This year I received a very nice set of earphones for Christmas – Audio Technica’s ATH-CM7Ti. The CM7Ti is housed in a classy titanium casing (hence the Ti) and features an extremely solid build – probably the best finishing I have seen on an earbud or canal phone. It looks like the CM7Ti can really stand up to intensive use for quite some time.
In terms of sound quality, the CM7Ti also delivers exceptional audio reproduction. I found bass to be abundant and with a nice impact. The buds also do mids and highs very nicely. The CM7Ti were easy to drive and very sensitive, in fact it was much easier to get significant volume from it than my Senn PX100, Sony EX71 and Creative EP630. This does make it ideal for portable use. The buds don’t provide much isolation from outside noise, obviously.
My only word of caution for would be owners would be this – depending on the shape of your ear, you may or may not be able to achieve a good seal with the CM7Ti. If you do manage a nice fit, it can be reasonably comfortable and the sound is astonishing. With a less than ideal seal, however, the bass may be lacking. They are also less comfortable than either Sony’s EX71 or Creative’s EP630.