Personal addictions: full-sized 40 mm, without wire, for 72 hours for 8000 rubles

I decided to highlight the personal experience of choosing and buying gadgets in a separate cycle. In it, I will talk about devices that I either already purchased, or plan to purchase in the near future. I will start with sound, or more precisely, with headphones, that is, with a topic about which I wrote, perhaps, more than anything else.

Until recently, I, as a self-respecting oldfag, used mostly wired headphones. But then the moment came when he decided that the wire got me and it was time to buy something without it. In the vast majority of cases, I use full-size headphones. My choice was Audio-Technica ATH-SR30BT. Under the cut in detail about what impressed me.

Background

(skip this section if you are only interested in a model overview)

I used AKG headphones for a long time, and before that I used Sennheiser and vintage MB QUART. In all cases, these were high-impedance wired full-size headphones with 40 mm drivers and an open-type acoustic design. They demanded adequate reinforcement, were exclusively stationary option and did not have a worthy alternative on the street. Out of the house I had to save myself with closed 30-mm “measures” from SONY with a resistance of 32 Ohms, and a little later with plugs from JBL, when SONY came under my 90 kg of live weight and ordered to live long. If all the stationary options suited me in sound, the options for the street against their background sounded mildly mediocre.

I noticed an interesting effect when you use headphones with different acoustic capabilities throughout the day, the differences in fidelity of reproduction become not only noticeable by ear, but practically tangible. It seems that the deterioration is terrible, it’s hard to listen, because the differences in sound are clearly distinguishable. This takes place in a day or two of constant use, the ears adapt and “forget” that there is something better. So, the constant need for adaptation got me tired. Just in time for the start of coronovirus self-isolation, it so happened that even before the start of the draconian measures, I managed to get out a few promo samples for home testing. As a result, due to the combination of advantages, he stopped at the Audio-Technica ATH-SR30BT.

Price

Everything is simple here. Due to the fact that I was limited in the budget for the purchase of wireless headphones for the street, I left an amount equivalent to $ 100. I realized that, probably, for this money I can only find more or less suitable intra-channel options. Later he was surprised to find that full-size models fit into the budget.

Ergonomics, construction, design and assembly

When choosing headphones for the street, you always pay attention to the appearance. I always wanted something neutral that would suit any clothes and would not look elaborate or boring. This is the form I found in the described model. There is nothing in her design that would tie her to a certain style of clothing, nothing that could make them inappropriate in any setting. At the same time, the design does not seem mediocre, for my taste, the device looks beautiful.

Ergonomically, it’s hard for me to call the model perfect. At first, about 2 to 3 hours, the couple sits well, but if worn longer without a break, it causes discomfort. I may have sensitive ears and scalp, but I could not do without a 10-minute break for more than 6 hours of listening. 10 – 15 minutes of rest completely solve the problem. The ear pads are moderately dense – the problem is not in them, probably the root of evil is the pressure of the headband, which is slightly more than necessary.

I emphasize that here I am subjective and, perhaps, a little quibble. Partly intentionally, so that the review does not take the form of a pile of praises, since I really liked the headphones and it’s quite difficult to find flaws in them. I heard directly opposite opinions about ergonomics. It should be borne in mind that there are many individual features that depend on the anatomy (volume and shape of the head, thickness of the auricles, etc.).

A definite advantage is the relatively low weight – 193 grams. Probably, if she was higher, the listener would be surprised much more.

I read complaints about build quality in other reviews. I can’t agree with their authors, it’s collected, according to my feelings, soundly, it does not creak and doesn’t play, no noticeable violations of geometry are also noticeable. Headphones are very compact, they fold up and fit into the pocket of a small laptop bag or a fairly stuffed backpack. The budget model does not imply additional accessories for storage and carrying. However, I can’t say that the user suffers greatly from their absence, given the compact dimensions when folded.

The control buttons (on the touch can only be counted on in the older models of the line) are located on the left. There is a power button and a pairing mode button, volume buttons, as well as Play / Pause. I, as a faithful oldfag, really like physical buttons, although many probably consider physical buttons to be an anachronism, preferring touch gestures and voice control. The play button can also be used to receive calls and activate the voice assistant.

The micro-USB port is located on the left earphone housing, allowing you to charge the device. In my opinion, USB Type-C would be more appropriate today. However, the talk about the device was not even last year and at the time of its appearance it was not so critical.

Many reviewers indicate that management could be simplified if the buttons were located on both the right and left earphones. It is logical to assume that they are right, although I did not feel the influence of this shortcoming.

The ability to connect via wire using a 3.5 mm jack is missing. Initially, this seemed to me a significant drawback, but then I realized that during the time of use I had never experienced the need for this function.

Sound and technical specifications

  • Emitter: 40 mm driver
  • Frequency Response Range: 5-35000 Hz
  • Impedance: 32 ohms
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • 3.7V Li-Po Battery
  • Battery life in active mode: up to 70 hours

I note right away that the sound in headphones with a resistance of 32 ohms is rarely impressive. It is known that to ensure high fidelity of reproduction with such resistance is a difficult technical task. So, when connecting high-impedance headphones, the current passing through the amplifier is lower. And the lower the current, the lower the nonlinear distortion. Also, with a resistance above 100 Ohms, an electric damping effect appears, which allows better control of the diffuser oscillations and more accurately transmit signal changes.

However, in this case, the problem of resistance was solved. The subjective listening experience was very good. Compared to the 32-ohm counterparts, these headphones sounded significantly better. The sound reminded me of the younger line of wired monitors AKG (k52, k72), by the way, also 32 ohm monitors, only with more pronounced accents in the midrange. It is unlikely that I would choose these headphones for the studio, but for the street this quality is more than enough.

ATH-SR30BT supports Bluetooth 5.0, with a range of about 10 m, unfortunately only one device is connected. There is support for the basic Android and IOS codecs SBC and AAC. In light of recent publications on the topic of so-called hi-res codecs can be considered that with their (hi-res codecs) the user does not lose anything.

Subjectively, you can simply say about sound – unexpectedly good. Almost all genres, from academic choral works to the DEATH group, the couple reproduced very legibly and accurately. According to my feelings, she did not introduce any significant distortions in the reproduced material. Listening to the female treble choir showed a small amount of intermodulation distortion. They are often significant in the headphones of this price segment and is manifested in fuzziness, and so on. fuzziness of sound.

In part, my findings confirm the results of test measurements of the frequency response.

Many can criticize the claimed frequency range, since the human ear does not hear sounds with a frequency above 20,000 Hz. I hasten to reassure these people, expanding the frequency range beyond the audible range, the designers solve the transient response problem, rather than trying to force the user to listen to ultrasound. Perhaps the only sound problem is the relatively low sound insulation, despite the closed acoustic design.

General impression and dry residue

For my money, in my subjective opinion, an excellent option for those who intend to abandon the wire and still have not done so. It can be called the optimal combination of price with fidelity of reproduction.

Advantages:

  • relatively flat frequency response;
  • realistic reproduction of low frequencies;
  • decent volume (due to a little resistance);
  • long battery life;
  • low THD (less than 0.5%) and IMD;
  • price;
  • low weight.

Disadvantages:

  • controversial ergonomics;
  • lack of ability to work on the wire;
  • connection of only one source;
  • relatively poor sound insulation;
  • microUSB.

I would be grateful for the opinions of the community in the comments, maybe someone also used the Audio-Technica ATH-SR30BT and is ready to share their views on the device.

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