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At CES 2018 Audio-Technica gave us a first look at their ATH-ANC700BT Quitepoint headphones. I know dropping $350 for a pair of ANC headphones is a lot for some people… so I know a lot of people have been eagerly waiting for these headphones to drop. Heres what I like, what I don’t like, and how the Audio-Technica ANC700BT compares to the Sony 1000XM2.
OK, from here on out I’m just going to be referring to these headphones as the Quitepoints. The Audio-Technica Quitepoints currently retail for $199 and come in black and I think a silver version will be released as well. On the other hand, the Sony 1000XM2 which have the best Active Noise Cancellation on the market right now usually retails for $350 dollars. If you want to pick either of these headphones up I’ll have links in the description below and if you use the links it really helps out the channel. Check them out cause Sony headphones routinely go on sale and I wouldn’t be surprised if the quitepoints do as well.
Ok, lets go over what comes in the box. The Audio-Technica Quitepoints come included with a carrying pouch that admittedly looks nice but if you do plan on traveling a lot with these headphones I recommend you invest in a hardshell carrying case. The Quitepoints also come included with a 3.5 to 2.5 millimeter audio cable and a USB-A to Micro USB cable. Personally since its 2018 I really feel these headphones should have used a USB-C port instead. For some reason only the premium headphones like the B&W PX and B&O H9i have USB-C ports. I also don’t like how the audio jack on these headphones is not so easy to reach. Which makes finding a better quality audio cable for these headphones a little harder. When it comes to build quality, the Quitepoints are using very similar materials to the Sony’s. They have a stainless steel frame, plastic body panels, and synthetic leather on the headband and ear cups… but they’re very light weight coming in at just 247 grams. Where as the Sony 1000XM2 weigh in at 277 grams. And even though 30 grams might not seem like a lot, its really noticeable when you have them on your head.
And as a result the Audio-Technica Quitepoints are very comfortable to wear either when you’re out walking or if you're at your desk getting some work done. I dare even say they’re as comfortable as the Bose QC35’s cause they have very little clamping force, they have very spacious oval ear cups that encase your ears and don’t rest on your earlobes, since their ear cups pivot and swivel a good deal they should be able to conform to most head types and since minimal padding actually makes contact with your skin overheating also isn’t a problem. I have a big head cause I’m awesome but I have no problems wearing these headphones for long periods of time. Where as with the sony’s…. Yes they’re still comfortable and they’re big head approved but since the ear cups aren’t as spacious and since there is a lot of padding they’ll rest on your earlobes or you’ll probably end up with sweaty ear cups after awhile.
Now when it comes to battery life Audio-Technica advertises a battery life of 25 hours… and with ANC and Bluetooth turned on and with the volume set at 50% the Quitepoints averaged 23 hours. With ANC turned off, the quitepoints managed to hit 30 hours.
These headphones are also using bluetooth 4.1 and they have a range of about 30 feet with direct line of sight. Theres no connection issues if your phone is nearby or in your pocket…but if theres a single wall between your audio source and the headphones then the signal will start to stutter. But more importantly these headphones can only be connected to one device at a time which does suck… and their latency when watching video is not the best either.
Ok, now lets talk about their Active Noise Cancelation Performance… when you get into the $200 price range ANC can be very hit or miss. The ANC on the Quitepoints does a good job of blocking out constant low frequency sounds like road noise if youre on the bus. Most other ANC headphones do a good job of this as well. But when it comes to blocking out chatter these headphones don't really blockout too much. But what really matters is that these headphones don’t hiss or put a lot of cabin pressure on your ear drum with ANC turned on. Thats the main reason why I cant wear the Bose QC35’s… they produce a lot of cabin pressure and they give me headaches. Obviously the ANC on the Quitepoints isn’t as good as the Sony 1000XM2, but they should get the job done if you’re on the bus on your way to school or work.
But when it comes to sound quality thats where these Audio-Technica shine. They have a neutral sound signature but with just the right amount of punchy bass. They have a wider soundstage than the Sony’s and their bass doesn’t bottom out. But this is with their ANC turned off. These headphones sound very different with ANC turned on, their soundstage tightens up and the bass isn’t as punchy. So I prefer to listen to these headphones with ANC turned off. When using these headphones with a wired connection I did notice the highs were a little crisper, but mainly I’ve been using these headphones with a wired connection as monitoring headphones for the last few videos I’ve put out. But if you do plan on wearing these headphones out in public just know there is a considerable amount of sound leakage.
But now we need to talk about my least favorite feature on these headphones and thats their touch controls. Unlike the Sony’s which have a touchpad on their right ear cup, the Quitepoints have three Touch POINTS on their left ear cup. Tap the logo once to play or pause your music, tap above the logo to adjust the volume, tap below the logo to lower the volume, and swipe up or swipe down to skip or go back a track. But keep in mind… when adjusting the volume on these headphones you’re adjusting the local volume… not the volume on your source. So if you max out the volume on the headphones it doesn’t mean the volume is maxed out on your phone and I find it very annoying. But the touch controls on the Quitepoints in general suck, playing and pausing a track is fine… but trying to skip or go back track almost never works. And since the touch controls are on the left ear cup it doesn’t feel natural for me since I’m a righty. The touch controls on the Sony’s are almost flawless. Personally I would have very much preferred if Audio-Technica used actual buttons here, cause I find myself just using my phone to control my music playback instead.
So the final verdict on the Audio-Technica ANC700BT is that they’re good for $200 headphones. They have good build quality and they’re very comfortable to wear, their ANC should get the job done for your bus ride commute without causing you any headaches… and they have a very decent battery life. But where these headphones standout is their sound quality, they sounded much better than I expected. Their bluetooth connectivity isn’t the best cause of their latency and only being able to be connected to one device at a time so these might not be the best for a power user who wants to quickly switch from one source to another, or for someone who plans on consuming a lot of video with these. But the biggest let down on these headphones has got to be their touch controls.