Headphones are one of the essential pieces of personal tech, but in the past twenty years, prices have skyrocketed thanks to advances in audio quality and the introduction of wireless and later noise cancellation technology.
This means that you can walk into any electronics store and easily spend north of £300 on over-ear headphones with all the latest bells and whistles from Sony, Bose or Sennheiser. Even Apple got in on the game with its £499 AirPods Max.
But it’s a little baffling that headphones of this price have become the go-to recommendation from experts, including myself, I must admit. I get to test amazing headphones like the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, but I don’t have to fork out £449.95 (in that particular instance) for the privilege. That’s simply unaffordable for many.
Because features such as Bluetooth, noise cancellation, adaptive audio, spatial audio and multi-point pairing have become commonplace, these very expensive cans now seem like the only option if a cursory Google search is anything to go by.
I’m here to tell you that’s not the case. I’ve been testing a superb new set of headphones that offer neutral, accurate playback with powerful soundstage for a fifth of the price of the aforementioned Bose. Whether they are for you just depends what you need headphones for.
The Audio-Technica ATH-R30x are described by the famous firm as “Professional Open-Back Reference Headphones”, which is to say their primary purpose is for studio listening and mixing. At £85, they are firmly in the entry-level of this category of headphones, but don’t let the price – or the stated purpose – fool you.
I’m no studio engineer, so I’ve been testing the ATH-R30x as a regular punter, after Audio-Technica representatives stressed to me that the product works just as well for at-home listening, be it through streaming, CD or vinyl.
The two biggest differences to note here compared to the over-ear headphones I’ve already mentioned are that these Audio-Technica are not wireless. There’s a very long (though unfortunately not detachable) three metre cable with 3.5mm jack on the end, plus a 6.3mm stereo adapter included. You’ll always get latency-free, great quality audio from a wired connection, and that’s the case here.
The second thing is that these are open-back headphones, which means they leak sound. Sit next to someone with these on, and you’ll hear the audio jangling away – the opposite to what closed noise cancelling headphones do.
The idea is that you get a more natural sound experience that’s closest to the recorded version, helped by the flow of air through the headphones’ speakers. This is important when recording and mastering music, as you need these so-called “reference” headphones to mirror what the sound, well, sounds like.
Using the ATH-R30x therefore only works in a quiet home environment, because if sound can get out, it can also get in. The cans don’t block out much noise, so these won’t work on loud commutes or in an office.
Instead, I enjoyed kicking back and spinning my vinyl records with the long cable plugged into my turntable while I lay on the sofa, enjoying album listening. So far, so 1970s. The sound tuning is very good considering the price, though these headphones are a little brighter on the treble than I’d normally go for.
The open nature means bass can breathe, and only on some Hi-Res tracks played through my digital Sony Walkman did the dual 40mm drivers distort just a tad. But in general, I had few complaints about sound, with the warm tone of vinyl coming through and the playback wide enough to do Hi-Res tracks justice.
Plugged into said Walkman and blasting FLAC files, the headphones can handle the tough distorted dynamics of Nine Inch Nails’ Branches/Bones as easily as the tender arrangements of Radiohead’s Reckoner.
The fabric earpads are quite comfortable, though my ears are too large to fit completely inside the circular design, so after an hour or so I found the pressure on the outside of my ears and lobes a little uncomfortable.
Thankfully, at 210g (minus the cable) these are remarkably lightweight headphones, compared to something like the 385g AirPods Max.
They don’t offer the same down-the-rabbit-hole insular music experience as the latest Sony or Bose noise cancelling headphones, but they are for a different buyer. Dare I say it, someone with a keener sense of value.
The bottom line is that the Audio-Technica ATH-R30x offers quality audio for less than £100, with a couple of caveats for the general buyer in that they leak sound and are geared towards a neutral listening experience. For listening at home, they’re a true bargain.