me clearify something about the sound quality on these bad boys. The sound quality throughout the highs (treble), the mids, and the lows (bass) is very very clear, crisp, clean and defined. Even on the lows. When people say they do not thump this is true. But the lows are still high quality. With my ipod on bass enhancer, they are great. I mostly listen to Underground Hip-Hop and alternative indi rock/punk/ska. They are good for hip hop. they are not going to thump like your car subwoofer, but I challenge you to find a headphone that does not have a band that goes over your head like bigger heavier headphones do, With thumping bass and as good all around sound quality. I have heard instrumental parts in songs I have never heard before with these babies. They handle volume very well, not destorting in the least.

They are asl very comfortable for clip ons. they might take some adjusting and getting used to, but once you get it down, you may find yourself forgetting your wearing headphones.

Conclusion:

great sound quality throughout the spectrum, but not hard heavy thumping bass, if thats what you want, get a bigger non-audio technica headphone. That being said, they are great for any type of music, and I enjoy listening to Hip Hop on them.

Comfortable and convenient. They look kinda funny to other people. My friend started calling me marvin the mashin. Other people have complimented me on how they look. good strong build quality. great for skiing/snowboarding and walking around campus/commuting. highly recomended, espeically if you dont like ear buds and want something smaller then the traditional head band headphones. probably the best clip on headphones period.

When I bought these headphones I wanted somthing small with high quality audio, I think now I should have gotten SHure EIM's. These headphones although good looking and comfortable as clips on go, fell below my expectations in sound range. They have great clarity in the mids and highs but weak lows, however I adjust my EQ they simply come off rather bright and cold sounding. However they are good speakers and will never distort when turned up very loud. The Treble is so bright thought that I would never turn them up to loud for fear of damaging my ears and they irritate them slight at high volume due to the bright sound. I have my treble adjusted into a negative area and my bass cranked max in order to get an even sound, and even then although bass is there its never quite how it seems it should be. Do not buy these with expectations of bass even though they do have the 28mm neodynium magnets they do produce just as they say loud clear sound its just a loud and clear as sound comes from the rim of wet glass, its bright and cold.

I hate earbuds. I don't like the isolating effect it has on ambient sound, I don't like those things in my ears, I don't like that they pinpoint the sound directly to a very obvious point. I am very happy, and surprised, at the difference in ambience achieved by removing the source from the ear canal to the outer ear where sound is meant to come from.
Lets face it, our ears are all different, very much like a finger print, and earbuds even with wire hangers never felt good to me, I get that noise isolation is needed by some people in certain situations, but it's unnatural, and always bothered me, like walking around with your fingers in your ears. I much prefer the ambient sound experience given by open ear headphones. It's the closest thing to being in front of the musician.
On quality, my experience with headphones has been limited to earbuds. So imagine my surprise from my first session in the clip ons from Audio-Technica! I am very impressed with the range, the specs escape me from visiting the parent company web sight, but I assure you they go above and below what human hearing is capable of so no loss is experienced from lack of potential. The loss in range can come only from the recording format, if you listen to downloaded music, or record using a low quality high compression format, well don't blame the headphones.
Some claim they lack bass, not in my opinion! I think most people are used to artificially high bass levels created by EQ settings on devices to mask the inefficiencies present in cheap electronics.
After wearing them for a few moments you forget they are there at all, turning your head you will feel the cord, but I'm not going cordless. I've spent more for headphones I disliked, the price on these are fantastic, as is the sound and build quality. I can't imagine I'l be using any others for a long time. Money very well spent, I couldn't be happier.
I have used these while walking, biking, in a car, on a bus, and I wear glasses. The design is perfect, not once have they come loose or felt like they would fall or shake loose, I can shake my head vigorously(not something I normally do) and they haven't budged.

Someday I would like to graduate to the cherrywood version, the components in them are the same,but the price is triple. They do appeal to my vanity though! Take a look for yourself! Audio-Technica ATH-EW9 Lightweight Cherry Wood Clip-on Headphones


UPDATE; Still extremely pleased overall, but I do have a warning, the aluminum backs of each side have sharp corners where they are retained by screws. These sharp points will scratch and gouge your device if you put them in the same pocket. It's winter and I was wearing a coat, so when I needed to remove and store them for a while in a coat pocket, they really marked up my iPod.
The fix is simple, fifteen minutes with an emory board, or nail file will round and smooth these edges. The aluminum is soft enough to easily reshape. You cannot see any noticeable difference after filing, and all points are rounded nicely. I also know better now as to storing them.... separate pockets!

UPDATE #2
Sound and comfort are fantastic!! They just get warmer and warmer. I am ordering the cherry wood set today. I broke one of the rubber hanger cushions mishandling them, but the wire is strong and was covered nicely by a soft eyeglass accessory, just a tiny neoprene tube really, but it was so comfortable i did the same mod on the other side. It still looks original, but feels better.
The negative feedback could be from defective products, if my cherry woods don't sound as good i'll send them back for another pair.

Product: Audio Technica ATH-EM7 GM ear-fit headphones
Date: 2009.09.03


Unreal how clear these sound, you can hear every little whisper in the music. They have great frequency response curve, from 14 - 24000 Hz bandwidth, and it shows up as really full, undistorted sound. All in such small profile. They hang on your ears and you forget they are there. The aluminum is much lighter weight than it looks, and strong, I suppose that's why they make aircraft out of it. Plus, the braided cord is excellent, I don't see these ever wearing out they are so well built. The cord is in two parts, the part that comes out of the left earphone is quite short, doesn't quite reach my waist so you probably can't connect it directly to a music player in your pocket without the extension piece. It would be perfect if you had your player clipped to your shirt, or on an armband, or in your bag. The extension fits tightly on to the shorter cord, and the other end of the extension has a very nice 3.5mm right-angle connector, which I prefer to the straight ones.


The padded, grey & black zippered carrying case you get with these is awesome too, it's shaped something like a glasses case, and inside one half there are two small pockets for each earphone, and in the other half is a larger pocket for the cord. If you have a small-ish music player, or voice recorder, shorter than 130mm, less wide than 65mm, and fairly thin (my Cowon D2 fits fine, so does my Motorola Razr), then you can store your other electronic device in the case with the headphones no problem. An iPod nano would easily fit, even with it's own silicon/hard case. If you put your player in without it's own protective case, just make sure to face the aluminum side of the headphones away from the player so it doesn't scratch it.


Oh, one last caveat, these will leak sound to the outside world, and could disturb people around you. While they would be great for running, biking, or home use, they would not be good for sitting in a reception lobby at the doctors/dentist, or in class, etc... In a quiet room these can be heard from ~7m away, at mid to loud volume. In a noisier environment, they might go undetected at a range of around 2 or 3 m on medium to low volume. You'll want to take them everywhere you go, since they are so portable, but settle for earbuds instead if you are going listen at places that could disturb people.
The flipside to the noise leakage though, is you can still hear everything going on around you when you wear these, unlike closed-back phones.

5 stars!

I gotta say, initially I only bought these headphones because I saw them in Persona 3 and they were on sale; I thought they looked neat.
I must say though, these are by far the best headphones I have ever owned in my life.
The quality is better than the ones that came with my iPod, and even my home Altec Lansing system.
They're comfortable, durable, come with their own extension cable, and even have pretty packaging.
I'd easily recommend them to anyone who has a real love for music.
You won't regret your choice.

I got these headphones for Christmas and initially loved them to bits. The sound is amazingly crisp and clean, the fit is beyond compare, and the style is unparalleled. But after three months, the plug at the base of the lengthier section of the cord started causing my music to cut in and out. I eventually had to swap it out for another extender, thanks to the mid-cable break, but eventually the plug on the short side started shorting out too. Soon enough no sound was being transmitted, period.

At this price level, with this quality of sound, I expected so much more. I wish I were still using these headphones, but a crappy build in the most pivotal area of the device means that I no longer can. Buyer beware.

Corny title aside, I have to admit that these are my new favorite headphones. Although I was not inspired by Shin Megami Tensei to buy these, it was certainly the unusual use of brushed metal backs on these headphones that first caught my eye. And let me tell you, stock photos just don't do these things justice--you've got to have them unboxed and in your hands to truly appreciate them. I've noticed that the brushed metal look is all the rage these days, and Audio-Technica jumps on the bandwagon with superb execution. Sure, some may say these things look cheap, but all I've gotten since wearing them are lots of compliments and abundant amounts of curiosity. For the sake of not going on a long yarn, I will break my review up into three sections: aesthetics, functionality of design, and sound quality. Let's begin.

Aesthetics--
As mentioned before, these things look GREAT. There's nothing like the gleam of an aluminum alloy backing with the Audio-Technica symbol proudly emblazoned upon it to assert quality. The clips are small,much smaller than one would assume based on the picture. Think maybe the same diameter as a golf ball. Detail is impressive, as the silver and black color scheme works together well, and little details like ridges on the black ring surrounding the ear cushion and similar parallel lines on the aluminum parts just look good. The clip mechanism is definitely eye-catching, too--holding $50 phones to your head with little more than a piece of wire and rubber is, at the very least, ambitious.

Functionality--
This is where AT runs into trouble, alas. What looks good on paper isn't always carried out well. The positives include an adjustable clip mechanism that can be moved upwards and downwards as one attempts to create the best possible fit. This is a definite advantage few other phones on the market can attest to. The clip is a little barebones, though--the little pointed part on the rubber rests on the back of my ear, and although it's far from uncomfortable, the OUCH factor after removing after a few hours is notable. The asymmetrical cable length is an issue, too. As noted before, the weight of the cable makes it a little unbalanced, and the left clip in particular tends to dislodge without too much effort sometimes. It's also hilariously short: if you don't have an extender, be prepared to hunch down if you're over 5'5". Had H. neanderthalensis still walked amongst us, these would be his clips of choice. The memory foam cushion is almost decadently luxurious, however--I've never felt foam so soft. It molds to your ear shape in time, too. On top of it, the cable is braided, which makes it more resistant to temperature fluctuations and a bit more tangle resistant; these cables are far from tangle proof, though, so exercise care.

Sound--
For many, this is the only part of the review that matters. And for those people, I need to make something clear--these headphones DO have bass, it's just more subdued and punchy rather than explosive. If you need a serious boom, these won't deliver. But to call them bass deficient is either being impatient (burn-in, anyone) or somewhat bass-spoiled. It pops up when it needs to and doesn't leave a hole in the music, so it works for me. Mids and highs are where these phones are specialized, though. I've never loved classical music before now, but it seems this past week I've been addicted to Vocalise op. 34. The notes are clear, beautiful, sublime and perhaps even ephemeral. This may come off as a bit bright and cold, as noted by a previous reviewer, but it works wonderfully for those who love soaring highs and a strong midrange.