The Audio-Technica SJ11 is a portable and fashionable on-ear headphone that won’t leave a huge hole on your wallet. It’s considered as Audio-Technica’s entry level cans with a price tag of Php1,999. If you’re looking for budget friendly but great-sounding headphones that you can easily take with you for your on-the-go lifestyle, then you might want to seriously consider this.

Packaging

The Audio-Technica SJ11 has similar packaging to it’s older brothers – the SJ33 and SJ55. The packaging highlights the design and color of the headphones. You know right from the start that Audio-Technica wants to make this product more consumer-friendly. The ATH SJ11 comes in different colors: White, White-Pink, and our favorite Black-Green.

Build

The ATH-SJ11 is made from lightweight plastic which is pretty consistent with the “portable” mantra. The ear cups are made from pleather and it’s actually very comfortable on the ears. The headband also doesn’t clamp too much on the head. The audio jack it “L” shaped.

Portability

As you can see on the photo above the SJ11 easily folds up into something that you can just put in your bag or jacket pocket. Here’s one suggestion for the makers though — Audio-Technica should have included a branded black pouch in the box. That would have made it complete.

Sound Quality

Here’s our rundown after listening to various genres:

Detailed & Clear – good for people who prefer hearing the vocals and separation of the instruments. Audio can become hard and harsh though when you pump up the volume. Can be remedied with headphone amps like the FiiO E5.
Balanced Bass – it’s not too overwhelming. It’s not as punchy as we would want it to be but it’s definitely better than what you get with the default Apple headphones.
Soundstage – The sound doesn’t envelope you like the ATH-RE7. Sound is pretty straight forward. Can be good or bad depending on the listener. I prefer more soundstage though.

Verdict
For the price tag of Php1,999 the Audio-Technica SJ11 is definitely a good buy. It’s easy to bring around with you and the sound quality is good especially if partnered with an amp. The sound is fairly balanced which will appeal to a broad market. I use the SJ11 mostly in transit (riding the car, cab, etc.) or when I’m doing window shopping in malls and that’s the way I think it was meant to be used. 🙂

Here’s a quick review as well from our Movie buff writer Colin Chan who also has the SJ11:

Super stylish! The SJ11 is one of the most balanced headphones I’ve tried. Nothing too pronounced, no punchy bass but it delivers nice, clean music. Really good entry level stuff if you want to be acquainted with Audio-Technica.

And here’s another quick review from Dodge Ronquillo, another writer here at Unbox:

For a non-audiophile, the SJ11 is a good entry level headset that’s well worth the Php1,999 price tag. It brings out the character of all sorts of music whether it’s Daft Punk, Incubus, John Legend, Lupe Fiasco, Jason Mraz, or Jamiroquai playing on your iPod. Very balanced.

Other Photos

If you want to read another Pinoy blogger made review, check out Bohemian Diary.

Lastly, here’s the link to the Audio-Technica Philippines Facebook Page. You might want to “Like” it and join the community. 🙂

PS: We’re coordinating with Audio-Technica Philippines so that we can raffle off one of these here in Unbox. Please share share share the article so we can impress ’em and they say yes, haha!