Audio Technica ATHM40FS Precision Studio Headphones Review

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Audio Technica ATHM40FS Precision StudioPhones
First of all right out of the package they look expensive. They do not look cheaply made and the matte black coloring and shape of these headphones is pleasing to the eye.
From the top down:
The headband is approximately two inches wide and covered even on the top with some type of soft to the touch material. The underside of the headband is very well padded and the padding extends almost down to the hinge where the earpieces are connected to the headpiece. The padding is nice and squishy, but not so much that you can feel the hardness underneath. The thickness of the padding is approximately 3/4 of an inch thick.
These earphones are very light, I've been wearing them all day with no neck fatigue, or headache from too much pressure around the ears.
The tension of the headband is enough to hold the earphones on my head, but they rest comfortably without pressure around my ears.
The hinges where the earpieces meet the body are made from some type of heavy duty, hard plastic(I don't know the technical name for it). The hinges are nice and thick. They look well made and able to take a lot of use.
The earpieces:
The shape is sort of an elongated oval. They are lined all the way around by padding that is approximately 3/4 of an inch thick, and one inch wide, and they're covered by the same velvety soft material as the headband padding. This padding feels wonderful against the skin. The padding that touches the skin is flattened to fit against the head better, giving these headphones excellent sound squelching qualities.
The inside of each earpiece is oval in shape and the inside depth is between 1/2 and inch and 3/4 of an inch. The inside wells that hold the speakers are covered with some type of soft fabric as well.
The holes under the fabric where the speakers are located are shifted slightly toward the back side of the ear pieces.
The outside housing is a some type of matte black high density plastic, and the R and L on each one is molded into the plastic rather than being painted on so that it won't rub off eventually.
The hinges:
Move smoothly and easily. There are two sets of them. One allows the earpieces to be rotated out when they're being worn, so outside noises or conversation can be heard without taking them completely off. They're made of matte black high density plastic also. They're nice and thick, and the part that attaches the earpieces to the headband meets the headband smoothly. If you didn't know the seam was there, you'd probably miss it. Each earpiece can be rotated out to the front approximately 180 degrees, and to the back considerably less.
The other set of hinges are the same color and material, and they fit sleekly against the earpieces in their own grooves, giving the earpieces a smooth appearance when on the head. There is nothing sticking out, and it's very aesthetic. When they're on the head the hinges and earpieces look like they're all one piece. I don't know who designed them, but whoever it is they're smart, LOL.The Cord:
Runs from the left earpiece, and is not reinforced at the point it meets the earpiece. The cord is very long and has a nice thickness to it. It's not flimsy at all. If you don't need the length, I suggest tying it up with a zip it, or something similar, to keep it out of the way. I like the length personally. If you're like me and you forget you're wearing these headphones and get out of your chair to get something it doesn't pull everything off the shelf:D
The cord terminates in a 1/4 stereo plug, and is reinforced at the back end of the plug with a flexible metal spring that's approximately an inch long. The plug itself is textured for easy gripping.
If you're going to use these headphones for your: computer, tv, portable CD player or whatever. You're going to need to buy a 3.5 mm adapter because these headphones don't come with one in the box, like some of the other Audio Tecnica headphones.
But it's easy to find an adpater, and not much hassle. You can buy adapter kits. There is an adapter kit with four different sizes of adapters, right here on Amazon for 5.00 or so. Sound and audio stores should have them as well as electronics stores, I think even Wally World has them. Radio Shack has a kit that's a little different from the one here on Amazon, but it still has four different sized adapters. Just make sure you get a stereo to stereo adapter, not stereo to mono adapter. Isolation:
These really do a good job. When I'm listening to music I don't hear anything else unless the sound is extremely loud.
The sound:
The sound of music through these is excellent. I can hear everything the way it was meant to be heard. Nothing added or taken away. But listening pleasure is subjective. I really enjoy the music I hear through these headphones just playing MP3s on my computer without a fancy sound card on my computer. DVD movies sound very good also. The soundtracks sound great.
The longer I listen the better music sounds through these headphones.
The highs aren't sharp and grating, and the mid range is there, the lows are smooth and present. Nothing is muddy sounding to me. All the sounds are separated and discernible but not so sharply delineated that it picks the music to pieces with one drowning out the other. Everything is nicely balanced and flows together like music should. It sounds like I'm hearing a live performance. The bass is there, but it is NOT very pronounced and isn't the focus.
I don't hear any distortion at a higher volume, but then again I can't stand very loud music, it hurts my ears. You don't have to turn these all the way up to hear decently. I'm listening to Illumination by Hemi- Sync right now and I've got my system volume turned up to 3/4 and Winamp volume is at 9%, and that's quite enough to enjoy the music. I can still hear everything very well with no interference from outside noise.
The music accompanies the singer rather than drowning them out. If you enjoy the lyrics, like me, as much as the music, then these headphones are fantastic. The lyrics are very easy to understand,and the voice of the singer is perfectly presented.
Meatloaf "Life is a Lemon" sounds heavenly through these, and so does Garth Brooks "Friends in Low Places". Pink Floyd sounds divine, and so does John Denver. Mozart sounds great too. PussyCat Dolls "Don'tcha" sounds just as good to me. Rammstein - Blade Theme (Techno Remix) sounds as good as all the rest. Roberta Flack is as close to blues as I've gotten yet, and she sounds amazing. Minnie Ripperton's "Loving You" Sounds good too. I haven't listened to anything jazzier. Pantera sounds good, and so do the Heavy Metal soundtracks( 1 and 2). I hope that gives you some idea about the range of music that sounds great with these headphones. Meditation music sounds great also.Summation:
These are excellent quality headphones for the price. Someone put a lot of thought and effort into designing these. I always look at the details, and if someone paid attention to those I know they care about their product.
These headphones are light and comfortable on the head, and about the ears. They can be worn comfortably for extended periods of time without causing a headache. I believe they provide enough isolation, and outside sound dampening, to satisfy most music afficianados.
If you're looking for very pronounced bass, don't buy these unless you want to adjust the the bass to your satisfaction on your music source.
All in all I'm very pleased with these headphones, and I would buy them again. The price and the quality make this set of headphones an excellent buy.
On a sidenote: The customer service people are very nice. I emailed the customer service department for the amplitude range on another set I was eyeballing which are also made by audio Technica. The frequency response of headphones means nothing if the amplitude is way out of whack. It took about a week for them to answer but he very nice fellow who answered sent me JPGs of the amplitude graphs for the set I asked about, and another set. I'm sure he probably had to hunt the graphs down and then make a file to attach it to the email he sent me. Now that is customer service! Kudos to Audio Technica for their customer service. And that was before the sale!
The two sets were: Audio Technica ATH-A700 Closed-Back Dynamic Headphones With Double Air Damping and Audio Technica ATH-AD700 Open-air Dynamic Headphones.
If you're interested the amplitude range on the ATH-AD700 was much more flat than the ATH-A700, with less variation overall.
Alrighty then, that's all I can think of at the moment.
I'm enjoying my music on these very same headphones while I'm typing away.


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Audio-Technica's premium professional studiophones offer a flat, extended frequency response for professional studio monitoring. Superior components provide very high SPL capabilities while maintaining exceptional clarity of sound. Exterior design features include sturdy strain-relief cable and comfortable circumaural earpieces that can be rotated 180 degrees to permit one-ear monitoring. The studiophones utilize 40-millimeter drives with neodymium magnets and copper-clad aluminum wire voice coils for lowest mass. They are equipped with an 11-foot cable terminated in a standard 1/4-inch connector. This field-serviceable model allows elements, cables, and earpads to be replaced in the field if needed.

ATH-M40fs Features
Flat, extended frequency response for mixing/monitoring
Field-replaceable cables, drivers and ear pads
1,600 mW of power handling, high SPL capability
40 mm diameter drivers, neodymium magnets and CCAW voice coils
OFC litz wire cables, convenient one-side exit
Rotating earpieces for easy one-ear monitoring

ATH-M40fs Specifications
Type: Closed-back dynamic
Driver Diameter: 40 mm
Magnet: Neodymium
Voice Coil: Copper-clad aluminum wire
Frequency Response: 5 - 28,000 Hz
Maximum Input Power: 1,600 mW at 1 kHz
Sensitivity: 100 dB
Impedance: 60 ohms
Weight: 8.8 oz (250 g) without cable
Cable: 11-foot (3.4 m) (OFC litz wire, left-side exit)
Connector: 1/4-inch (6.3 mm) phone plug

What's in the Box ATH-M40fs Precision Studiophones, User Manual

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