Onkyo E700M review – high-resolution audio for just £75

It’s not often you see high-resolution support for in-ear headphones under £100, but that’s precisely what you get with Onkyo’s E700M. They’re also beautifully designed. Onkyo’s used a semi-closed design for the E700M, as there’s a small grille at the top to help with the low-end bass performance, much like a bass reflex port on a loudspeaker. Fortunately, sound leakage wasn’t a problem. The twisted wired headphones cable also looks rather thin, but it feels very robust, and its contrasting colour scheme makes the E700M look more like professional in-ear monitors than headphones costing just £75.

The E700M’s also one of the most comfortable pairs of in-ear headphones I’ve worn thanks to its dual earbud-like structure. It has three pairs of standard silicone tips of varying sizes or one pair of Comply foam tips you can insert into your ear canal, but these are also attached to a more standard earbud housing that sits in your outer ear, anchoring them to your ears so they don’t feel like they’re on the cusp of falling out all the time.

The housing, admittedly, feels a little plasticky, but that’s more or less my only complaint about the E700M’s build quality. The housing’s outer edge even has some nice subtle detailing, with tight concentric circles that catch the light in a pleasing manner. The cable also terminates in a straight 3.5mm jack that feels well-reinforced.

An in-line microphone is also included below the left earphone, which can be used to play and pause your music as well as answer calls. Bizarrely, the microphone’s positioned at a rather irritating height, as it would often get caught on my shirt collars. However, this won’t be a problem for everything, and its integrated cable tie does go some way to alleviate the issue. It’s just a shame that volume controls weren’t included alongside the microphone.

Beyond its exceptional level of comfortable, the larger-than-average housing means that Onkyo can squeeze in 13.5mm drivers, which help to deliver a richly-bodied, crisp sound. With a frequency response as low as 6Hz that goes all the way up to 40kHz, the E700M can play high-resolution audio that sounds great across all genres. Its delivery is nicely balanced, and it doesn’t veer towards an overly boomy bass or an uncomfortable amount of treble dominance. Hip-hop sounded emphatic, but acoustic tracks sounded composed and well-controlled.

Admittedly, you could argue that high-resolution audio is immense overkill for your average music listener, as many people have said (including other members of the Expert Reviews team) that they simply can’t tell the difference between normal and high-resolution audio tracks. However, when the E700M cost just £75, that question of whether it’s worth paying more for the hi-res support isn’t so much of an issue any more.

Combine that with its fantastic construction, comfort and overall sound quality, and you’re on to a real winner. My only complaint is its lack of lack of volume controls. Otherwise, they’re an excellent pair of in-ear headphones and certainly a major step-up from whatever pack-in earbuds you might still be using from your current smartphone. Buy the Onkyo E700M now from Currys