Austrian Audio Hi-X15 Closed-Back Over-Ear Wired Headphones

I bought these after looking at a review on What HIFi?, which highly recommends these wired cans. Upon receipt my impression was that of solid fit and build. Bringing them on line I found them almost unlistenable, even when used with one of my dongle DAC's (iFi GO Link, Questyle M15i). The high end attack was piercing and the sound lacked overall smoothness and cohesiveness. So, plug them in, leave them online and walk away overnight. Coming back, the improvement was great. The highs were moderated and everything was starting to pull together. Now, with probably 40-50 hours of listening, the wait is worth it! Outstanding clarity and separation. It's a clinical sound, not booming, but with plenty of bass when called for. The soundstage is remarkably deep. In comparison with other headphones, my venerable AKG K701's (which as I write this are available on Amazon for $235.95, which is an outstanding value), and Sony WH-1000XM4's (wired, without ANC turned on), I gravitate toward these Austrian Audio's for relaxed, long term listening. It's a full, rich, exciting sound, albeit technical, particularly good for music with strong instrumentation such as classical, but not lacking in vocal reproduction. The AKG's, which are open backed, are also quite technical and very airy, but are comparatively a tiny bit thin, while the Sony's, although giving an all and all wonderful sound, are less precise. My preference is toward a flat, unenhanced reproduction, which to me is what the artist intends. So, if you're willing to tolerate some wait while the Austrian Audio's run in, I think you will be rewarded with exceptional sound at a modest price.

Nice and bright sounding but could use more base. Daughter broke the headband but was able to glue it back together.

Had problems with them from the moment they arrived. No support from seller or Amazon. Charged restocking fee for defective product.

I was in aww, of the packaging, alone. when a company that puts that much effort into putting there product to package, shows they care. Furthermore, have to say, soon as the first note hit me I was very disappointed in myself for ever putting my ear through that torment. of not hearing pure sound. Spend the money. You won't regret it.

I love AKG headphones. I have two pairs and am looking at getting another two or three different models. The k240s are my absolute favorite. However, these did not meet expectations. I returned these after 3 hours including driving to the drop-off point .. take that into consideration while checking this review.All plastic construction. Not easily-replaceable earpads. The lip for the earpads to bite is *under* the earcup requiring mild disassembly to replace, and there are no instructions for this. The adjustment on the headband feels awful, and I'm almost certain the hinges will snap after a few uses. They're really small in general and not comfortable at all.Packaging includes a mediocre cable tie. Clever that it works to tie the box together I guess.The cable is this fancy-ish locking mechanism. I'm not sure why this would be desired. If the cable gets caught I would prefer it pop out and let loose, not break the headphones because it's locked in. Not to mention the cable then is directional. I'm not even sure if any random cable will work even, or if they've effectively made a proprietary cable in 202X.Now for the sound.... I returned these in 3 hours counting dropping them off... I'm not exaggerating... The highs were so fatiguing it was almost painful. I watched two YouTube videos that I'm very familiar with and I couldn't stand listening to speech. The bass was fine but I couldn't get over the highs enough to really listen to it.I'm looking at the top-end open-backs next, but if I don't like those either I'll be sending them back as well. I'm really disappointed...

These headphones have a really nice balanced sound, and has a surprising clarity and space to the sound. Was genuinely surprised by what I heard, as each instruments sounds tight, clean, and packs a punch, but was still easy to listen to. Build quality was also very good, and the foldability made it easy to travel with.

I am enjoying these. Good quality sound and comfortable.In retrospect, I probably should have stepped up a notch and purchased the Bluetooth version. The USB connector on my phone went bad which rendered these useless until the phone was replaced.

My ears found them to very brittle on metal and synthwave alike. (I love Grados, but wanted to try something new with a detachable cord.)