The Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7s are a set of small over-ear headphones with active noise cancellation. Since active noise cancellation is a relatively new trend in headphones, they tend to come with a bit of a "fad tax." The ATH-ANC7s, however, don't use their technology to boost the price to unfair levels. In fact, for somewhere between $100 and $130, the ATH-ANC7s are one of the better values we've seen on a set of active-cancellers.An additional boon is that you can turn off the active cancellation feature to conserve your battery life for when you need the feature enabled. They might not be the best headphones we've reviewed, but they have a good price for what they do offer. 

We thought the ATH-ANC7s were comfortable, if slightly difficult to find a fit with. Your ears actually fit inside the ear cups, so we can see those with larger ears having issues shoving their pinna into the slots they're allotted. As with all headphones, try them on before you decide to keep them. The ATH-ANC7s are about as portable as a set of on-ear headphones; they'll be easy to carry around when worn, but will take up bag space when they're not. Still, the ATH-ANC7s are a good, portable option for those who don't like wearing in-ears.

Performance  (read the full lab performance results at HeadphoneInfo.com)
The Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 headphones have average audio quality. They did well on our frequency response test, showing a strong, but not necessarily boomy bass, some emphasis on mid-level frequencies, and did an ok job with highs. The headphones didn't have much of an issue with distortion. It's nothing that would be particularly noticeable, but means these headphones probably won't be for audiophiles. The headphones had better than average tracking, meaning both headphones will play at more or less at the same volume.

Active noise cancellation is a current trend in headphones. On our tests we've found that active cancellation is often great for blocking out bassy noises, but not so great on blocking out mid-to-high-end sounds. Regular in-ear headphones, meanwhile, aren't quite as good at blocking out bassy noises, but block out far more noise overall. Compared to other active-cancellers, the ATH-ANC7s' cancellation feature wasn't great. They were better than the Sony MDR-NC500Ds, but only slightly. Other headphones, like the Denon AH-NC732s and Creative Aurvana X-Fis had far better active cancellation. Of course, a good set of in-ears, such as the Shure SE420s with their foam sleeves (the rubbery, removeable bit that sticks into your ear), trumps most active-cancellers available today. You should also be mindful that, just because your headphones are isolating you from the outside world, they actually aren't isolating the outside world from your playback. The ATH-ANC7s leak a lot of sound.

Comparisons  (read more in-depth comparisons at HeadphoneInfo.com)
The ATH-ANC7s have audio quality that's a bit above average and are currently being sold at a slightly better than average value as well. At $100, the ATH-ANC7s are a good entry-level set of active noise cancellation headphones. There are plenty of active cancellers out there, but very few are in the ATH-ANC7s' price range. If you're looking for a better set of active cancellers, the Denon AH-NC732s are great, if very expensive. The ATH-ANC7s are also a great option for those who were looking at the Sony MDR-NC500D, since the ATH-ANC7s have about the same audio quality and cost significantly less than the Sonys.

The ATH-ANC7s seem to be a good option for those looking for active-cancellers but who are also on a budget. They seem to be a good way to try out active-cancellers, since most other models will cost three times as much, if not more. If you can get by with middling active noise cancellation and don't really care about audio quality (since you'll typically be using these headphones in noisy places, chances are perfect audio quality would be negated by ambient noise anyway).