Austrian Audio Hi-X20 Over-Ears Review

Verdict

With the Hi-X20 Austrian Audio has doubled down on the Austrian Audio-ness of its most affordable model range, and the results are gratifying in the extreme. All but the most committed bass-heads will find lots to love here…

Introduction

The Viennese specialist has been disrupting the headphones market at every price-point ever since its arrival not quite eight years ago – but it’s down in the more budget-orientated area of the market that Austrian Audio has made the biggest waves.

These new Hi-X20 wired over-ear headphones intend to continue this important work, by making most rivals sound (if not look) a bit agricultural by comparison…

Availability

The Austrian Audio Hi-X20 wired over-ear headphones are on sale in the United Kingdom for a penny less than £120. In the United States you can secure a pair of $150, while in Australia they’ll set you back AU$250 or something very close to it.

It’s fair to say that most of the wired over-ear headphones Trusted Reviews has tested lately are a fair bit more expensive than this – but that’s not to say Austrian Audio is operating in isolation. Wireless over-ear headphones from any number of brands (not least Austrian Audio itself) are available at this sort of money…

Design

• Metal hinges and headband
• Replaceable earpads
• Foldable design

What’s perhaps most immediately noticeable about the design of the Hi-X20 is just how restrained Austrian Audio has been. Its previous attempts at entry-level over-ear headphones have featured quite a number of different colours per model – silver, red and black have all coexisted uneasily on the same pair of headphones, and it’s made for a rather incoherent look.

The Hi-X20 are almost entirely black, with some discreet branding picked out in red. They look much better for it – sophisticated, almost.

The hinges and headband are made of metal, and there’s enough articulation in the frame to allow the Hi-X20 to fold flat enough to fit into the fairly small soft bag Austrian Audio provides.

The contain points at the inside of the headband and the earpads are of slow-retention memory foam covered in synthetic leather – they’re comfortable and relatively restrained in retaining your body heat. The earpads themselves are quite easily replaceable, too, which will help the longevity of the Hi-X20 no end. Overall comfort levels are good, thanks to a manageable 255g weight and some carefully judged clamping force.

Specification

• 44mm full-range dynamic drivers
• Detachable 3m cable
• 12Hz – 24kHz frequency response

The Hi-X20 feature the same driver technology as every other Hi-X model in the Austrian Audio range. Hi-X means high excursion, and here as everywhere else the 44mm full-range dynamic driver is backed by a ring magnet system generating a notably strong magnetic field.

The intention is to optimise airflow while allowing the weight of the membrane and voice-coil to be as low as possible. Austrian Audio suggests it results in ideal impulse reaction, and is claiming a frequency response of 12Hz – 24kHz.

The left earcup has a 2.5mm socket for connection to the 3m cable provided in the packaging. It twists to lock into position, and at the other end is terminated with a 3.5mm plug fitted with a 6.3mm adapter.

And that’s about it as far as features are concerned. This, after all, is a quite affordable pair of wired over-ear headphones, and they don’t really tend to have any features beyond the essentials…

Sound Quality

• As detailed as they are dynamic
• Unified, positive and entertaining sound
• Bass response is as lean as a greyhound

In some ways, the Hi-X20 are completely reminiscent of the other Hi-X models in the way they sound. In others, though, it’s obvious that the amount of thinking Austrian Audio has done about the way it tunes the Hi-X family driver arrangement has resulted in even more of a good thing.

When plugged into a FiiO M15S digital audio player and with a 24-bit/96kHz FLAC file of Final Rescue Attempt by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds playing, there’s a combination of space and togetherness to the Hi-X20 presentation that gives a proper sensation of performance. The soundstage is big, organised and easy to follow – but every element on it is contributing towards a singular goal, rather than just existing in isolation or on its own terms. And there’s little of that inhibited, two-dimensional sensation that closed-back headphones can sometimes suffer from.

The tonal balance is nicely neutral and naturalistic, and the frequency response from the top end to the bottom is clean and smooth. At the top of the frequency range, the Hi-X20 attack treble sounds with determination, generating just enough substance to prevent any hardness of splashiness. In the midrange, it’s as insightful and informative a pair of headphones as this sort of money can currently buy – no detail is too fleeting to escape the attention of the Austrian Audio, and every scrap of information is put into proper context.

At the bottom end there’s just as much detail available, just as much information regarding tone and texture, and just as much variation as there is elsewhere. There’s great low-end control on display here too, and real positivity where the attack of bass hits or notes is concerned. The knock-on effect of this is that there’s appreciable momentum to the Hi-X20 presentation, and a persuasive way with rhythmic expression too.

But when listening to a 24-bit/44.1kHz FLAC file of Electric Relaxation by A Tribe Called Quest it quickly becomes apparent that the Austrian Audio aren’t the meatiest listen around. They can dig deep into the frequency range, and hit with solidity – but those listeners who have been conditioned to expect big, beefy bass response from their headphones may find the realism that’s available here rather unrealistic.  

No accommodations need to be made where dynamic headroom is concerned, though – the Hi-X20 have plenty. When a recording shifts gear and ups the intensity and/or volume, the Austrian Audio track the changes carefully and in full. Those more subtle dynamics of harmonic variation have just as much attention paid to them, too.

Not every pair of headphones can combine the powers of analysis available here with the sort of straightforward entertainment that’s on offer at the same time. Fewer still can manage it at a price as realistic and attainable as this one. So park your expectations where simple bass punch is concerned and the Hi-X20 will surprise and, most probably, delight you.

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