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If you want an ultra-light in-ear that you can carry all day and use with a phone or laptop without thinking about it, choose Audio Technica ATH-CM707; if you need closed-back, over-ear monitoring with a long detachable studio cable, choose Yamaha HPH-MT5. These two headphones look like they belong to the same conversation, but they are built for completely different jobs.
• Audio Technica ATH-CM707 — biggest strength: a huge 15.4 mm driver in a shaved aluminum housing that weighs just 6 g, with a resonance duct tuned for strong low-end and a tangle-free cord plus leatherette pouch for carrying.
• Audio Technica ATH-CM707 — biggest trade-off: it is an in-ear design, so it relies on ear pads and a good seal for isolation rather than physically blocking your ears like a closed-back cup.
• Yamaha HPH-MT5 — biggest strength: a closed-back, circumaural monitor with 40 mm custom drivers, CCAW voice coils and a 20 Hz–20 kHz range, built for accurate, flat monitoring during long sessions.
• Yamaha HPH-MT5 — biggest trade-off: it is over-ear and much bulkier, and it needs a 6.35 mm or 3.5 mm jack setup plus a 3 m cable, so it is not a pocket companion.
• Pick the Audio Technica ATH-CM707 if you want everyday listening, commuting and lightweight portability.
• Pick the Yamaha HPH-MT5 if you want studio-style monitoring, single-ear cueing and a replaceable cable.
The ATH-CM707 is a wired in-ear headphone built around a 15.4 mm driver — a genuinely large driver for an in-ear. Audio-Technica pairs it with a resonance duct structure intended to add body and thickness to the sound and to let the low frequencies come through with real weight. On paper that combination points to a warm, full low end rather than a thin, clinical one. The mid-range is described as high resolution, and the aluminum alloy housing keeps the whole thing at just 6 g, which is light enough that you stop noticing it.
The design details are where this one earns its place. The bushing uses a highly elastic elastomer, and the crank treatment is there to stop the earpiece from shifting once you have found your listening point. That matters more than it sounds — with in-ears, a small movement can kill your bass and your isolation. The cord is tangle-free and comes as a 0.6 m length plus a 0.6 m extension, so you can run it short at a desk or long when your source is further away. You also get ear pads, an extension cord and a leatherette pouch with a divider.
Who should buy it: someone who wants one pair of wired earphones for phone calls, laptop listening, walking and travel, and who values a light, low-hassle fit over studio accuracy. Who should skip it: anyone who needs maximum passive isolation, a detachable cable, or a flat, reference-style response for mixing decisions. The impedance is listed at 14 ohm, which is friendly to phones and small players, and noise control is handled through sound isolation and media control rather than active processing.
The HPH-MT5 is a different animal entirely. It is a closed-back, circumaural monitor headphone — over-ear cups that physically surround your ears — and Yamaha's stated goal is balanced sound with excellent resolution that stays faithful to the source. The 40 mm custom drivers use CCAW voice coils (aluminum wire coated in copper) with neodymium magnets, and the frequency range runs 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Yamaha says the acoustic components are designed to eliminate extraneous resonance, which is the language of accuracy rather than excitement.
The comfort story is deliberate. The HPH-MT5 weighs 250 g, and Yamaha leans on large ear pads with smooth synthetic leather and low-resistance cushions that absorb excess vibration. There is a three-dimensional arm pivot and a highly adjustable slider so the ear pad angle matches your head shape — the kind of thing that only matters after hour three of a session. The ear cups move so you can do single-ear monitoring, which is genuinely useful when you are tracking and need one ear on the room.
The cable is a detachable straight 3 m cord with a corrosion-resistant gold-plated stereo mini-plug and a gold-plated 6.3 mm adapter. That length is a monitoring length, not a walking-around length. Impedance is 51 ohm, higher than the ATH-CM707, so it rewards a proper headphone output. A carrying bag is included, and the folding arm design is aimed at portability between sessions.
Who should buy it: home recordists, podcasters, live mix engineers, and anyone who wants one closed-back pair for tracking and editing. Who should skip it: anyone who wants a pocketable pair for commuting, or who dislikes a cable running to a 6.35 mm jack.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for portability and everyday carry → Audio Technica ATH-CM707. At 6 g with a tangle-free cord and a divided leatherette pouch, it disappears into a bag.
• Best for studio monitoring and tracking → Yamaha HPH-MT5. Closed-back circumaural isolation, 40 mm CCAW drivers and a flat, source-faithful tuning.
• Best for long sessions → Yamaha HPH-MT5. The pivoting arms, adjustable sliders and large synthetic-leather pads are designed specifically to reduce fatigue over extended work.
• Best for single-ear cueing → Yamaha HPH-MT5. The movable ear cups let you monitor one ear while keeping the other open to the room.
• Best for cable longevity → Yamaha HPH-MT5. The 3 m cable is detachable and replaceable; if it fails, you swap the cable, not the headphone.
• Best for a strong low end in a tiny package → Audio Technica ATH-CM707. The resonance duct structure and 15.4 mm driver are aimed squarely at fuller bass from an in-ear.
• Best for build materials → a split decision. The ATH-CM707 uses shaved aluminum alloy for lightness; the HPH-MT5 uses a stainless steel enclosure built for durability.
One practical point on the ATH-CM707: in-ears live and die by the seal. The crank treatment and elastomer bushing are there to hold your listening point, but the ear pads in the box are what create the isolation. If you want to know what either of these costs right now, check the current price on Amazon — this page has a button for that, and I am not going to quote a figure that changes.
If I had to pick one, I would buy the Yamaha HPH-MT5. In my opinion it is the more capable headphone for the things that are hard to fake: passive isolation from a closed-back circumaural design, a genuinely flat and source-faithful character, a detachable cable you can replace, and a fit system engineered for long sessions. The ATH-CM707 is the better everyday companion and the one I would actually grab for a walk or a commute — but if the question is which pair does more work, the Yamaha wins. Buy the ATH-CM707 for convenience. Buy the HPH-MT5 for monitoring.
Not better — different. The ATH-CM707 is a 6 g in-ear with a 15.4 mm driver and 14 ohm impedance, ideal for phones and travel. The HPH-MT5 is a 250 g closed-back monitor with 40 mm CCAW drivers and 51 ohm impedance, ideal for studio work. Pick by use case, not by ranking.
The Yamaha HPH-MT5 has the advantage in principle. Its closed-back, circumaural cups physically enclose your ears and use large synthetic-leather pads for isolation. The ATH-CM707 relies on in-ear fit and ear pads, which works well only when the seal is right.
It has a 51 ohm impedance and ships with a 6.3 mm adapter plus a 3.5 mm mini-plug, so a phone can drive it, but volume headroom will be limited compared to a proper headphone output. It is designed for monitoring, not mobile listening.
The lightweight aluminum housing and tangle-free cord suit movement, but nothing in the spec sheet claims water or sweat resistance, so I would not treat it as workout gear. For commuting, desk work and travel it is a strong fit.
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