DIDI on Audio-Technica

Artist, producer, and mix engineer, DIDI, puts two pairs of Audio-Technica headphones through their paces in her studio, ‘The Den’.

When I first tried out my Audio-Technica M70x, the first thing that came to mind was: this is a really great headphone. I am already a big fan of the brand’s M50x model - I have a couple of pairs in my studio, so whenever I’m working, the artist and I always have a true reference point – so I was looking forward to having a go to see the difference.

There are two main points that I would like to make about the M70x, and that’s the ergonomics and the sound quality. I have been using the M50x for about two years now, and although I love them, the difference in sound quality when switching to the M70x is really noticeable; it seems to have a different presence to it, which really brings a lot more clarity to the audio that you are listening to, making it very good for monitoring in particular.

I also really enjoyed listening to music on M70x as well, although something I do find is that it is a lot less bass-heavy than the M50x, so if you’re a consumer, or want to hear music through your phone or off your computer more than straight up mixing, you might prefer the M50x. But if you are listening under the pretence of a monitor mix, I feel like the M70x gives you a very clear and true sound. There seems to be a much wider frequency response, which really does give a whole lot more space to play with when you’re in the zone, mixing.

The M70x definitely makes you feel like you are more naturally listening to music, although the lack of sound noise cancellation can sometimes be a little annoying if you are in a loud situation; saying that, M70x definitely gives you a better all round sense of what you are really listening to, and because of that enhanced frequency response, it makes everything that little bit more accurate.

The audio quality is very good, and I also like the aesthetics - particularly the matt finish, which just makes M70x really nice to look at. In summary, I’ll probably continue to use my M50x when tracking, but when it comes to referencing, the M70x is on another level – it’s going to be great having both to work with in the studio, and they’re definitely going to be a useful tool for my overall workflow.

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