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

Comfortable and superb sound
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.

Love the sound, but be careful the band breaks very easily
UPDATE: I gave these headphones five stars for sound, review below; they are absolutely fantastic performing and comfortable headphones. Unfortunately, there is a fault with the plastic connectors where the headband slides in and out for sizing. These plastic pieces crack and break apart very easily, and it sounds like (on forums) this breakage has happened to many many Hi-X65 owners. Austrian Audio does honor their warranty and replace them, as they did with mine. But, the new set has the same thin plastic piece and I assume it will crack again sooner rather than later. It is at a stress point that gets pressured every time you wear them, so it is not possible to avoid breaking them by being careful. They both broke, on both sides, on mine. See picture. A few healthy dollops of JB Weld fixed the problem, and the headphones are thankfully the same grey color as JB Weld, which is great. But, still, not very elegant. When my new pair breaks again, I will just do the JB Weld repair and keep them. The warranty exchange process with Austrian Audio was bumpy and haphazard but eventually they exchanged it.Also, I’m very worried about what happens when I need new ear pads or a cable. Both of these items are proprietary and specific to only these headphones, and Austrian Audio does *not* list replacement ear pads, head band pads, or cables for sale anywhere. This is very strange, as these parts were clearly designed to be easily replaceable.———-My original five star review:I absolutely love these headphones! They are so comfortable and well made and the sound is comfortable and easy going and warm, as well, but also with lots of detailed extension into the highs and lows.To sum up my love for these headphones: they are extremely detailed, with a beefy warm boost in the low mids. Every other set of headphones I compare with these sound thin in comparison. The airy highs are rolled off a bit, they are still there, and articulate, and you can boost them with eq for a full clean sound, but the air is reduced in intensity by default it seems. This makes long listening sessions very very easy and comfortable. Bright mixes with shimmering fiddle overtones for example have everything there, just with a warmer balance overall. For mixing, if I need to use headphones, I will switch between these and my Austrian Audio Hi-X15s though because the Hi-X15 are not warm at all and much brighter, so they can reveal problems with harsh highs that sound totally fine on the Hi-X65. But, if your mix has too much low-mids, wow you will definitely know it right away on the Hi-X65s. That’s usually the problem area in a mix where sound builds up, so I can see why they made sure the low mid frequencies were strong.They feel expensive and sturdy. The cups are large and they give me plenty of space for my ears and my fairly large head. There’s a fair bit of clamp force, as others have mentioned; it has settled a bit over the past month but is still significant. I have an extra large head, both in height and width. These fit. After a few days I realized that I wasn’t extending them far enough (after seeing myself in the mirror) and they still had plenty of clicks to spare. Getting them extended properly did improve the sound, I’m glad I noticed that!Oh and I like how very efficient and easy to drive these headphones are. These are no problem to power at very modest volume settings (about one third volume) on my phone, laptop, or portable CD player, with no need for a specialized headphone amp. That is key, for me, because if I’m going to listen using these headphones then I need to be able to use them any time without having to fuss with a bunch of separate hi-fi audio components. I just want to plug them into a regular headphone jack and use them. Check! My old Sony CD Walkman from 20 years ago needs the volume set to about 40% for normal listening levels. My laptop computer with its built in headphone jack is at about 20%. Easy peasy. Funny enough, though, the xCAN bluetooth headphone amp needs to be cranked up to 60% – go figure! It sounds great though on the xCAN. I wanted to assume that it would sound the same, but honestly I can’t find levels where these sound exactly the same on my MacBook compared to the xCAN preamp; the balance and the detail really is different. So, I guess the sound you get from these can technically depend on the headphone amp, though they work great on any well-made consumer device.

Sonically amazing, build quality incredible, I Will buy these again
These headphones sound phenomenal the build quality is impeccable the open soundstage in the natural Sonic characteristics are incredible I can’t say enough good things about these headphones and frankly I will buy these again very soon and I will buy them from the same people at Kellards because because of lack of communication on my part I made a snap in judgment which I resend and I think that Kellards is a very stand-up seller and I won’t hesitate to buy from them again.

Amazing headphones for that price! Better than most $400-1400 range headphones
Looking for the pro sound headphones without breaking your bank? This one is to go. Amazing volume sound, crispy as the spring air

Benutze den Kopfhörer seit Erhalt zum Mixen und Mastern während Reisen.Sehr klares und offenes Klangbild mit sehr präziser Wiedergabe der Mitten und Höhen.Selbst der Bassbereich wird sehr detailgetreu wiedergegeben.Große Hörschalen mit gut sitzenden Polstern.Trägt sich sehr angenehm auch bei längeren Sessions.Wertiges und robustes Design.

Cuffia di altissimo livello. Per rendere al massimo richiede un buon ampli. Col Chord Mojo va benissimo. Suono molto equilibrato in tutte le frequenze. La comodità è al top. È possibile trovare di meglio solo spendendo più di 1.200 euro.