With a new-and-improved version already announced and arriving on store shelves any day now, the original Audio Technica ATH-MSR7 may be looking a little dated. But thanks to some stellar performance, this $249 headphone's popularity is still holding strong.

"I bought these earphones for work because my workplace can be noisy and I need to really focus. They work as noise cancelling -- almost blocking completely, so in that sense I got exactly what I was looking for. Very good sound quality for music as well. Got them on sale here at an excellent price.

Verdict Audio Technica has genuinely knocked it out of the park with their latest portable, circumaural, closed-back dynamic headphone. The ATH-MSR7 is a stylish and comfortable design with solid build quality and a refined sound approaching that of higher-end reference quality open-back monitors,...

Audio-Technica has been producing audio equipment, from microphones to magnetic cartridges for turntables, since the 1960s. These days it is probably best known for its headphones, such as the ATH-M50 professional studio monitor headphones and the slightly more consumer-oriented ATH-M50x model.