Listening test: Audio-Technica's new ATH-ANC7b QuietPoint noise-canceling headphones

Last year, we reviewed the Audio-Technica QuietPoint ATH-ANC7 noise-canceling headphones, and editor Jasmine France thought they were a good value, offering decent, but not great, sound for the money. Well, when we heard that Audio-Technica was releasing a new, improved version of these headphones with a "b" tacked on to the model name, we were eager to get our hands on a pair.

What exactly has the company improved? According to the news release, these 'phones are supposed to sound better, offer a more comfortable fit (the earcups have been redesigned), and deliver some additional design tweaks, including an easier-to-access battery bay and two detachable cables of varying lengths: 1.6 meters (5.2 feet) and 1 meter (3.3 feet). Also, according to Audio-Technica's release, the ATH-ANC7b headphones deliver "smoother, richer, and more natural tonal balance...with impactful bass, a detailed midrange, extended treble and accurate imaging in an immersive soundfield."

All that sounds good and a lot of people have their eyes on the $200 ATH-ANC7b headphones as good alternatives to the Bose QuietComfort 15s and QuietComfort 3s that cost significantly more ($300 and $350, respectively). So we decided to see if the Audio-Technicas measure up to that hype.

Read the full review of the Audio-Technica QuietPoint ATH-ANC7 headphones to see if they do.