My (late) review of the ATH-TAD300 (image heavy)

[creatip123]

After I wrote 2 review threads, the ATH-AD700 and the sub-$40 headphones, I just realized, I haven't reviewed my first 'serious' headphone, the Audio Technica TAD300. This is actually the headphone that got me into headphone infatuation in the first place. So I thought it isn't fair not to write a review about the TAD300. 

 

 

 

Over the ear, open back type

 

$48 on Amazon (variative) 

 

The code 'TAD' comes from 'T' + 'AD'. AD means Air Dynamic, their term for open back headphone cups, while 'T' is their line of lower price range and more commercially used line of products. 

 

To judge and give evaluation marks on this headphone, there are 2 important things to take into consideration:

 

1. It's an Audio Technica's product. A Japanese company that specializes in audio equipments since 1962.

2. The price itself.

 

 

 

 

The reason why I pointed the 2 points above is because, honestly there's nothing special about the build quality itself. The shell is made of plastic entirely, with a rubber headband. They painted the honeycomb mesh in the back with silver color to simulate metal look, but it's still made of plastic. The good side is, it's quite light, weighing at only 230g (without cord). 

 

The thing that disappoints me the most is the cord itself. It's a dual cord merged into one, not one single thick cord. It's very thin and feels cheap. Of course this is understandable, considering the 2 points above. It's a product of a reputable audio company, but sells at low retail price range. It's only natural that they do some skimping on the materials. Even the logo and type imprints are bad. Mine are already fading a little, and it has not even been a month since I use it. 

 

 

The cord is the type that the wheels on your chair loves the most. It WILL tangle, if you just let it lying on the floor on its full length. To avoid tangles and being munched by the wheels on my chair, I just measured the length I need (give it a little slack), and looped and tied the extra length. The cord is 3m long, ending in a standard 3.5mm jack, with 3.5mm to 6.5mm jack adapter included.

 

 

 

 

Materials aside, the design itself is quite sleek. With the minimalist black and white tone, it gives a little 'tough' feeling. So even though it's not nice to touch (due to it's plasticky materials), it's quite good to look at. It's not very large and bulky, just the right size. So you can wear this in public without looking like you're wearing an astronaut's gear. Although being open back, meaning it's leaking sounds from outside, but that should be easily overpowered by the musics you're listening to. 

 

 

 

The cord is a Y type cord, meaning there is one cord going to each cup (as opposed to 1 cord going to the left cup only). I'm not particularly fond of this type of cord either. It really helps in the tangling of the cord. Even though I've tied the extra cord length, the Y type cord tangles with my other cords in my computer desk (like phone charger's cord, etc)

 

The velour paddings are nice though, although it's not as good as the AD700's. It felt soft on the skin, The ear holes are not very large. It hugs my earlobes in a snug fit, but being Asian, naturally I have smaller heads and earlobes. If you have large earlobes, the holes might feel a little awkward first.

 

 

The cups are a little tilted to adjust to human's earlobes being a little tilted. As you can see in the picture, even though the headband is perpendicular, but the cup is tilted a little. 

 

 

Well, enough with the exterior, what about the sound itself? Now here's the good news: although they do a little skimping on the shell materials, they don't skimp on the inside. The sound is actually pretty good. Audio Technica's signature characteristic is balanced mids and highs, with above average clarity and details. That's how this headphone sounds. The mids and highs are nicely balanced, with a little low on bass (being an open back headphone). Although not 'super good', the sound quality, clarity, and details are certainly above its price. You may find many other types/brands that have better casing for the price, but I'm pretty sure there aren't many that are better sounding for the price. 

 

Rated at 34 ohms, this headphones isn't hard to drive. Smartphones and portable media players should be enough to get it working, although you may (or may not) need a headphone amp to reach its full potential. 

 

Being open back, the sound got depth and dimension to it. With a little (and easy) tweak on the EQ, you'd get a nice solid and smooth rolling bass. Of course it's not those 'DOOMMMMM' sub-woofer type of bass you'd get from closed back headphones, but I actually prefer this kind of rolling bass. After it acquired its bass back, it's good for most genres. Nice clarity and details, with smooth balanced bass. I'd say that it's an all-arounder. It's not particularly exceptional at some genres, but it's above average for most genres. 

 

 

With the sound depth and dimension, this headphone is quite good for gaming, for the 3D audio positioning. Of course it's not as good as its older brother, the AD700 that I'm using right now, but it's better than most other types/brands in the price range. The clarity is enough to hear small sounds in the game, like footsteps, shots fired at a distance, etc. The sound depth and dimension make it easier to judge direction and even distance. And do remember, that even though it's in the lower price range, it's still a 'real' headphone from a reputable audio company, not some generic brands of headphone/headset. 

 

Overall, I'd say that this is a good 'above average' headphone. For those of you on the budget, this headphone is one of the best buys (sound quality vs price). Considering the price, the sound quality of this headphone certainly goes beyond my expectation. In its price range, you can't go wrong, and won't be disappointed with the TAD300. If you have some slack on your budget however, I'd suggest you go for their higher line of products. Not because this headphone is bad, but there are a lot of better headphones in their line of products.

[NIC ROBERTOOO]

Nice!

Im buying the tad500's this week :3

[midix]

Hi there. Thanks for the review.

 

I know this thread is a bit old, but I'm curious how does ATH-TAD300 compare to other similar open circumaural headphones for similar price (at least in Europe), and especially models Beyerdynamic DTX 710, Beyerdynamic DTX 910, Sennheiser HD 239?

[RevoltTrain]

 

Hi there. Thanks for the review.

 

I know this thread is a bit old, but I'm curious how does ATH-TAD300 compare to other similar open circumaural headphones for similar price (at least in Europe), and especially models Beyerdynamic DTX 710, Beyerdynamic DTX 910, Sennheiser HD 239?

 

OP hasn't been active since July. You won't be getting a response from him anytime soon