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| Brand: Audio-Technica
Category: CE
List Price: $219.95
Buy New: $114.50
You Save: $105.45 (48%)
New (34)
Avg. Customer Rating:  666 reviews
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Battery: 1 AAA
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4
Dimensions (in): 11.5 x 8.4 x 5
Arrive refreshed after a long flight, avoid distractions in a noisy office, or find peace & quiet in your living room?with ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones. These lightweight, compact headphones effectively reduce distracting background noise by up to 85% while offering the superior audio quality that has made Audio-Technica a worldwide leader in electro-acoustic technology. Ideal for use with MP3, CD, DVD & in-flight entertainment systems, ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint close
Legal Disclaimer: You may return or exchange merchandise purchased from Macy's @ Amazon by mail only. Certain items are covered by warranty as indicated. To obtain a copy of the warranty prior to purchase, please write to: macys.com Customer Service Dept.; P.O. Box 8215; Mason, OH 45040; Small Ticket Department-Warranty;
MPN: ATH-ANC7
Model: ATH-ANC7
UPC: 496131009119
EAN: 4961310091194
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Product fails, vendor fails, amazon A-Z fails: A cautionary tale January 11, 2008
40 out of 57 found this review helpful
As a preface, know that in over a decade of amazon patronage and literally thousands of dollars of purchases, this is the first time I've ever written a review like this.
In a word: Beware.
First, don't believe the product description here which says "find peace & quiet in your living room." This product does absolutely zero to cancel the noise from neighbors' leaf blowers, weed wackers, chain saws, hedge trimmers, or barking dogs. That's what I bought it for, as a birthday present for my husband so he could have some peace and quiet in his study where he tries to concentrate and do his writing. And he was thrilled at the idea -- until he tried using it. Zero noise cancellation effect for any of those noises.
Second, don't dare consider buying anything from Electronics Expo to give as a present, if at all. Presumably, you would want to make sure you got a present in plenty of time so you would order it in advance. Well, as I only now know, Electronics Expo starts a 30-day clock ticking for making returns from the day you place your order. Not the day you receive it, much less give it as a present, but from the day you place the order.
And good luck trying to reach Expo to even find that out: they (admittedly) "can't keep up" with answering their phones--or their emails. (I only phoned during their advertised business hours, yet I repeatedly got a phone message saying "You've called after business hours.") Electronics Expo threatens you on their website here not to dare try to BOTH phone them AND email them or that will risk impeding your return. They also tell you that you cannot return anything without first getting an "RA" number to put on your package.
So after a week or two of getting no answer by phone, I resorted to email and ceased phoning, as per their insistence, and then they didn't answer their emails either for over 2 weeks.
The only time - a month into this saga - that they ever answered their phone - to even allow me to be placed on hold, I was on hold for FORTY minutes before someone answered. And the upshot? "Ohhh, too late. Sorry. 30 days expired."
In short, Expo's customer service is the worst. Don't waste ANY time trying to phone them. At least if you begin by emailing them, you have a record of when you began trying to initiate a return.
Third, and alas (given how much I have always liked amazon), do NOT believe amazon operators when they tell you that your situation qualifies for A-Z coverage and that you will get your money refunded. Since I'd never had any reason previously to even be aware of what amazon's A-Z guarantee is or entails, I also got stung learning the first time about how A-Z works or rather doesn't work.
I've been led astray for over a month now by amazon and by four different amazon operators, each of whom heard my story and insisted that I should rest assured that my situation qualified and I would get my money back, only to then receive follow-up emails saying "Sorry, you don't qualify." It's not enough that the product fails to do what it says it will do.
And amazon A-Z's "solution" reverts each time to: Contact the vendor. (Yeah, right. YOU try contacting this seller.)
Also, if you ever file an A-Z guarantee, do NOT let an operator do it for you. Apparently, from what a later amazon operator told me, the first operator -- who never told me I had the option to do it myself and simply said she was filing an A-Z claim on my behalf -- had written the briefest kind of explanation -- "doesn't meet conditions." The later operator thought that was why my A-Z was rejected initially (and as of today, a month later, I now have officially had two appeals of this verdict rejected -- hence now this "review" of the whole process, since amazon has now failed me as well). That later operator suggested i go into my order and refile an A-Z claim on my own but she didn't even realize that you can't do that. Once there is one filed A-Z claim, there's no link anymore in the order on the website for being able to refile a claim and to do it in your own words, and you become utterly dependent on further amazon operators to represent your case.
All amazon has done, after repeated assurances to the contrary, is say: Sorry, contact the vendor, try to get them to cover it as defective under warranty.
Well, I have no idea whether this unit is defective or merely falsely advertised to do things it doesn't do. (By the way, I tried the unit myself and there's no way it cuts down 85% of sound. Even music going in the same room was reduced only minimally, nowhere near the claimed 85% -- not to mention, again, that the sounds I bought it to cancel for my husband like neighbors' gardening equipment were completely unreduced.) And the vendor is virtually unreachable.
All I wanted -- totally legitimately -- was to return the gift to my husband, which was a waste of $128 for a product that doesn't do what it said it would do. Period. I started attempting that return two days after his birthday, when it was already clear to him that, despite his loving the idea of the gift, it wasn't working. And it's now been a total of 7 weeks since I began that attempt to return it and I've been given the royal runaround and stonewalling.
It's absurd that amazon does business with a vendor who starts a return-policy clock ticking from the day you place an order and only gives 30 days.
 quiet when you need it--comparison to Bose QC3 June 23, 2007
37 out of 39 found this review helpful
Both of these headphones are very good. Very useful on a plane to eliminate the white noise from the engines and the air speeding by, as well as to eliminate almost all the noise from the kids behind you that are yelling or the couple in front of you that wanna talk as loud as they can, etc. This makes a noise-cancelling headphone set a must for anyone who travels on a plane. I've showed off these headphones to some of my fellow travelers--they are amazed at the absence of sound.
This review compares to the Bose QC3. Both are very good.
AudioTechnica advantages--uses AAA battery instead of Bose's proprietary battery, cost is $200 vs Bose $350, slightly larger earcups, a bit quieter than the Bose, plays sound from your iPod even when turned off (or battery dead) whereas Bose must be turned on to have any sound come through, although sound on ATH-ANC7 is a bit muddier when turned off vs when turned on.
Bose QC 3advantages--a bit lighter at 5 ounces instead of 7 ounces. Better comfort on the ear, and a bit fuller sound esp in lower registers.
I have ignored carrying cases, since both are a plastic shell 8 " by 8" by 2", in generous approximation, and it's a lot easier to stuff the headphones in your carryon bag without using the carrying case, cuz it takes up a lot less room that way.
Also, spend $50 for Bose backup battery (although rechargeable) vs $1 for a backup AAA battery for Audio Techica.
I have no financial or other interest in any products I review.
 You won't get any closer to Bose for this price! January 14, 2008
37 out of 37 found this review helpful
HOW/WHY I FOUND THE AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-ANC7:
Once upon a time, my wife bought me a set of Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones as a Christmas gift. They were, without a doubt, the finest headphones I've ever owned. They weren't made of the strongest stuff (after about 2 years of very light use, mine broke at the extender bracket, but Bose replaced the entire headset, no questions asked, so, no harm no foul), but in terms of combined sound performance, comfort and noise cancelling, I had never experienced their equal ... and I still have not.
My Bose headphones got stolen from among my luggage at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport rental car pavillion (all you frequent travelers out there know the exact place I'm talking about), while I was standing only a few feet away, looking up at the departing/arriving flights monitors. In a word, I was devastated.
As I could not bring myself to fork out another $300 for a replacement set, I began to search for a less-expensive alternative to the Bose. As it so happened, there was available to me on one of those popular credit card "rewards" programs a set of noise cancelling cans from Sony ... the MDR-NC50 (the current version of this headset is the MDR-NC60). Since I could get the Sonys right away, without having to shell out any more money, I decided to use my rewards points and take a chance on the Sonys. The Sonys had a very spotty reputation among reviewers, but I actually liked them. They weren't as good as the Bose in the sound department, but the sound was OK; they were very well-constructed, and the noise cancelling function was actually a bit better than the Bose. Unfortunately, about a year after I first acquired them, the noise cancelling function inexplicably stopped working. No bumps, no fizz ... I just pulled them out of the case one day and ... nothing. That left me with only passive mode operation, which was totally unacceptable. My wife is now inheriting that set, as she thinks they sound just peachy ... no comment, men.
A few months after my Sonys died, I started researching replacements again, and happened upon the Audio Technica ATH-ANC7. You've heard it all before ... many good reviews; comparable to Bose, etc., etc. I found some high res photos of the Audio Technicas online, and was intrigued. Here, it seemed, was a set of noise-cancelling cans that replicated almost everything I loved about my Bose headset, right down to the case and accessory pouch, for a fraction of the cost of the Bose. Could it really be true? Like a German brown trout in a rainstorm, I bit, and ordered a set, and here's what I got.
ACCESSORIES AND CARRYING CASE:
The ATs come in a really nice box. In the front half is the headset, shown through a glassine window; in the back is the case, with the accessories already in the zippered pouch that attaches with a velcro backing to the inner lid of the case ... just like the Bose. The included accessories are the main audio cable, a 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch stereo adapter plug, an airline audio adapter plug, and a complimentary AAA battery to get you started. I loved it already. The case is just like the Bose case ... a polymer shell covered with black nylon mesh, like the material a typical backpack is made of. It differs from the Bose case in two important respects, however. The Bose case has an elastic pocket on the back, and an adjustable shoulder strap with two little hinge clips that allow you to remove the strap from the case if you want. Both these features are missing from the AT case. You get the case, and that's it.
APPEARANCE AND CONSTRUCTION:
The headset itself is a thing of beauty ... flat black with gray lettering and highlights. Both the external microphones and the power-on switch for the noise cancelling are located in positions similar to that for the Bose, and they look equally cool in the ATs. This headset is more sturdy, however, and constructed a little differently than the Bose. In the Bose set, there are two separate steel bands attached to the earcups that adjust by pushing into, and out of, the padded part that sits on top of your head. The ATs use a single steel band, padded at the top, and the headset adjusts by pushing the earcups up or down on this single band ... probably a more durable design than that used in the Bose ... far less likely to fracture at the plastic adjustment fittings, like my Bose did.
Like the Bose, the earcups on the AT swivel to allow the headset to lay flat in the case. The main cable for the ATs is also detachable, like the Bose (so you can use the headset for quiet/noise-cancelling only), but there is no switch built into the AT cable (as there is with the Bose) that allows you to adjust between "hi" and "lo" input levels.
EARCUPS:
The earcup cushions are plush, soft black leather (or some kind of fake leather ... I can't tell for sure), just like the Bose, however, there is less interior space in the earcups than I remember having in the Bose. I had to monkey with these a bit to get them to fit comfortably over my ears, and the outer edges of my ears remained in contact with several surfaces within the earcups. I can definitely see these headphones getting constricting and hot if used for any significant length of time in a warm environment. When you put them on, they almost feel like you're wearing ear muffs ... not UNcomfortable, but definitely more restrictive than the Bose.
NOISE-CANCELLING:
The noise-cancelling feature is excellent, possibly better than the Bose, and with the ATs, I didn't notice the sensation of pressure that I noticed with the noise-cancelling on the Bose. Everyone considering noise cancelling headsets should be aware that none of the models using active noise cancelling do much to eliminate noise in the higher frequencies. Their real strength is in elimination of mid and lower frequency ambient noise, like road noise in a car or train, highway traffic, crowd or machinery noise, or the drone of an airplane's engines ... the kind of non-descript, constant background noise that stresses your brain at a subconscious level and makes it more difficult for you to concentrate or rest. For example, when someone talks to you with the noise cancelling on, you can still hear them, but at a far lower volume, with all the "bass" removed from their voice.
AUDIO PERFORMANCE:
The audio performance of the ATs is also very good. The midrange is well-articulated and bright, but not overpowering; the highs are crystalline and transparent, and integrated well with the mids. The bass is as well-represented as any I've heard in a headset other than Bose. Unlike the Bose, this headset continues to operate whether the noise cancelling is turned on or off. When it's on, you're in "active" mode. When it's turned off, you're in "passive" mode. In active mode, the "impedance" or resistance level of the headset drops, and all the midrange and high frequencies become more pronounced. In passive mode, the impedance is increased, the mid and high frequencies become less pronounced, and the bass becomes more apparent. To some, the bass in passive mode might sound "muddy" or indistinct, but I actually liked it, and tinkered with it quite a bit, experimenting with the EQ and volume controls on my .mp3 player to see how I could modify the dynamic balance. With this kind of tinkering, I found that on some passages of music, at varying volume levels, I actually PREFERRED the audio performance in passive mode (noise cancelling off) over the audio performance in active mode (noise cancelling on). This is totally different from what I experienced with the Sonys ... passive mode operation in the Sonys was clearly inferior to active mode in every respect, and this was a VERY pleasant surprise for me in my road test of the ATs. Nicely done, Audio Technica!
As many reviewers have already observed, the bass response on the ATs isn't QUITE to the level of the Bose, but after listening to the ATs some more, I actually came back to update this review, to note that it's pretty darn close, especially when you "goose" the bass in your player's EQ and pump up the volume a bit. It's no accident that Bose holds U.S. patents on its bass emulation technologies, and man-oh-man, do I MISS that! That's 90% of what you're paying for in the Bose, folks. I've come to conclude that there is no one anywhere who has yet succeeded in doing what Bose has done in emulating low-frequency wavelengths in VERY small packages. Stuff like their Quiet Comfort headsets and "Acoustic Wave" desktop radio/CD players continue to astound, and continue to command top dollar retail in a brutally competitive consumer electronics market. I don't know how they do it, but the difference is obvious to anyone who's listening with an open mind, and an open ear.
Once, I compared my Quiet Comfort headset to a pair of Sennheisers that my nephew had. He was trying to convince me (or maybe himself) that the Bose reputation (and high retail pricing) was based on nothing more than marketing gimmicks, and that his Sennheisers sounded better, but I was stunned at the obvious difference in bass performance between the two headsets, and I mentioned it to him. He looked at me like I was from outer space. In comparison, it was as if the Sennheisers had no bass at all. Either his ear wasn't able to distinguish the difference in the bass, or it simply didn't matter to him. Each to his own taste, I guess.
With all that said, however, I don't want this review to sound negative on the bass response in the ATs. It's not just passable or satisfactory. It's VERY good ... MUCH better than what I experienced in the Sonys (when they still worked), and I've fallen in love with listening to my .mp3 player through headphones again, especially in light of the huge cost savings I've realized by going with the ATs instead of the Bose. At one-third the cost, I can live with a just a bit less bass response ... LOL.
SOUND LEAKAGE:
Finally, the reviewers who have complained about "sound leakage" from the ATs weren't kidding. When you take the headphones off, there is practically no difference between what you can hear with the earcups laying face down on a table or cushion, and what you can hear with the earcups facing up. I have no idea why that is, but I can only assume that AT gave no thought at all to this issue in their design of this headset, because if they HAD thought of it, I'm sure it wouldn't be such an obvious problem in the finished headset. Sound leakage is not a big issue for me, but I can certainly understand it being a big issue for other users. In short, if sound leakage is a concern for you, you might want to consider another headset, or wait to see if AT improves this in a later model. If you've got your heart set on the ATs for the noise-cancelling and great audio performance, at minimum, you might want to try out the ATs at a local electronics store before you buy, so you can hear the sound leakage yourself and decide if it's too much for you or not.
OVERALL, AN OUTSTANDING VALUE AT $125:
I got my ATs for about $125, shipped ... $200 less than a new set of Bose QC2's (about $325 after addition of sales tax and free shipping from Bose direct). At this price, I feel that I got a tremendous value, and I'm sure just about anyone buying the ATs will feel the same way.
SUMMARY/CONCLUSION:
As many have said before me, they aren't Bose, but they're about as close as anyone's ever going to get to the Bose QC2's at this price. Many thanks to the folks at Audio Technica for their development and marketing of this fine product.
Excellent noise reduction, Near-excellent sound quality August 8, 2007
34 out of 36 found this review helpful
After using these headphones for a little while, I'll never go back to non-noise canceling phones. The noise reduction is amazing; as good as the Bose quiet-comforts. The sound quality is wonderful (far better than most major brands) but not quite as good as the Bose.
There are three issues that other reviewers brought up that I would like to reiterate: First, there is sound leakage. That is, when listening to these at a moderate volume (not loud, just not quiet), someone sitting within a few feet of you will be able to hear the sound. The sound leakage is worse than the leakage from most regular headphones or earbuds. Second, my ears get really hot after just a few minutes of wearing these. The ear cups do not "breathe," so it gets quite warm (this might be a benefit in cold climates). Finally, although it is nice to have a detachable cord, it looks like if you ever lose the cord, you will have to search around for a replacement that actually fits--even though it is a standard-size 1/8" plug, the connector is recessed into a narrow hole in the plastic, and most 1/8" plugs are too wide to fit.
But, overall, I am quite happy with these--they are 95% as good as Bose at 30% of the price.
Great for the office, but... May 24, 2007
29 out of 30 found this review helpful
... I only write a review when it matters...
These cans excell at killing low frequency drone, such as industrial air conditioners or constant echo in a large room. Upon flipping on the switch, you'll inevitably have a "Woah, these things really WORK!" With the drone gone, and with a small amount of amplification that occurs when the switch is on, you'll be able to hear a lot more in your music. I find myself turning the volume down, still able to make out great detail.
But.. the reason for 4 stars instead of 5:
A) high frequency sounds seem to get amplified more than mids and mid-lows. For example, snare drum, cymbals, strings, and high keyboard come across clearer than a bass or bass guitar. I often listen to rock, and I find myself wanting adjust the equalization of my music to boost the bass a bit. For classical, vocal, or acoustic jazz music, this might be a strong point as opposed a weak point.
B) The headphones can't cancel higher frequency noise as well as the low frequency "room drone". Example: exhaust fan on an old computer or buzz from a refridgerator. This might very well be the reason for A--the music competes with noise that can't be cancelled.
The headphones (and case) are solidly built. They play music even with the noise cancelling off (in case you want to save batteries), and the cable is removable in case you just want quiet without music. The cable uses standard 1/8 inch connectors on both ends, so in theory it could replaced with a cord of any length--however, the diameter of the plug is a tight fit where it attaches to the headphones, and in practice may be hard to find.
The arch of the headband is metal under the padding, which I can bend to customize the fit & comfort. I have a large-ish head, and they just fit at maximum extention with some bending. If you know you have a very large head, I recommend trying them out in person first--they might not fit.
For the money, these are excellent and effective workplace headphones! Recommended..
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