Tuesday, May 20, 2014
review: Audio Technica ATH-ES700
The Audio Technica Earsuit line provides headphones which look at least as good as they sound. The biggest succes of the line was the ES7 which has been for sale since 2008, and had generally very good reviews. Now the successor of the ES7 has arrived, the ES700. Sticking to the same general design but totally new in every way. New 42 mm drivers, specially developed for this headphone, stainless steel cups and to top it off, the headphone is entirely made in Japan. The ES700 has a 1.2 meter cable which connects to both earcups, the headphone comes with a pleather carrying pouch and a cleaning cloth. The stainless steel cups are mirrored and have a hairline finish, they do however easily get fingerprints on them.
To start off, they sound very neutral, no overwhelming bass or aggressively forward treble, just nice and neutral. The bass is present but doesn't go very deep, don't expect a deep thumbing bass because it will fall below 45 Hz. However, the bass is plenty for most types of music but might lack a bit when listening to hip-hop, dubstep or any other electronic music. Then there is the best part of this headphone: the mid-range. Vocals sound lively as I have never heard before, guitars and pianos are a pleasure to listen to. The mid-range is slightly forward but because it is so good, this is only a bonus. Any acoustic songs sounds better than ever before, giving it an extra liveliness which just isn't there with other headphones. listening to 9 Crimes by Damien rice, the piano sounds as if you are there and Damien's voice sounds better than ever before. The treble in this headphone is just a slight bit recessed, it isn't what you could call sparkly. It does provide plenty of detail but it is just a slight bit overwhelmed by the excellent mid-range. Overall the sound is focused on the mid-range but remains neutral and pleasant to listen to. The soundstage is very good for a sealed headphone giving a decent spaciousness to music. The separation is decent, giving every instrument a different place yet close together. Watching movies with this headphone makes for easy listening to speech but they lack just a bit of depth with action scenes. There is a decent amount of space in movies which provides a nice experience. An added bonus is that these are extremely easy to drive and an amp is in no way necessary, when I listen to them in a quiet environment, the lowest volume on my phone is enough. If there is more ambient noise you need to push the volume a bit more since they do not provide much isolation.
To start off, they sound very neutral, no overwhelming bass or aggressively forward treble, just nice and neutral. The bass is present but doesn't go very deep, don't expect a deep thumbing bass because it will fall below 45 Hz. However, the bass is plenty for most types of music but might lack a bit when listening to hip-hop, dubstep or any other electronic music. Then there is the best part of this headphone: the mid-range. Vocals sound lively as I have never heard before, guitars and pianos are a pleasure to listen to. The mid-range is slightly forward but because it is so good, this is only a bonus. Any acoustic songs sounds better than ever before, giving it an extra liveliness which just isn't there with other headphones. listening to 9 Crimes by Damien rice, the piano sounds as if you are there and Damien's voice sounds better than ever before. The treble in this headphone is just a slight bit recessed, it isn't what you could call sparkly. It does provide plenty of detail but it is just a slight bit overwhelmed by the excellent mid-range. Overall the sound is focused on the mid-range but remains neutral and pleasant to listen to. The soundstage is very good for a sealed headphone giving a decent spaciousness to music. The separation is decent, giving every instrument a different place yet close together. Watching movies with this headphone makes for easy listening to speech but they lack just a bit of depth with action scenes. There is a decent amount of space in movies which provides a nice experience. An added bonus is that these are extremely easy to drive and an amp is in no way necessary, when I listen to them in a quiet environment, the lowest volume on my phone is enough. If there is more ambient noise you need to push the volume a bit more since they do not provide much isolation.
Top 5 of the week
For this blog I will try to make a list of my favorite 5 songs of the week, these do not have to be new or popular in any way. It usually are songs I discovered, rediscovered or just was in the mood for the song in the last week, I will try to write a small part about why these songs.
1: Rebel Rebel, David Bowie. After I heard somebody talk about this song, the title didn't sound familiar but that made me curious. I listened to it and immediately it rang a bell, off course I knew this song but never knew the title, giving it the number one spot of the week.
2: Always the sun, The Stranglers. Listening on shuffle to my rather large music collection always gives me some new songs I didn't know I had, this is one of them. It sounded strangely familiar but I wasn't able to link it to the stranglers before looking at what was playing. This is one to remember from now on.
3: Do You Know Where Your Children Are, Michael Jackson. A new Michael Jackson album? My first thought was: I sure hope they didn't ruin Michael's sound. luckily they didn't, they made it a bit more modern but still full on Michael Jackson and this song is the perfect example of that, modern but still Michael.
4: Nightcall, Kavinsky and Lovefoxxx. After seeing the movie Drive I had to get the soundtrack, just for this song. For me, the mix of the synthesizers and the nice vocals is a winning combination.
5: Rubberneckin' (Paul Oakenfield remix), Elvis Presley. The second most famous remix of one of Elvis' songs. It sounds fresh but still holding on to the original, just how I like it.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Trouble Will Find Me, The National
To start this blog I decided to review the latest album of one of my favorite bands, The National. Trouble Will Find Me is their sixth studio album and features appearances of major indie rock names such as Richard Reed Parry from Arcade Fire, the album was also nominated for best alternative music album at last years' Grammy's.
The first song, I Should Live In Salt is about Matt's (the lead singer) relationship with his brother and how different they are. When you listen to the song, you can almost hear Matt's regret as he sings in an unusually high pitch for his voice. It has some repetition in is but is still pretty nice to listen to. The next track is Demons, my personal favorite of the album. Matt's dark and baritone voice has returned, giving the song a somewhat gloomy mood. Singing about his depression which he can not overcome by simply believing in god, so he stays down with his demons. The song progresses, like most of their songs, from drums and a guitar adding more and more instruments until it simply sounds full, almost muddy but still rhythmical. Fireproof is a relaxed song about his broken heart and how the women seemed fireproof, except for one girl. it starts only with a guitar and only a few more instruments are added throughout the song, keeping it calm and relaxed with the help of a soft rhythm on the drums. Slipped and I Need My Girl are again two slower tracks, about broken relationships and difficulties with new ones. Slipped sounds regretful and a little sad, accentuated by the slow rhythm, while I Need My Girl sounds more reminiscent. Remembering past experiences with his former girlfriend and how he keeps feeling smaller now. Don't Swallow The Cap, Graceless and Humiliation are the more upbeat tracks of the album and such as almost every The National song they fill it with instruments throughout as the song progresses. Don't Swallow The Cap and Graceless have some subtle backing vocals which give it a more airy sound and in Humiliation the instruments start in the background and become more forward throughout the song. These three songs have similar rhythm and sound as most tracks on their previous albums and will sound very familiar to fans of the band. Sea of love is again easily recognized as one from The National, filled with sound towards the end with nice backing vocals. Pink Rabbits and Hard To Find sound similar to I Should Live In Salt with a slower rhythm and less "full". This Is The Last Time is somewhere in between Graceless and Hard To Find, slightly faster and again with more instrument than can be distinguished. At the end of the song is a slower and sadder part, with nice vocals and backing vocals.
In my opinion Trouble Will Find Me is not their best album but is still very enjoyable, it has their signature sound and songs varying from sad and slow to very upbeat. I still prefer their earlier albums but this will probably appeal to a wider audience. Some tracks sound a bit repetitive and others a bit "full" but it mostly doesn't reduce the listening pleasure. All in all it is just a very enjoyable "sit back and relax" album to listen to on a Sunday afternoon.
My grade: 8.5
The first song, I Should Live In Salt is about Matt's (the lead singer) relationship with his brother and how different they are. When you listen to the song, you can almost hear Matt's regret as he sings in an unusually high pitch for his voice. It has some repetition in is but is still pretty nice to listen to. The next track is Demons, my personal favorite of the album. Matt's dark and baritone voice has returned, giving the song a somewhat gloomy mood. Singing about his depression which he can not overcome by simply believing in god, so he stays down with his demons. The song progresses, like most of their songs, from drums and a guitar adding more and more instruments until it simply sounds full, almost muddy but still rhythmical. Fireproof is a relaxed song about his broken heart and how the women seemed fireproof, except for one girl. it starts only with a guitar and only a few more instruments are added throughout the song, keeping it calm and relaxed with the help of a soft rhythm on the drums. Slipped and I Need My Girl are again two slower tracks, about broken relationships and difficulties with new ones. Slipped sounds regretful and a little sad, accentuated by the slow rhythm, while I Need My Girl sounds more reminiscent. Remembering past experiences with his former girlfriend and how he keeps feeling smaller now. Don't Swallow The Cap, Graceless and Humiliation are the more upbeat tracks of the album and such as almost every The National song they fill it with instruments throughout as the song progresses. Don't Swallow The Cap and Graceless have some subtle backing vocals which give it a more airy sound and in Humiliation the instruments start in the background and become more forward throughout the song. These three songs have similar rhythm and sound as most tracks on their previous albums and will sound very familiar to fans of the band. Sea of love is again easily recognized as one from The National, filled with sound towards the end with nice backing vocals. Pink Rabbits and Hard To Find sound similar to I Should Live In Salt with a slower rhythm and less "full". This Is The Last Time is somewhere in between Graceless and Hard To Find, slightly faster and again with more instrument than can be distinguished. At the end of the song is a slower and sadder part, with nice vocals and backing vocals.
In my opinion Trouble Will Find Me is not their best album but is still very enjoyable, it has their signature sound and songs varying from sad and slow to very upbeat. I still prefer their earlier albums but this will probably appeal to a wider audience. Some tracks sound a bit repetitive and others a bit "full" but it mostly doesn't reduce the listening pleasure. All in all it is just a very enjoyable "sit back and relax" album to listen to on a Sunday afternoon.
My grade: 8.5
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