Comments on: Headphones Review : ATH-SQ5

By: Jonz

Jonz — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:38:51 +0000

I feel that no matter what, do not trust audio technica headphones. They suck, BIG TIME, i swear. I bought this cool pair of audio technica ath-sq5 headphones which seems nice; but do not judge a book by its cover, or for this matter, handphones by its cool design, its sucks in music quality, like seriously. Earlier on, I was using this pair of creative noise-isolation earpiece that costed only a mere S$45 and after comparing this S$130 ath-aq5, i realised the ath-aq5 seriously sucks. There is like almost zero bass even when i set my iPod’s EQ to bass booster and my creative earpiece was far better then it in terms of bass. Also, its like freaking soft compared to my creative earpiece and provides no sound-isolation at all, i could hear the exact conversation between people while on the bus and i was like “Oh god, what utter rubbish is this!”. Also, on the packaging, it stressed on its elegant design, but its design seriously sucks too, it looks nice, but produces a creaking sound when you turn your head,also, it is not compact at all and cannot be folded for convenient storage. In the end, i wasted my S$130 on those rubbish and seriously regreted it and i have to continue using my creative earpiece now. All in all, i conlude from this sad experience of my that audio technica headphones seriously sucks in both design and quality, do not ever consider buying their headphones, they are almost as lousy as the earphones that comes with an iPod, even a pair of S$45 creative earpiece excels far better than that pair of S$130 audio technica ath-sq5 headphones. If i am a cnet editor reviewing this headphone, i will probably give it 1.5/10 out of mere sympathy and the nice deceiving packaging.

By: MrMayat

MrMayat — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:37:42 +0000

I have ‘em in black since I’m always dressed in dark colours. The design was what drew me in. The size is perfect for my big ears, but the pinch on my thick spectacle frame is a killer after a while. And yeah, your ears tend to sweat after a while too. It troublesome since I’m wearing ‘em for up to 8 hours.

Definitely takes time to break into the foam. It’s also a hassle to pack it in a bag since it can’t fold up into a ball. As some people say, “So hip, it hurts!”

Sound-wise, it’s average. The noise isolation is average too, unless I pump the volume to 19 or 20. (A Zen user too) My cheaper Porta-Pro open cans sounds better.

By: double

double — Sun, 04 May 2008 10:31:49 +0000

Approximately 3.5 inches by 2 inches.

By: Johena

Johena — Sun, 04 May 2008 10:23:15 +0000

Thanks. And what about the external dimensions of the earcups as shown on the last picture of your review?

By: double

double — Sun, 04 May 2008 08:02:50 +0000

The dimensions of the actual oval shape holes are approximately 2.5 inches by 1.25 inches.

By: Johena

Johena — Sun, 04 May 2008 04:25:09 +0000

I’d like to buy these headphones, but I’m affarid it’s too big for me.
What are the dimensions of headphones (mostly external)?
Thanks for your response.

By: double

double — Sun, 04 May 2008 03:34:39 +0000

Thanks for the whole bunch of information. I’m using a Creative Zen Vision which has been around for more than 2 years already.

By: bakavic

bakavic — Sun, 04 May 2008 02:45:44 +0000

About your crackling problem, you should try your headphones using different sources, like your comp, another mp3 player, or the a cd player or something. See if it makes a difference. Like what Soshi said, perhaps the audio output of your player is the problem. A reason for this might be that the inbuilt amp in your player just cannot handle the load given by your headphones, which explains why you have no problems with your in-ears, and why you have to turn up the volume so high on your player.

There are some fixes for this, namely changing your mp3 player, or getting a portable amp.

Also, are you using an ipod? I’ve heard that its equalizer function tends to create this crackling sound - here’s one of the links I’ve found - http://manishbansal.wordpress.com/2005/11/08/how-to-fix-ipod-eq-distortion/

As for what is burning-in, some believe that speakers, being mechanical moving devices, need time to break-in, much like a new car engine, so that they will work their best. It just means that they will use the headphones for a few weeks, with it running constantly, before judging the sound.

There are some local headphone enthusiast forums, like sgheadphones.net, and jaben.net, as well as the big-time sites, like head-fi.org, which you can visit to learn more.

By: Sakari

Sakari — Sun, 04 May 2008 00:37:48 +0000

Yeh at least nobody else can hear the sound quality ^^

By: double

double — Sat, 03 May 2008 17:04:45 +0000

Soshi > Yea the swivel-fold function rocks! And what’s this about the cans being broken in? I’m confused lol.

Sakari > Nah, I’m not talking about getting the headphones dirty when you’re wearing them. It’s about getting them dirty when your eating with them docked around your neck.

It wasn’t exactly a very good purchase indeed, but I’m rather pleased with it. At least I haven’t seen anyone who has the same set as I do ^^