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ATH-ES770H Headphones by audio-technica

This is my review of the ATH-770H headphones by audio-technica. For reference, I am a casual headphone user, and not an audiophile. I enjoy listening to a wide variety of music, but by far the majority of my headphone use is with my laptop, on social media, or for general entertainment such as streaming videos at various levels of fidelity.

Further reference points, I suppose, would include my age (56) education (BBA/JD) race (White/Hispanic) and occupation (lawyer). I ordinarily use Sennheiser Momentum headphones for all purposes. I also wear reading glasses when I use my computer.

I find the detail required of reviews here intimidating, and because of a lack of experience with high-end equipment, purposely graded these headphones lower than I would have otherwise in the numerical scales above.

I like the these headphones for their appearance, their "fit and finish," their apparent durability, and their sound quality.

They are beautiful, and uncompromisingly modern in their form.

I particularly like the beefy cord, which detaches from each headphone for storage or replacement. It is not too long for my uses, and therefor needs no management. It is also fat and rigid enough not to tangle, and slick enough not to stick to itself or pretty much anything else, which promotes more freedom of movement than its length would suggest.

The toggle switch mounted on the cord is decent, too. It has slightly more travel, is easier to push, and provides more positive feedback in the click than others (Apple, for example) so it feels right to me.

Unfortunately, I find them uncomfortable.

These, like my Momentums, are on-ear. This is not ideal, and the next ones I buy will be over-ear. But the 770s are perfectly circular in profile, and this results in uneven pressure on various parts of my ear, which seems greater on the part which is sandwiched between the headphone body and the earpiece of my glasses. This is tolerable for an hour or so, but not more. Of course, this is a highly subjective matter, and may not pertain to you at all.

I also note that the material used to cover the headphone pads is slightly sticky in use. I found this unpleasant after a few minutes, at least in comparison to my Sennheisers.

Fittingly, the ES770H is called "EARSUIT." I think it ironic. I have spent many years wearing a suit for work, and I have become comfortable with that uniform of my occupation. I could become accustomed to this one with more use, but in my leisure I am prone to more comfort and perhaps less polish.

ES770-H retails at $219. I wasn't able to find them for less online, but I didn't look very hard. My old Momentums are now available for anywhere from $126 online. I'm cheap, so I may be unfairly influenced by this disparity.