Audio-Technica is a name that’s pretty much
synonymous with headphones. The company has released a wide range of headphones
over the years, ranging from budget entry-level devices to headphones whose
quality that audiophiles can attest to. At CES 2017, the company took the wraps
off two new pairs of digital wireless headphones.
These headphones come in the form of the ATH-DSR9BT
and the ATH-DSR7BT, both of which are pretty much the same headphones with one
or two differences here and there. However the highlight of these headphones
are that they are considered to be Pure Digital Drive headphones.
What this means is that by using the company’s Pure
Digital Drive system, the headphones are able to keep the original audio signal
completely digital from the source to its drivers, which in theory should
represent improved sound quality. Whether or not you can actually tell the
difference depends on you as a listener and how discerning your ears are, but
chances are these headphones will most likely appeal to enthusiasts.
To achieve this, Audio-Technica uses a Trigence
Semiconductor Dnote chipset that helps keep the signal completely digital. The
headphones will also feature 45mm True Motion D/A drivers and a four-core voice
coil (the ATH-DSR7BT only features a single-core), along with a specially
coated diaphragm.
The headphones also support wireless aptX HD,
aptX, AAC and SBC codecs up to 24-bit/48kHz signals in Bluetooth mode, and will
play nicely with Android and iOS devices, as well as the Mac and PC thanks to
USB connectivity. There are built-in touch controls for media playback, and are
priced at US$ 549 and US$ 299 respectively and will be available this coming Spring.