Audio Technica ATH-M20x professional headphones review

Audio Technica has established itself as one of the best manufacturers for high quality technology but like with most companies this didn’t just happen overnight and its story is much more than that. If you want to know more head over to http://eu.audio-technica.com/en/about/ and have an in-depth look at where the company started to the present.

Now to the star of the review. The M20x are designed to be professional monitoring headphones for those of us who can’t afford to shell out big bucks for a top of range professional headphones, so will their affordable price count against them….. Let’s find out.

Aesthetics

So the headphones are all black apart from the Silver headphone extension and the white branding on the headband. They feature the Audio Technica logo on each ear cup and this is cut into the cup rather than just being printed on, it’s actually a nice touch and adds to the design. That being said a little bit of colour would have been a nice touch and helped bring the design a bit of excitement.

The support arm of the headphones features the model number; this is imprinted into the arm and is not very noticeable. There seems to be a bit of a design pattern with these headphones and its one I am personally not too keen on.

The headband is again black with the Audio Technica logo printed across in white; it’s a nice departure from all the black and adds to the quite bleak design.    

So I’ve established the M20x aren't the most attractive of headphones, I wouldn't call them ugly but their design is more functional and practical than attractive. Don’t take that as a negative. Yes they aren’t the most stunning headphones but I have seen a lot worse, especially in the professional market and they are not badly designed it’s just I don’t find them appealing to my sense of style.

However all the above being said you have to remember these headphones aren’t meant to be the crown jewel of your collection they are supposed to sit in the background and do all the heavy lifting. These headphones are work horses, they are supposed to be professional and discreet rather than in your face, so in that respect they do work. For me I am not overly keen on the aesthetics and I think the M40x and M50x are much better looking than these. However they are quite considerably more money. So if you’re like me you will trade off looks for saving some money and having some headphones that work for what they are supposed to then these are perfect.

Taking everything into account I would only ever wear them indoors anyway so my little rant above might seem unnecessary but I had a point to make. What I am saying really is that I guess design is more important to me than I realized.

Build quality

Although mostly plastic the headphones somehow don’t feel cheap or poorly made, they are very solid and quite robust. I have dropped the headphones (accidentally) on more than one occasion and there isn't a mark on them. Which is real testament to how robust these headphones are, like I said before they are workhorse headphones and I use them as often as I can and they have had some heavy use over the month I have had them. I use them at least 2 hours per day and I don’t mistreat my stuff but with these you don’t need to be overly gentle with them. I’m not saying go and throw them at a wall or on the floor but they will take heavy use and still keep going.

The headband adjustment is metal, it’s very solid and is fairly smooth and allows for easy adjustment. There are no markings on it so you’ll have to guess or judge by eye if they are the same size. This part of the headphone is usually one of the weak spots but with these I don’t see them giving me any problems at all.

The headband is very nice quite a lot of padding and quite good quality. I’m not 100% sure what the actual material is but a guess and the price would suggest synthetic leather. It’s very well made and the stitching is really nice to. That being said if the headphones are going to show wear and tear this is probably the first place that will show it. The ear cups again like the headband feature ample padding and are very comfortable. Again like the headband I presume its synthetic leather and like with the headband will probably fatigue before the rest of the headphone.

The cable is very thick, well made and very high quality considering how affordable these headphones are. There is a thick coating to protect the inner wire and this is very nice, obviously it’s not coated in Kevlar or other exotic materials but it’s robust enough to take some fair use.

Like I said I use them a lot but only time will tell how well they are really made. So if anything does go wrong I will write an update.

Comfort

Because of the M20x's over ear design these headphones are probably the most comfortable headphone I have ever owned. The headband is very soft and provides a lot of weight distribution across your head. The headband also doesn't have too much clamping force but yet manage to remain secure on your head. The padding like I mentioned is very soft and very nice and is very comfortable.

The headphones are very lightweight which only adds to the comfort and they don’t hurt your head or neck over prolonged use. The ear cups are again very soft and have plenty of padding, the over ear design may be big but my ears fit inside with no problems at all. I wear these headphones pretty much every day, whether it be listening to music, video editing, audio monitoring and even gaming. This use can vary between 30 minutes to well over 4 hours and the headphones remain comfortable throughout. Like some other over ears I have owned hurt my jaw, now this may not be a problem for some people I find that some headphones press against my jaw and can become uncomfortable during use. Now this is not the case for the M20x and I have had no issues with comfort what so ever.

In use and Issues

Using these headphones as much as I do, you get to know their strengths and weaknesses. These headphones only have one tiny flaw that I don’t like. That is the cable, don't get me wrong the cable is very high quality and very robust, but it’s just too long.

At 3m it can get a bit irritating as it is forever getting tangled up and it just gets in the way. Now that is just for me, the cable length is too long for me but it may suit your needs better. I think it would have been better if the cable was around 1.5m and then had an extension if needed, this would mean there would be less cable to tangle and the extension would mean you could use them for monitoring or for use with a PC. That being said 3m could be perfect for you but just not for me. Also the cable is not detachable so if its breaks the headphones are useless and at nearly £50 they are not really chuck away and replace money, but maybe Audio Technica can fix any issues if you do have any.

As for audio monitoring and video editing the headphones are amazing. For audio monitoring and audio editing the headphones is response is very flat and you can hear all the imperfections in the audio, now that might not sound good but when you want to get high quality audio for your videos removing imperfections is key. So for their main function and for the money they are simply amazing even regardless of their price.

Sound quality

Like I mentioned before the sound is amazingly unbiased and very flat now that might not sound exciting but the sound quality is sublime and dare I say it the best sounding headphones under £50. Yes the response is unbiased and flat but that can easily be solved by adjusting your eq settings. But because they are so flat everything just sounds right, the vocal reproduction is very good, voices sound very clear and you can hear every intake of breath and exhale and they sound really natural and quite realistic.

The bass is present but not overpowering, it has an abundance of detail and can still hit hard when required. It never muddies the sound and spoils your listening experience and because it’s so well detailed it only enhances your experience and never ruins it. The mid-range is again very well judged and surprisingly neutral, it’s not cold or warm and sits right in the sweet spot. The highs are very controlled and don't sound tinny or harsh and really go a long way to complement the sound.

For gaming I found that their flat response didn't excite and was a bit lacklustre, however speech and small details are very defined and you hear them really clearly. Although there is no sense of directionality they remain composed even in intense action sequences. However you want a bit more excitement adjust your equalizer and add slightly to the lower frequencies and although not a comparison to a gaming headset, explosions and gun fire have a bit more vigour and improve the experience somewhat.

But if you want a headset for gaming look elsewhere and get a dedicated set.   

Summary

Well what can I say for £39 I am simply astonished at how good these headphones are. They are designed for a purpose and they do it extremely well. The build, comfort and sound are unbelievable for this price point and I really do love the headphones.

I just can’t believe that Audio Technica have managed to do this for such a low price. 

Watch the review and unboxing on my channel

Unboxing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk3CLchodBo
Review and Sound test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyPLGhyqsh8

Sound test! Yes you read that right, I have built a rig that allows me to capture high quality audio produced directly from headphones. Don't believe me, check out this video My "Headphone Audio Recorder"