Austrian Audio Hi-X65 Open-Back Reference-Grade Headphones

Very detailed driver here with a neutral/bright tonality, which accentuates detail and provides a clean, sharp, and high resolution soundscape, especially compared to warmer, more intimate cans like the Sennheiser HD6XX/HD650. This approach to neutrality might strike some listeners as a bit sharp or fatiguing for longer sessions, but a little targeted EQ is all it takes to correct this, should you desire to (the stock tuning is clear and accurate, but might be a little harder on the ears for longer sessions because of this quality). Needless to say, these some of the best performing studio headphones on the market at any price, and at around $300 or less, an absolute steal in the high end audio world. If you are considering these for pro work or critical listening, you will not be disappointed at all. Build quality and comfort are both superlative. 5/5 from me, will update if I run into any durability issues down the road.

I don’t normally post reviews but I just had to post one for these criminally underrated headphones. I have been a headphone addict for at least 12 years and I can honestly say that the Hi-X65 is one of the best headphones I have ever heard. If you are looking for headphones that dissect the music and present it to you with amazing imaging, instrument separation and detail, these are the ones to get. The detail… it’s what so many other headphones strive to achieve but fall short compared to the X65. Also these somehow have some of the best instrument separation I’ve heard under $1000. To top it off, these headphones are super easy to drive, I get AMAZING sound from these from my iPad with just the Apple headphone adapter. If there is one downside, and it’s not really a downside, is that the X65s require good quality music. I use Amazon Music HD with these and it’s just fantastic. If you have lower quality audio, these headphones will let you know that it’s bad. If a song has been mixed with hot treble, these headphones will let you know. If there is someone in the back row of the orchestra with a squeaky chair, these will let you know. Now, if you feed these things high quality music, you will just sit there in awe. Whatever the Austrian Audio team did to make these headphones, I hope they keep doing it and I hope word gets out about these and more people get to experience what I have. Amazing cans.

These sound great and they're very comfortable, but have terrible construction for the price & the company has pretty bad rent-seeking behavior. The flimsy plastic on the headbands separate and crack under normal use, and the paper-thin layer of faux-leather on the cheaply-made earcups is peeling off and exposing the foam underneath. This is not covered by the warranty & they sell replacement earcups for $65. They also have a proprietary cable for no reason I can identify other than to force you to buy replacements from them. For $400, and given the reputation, I would have hoped to get more.

2 cables (one 3.5mm, one 1/4in). Not for the big heads. Barely fits my large head and gotta wear it slightly differently than I'd like. Falls off head when leaning back. Ears touch the wall of the cup, but ears do fit within the cup. They just touch that wall. I might get firmer ear pads to fix my issue. Folds flat. Top pad permanently deformed when I hung it for a couple hours, now I store it flat, still deformed. But the sound is perfect. Weight is as heavy as you'd like for the price.

Headphones are incredibly comfortable and seem very well built. I was/am concerned about the headband issue that others have noted, but Austrian Audio offers 5-year warranty so I was willing to accept that breakage prior to 5-years is hopefully covered. If you don’t care for the sound profile these are extremely easy to EQ and can reach adequate volumes from all devices I’ve tried.

UPDATE: It's now April 9, 2024. Had these about a year and 3/4 months. They sound BETTER than ever. These have become my "maybe" end-game headphone to MY ENDGAME. There was a small issue with the wiring - not sure why it happened. I reached out to AUSTRIAN AUDIO, and they possess the best Customer Service, Kevin, who helped me get what I needed with love and care for the product. Based on that customer service I'm a customer for life. And these cans have never sounded better. One of my all time best purchases. Thank you Austrian Audio & Thank You Kevin! Not an audiophile, but I love high-end headphones. These are my first open-backs, and they are amazing. I've had for 2 months and they keep getting better. Maybe the best I've ever had including more expensive cans. I had the Sundara for a month and these blow it away in my humble opinion. UPDATE: They sound even better. Nothing compares. I feel like when I hear a good source (I use qobuz or my own high-end files) it's just giving me all the song got. I hear it all - tremendous detail and comfort that i often fall asleep in. Endgame. (until the next ones.) UPDATE: May 2026 - years later, still my go-to headphones. While I sometimes switch back and forth, I use these on my iphone (once in a while i usa a FILA DAC but 80 percent of the time it's just my iphone.) and they sound warmer and better with every listen. And the customer service - again - incredible. Never been happier with a headphone purchase and never before had felt like I hear "every single part" of the song that is invisible in other top-tier headphones. The winner!

Nothing exceptional, nothing offensive. I will keep looking for the top of the line which is supposed to be very good.

Absolutely a high quality item. Built well. Comfortable for sure. Class headphones all around

Son abierto y tienen un sonido super nítido , vale la pena el precio pagado

En el terreno de la reproducción musical HiFi hay un espectro incontable, muchas especificaciones técnicas, datos, revisiones, pero la única básica y determinante es la que te ofrecerán tus oídos. Solo te puedo decir, la calidad de construcción y comodidad de estos auriculares es magnífica. En cuando a su sonido, es muy equilibrado, neutro, analítico con un espacio de escenario amplio que te da una sensación 3D. Repito, no quiero caer en comparativos técnicos, lo que describo es porque me han dejado muy satisfecho y sobresale a una banda de auriculares que yo tengo de gama media y alta que me permite afirmar el gusto que me han proporcionar estos auriculares, de una marca tal vez no muy popular y conocía en el mundo, pero el respeto que trae de origen hace posible decirte que es un auricular excelente

J'ai long cherché un casque qui pourrait correspondre à mes attentes (et a mes grandes oreilles) et le Hi-X65 n'a pas déçu. D'une qualité de construction et rendu sonore bien au delà de son prix. Capacité de détails égal où supérieur à des casques 3 fous plus chers. Rien d'autre à dire sauf qu'il est parfait a tout niveau.

Hallo Leute, also ich bin gewöhnlicher Musikhörer, ohne spezielle Kenntnisse, das nur vorweg. Ich bin wirklich durchweg begeistert vom Klang dieser offenen Kopfhörer, das bezieht sich für mich auf das gesamte Klangspektrum, von Höhen bis Tiefen. Ich hatte davor die AKG K702 probiert die ebenfalls offene Kopfhörer sind, und daher ebenfalls einen tollen Raumklang bieten. Allerdings war bei diesen leider der Bass sehr schwach ausgeprägt, und mit Equalizer bzw. konkret VoiceMeeter den Bass zu verstärken funktionierte nicht wirklich, da sich dann das Gesamtklangbild ziemlich verschlechterte/verzerrte. Ganz anders bei den Austrian Audios. Erstmal ist der Bass hier grundsätzlich schonmal wesentlich präsenter. Wenn ich mal besonders basslastige Musik höre, wo mir ein starker Bass besonders wichtig ist, regle ich mit VoiceMeeter hier auch mal den Bass nach oben und das verzerrt aus meinem Hörerleben den Gesamtklang gar nicht, sondern verstärkt tatsächlich ausschließlich wie gewünscht nochmal angenehm den Bass. Und so gesehen ist es wirklich beeindruckend, was diese - wohlgemerkt offenen - Kopfhörer auch im Bassbereich zu leisten im Stande sind. Was soll ich sagen, ich bin rundum zufrieden und wirklich beeindruckt von diesen Kopfhörern. Toll auch, dass zwei Anschlusskabel unterschiedlicher Länge mitgeliefert werden, je nach Bedarf. Klar, round about 300€ ist nicht wenig Geld, aber hier bekommt man auch einen wirklichen Gegenwert für sein Geld!

Don’t believe the bad reviews these headphones are excellent. I have had various different headphones and these are excellent. They are very comfortable and sound brilliant.